Poem by William Cowper

Olney Hymn 12. Ephraim Repenting

     (Jeremiah, xxxi. 18-20)

    My God, till I received Thy stroke,
        How like a beast was I! 
    So unaccustom'd to the yoke,
        So backward to comply.

    With grief my just reproach I hear;
        Shame fills me at the thought, 
    How frequent my rebellions were,
        What wickedness I wrought.

    Thy merciful restraint I scorn'd,
        And left the pleasant road; 
    Yet turn me, and I shall be turn'd;
        Thou art the Lord my God.

    "Is Ephraim banish'd from my thoughts,
        Or vile in my esteem? 
    No," saith the Lord, "with all his faults,
        I still remember him.

    "Is he a dear and pleasant child?
        Yes, dear and pleasant still; 
    Though sin his foolish heart beguiled,
        And he withstood my will.

    "My sharp rebuke has laid him low,
        He seeks my face again; 
    My pity kindles at his woe,
        He shall not seek in vain." 

1. Olney Hymn 4. Jehovah-Nissi. The Lord My Banner
2. See Where the Thames, the Purest Stream
3. An Ode, on Reading Mr. Richardson's History of Sir Charles Grandison
4. Olney Hymn 24. Prayer for Children
5. An Apology for Not Showing Her What I Had Wrote

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