Olney Hymn 11: Jehovah Our Righteousness

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



My God, how perfect are Thy ways!
But mine polluted are;
Sin twines itself about my praise,
And slides into my prayer.

When I would speak what Thou hast done
To save me from my sin,
I cannot make Thy mercies known,
But self-applause creeps in.

Divine desire, that holy flame
Thy grace creates in me;
Alas! impatience is its name,
When it returns to Thee.

This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts.
How does it overflow,
While self upon the surface floats,
Still bubbling from below.

Let others in the gaudy dress
Of fancied merit shine;
The Lord shall be my righteousness,
The Lord forever mine.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
68

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXAX XBXB CDCD XEXE XFXF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 601
Words 109
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

William Cowper

William Macquarie Cowper was an Australian Anglican archdeacon and Dean of Sydney. more…

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

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