With Firm Resolve I Held My Peace

With firm re­solve I held my peace

And spake not ei­ther bad or good

Lest I should ut­ter sin­ful thoughts

While wick­ed men be­fore me stood.

While I was dumb my grief was stirred

My heart grew hot with thought sup­pressed;

The while I mused the fire in­creased

Then to the Lord I made re­quest.

Make me

O Lord

to know my end

Teach me the mea­sure of my days

That I may know how frail I am

And turn from pride and sin­ful ways.

My time is no­thing in Thy sight

Behold

my days are but a span;

Yea

truly

at his best es­tate

A breath

a fleet­ing breath

is man.

Man’s life is passed in vain de­sire

If trou­bled years be spent for gain;

He knows not whose his wealth shall be

And all his toil is but in vain.

And now

O Lord

what wait I for?

I have no hope ex­cept in Thee;

Let not un­god­ly men re­proach

From all trans­gress­ions set me free.

Because Thou didst it I was dumb

I spoke no word of rash com­plaint;

Remove Thy stroke away from me

Beneath Thy chas­tise­ment I faint.

When Thou for his ini­qui­ty

Rebukest and cor­rect­est man

His beau­ty is con­sumed away;

How weak his strength

how vain his plan.

Lord

hear my pray­er

re­gard my cry;

I weep; be Thou my Com­fort­er.

I am a strang­er here be­low

A pil­grim as my fa­thers were.

O spare me

Lord

avert Thy wrath

Deal gent­ly with me

I im­plore

That I may yet re­co­ver strength

Ere I go hence and be no more.