Scripture Verse

They had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. Revelation 9:11

Introduction

illustration
Angel with the Key to the Bottomless Pit
Albrecht Dürer
1471–1528

Words: Will­iam Cow­per, Ol­ney Hymns (Lon­don: W. Ol­iv­er, 1779), Book 3, num­ber 20. The val­ley of the sha­dow of death.

Music: Ab­bots­ford Ca­tho­lische geist­liche Ge­sänge (An­der­nach, Ger­ma­ny: 1608) (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

portrait
William Cowper
1731–1800

Lyrics

My soul is sad and much dismayed;
See, Lord, what legions of my foes,
With fierce Apollyon at their head,
My heav’nly pilgrimage oppose!

See, from the over-burning lake
How like a smoky cloud they rise!
With horrid blasts my soul they shake,
With storms of blasphemies and lies.

Their fiery arrows reach the mark,
My throbbing heart with anguish tear;
Each lights upon a kindred spark,
And finds abundant fuel there.

I hate the thought that wrongs the Lord;
O, I would drive it from my breast,
With Thy own sharp two-edged sword,
Far as the east is from the west!

Come then, and chase the cruel host,
Heal the deep wounds I have received!
Nor let the powers of darkness boast
That I am foiled, and Thou art grieved!