Psalm CXVI

Representative Text

I. I love the Lord, his gracious ear
Inclin'd to my distressful pray'r;
He heard my supplicating voice,
And bade my fainting heart rejoice.

II. For this, when future sorrows rise,
To him I'll breathe my humble cries;
For this, thro' all my future days,
Adore his name and sing his praise.

III. Death spread around his fatal chains,
To drag me to infernal pains;
I felt the agonizing dart,
And horror siez'd my trembling heart.

IV. 'Twas then, in my extreme distress,
I call'd upon the God of grace,
Whose pow'r can death and hell controul;
Lord, I beseech thee, save my soul.

V. For ever gracious is the Lord,
For ever faithful to his word;
By sweet experience now I prove
His mercy, his unchanging love.

VI. The Lord preserves, with tender care,
The weak, the humble, and sincere;
Low in the dust my hopes were laid,
But God appear'd with timely aid.

VII. Return my soul, and sweetly rest
On thy almighty Father's breast;
The bounties of his grace adore,
And count his wond'rous mercies o'er.

VIII. Thy mercy, Lord, preserv'd my breath,
And snatch'd my fainting soul from death,
Remov'd my sorrows, dry'd my tears.
And sav'd me from surrounding snares.

IX. Now I will walk before the Lord,
A living witness to his word;
With faith and pray'r I sought his face,
My griefs were great, and great his grace.

X. No meaner help, no mortal art,
Could ease the anguish of my heart;
My hasty tongue, in rash replies,
Pronounc'd the words of men but lies.

XI. What shall I render to the Lord?
Or how his wond'rous grace record?
To him my grateful voice I'll raise,
And pour libations to his praise.

XII. His crouded courts shall see me pay
The vows of my distressful day;
In life and death the saints shall find
Their guardian God for ever kind.

XIII. Thy servant, Lord, is wholly thine,
By nature's ties, and bonds divine;
From deep distress and sorrow free,
Anew I give myself to thee.

XIV. To thee, with sacrifice of praise,
My invocations I will raise;
To thee my vows shall warm ascend,
While crowds the solemn rites attend.

XV. O Salem, in thy sacred courts,
Where glory dwells and joy resorts,
To notes divine I'll tune the song,
And praise shall flow from ev'ry tongue.

Source: Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, Vol. 2 #222

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Author: Anne Steele

Anne Steele was the daughter of Particular Baptist preacher and timber merchant William Steele. She spent her entire life in Broughton, Hampshire, near the southern coast of England, and devoted much of her time to writing. Some accounts of her life portray her as a lonely, melancholy invalid, but a revival of research in the last decade indicates that she had been more active and social than what was previously thought. She was theologically conversant with Dissenting ministers and "found herself at the centre of a literary circle that included family members from various generations, as well as local literati." She chose a life of singleness to focus on her craft. Before Christmas in 1742, she declined a marriage proposal from contemporar… Go to person page >

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