Submission to God under Affliction, and Desiring Support

Great God, I own thy justice, while beneath
The stroke of thy chastising rod I bend;
Nor dares this wretched, guilty heart repine.
Far less I feel than merit, ev'ry stroke
How gentle! smiling mercy breaks its force,
And soft it lights, nor gives a fatal wound.
O let my soul the wond'rous pow'r confess
Of sovereign mercy, and adore the hand,
Whose just rebukes, with kind indulgence mix'd,
Are meant to teach, reclaim, and guide my feet,
Too apt to rove, forgetful of the way,
Forgetful of the end. A crown of life,
Of life immortal, is the glorious prize,
(Free gift of boundless grace!) which in the view
Of faith and humble love thy word displays;
Obtain'd by sufferings which amaz'd the world:
And shall I seek it coldly? gracious God,
Awake my languid pow'rs to active life.
Awake my faith and hope, and love and zeal,
And make me ardent run the glorious race.
Pow'r to the faint thy sacred word assures,
And strength increasing; be that gracious word
Fulfill'd to me unworthy! If thy hand,
O ever wise and good, should justly deal
Severer strokes, still let my soul behold thee,
Not as an angry judge, vindictive, frowning,
But as a tender father, who corrects
In mercy, list'ning to the humble moan
Of penitential sorrow. Were my fears
To measure suff'rings by my just desert,
Dreadful expectance! what a scene of woe!
The dearest comfort, ev'ry joy of life,
Would quickly take its everlasting flight,
And leave me desolate, forlorn, undone.
But what are earthly joys? has not my heart
Ungrateful forfeited far more than these?
Should earthly joys forsake me, should my friends.
My much-lov'd friends, by death's resistless hand
Rent from my bleeding, agonizing heart,
Leave me a miserable mourner here;
Yet, O my God, if I may call thee mine;
Amid the scene of terror, if my faith
Look up and say, My father, and my friend;
The blissful sounds will cheer my fainting soul
With peace divine, and recompence the loss
Of all that life can give, or death destroy.
And was not once this heavenly blessing mine,
Diffusing comfort through my grateful heart,
Inspiring wonder, praise, and humble love?
It was; but soon the sacred ardour sunk
To cold indiff'rence. Should heavenly love
Offended leave me to the punishment
My guilt and vile ingratitude deserves,
Despair would soon his gloomy curtains draw,
Each distant beam of cheering hope exclude,
And shade my soul in everlasting night.
But oh, th' amazing power of love divine!
Unlimited it pardons! justice pleas'd,
On mercy smiles; for lo, the Saviour's blood
Atones and cleanses every guilty stain!
'Tis this, O gracious God, dispels my fears,
Revives my hopes; in this unbounded sea
Let all my sins, and all my doubts be lost.
Lord, when this roving heart again forgets
Its duty and its bliss, let grace reclaim;
And though thy awful hand chastising strike,
Let love support me, and beneath thy frown
O may paternal tenderness appear.
Then shall I patient bear thy just rebukes,
And wait resign'd and penitent, in hope
Of bliss returning in the smile of mercy.
Then, though this mortal frame by slow degrees.
In lingering years of pain should wear away;
Or pungent griefs, too mighty, burst at once
The vital strings; or fatal accident
Wing, swift and unforewarn'd, the silent shaft
To set my spirit free; if I am thine,
To thy blest will, my God, I would submit,
Sure to be happy! Time is but a point,
And mortal pains or joys are light as air,
When vast eternity is full in view.