How Helpless Guilty Nature Lies

How help­less guil­ty na­ture lies

Unconscious of its load!

The heart

un­changed

can nev­er rise

To hap­pi­ness and God.

Can aught

be­neath a pow­er di­vine

The stub­born will sub­due?

’Tis Thine

al­migh­ty Spir­it! Thine

To form the heart anew.

’Tis Thine

the pas­sions to re­call

And up­ward bid them rise;

To make the scales of er­ror fall

From rea­son’s dark­ened eyes;

To chase the shades of death away

And bid the sin­ner live;

A beam of Heav’n

a vi­tal ray

’Tis Thine alone to give.

O change these wretch­ed hearts of ours

And give them life di­vine;

Then shall our pas­sions and our pow­ers

Almighty Lord! be Thine.