Psalm 71:3 Third Part [God Of My Childhood And My Youth]
by
Psalm 71:3. 17-21. Third Part
The aged Christian’s prayer and song; or,
Old age, death, and the resurrection.
God of my childhood and my youth,
The guide of all my days,
I have declar’d thy heavenly truth,
And told thy wondrous ways.
Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs,
And leave my fainting heart?
Who shall sustain my sinking years
If God my strength depart?
Let me thy power and truth proclaim
To the surviving age,
And leave a savour of thy Name
When I shall quit the stage.
The land of silence and of death
Attends my next remove;
O may these poor remains of breath
Teach the wide world thy love.
PAUSE.
Thy righteousness is deep and high,
Unsearchable thy deeds;
Thy glory spreads beyond the sky,
And all my praise exceeds.
Oft have I heard thy threatenings roar,
And oft endur’d the grief;
But when thy hand has press’d me sore,
Thy grace was my relief.
By long experience have I known
Thy sovereign power to save;
At thy command I venture down
Securely to the grave.
When I lie buried deep in dust,
My flesh shall be thy care
These withering limbs with thee I trust
To raise them strong and fair.