How are Thy servants blest, O LORD! How sure is their defence! Eternal wisdom is their guide, Their help Omnipotence. In foreign realms, and lands remote, Supported by Thy care, Through burning climes I pass'd unhurt, And breathed in tainted air. Thy mercy sweeten'd every soil, Made every region please; The hoary Alpine hills it warm'd, And smoothed the Tyrrhene seas [178] . Think, O my soul, devoutly think, How, with affrighted eyes, Thou saw'st the wide-extended deep In all its horrors rise! Confusion dwelt in every face, And fear in every heart; When waves on waves, and gulphs on gulphs, O'ercame the pilot's art. Yet then from all my griefs, O LORD, Thy mercy set me free; Whilst, in the confidence of prayer, My soul took hold on Thee. For though in dreadful whirls we hung High on the broken wave, I knew Thou wert not slow to hear, Nor impotent to save. The storm was laid, the winds retired, Obedient to Thy will; The sea that roar'd at Thy command, At Thy command was still. In midst of dangers, fears, and death, Thy goodness I'll adore; And praise Thee for Thy mercies past, And humbly hope for more. My life, if Thou preserv'st my life, Thy sacrifice shall be; And death, if death must be my doom, Shall join my soul to Thee. Footnotes: [178] See Note |