Amenophis and Other Poems Sacred and Secular :: :: University of Virginia Library

O lord god eternal,
The First and the Last,
We are fallen before Thee
As sinners downcast:
Not in anger deal with us;
Lighten the rod;
Once more, once more, say
‘I am your God:’
Turn Thy face toward us;
Put up the sword:
Have mercy upon us,
Have mercy, O Lord!

In the blindness of youth,
In sickness and health,
In the time of trial,
In the trial of wealth;
As we creep and dwindle
In age away,
In the hour of death,
In the judgment-day;

Turn Thy face toward us;
Put up the sword:
Have mercy upon us,
Have mercy, O Lord!

When the lust of wealth
Makes its own self all:
When the pride of strength
Tramples down the small;
When the world's outcasts
Sit and hide the head;
When the barefoot children
Cry out for bread;
Turn not Thy face from us;
Draw not the sword:
Have mercy upon us,
Have mercy, O Lord!

When the tempter comes
With gold and smiles,
When the flesh is master,
And thought defiles;
When faith grows faint
Through pride or fear,
—O Thou that knowest,
Spare us, O spare!
Turn Thy face toward us;
Put up the sword:
Have mercy upon us,
Have mercy, O Lord!

By Thy manhood on earth,
By Thy death and life,
By the mountain-peace
And the midnight-strife
By the scourge and cross
And all that pain;
By Thy golden throne
Set with God to reign;
Turn Thy face toward us;
Put up the sword:
Have mercy upon us,
Have mercy, O Lord!