Praying for a Blessing

Come, O thou all-victorious Lord,
Thy power to us make known;
Strike with the hammer of thy word, (Jer. 23:29)
And break these hearts of stone.

O that we all might now begin
Our foolishness to mourn,
And turn at once from every sin, (Ezek. 18:30)
And to our Saviour turn.

Give us ourselves and thee to know
In this our gracious day;
Repentance unto life bestow, (Acts 11:18)
And take our sins away.

Conclude us first in unbelief, (Rom. 11:32)
And freely then release;
Fill every soul with sacred grief,
And then with sacred peace.

Impoverish, Lord, and then relieve, (1 Sam. 2:7)
And then enrich the poor;
The knowledge of our sickness give,
The knowledge of our cure.

That blessed sense of guilt impart,
And then remove the load;
Trouble, and wash the troubled heart (John 5:4)
In the atoning blood.

Our desperate state through sin declare,
And speak our sins forgiven; (Matt. 9:2)
By perfect holiness prepare,
And take us up to heaven.