 | A Collection of Poems on Various Subjects |  |
Thoughts.
How long, alas, shall vain Thoughts in me rest,
And find a lurking Place within my Breast!
How long, how long, e'er I a Conqueror be,
And o'er my ownself get the Victory!
Ah, how disgustful is it when I find,
Some little triv'al Thought possess my Mind!
Oft have I set myself to keep the Door,
That no vain Cogitation enter more,
And reckon'd too, so strict a Watch to keep,
That nothing unexamin'd in should creep;
But on a sudden, when I least suspected,
An idle Thought has Satan introjected,
Which, like a little Thief, hath open set
The Door, for greater Rovers in to get.
I'll trust myself no more; I see 'tis vain,
Man of himself no Conquest can obtain;
To Him will I betake myself, from whom,
Each good and perfect Gift, I know, doth come;
His Succour will I beg, His Aid implore,
Who for the Helpless, still has Help in Store.
And find a lurking Place within my Breast!
How long, how long, e'er I a Conqueror be,
And o'er my ownself get the Victory!
Ah, how disgustful is it when I find,
Some little triv'al Thought possess my Mind!
Oft have I set myself to keep the Door,
That no vain Cogitation enter more,
And reckon'd too, so strict a Watch to keep,
That nothing unexamin'd in should creep;
But on a sudden, when I least suspected,
An idle Thought has Satan introjected,
Which, like a little Thief, hath open set
The Door, for greater Rovers in to get.
I'll trust myself no more; I see 'tis vain,
Man of himself no Conquest can obtain;
15
Each good and perfect Gift, I know, doth come;
His Succour will I beg, His Aid implore,
Who for the Helpless, still has Help in Store.
Thou Israel's
Shepherd, Thou alone canst keep
My Soul, who neither slumber dost nor sleep;
Thou Every-where, who dost all Places fill,
Who art both perfect Pow'r and perfect Will,
Thou all-sufficient art; no Thought can fly
The Scrutage of Thy all-discerning Eye;
And Thou, dear Father, too commanded hast
Thy Children, all their Care on Thee to cast,
Which I most gladly do; but yet not so,
As henceforth careless in myself to grow;
No, I resolve still on the Watch to be,
Not in my own Strength, but impower'd by Thee.
Set Thou the Watch, O Lord, appoint the Guard,
Give Thou the Charge; O help me so to ward,
That no vain Thought into my Mind may slip,
But in the Embrio may receive a Nip;
Thou, who for me hast great Deliv'rance wrought,
Deliver too from ev'ry idle Thought.
My Soul, who neither slumber dost nor sleep;
Thou Every-where, who dost all Places fill,
Who art both perfect Pow'r and perfect Will,
Thou all-sufficient art; no Thought can fly
The Scrutage of Thy all-discerning Eye;
And Thou, dear Father, too commanded hast
Thy Children, all their Care on Thee to cast,
Which I most gladly do; but yet not so,
As henceforth careless in myself to grow;
No, I resolve still on the Watch to be,
Not in my own Strength, but impower'd by Thee.
Set Thou the Watch, O Lord, appoint the Guard,
Give Thou the Charge; O help me so to ward,
That no vain Thought into my Mind may slip,
But in the Embrio may receive a Nip;
Thou, who for me hast great Deliv'rance wrought,
Deliver too from ev'ry idle Thought.
| A Collection of Poems on Various Subjects | |