University of Virginia Library

REPENTANCE.

From the same.

Lord, I confess my sin is great:
Great is my sin! O, gently treat
Thy tender flower, Thy fading bloom,
Whose life's still aiming at a tomb.
Have mercy, Lord! Lo, I confess,
I feel, I mourn my foolishness.
O, spare me, whom Thy hands have made,
A withering leaf, a fleeting shade.
Sweeten at length this bitter bowl
Which Thou hast pour'd into my soul!
O, tarry not! If still Thou stay,
Here sets in death my short-lived day.
When Thou for sin rebukest man,
His drooping heart is fill'd with pain;
Blasted his strength, his beauty too
Consumes away as morning dew.
When wilt Thou sin and grief destroy,
That all the broken bones may joy;
And at Thy all-reviving word
Dead sinners rise, and praise the Lord?