Scripture Verse

When I was in distress, I sought the Lord. Psalm 77:2

Introduction

portrait
James Montgomery (1771–1854)
National Portrait Gallery

button

Words: James Mont­go­me­ry, in Se­lect­ion of Psalms and Hymns, by Tho­mas Cot­ter­ill (Lon­don: 1819).

Music: Au­re­lia Sam­uel S. Wes­ley, in A Se­lect­ion of Psalms and Hymns, by Charles Kem­ble (Lon­don: John F. Shaw, 1864), num­ber 122 (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Samuel S. Wesley (1810–1876)

Lyrics

In time of tribulation,
Hear, Lord, my feeble cries;
With humble supplication
To Thee my spirit flies;
My heart with grief is breaking,
Scarce can my voice complain;
Mine eyes with tears kept waking,
Still watch and weep in vain.

The days of old, in vision,
Bring banished bliss to view;
The years of lost fruition,
Their joys in pangs renew;
Remembered songs of gladness,
Through nights lone silence brought,
Strike notes of deeper sadness,
And stir desponding thought.

Hath God cast off for­ev­er?
Can time His truth impair?
His tender mercy ne­ver
Shall I presume to share?
Hath He His loving kindness
Shut up in endless wrath?
No; this is mine own blindness,
That cannot see His path.

I call to recollection
The years of His right hand;
And, strong in His protection,
Again through faith I stand;
Thy deeds, O Lord, are wondrous;
Holy are all Thy ways;
The secret place of thunder
Shall utter forth Thy praise.

Thee, with the tribes assembled,
O God, the billows saw;
They saw Thee, and they trembled,
Turned, and stood still with awe;
The clouds shot hail and lightning;
The earth reeled to and fro;
Thy fiery pillar brightened
The gulf of gloom below.

Thy way is in great waters,
Thy footsteps are not known;
Let Ad­am’s sons and daughters
Confide in Thee alone:
Through the wild sea Thou leadest
Thy chosen flock of yore;
Still on the waves Thou treadest,
And Thy redeemed pass o’er.