In All My Vast Concerns with Thee

In all my vast con­cerns with Thee

In vain my soul would try

To shun Thy pre­sence

Lord

or flee

The no­tice of Thine eye.

Thy all-sur­round­ing sight sur­veys

My ris­ing and my rest

My pub­lic walks

my pri­vate ways

And sec­rets of my breast.

My thoughts lie op­en to the Lord

Before they’re formed with­in;

And ere my lips pro­nounce the word

He knows the sense I mean.

O won­drous know­ledge

deep and high!

Where can a crea­ture hide?

Within Thy circ­ling arms I lie

Beset on ev­ery side.

So let Thy grace sur­round me still

And like a bul­wark prove

To guard my soul from ev­ery ill

Secured by sov­er­eign love.

Lord

where shall guil­ty souls re­tire

Forgotten and un­known?

In hell they meet Thy dread­ful fire

In Heav’n Thy glo­ri­ous throne.

Should I sup­press my vi­tal breath

To ’scape the wrath di­vine

Thy voice would break the bars of death

And make the grave re­sign.

If winged with beams of morn­ing light

I fly be­yond the west

Thy hand

which must sup­port my flight

Would soon be­tray my rest.

If o’er my sins I think to draw

The cur­tains of the night

Those flam­ing eyes that guard Thy law

Would turn the shades to light.

The beams of moon

the mid­night hour

Are both alike to Thee:

O may I ne’er pro­voke that pow­er

From which I can­not flee!