When op­pressed with sore af­flict­ion,
In the sac­red word I find
Antidotes against de­ject­ion,
Sovereign balm to heal the mind;
As I turn the vol­ume ov­er,
And ex­plore each am­ple page,
Treasures new I oft dis­co­ver
Which my warm­est thoughts en­gage.

But at times, alas, I wan­der,
Seem to read the word in vain,
And too oft that time I squan­der,
When true wis­dom I might gain,
Pardon, Lord, my in­at­ten­tion,
Sacred en­er­gy im­part,
To re­store from this de­clen­sion,
My de­ceit­ful, wan­der­ing heart.

Shed on me Thy rays trans­port­ing,
Dissipate the gloom with­in,
May I to Thy word re­sort­ing,
Rescued be from ev­ery sin;
Let the joys of Thy sal­va­tion,
Ever hence my pow­ers en­gage,
Send Thy truth to ev­ery na­tion,
Bid it shine from age to age.