Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, Vol. 2 ‎#222

222. Psalm CXVI

I. I love the Lord, his gracious earr /> Inclin'd to my distressful pray'r;r /> He heard my supplicating voice,r /> And bade my fainting heart rejoice.r />

II. For this, when future sorrows rise,r /> To him I'll breathe my humble cries;r /> For this, thro' all my future days,r /> Adore his name and sing his praise.r />

III. Death spread around his fatal chains,r /> To drag me to infernal pains;r /> I felt the agonizing dart,r /> And horror siez'd my trembling heart.r />

IV. 'Twas then, in my extreme distress,r /> I call'd upon the God of grace,r /> Whose pow'r can death and hell controul;r /> Lord, I beseech thee, save my soul.r />

V. For ever gracious is the Lord,r /> For ever faithful to his word;r /> By sweet experience now I prover /> His mercy, his unchanging love.r />

VI. The Lord preserves, with tender care,r /> The weak, the humble, and sincere;r /> Low in the dust my hopes were laid,r /> But God appear'd with timely aid.r />

VII. Return my soul, and sweetly restr /> On thy almighty Father's breast;r /> The bounties of his grace adore,r /> And count his wond'rous mercies o'er.r />

VIII. Thy mercy, Lord, preserv'd my breath,r /> And snatch'd my fainting soul from death,r /> Remov'd my sorrows, dry'd my tears.r /> And sav'd me from surrounding snares.r />

IX. Now I will walk before the Lord,r /> A living witness to his word;r /> With faith and pray'r I sought his face,r /> My griefs were great, and great his grace.r />

X. No meaner help, no mortal art,r /> Could ease the anguish of my heart;r /> My hasty tongue, in rash replies,r /> Pronounc'd the words of men but lies.r />

XI. What shall I render to the Lord?r /> Or how his wond'rous grace record?r /> To him my grateful voice I'll raise,r /> And pour libations to his praise.r />

XII. His crouded courts shall see me payr /> The vows of my distressful day;r /> In life and death the saints shall findr /> Their guardian God for ever kind.r />

XIII. Thy servant, Lord, is wholly thine,r /> By nature's ties, and bonds divine;r /> From deep distress and sorrow free,r /> Anew I give myself to thee.r />

XIV. To thee, with sacrifice of praise,r /> My invocations I will raise;r /> To thee my vows shall warm ascend,r /> While crowds the solemn rites attend.r />

XV. O Salem, in thy sacred courts,r /> Where glory dwells and joy resorts,r /> To notes divine I'll tune the song,r /> And praise shall flow from ev'ry tongue.

Text Information

• First Line: I love the Lord, his gracious ear
• Title: Psalm CXVI
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1760
• Scripture:
  Psalm 116

Tune Information

(No tune information)