Part I.
G REAT God, with terror I have heard Thy doom,
The fearful punishments that are to come:
Yet in the midst of those devouring years,
Then when Thy vengeance shall exceed our fears,
Thy work in us revive; confirm our faith,
And still remember mercy in Thy wrath.
God came from Theman, and the Holy One
From Paran's mountain, where His glory shone,
Which fill'd the heav'ns themselves with brighter rays,
And all the earth replenish'd with His praise.
His brightness as the sun's; His fingers streams
Of light project; His pow'r hid in those beams.
Devouring pestilence before Him flew,
And wasting flames His dreadful steps pursue.
Then fix'd His feet, and measur'd with His eyes
The earth's extent: pale fears her sons surprise:
The ancient mountains shrunk; eternal hills
Stoop'd to their bases; all amazement fills.
His glory and His terror He displays,
In His unknown and everlasting ways.
I saw th' afflicted tents of Cushan quake,
And Midian's curtains in that tempest shake.
Part II.
When Thou, O Lord, the rivers didst divide,
And on the chariots of salvation ride,
Through the congested billows of the seas,
Was it because Thou wast displeas'd with these?
According to Thy oath Thou drew'st Thy sword;
Thy oath sworn to our tribes, Thy constant word.
From cloven rocks new torrents took their flight,
And airy mountains trembled at Thy sight:
The over-flowing streams enforce their ways,
The deeps to Thee their hands and voices raise;
The sun and moon, obedient to command,
Till then in restless motion, made a stand.
Thy darts and flaming arrows, swift as sight,
Confound Thy fees, but give Thy people light.
He, in His fury, marched through the land,
And crush'd the heathen with a vengeful Hand.
The anointed with Thy sword their leaders slew;
The joints disclos'd where heads of princes grew.
With Thy transfixing spear their subjects strake;
Who like a black and dreadful tempest brake
Upon our front, with purpose to devour,
And triumph over our despised pow'r.
He through the roaring floods His people guides,
Through yielding seas on fiery horses rides.
Part III.
When I Thy threat'nings heard, my entrails shook,
And my unnerved knees each other strook.
My lips with panting swell, my cheeks grow wan,
Through all my bones a swift consumption ran.
O where may I repose in that sad day,
When armed troops upon my country prey!
Although the fig-tree shall no blossoms bear,
Nor vines with their pure blood the pensive cheer;
Although the olive no requital yield,
Nor corn apparel the deserted field;
Though then our flocks be ravish'd from the fold,
And though our stalls no well-fed oxen hold;
Yet will not I despair, but cheerfully
Expect, and in Thy known salvation joy:
For Thou my strength and my protection art.
My feet, more nimble than the flying hart,
Ascend the hills; where I, with holy fire,
Will sing Thy praises to my solemn lyre.
G REAT God, with terror I have heard Thy doom,
The fearful punishments that are to come:
Yet in the midst of those devouring years,
Then when Thy vengeance shall exceed our fears,
Thy work in us revive; confirm our faith,
And still remember mercy in Thy wrath.
God came from Theman, and the Holy One
From Paran's mountain, where His glory shone,
Which fill'd the heav'ns themselves with brighter rays,
And all the earth replenish'd with His praise.
His brightness as the sun's; His fingers streams
Of light project; His pow'r hid in those beams.
Devouring pestilence before Him flew,
And wasting flames His dreadful steps pursue.
Then fix'd His feet, and measur'd with His eyes
The earth's extent: pale fears her sons surprise:
The ancient mountains shrunk; eternal hills
Stoop'd to their bases; all amazement fills.
His glory and His terror He displays,
In His unknown and everlasting ways.
I saw th' afflicted tents of Cushan quake,
And Midian's curtains in that tempest shake.
Part II.
When Thou, O Lord, the rivers didst divide,
And on the chariots of salvation ride,
Through the congested billows of the seas,
Was it because Thou wast displeas'd with these?
According to Thy oath Thou drew'st Thy sword;
Thy oath sworn to our tribes, Thy constant word.
From cloven rocks new torrents took their flight,
And airy mountains trembled at Thy sight:
The over-flowing streams enforce their ways,
The deeps to Thee their hands and voices raise;
The sun and moon, obedient to command,
Till then in restless motion, made a stand.
Thy darts and flaming arrows, swift as sight,
Confound Thy fees, but give Thy people light.
He, in His fury, marched through the land,
And crush'd the heathen with a vengeful Hand.
The anointed with Thy sword their leaders slew;
The joints disclos'd where heads of princes grew.
With Thy transfixing spear their subjects strake;
Who like a black and dreadful tempest brake
Upon our front, with purpose to devour,
And triumph over our despised pow'r.
He through the roaring floods His people guides,
Through yielding seas on fiery horses rides.
Part III.
When I Thy threat'nings heard, my entrails shook,
And my unnerved knees each other strook.
My lips with panting swell, my cheeks grow wan,
Through all my bones a swift consumption ran.
O where may I repose in that sad day,
When armed troops upon my country prey!
Although the fig-tree shall no blossoms bear,
Nor vines with their pure blood the pensive cheer;
Although the olive no requital yield,
Nor corn apparel the deserted field;
Though then our flocks be ravish'd from the fold,
And though our stalls no well-fed oxen hold;
Yet will not I despair, but cheerfully
Expect, and in Thy known salvation joy:
For Thou my strength and my protection art.
My feet, more nimble than the flying hart,
Ascend the hills; where I, with holy fire,
Will sing Thy praises to my solemn lyre.