He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against Him, and hath prospered?
Job 9:4
Words: Philip Doddridge (1702–1751). Published posthumously in Hymns Founded on Various Texts in the Holy Scriptures, by Job Orton (Shropshire, England: Joshua Eddowes & John Cotton, 1755), number 26: The impossibility of prospering while we harden ourselves against God.
Music: Arizona Robert H. Earnshaw, in The Book of Praise (Toronto, Ontario: Oxford University Press, 1918) (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Earnshaw (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
The great Jehovah! Who shall dare
With Him attempt unequal war?
What heart of steel shall dare t’oppose,
And league among His hardened foes?
At His command the lightnings dart,
And swift transfix the rebel heart;
Earth trembles at His look, and cleaves,
And legions sink in living graves.
Where are the haughty monarchs now,
Who scorned His word with lowering brow?
Where are the trophies of their reigns?
Or where the ruin’s last remains?
See Pharaoh sinking in the tide!
See Babel’s tyrant, mad with pride,
Graze with the beasts! Hear Herod roar,
While worms his deity devour!
See, from the turrets of the skies,
Tall cherubs sink, no more to rise;
And trace their rank on thrones of light,
By heavier chains, and darker night.
Great God! and shall this soul of mine
Presume to challenge wrath divine?
Trembling I seek Thy mercy-seat,
And lay my weapons at Thy feet.