1 My refuge is the God of love;
Why do my foes insult and cry,
"Fly like a timorous trembling dove,
"To distant woods or mountains fly"?

2 If government be all destroy'd
(That firm foundation of our peace)
And violence make justice void,
Where shall the righteous seek redress?

3 The Lord in heaven has fix'd his throne,
His eye surveys the world below;
To him all mortal things are known,
His eyelids search our spirits thro'.

4 If he afflicts his saints so far
To prove their love, and try their grace,
What may the bold transgressors fear?
His very soul abhors their ways.

5 On impious wretches he shall rain
Tempests of brimstone, fire, and death,
Such as he kindled on the plain
Of Sodom with his angry breath.

6 The righteous Lord loves righteous souls,
Whose thoughts and actions are sincere;
And with a gracious eye beholds
The men that his own image bear.