The church’s prayer under affliction; or, The vineyard of God wasted.
Great Shepherd of thine Israel,
Who didst between the cherubs dwell,
And lead the tribes, thy chosen sheep,
Safe through the desert and the deep;
Thy church is in the desert now,
Shine from on high and guide us through;
Turn us to thee, thy love restore,
We shall be saved and sigh no more.
Great God, whom heav’nly hosts obey,
How long shall we lament and pray,
And wait in vain thy kind return?
How long shall thy fierce anger burn?
Instead of wine and cheerful bread
Thy saints with their own tears are fed:
Turn us to thee, thy love restore,
We shall be saved, and sigh no more.
PAUSE I.
Hast thou not planted with thy hands
A lovely vine in heathen lands?
Did not thy power defend it round,
And heav’nly dews enrich the ground?
How did the spreading branches shoot,
And bless the nations with the fruit!
But now, dear Lord, look down and see
Thy mourning vine, that lovely tree.
Why is its beauty thus defaced?
Why hast thou laid her fences waste?
Strangers and foes against her join,
And every beast devours the vine.
Return, Almighty God, return,
Nor let thy bleeding vineyard mourn;
Turn us to thee, thy love restore,
We shall be saved, and sigh no more.
PAUSE II.
Lord, when this vine in Canaan grew,
Thou wast its strength and glory too;
Attacked in vain by all its foes,
Till the fair Branch of Promise rose:
Fair Branch, ordained of old to shoot
From David’s stock, from Jacob’s root;
Himself a noble vine, and we
The lesser branches of the tree.
‘Tis thy own Son; and he shall stand
Girt with thy strength at thy right hand;
Thy first-born Son, adorned and blest
With power and grace above the rest.
O for his sake attend our cry,
Shine on thy churches lest they die;
Turn us to thee, thy love restore,
We shall be saved, and sigh no more.
(Isaac Watts)
More Poetry from Isaac Watts:
Isaac Watts Poems based on Topics: God, Love, Christianity, Sons, Cry, Nature, Fairness, Promise, Obedience, Wine- Cradle Hymn (Isaac Watts Poems)
- Hymn 69 (Isaac Watts Poems)
- Hymn 117 (Isaac Watts Poems)
- Psalm 10 (Isaac Watts Poems)
- Psalm 78 part 4 (Isaac Watts Poems)
- Hymn 37 part 2 (Isaac Watts Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Love Poems, God Poems, Nature Poems, Fairness Poems, Christianity Poems, Cry Poems, Sons Poems, Wine Poems, Promise Poems, Obedience PoemsBased on Keywords: cherubs, defaced, canaan
- Lamia. Part I (John Keats Poems)
- A Poem On The African Slave Trade. Addressed To Her Own Sex. Part I (Mary Birkett Card Poems)
- The Believer's Espousals : Chapter III. (Ralph Erskine Poems)
- Contest Between Beauty And Wealth, (Mary Abel Clinckett Poems)
- Advice To Ev'ry Master Of A Family, To Govern His House In A Religious Manner (Rees Prichard Poems)