Poem by William Cowper

Olney Hymn 11. Jehovah Our Righteousness

    (Jeremiah, xxiii.6)

    My God, how perfect are Thy ways!
        But mine polluted are; 
    Sin twines itself about my praise,
        And slides into my prayer.

    When I would speak what Thou hast done
        To save me from my sin, 
    I cannot make Thy mercies known,
        But self-applause creeps in.

    Divine desire, that holy flame
        Thy grace creates in me; 
    Alas! impatience is its name,
        When it returns to Thee.

    This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts.
        How does it overflow, 
    While self upon the surface floats,
        Still bubbling from below.

    Let others in the gaudy dress
        Of fancied merit shine; 
    The Lord shall be my righteousness,
        The Lord forever mine. 

1. Olney Hymn 4. Jehovah-Nissi. The Lord My Banner
2. See Where the Thames, the Purest Stream
3. An Apology for Not Showing Her What I Had Wrote
4. Olney Hymn 55. The Heart Healed and Changed by Mercy
5. Olney Hymn 32. The Shining Light

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