
And are we wretches yet alive?
And do we yet rebel?
'Tis boundless, 'tis amazing love,
That bears us up from hell!
The burden of our weighty guilt
Would sink us down to flames;
And threat'ning vengeance rolls above,
To crush our feeble frames.
Almighty goodness cries, "Forbear!"
And straight the thunder stays;
And dare we now provoke his wrath,
And weary out his grace?
Lord, we have long abused thy love,
Too long indulged our sin;
Our aching hearts e'en bleed to see
What rebels we have been.
No more, ye lusts, shall ye command,
No more will we obey;
Stretch out, O God, thy conquering hand,
And drive thy foes away.
First Line: | And are we wretches yet alive? |
Title: | Repentance Flowing from the Patience of God |
Author: | Isaac Watts |
Meter: | 8.6.8.6 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
And are we wretches yet alive? J. Watts. [Lent.] This somewhat uncommon and strongly worded hymn has passed out of use in Great Britain, but is still found in several modern American hymnbooks of importance. It appeared in Watts's Hymns and Sacred Songs, 1707, Bk. ii., No. 105, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, “Repentance flowing from the patience of God."
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)