Surrounded, every scene thro' which we

Surrounded, every scene thro' which we move,
With snares too fitted to beguile the soul —
Its warmth to chill, to qualify its love,
To weaken Faith, and strengthen sin's controul: —
O, in what utter helplessness we need
Some pow'r to strengthen, and some hand to lead
Far from temptations which we ill could bear:

Or, should our wand'ring spirits hapless stray
Amid a flow'ry, but deceitful way,
Beneath whose blossoms lies the serpent's lair,
How should we learn to trust, and breathe the prayer, —
Deliver us from all the evil we
Meet with in life, when journeying to Thee,
And let Thy truth our shield and buckler be!