The words
Stanza 1. Encouraged by thy wordOf promise to the poor;Behold, a beggar, LORD,Waits at thy mercy’s door!No hand, no heart, O LORD, but thine,Can help or pity wants like mine.
Stanza 2. The beggar’s usual pleaRelief from men to gain,If offered unto thee,I know thou would’st disdain:And pleas which move thy gracious ear,Are such as men would scorn to hear.
Stanza 3. I have no right to sayThat though I now am poor,Yet once there was a dayWhen I possessed more:Thou know’st that from my very birth,I’ve been the poorest wretch on earth.
Stanza 4. Nor can I dare profess,As beggars often do,Though great is my distress,My wants have been but few:If thou shouldst leave my soul to starve,It would be what I well deserve.
Stanza 5. ’Twere folly to pretendI never begged before;Or if thou now befriend,I’ll trouble thee no more:Thou often hast relieved my pain,And often I must come again.
Stanza 6. Though crumbs are much too goodFor such a dog as I;No less than children’s foodMy soul can satisfy:O do not frown and bid me go,I must have all thou canst bestow.
Stanza 7. Nor can I willing beThy bounty to concealFrom others, who like me,Their wants and hunger feel:I’ll tell them of thy mercy’s store,And try to send a thousand more.
Stanza 8. Thy thoughts, thou only wise!Our thoughts and ways transcend,Far as the arched skiesAbove the earth extend:Such pleas as mine men would not bear,But God receives a beggar’s prayer.
Olney Hymns (1779), Book 1, Hymn 81. John Newton. Public domain. CCEL transcription with modernized spelling. www.praylock.com/olney-hymns/1-81
