1 Help, LORD, for men of virtue fail,
religion loses ground!
The sons of violence prevail,
and treacheries abound.
Their oaths and promises they break,
yet act the flatt'er'r’s part;
with fair, deceitful lips they speak,
and with a double heart.
2 If we reprove some hateful lie,
they scorn our faithful word:
"Are not our lips our own," they cry,
"and who shall be our Lord?"
Scoffers appear on every side,
where a vile race of men
is raised to seats of pow'r and pride,
and bears the sword in vain.
3 Lord, when iniquities abound,
and blasphemy grows bold,
when faith is rarely to be found,
and love is waxen cold:
is not thy chariot hast'ning on!
Hast Thou not giv'n the sign?
May we not trust and live upon
a promise so divine?
4 "Yes, saith the LORD, "now will I rise,
and make th'oppressors flee;
I shall appear to their surprise,
and set My servants free."
Thy word, like silver sev'n times tried,
thro' ages shall endure:
the men that in Thy truth confide,
shall find Thy promise sure.
Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #12
First Line: | Help, Lord, for men of virtue fail |
Author: | Isaac Watts |
Meter: | 8.6.8.6 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Help, Lord, for men of virtue fail. I. Watts. [Psalms xii.] Appeared in his Psalms of David, 1719, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. In addition to its use in its original form, stanzas v., viii. are used as a separate hymn in Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, 1866, as "Lord, when iniquities abound."
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)