Merciful God, to Thee We Cry

Merciful God

to Thee we cry

O think up­on us

or we die

The ever-liv­ing death!

Lo! by a migh­ty tem­pest tossed

Our ship with­out Thine aid is lost

Lost in the gulf be­neath.

The mar­in­ers are struck with fear

And shud­der at de­struct­ion near

So high the bil­lows swell;

Ready to o’er­whelm our shat­tered state

Thy judg­ments fall with all their weight

To crush us in­to hell.

Ah! where­fore is this ev­il come?

Show us

om­ni­sci­ent God

for whom

Thy plagues our Church be­fall:

Give

while we ask

a right­eous lot

And let the guil­ty soul be caught

Who brings Thy curse on all.

With trem­bling awe we hum­bly pray

Now

now the sec­ret cause dis­play

Of our ca­la­mi­ty

Whose sins have brought Thy judg­ments down!

Alas

my God

the cause I own

The lot is fall­en on me!

I am the man

the Jo­nas I

For me the work­ing waves run high

For me the curse takes place;

I have in­creased the na­tion’s load

I have called down the wrath of God

On all our help­less race.

With guil­ty un­be­liev­ing dread

Long have I from His pre­sence fled

And shunned the sight of Heav­en;

In vain the par­don­ing God pur­sued

I would not be by grace sub­dued

I would not be for­giv­en.

I know the tem­pest roars for me

Till I am cast in­to the sea

Its rage can nev­er cease:

Here then I to my doom sub­mit

Do with me as Thy will sees fit

But give Thy peo­ple peace.

Save

Je­su

save the sink­ing ship

And lo! I plunge in­to the deep

Of all Thy judg­ments here;

I fall be­neath Thy threat­en­ings

Lord

But let my soul

at last re­stored

Before Thy face ap­pear.

Beneath Thine an­ger’s pre­sent weight

I sink

and on­ly dep­re­cate

Thy sor­er wrath to come:

Give me at last in Thee a part

And now

in mer­cy

now avert

The guil­ty na­tion’s doom.

O bid the ang­ry waves sub­side

Into a calm the tem­pest chide

By Thy su­preme com­mand:

Thou in our brok­en ship re­main

Till ev­ery soul the har­bor gain

And reach the heav’n­ly land.