Page:The poetical works of William Cowper (IA poeticalworksof00cowp).pdf/124

 For sure, of all the plants that share
 * The notice of thy Father's eye,

None proves less grateful to his care,
 * Or yields him meaner fruit than I.

strength of nature can suffice
 * To serve the Lord aright:

And what she has she misapplies,
 * For want of clearer light.

How long beneath the law I lay
 * In bondage and distress!

I toil'd the precept to obey,
 * But toil'd without success.

Then, to abstain from outward sin
 * Was more than I could do;

Now, if I feel its power within,
 * I feel I hate it too.

Then, all my servile works were done
 * A righteousness to raise;

Now, freely chosen in the Son,
 * I freely choose his ways.

"What shall I do," was then the word,
 * "That I may worthier grow?"

"What shall I render to the Lord?"
 * Is my inquiry now.

To see the law by Christ fulfill'd,
 * And hear his pardoning voice,

Changes a slave into a child,
 * And duty into choice.

enslaved me many years,
 * And led me bound and blind;

Till at length a thousand fears
 * Came swarming o'er my mind.

"Where," said I, in deep distress,
 * "Will these sinful pleasures end?

How shall I secure my peace,
 * And make the Lord my friend?"

Friends and ministers said much
 * The Gospel to enforce;

But my blindness still was such,
 * I chose a legal course:

Much I fasted, watched and strove,
 * Scarce would show my face abroad,

Feared almost to speak or move,
 * A stranger still to God.

Thus afraid to trust his grace,
 * Long time did I rebel;

Till despairing of my case,
 * Down at his feet I fell:

Then my stubborn heart he broke,
 * And subdued me to his sway;

By a simple word he spoke,
 * "Thy sins are done away."

Lord God! I love thy truth,
 * Nor dare thy least commandment slight;

Yet pierced by sin, the serpent's tooth,
 * I mourn the anguish of the bite.

But though the poison lurks within,
 * Hope bids me still with patience wait;

Till death shall set me free from sin,
 * Free from the only thing I hate.

Had I a throne above the rest,
 * Where angels and archangels dwell,

One sin, unslain, within my breast,
 * Would make that heaven as dark as hell.

The prisoner sent to breathe fresh air,
 * And blessed with liberty again,

Would mourn were he condemned to wear
 * One link of all his former chain.

But, oh! no foe invades the bliss,
 * When glory crowns the Christian's head;

One view of Jesus as he is
 * Will strike all sin for ever dead.

new-born child of Gospel grace, Like some fair tree when summer's nigh,
 * Beneath Emmanuel's shining face

Lifts up his blooming branch on high.