5.
“Turn us again, O God; show the light of Thy countenance,
and we shall be whole.”
Whene'er he heard the cock crow Peter wept;
Again to his forgotten Lord he turn'd,
And all anew his old affections burn'd,
And penitential sorrows o'er him crept
With thrilling visions, which, whene'er he slept,
Woke him again to prayer. Oh, lesson learn'd
Not dearly, at whatever cost discern'd!
Oh, should temptation from us intercept
Thy loving Countenance, yet whensoe'er
We turn again, and to Thine Altar flee
From our own sins and from the world, oh, there
Lift on our hearts Thy gracious look Divine,
That we, returning to ourselves and Thee,
May wet with tears the pavement of Thy shrine.
