Poem by William Cowper

Olney Hymn 39. The Valley of the Shadow of Death

My soul is sad, and much dismay'd;
    See, Lord, what legions of my foes, 
With fierce Apollyon at their head,
    My heavenly pilgrimage oppose.

See, from the ever-burning lake,
    How like a smoky cloud they rise! 
With horrid blasts my soul they shake,
    With storms of blasphemies and lies.

Their fiery arrows reach the mark,
    My throbbing heart with anguish tear; 
Each lights upon a kindred spark,
    And finds abundant fuel there.

I hate the thought that wrongs the Lord;
    Oh! I would drive it from my breast, 
With Thy own sharp two-edged sword,
    Far as the east is from the west.

Come, then, and chase the cruel host,
    Heal the deep wounds I have received! 
Nor let the power of darkness boast
    That I am foil'd, and Thou art grieved!

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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