My soul is sad and much dismayed;

The words

1. 1

   Stanza 1. 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!

2. 2

   Stanza 2. See, from the over–burning lakeHow like a smoky cloud they rise!With horrid blasts my soul they shake,With storms of blasphemies and lies.

3. 3

   Stanza 3. Their fiery arrows reach the mark,My throbbing heart with anguish tear;Each lights upon a kindred spark,And finds abundant fuel there.

4. 4

   Stanza 4. 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!

5. 5

   Stanza 5. Come then, and chase the cruel host,Heal the deep wounds I have received!Nor let the pow’rs of darkness boastThat I am foiled, and thou art grieved!

Olney Hymns (1779), Book 3, Hymn 20. William Cowper. Public domain. CCEL transcription with modernized spelling. www.praylock.com/olney-hymns/3-20