1 O THAT I could repent!
O that I could believe!
Thou by thy voice the marble rent,
The rock in sunder cleave!
Thou, by thy two-edged sword,
My soul and spirit part,
Strike with the hammer of thy word,
And break my stubborn heart!
2 Saviour, and Prince of peace,
The double grace bestow;
Unloose the bands of wickedness,
And let the captive go:
Grant me my sins to feel,
And then the load remove:
Wound, and pour in, my wounds to heal,
The balm of pardoning love.
3 For thy own mercy's sake
The cursed thing remove;
And into thy protection take
The prisoner of thy love:
In every trying hour
Stand by my feeble soul;
And screen me from my nature's power,
Till thou hast made me whole.
4 This is thy will, I know,
That I should holy be,
Should let my sin this moment go,
This moment turn to thee:
O might I now embrace
Thy all-sufficient power;
And never more to sin give place,
And never grieve thee more!