Classic Poem

In deep distress, I cried to God,
To God I cried, and told my grief;
He heard, and in my time of need
His goodness sent the wished relief.

But still I mourned, for though relieved,
I felt my heart of secret sin,
And though relieved from foes without,
I felt a lurking foe within.

Body and mind, by night and day,
Pressed on me with their baneful powers;
My frailties had disturbed my days,
And frightful dreams my midnight hours.

And when in sleep my eyelids close,
Short is the sweet repose of sleep;
I wake, but ah! I wake in vain—
Alas, I only wake to weep.

My voice grows faint, my spirits droop,
And all of life within me dies;
I strive to utter my complaint,
But I can only breathe in sighs.

Oh for that grace to sinners given,
That grace so ample, rich and free!
Shall that which is vouchsafed to all
Be, oh my God, denied to me?

Ah no! thy deeds of ancient times,
Thy works of love, unfold my will;
Thou art, Jehovah, still the same,
The same benignant Being still.

Thy firm decree is nature's law,
And worlds move as thy hand directs;
No eye can pierce the wondrous cause,
But all perceive the vast effects.

In heaven and earth, through seas and skies,
In all we see or feel or hear,
Each has a voice that speaks to man,
Each speaks a God for ever near.

The seas, as by thy presence ruled,
Over the mountain-tops aspire,
Or troubled, as if seeing thee,
Into their inmost caves retire.