Classic Poem

O Lord, I will thy pow'r exalt,
Which hast advanc'd me far from shame,
And check'd my foes in their assault
Upon my realm and fame.

O Lord, the God of my belief,
To thee I sent the plaintive sounds,
And thou wert mov'd to sooth my grief,
And heal my gaping wounds.

Thou, Lord, hast brought my soul from hell,
And hast my fault'ring life sustain'd
From those that in the darkness dwell,
And in the pit are chain'd.

Give praises, O ye blest above,
And grateful songs to God combine,
For a memorial of his love,
And sanctity divine.

Wroth but the twinkling of an eye,
Pleas'd, and his smiles all nature buoy;
A night in heaviness we lie,
But morning teems with joy.

And in my prosp'rous hour I said,
My wealth is in a settl'd state;
Thou, Lord, hast of thy goodness made
Mine eminence so great.

But thou, to curb my growing pride,
The fost'ring radiance of thy face
Didst in thy just displeasure hide,
And I was in disgrace.

Then cried I, for I could not brook
God's dispensations in extreams,
And to the Lord myself betook
In meekness, as beseems

Can there emolument arise
To God or man from out the pit,
When this my body they despise,
And to the dust commit?

Shall gratitude be mixt with clay,
And still retain her thankful powr's,
Or shall the man thy truth display,
Whose tongue the worm devours?

O Lord, attend and hear me out,
Be merciful, O most ador'd,
And to thy servant, thus devout,
Thy timely help afford.

Thou'st turn'd my heaviness to mirth,
And put off all my weeds of woe,
And shalt thy gladness, as a girth,
About my loins bestow

Wherefore there is exceeding cause,
O God, that pray'r should never cease,
And I will praise thee without pause
In everlasting peace.