PSALM 71. v. 17–21. Third Part. (C. M.) The aged Christian's Prayer and Song; or, old
Age, Death, and the Resurrection.
I
God of my childhood and my youth,
The guide of all my days,
I have declar'd thy heavenly truth,
And told thy wondrous ways.
II
Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs,
And leave my fainting heart?
Who shall sustain my sinking years
If God my strength depart!
III
Let me thy power and truth proclaim
To the surviving age,
And leave a savour of thy name
When I shall quit the stage.
IV
The land of silence and of death
Attends my next remove;
O may these poor remains of breath
Teach the wide world thy love!
V
Thy righteousness is deep and high,
Unsearchable thy deeds;
Thy glory spreads beyond the sky,
And all my praise exceeds.
VI
Oft have I heard thy threatenings roar,
And oft endur'd the grief;
But when thy hand has prest me sore,
Thy grace was my relief.
VII
By long experience have I known
Thy sovereign power to save;
At thy command I venture down
Securely to the grave.
VIII
When I lie buried deep in dust,
My flesh shall be thy care;
These withering limbs with thee I trust
To raise them strong and fair.
So fair a profession and faith of the resurrection in verse 20, I could
not omit without injury to the psalmist, and to my own design.
