1. In grief and fear, to thee, O Lord,
We now for succor fly;
Thine awful judgments are abroad,
O shield us, lest we die.
2. O look with pity on the scene
Of sadness and of dread;
And let thine angel stand between
The living and the dead.
3. With contrite hearts to thee, our King,
We turn who oft have strayed;
Accept the sacrifice we bring,
And let the plague be stayed.
First Line: | In grief and fear to Thee, O Lord |
Author: | William Bullock (1854) |
Language: | English |
Notes: | Polish translation: See "Idż, osusz łzy swoje" by Paweł Sikora |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
In grief and fear, to Thee, O Lord. W. Bullock. [In time of Trouble.] Appeared in his Songs of the Church, Halifax, N. Scotia, 1854, pp. 221-222, in 5 lines of 4 stanzas, entitled, "The Church in Plague or Pestilence," and based upon the words, "God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble." In 1861 it was given in Hymns Ancient & Modern; in 1863 in Kennedy, and again in many other collections, and usually with the omission of stanza iii., which reads:-—
"Our sins Thy dreadful anger raise,
Our deeds Thy wrath deserve; But we repent, and from Thy ways
We never more will swerve."
The Hymns Ancient & Modern text, with stanza i., line 3, thus: "And while Thy judgments are abroad," and the stanza above quoted, will give the original text. Its use is somewhat extensive.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)