Classic and Contemporary Poetry
PSALM 141, by SIDNEY GODOLPHIN Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Lord, hear the prayer thou dost inspire Last Line: Who these malicious dangers set. | ||||||||
LORD, hear the Prayer thou dost inspire, O Lord, direct both my desire, And the success; O may my cries, Like thy commanded incense, rise On precious sweetness; may my prayer Be purer than the common air: May it be like the offering, Which thankful souls at evening bring, When they unfeigned devotions pay, For the past dangers of the day: Let nothing (henceforth) that is vain My consecrated lips profane. Hallow my heart, and guard the door, Make me thy Temple evermore; Let not the beauty of a sin Tempt me to let such poison in; Nor let the erring multitude, For company, my soul delude; Let me not perish, in their praise, But let the righteous, in thy ways Guide me, and may I thank the hand, Although severed, by which I stand: But let not precious balms be spilt, Only to search not heal the guilt; Give me the ballast of just fear, But do not sink me in despair: Grant rather that I may extend My prayers for others, that the end Even of the wicked may prevent Their everlasting punishment: They to my words will give arresse, When broken by their wickedness, Fall'n from the heights they stood upon Built in Imagination. Are we not all already dead? Are we not like bones scattered Before the grave's mouth, spent and worn, Seized by a long corruption? Lord, from this grave I turn mine eye To thy blest immortality; O may the soul thou didst create, Praise thee in her eternal state; Guide me through all the treachery, And snares of my mortality; Let not my soul be made their prey, Who strew temptations in my way, But be they caught in their own net, Who these malicious dangers set. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A DIALOGUE BETWEEN A LOVER AND HIS MISTRESS by SIDNEY GODOLPHIN A FAREWELL by SIDNEY GODOLPHIN ELEGIE ON D.D. by SIDNEY GODOLPHIN |
|