A Prayer, Against The Oppression Of One's Foe. Poem by Rees Prichard

Awake, awake, why wilt thou sleep, my God!
Never before hast thou been known to nod!
Thou art not Baal! - thy assistance give,
And from this sore distress my soul relieve!

Wipe off my tears, destroy each wily snare,
Preserve my soul, and blunt each keen-edg'd care;
Behold my woes, my piteous wailings hear,
Judge thou my cause, and then thy servant clear.

Thou art my rock, let me not tumble down -
Thou art my fort, let me not be o'erthrown -
My Lord! my God! to my assistance haste,
And let me not be over-pow'r'd at last!

Omnipotent thou art, and help canst give,
All-wise, and therefore know'st how to relieve;
O Sire of Mercy! quickly me redress,
For thou'rt a present aid in each distress.

My adversaries' full-swoll'n pride abate,
Assuage their malice, and their causeless hate,
Confound the schemes of the blood-thirsty train,
And, for Christ's sake, relieve me from my pain.

O God! my Rock, my Refuge, and my Fort,
O God! my Health, my Trust, and my Support,
Lend thou an ear, and listen to the cries,
Of one, that in the deepest trouble lies!

Thou hast permitted my invet'rate foes,
Without a cause, to multiply my woes,
And bring my days entirely to an end,
If thou dost not in time assistance lend.

Thou gavest foreigners, without controul,
A full permission to destroy my soul,
And them, with whom I'm unacquainted still,
Leave to despoil, and load me with each ill.

They, that I'm quite a stranger to - and they
Whom I did never injure, or gainsay,
With those, on whom I never cast my eyes,
Attempt to make my precious soul their prize.

They have, O God! thy servant's soul ensnar'd,
And, to destroy me, fully are prepar'd,
Unless my wrongs thou speedest to redress,
And to deliver me from my distress.

Awake, my only Saviour - ope thine eyes,
My Bark in great distress and danger lies;
Rebuke, O Lord! the wind and raging main,
Or I shall soon beneath its waves be lain.

Let not my ship be shatter'd by the sea,
Be thou my haven, thou my anchor be,
Still thou the storm, that rages o'er my head,
Lend me thy hand, or I shall sink like lead.

Thou hast commanded me to come to thee,
My kind protector, in adversity;
To thee I come, O God! with woes oppress'd:
O, let my grievances be now redress'd!

Thou promised'st to hear my plaintive cry,
Whene'er I call'd to thee in misery,
To thee, O Lord! I daily call amain:
O rescue me from ev'ry woe and pain!

The pray'r of Jonah thou didst hear of yore,
Before the whale disgorg'd him on the shore,
From all his griefs thou didst the Seer relieve:
Hear then my plaint, and thy assistance give!

Thou David erst from Saul's assaults didst free,
When thro' the deserts he was forc'd to flee:
Deliver me, O Lord! from all my woes,
And from the hands of my insulting foes.

Elijah, thou didst safe, from Israel's king,
And from a graceless woman's malice, bring:
Rescue thou me from each corroding grief,
And send me from my bloody foes relief!

Thou erst with pleasing looks and language mild,
Didst treat the sire of the demoniac child:
Like pity, O my God! on me bestow,
Who for thy aid with equal ardor glow!

To her of Cana, thou didst mercy show,
Only because she importun'd thee so:
To me, like succour, O my God! impart,
Since equal zeal with her's inflames my heart!

Since none on earth the dragon can restrain,
And the invader of my peace enchain:
Yet thou, O Lord! his scaly crest canst low'r,
Thou, Lord! canst bind him, thou canst quite o'erpow'r.

Take up thy spear, and rise to fight my foes,
With it, their long-extended ranks oppose,
Blast their vain schemes, their hostile bands disarm,
Nor suffer them to do me any harm.

Let thou thy angel scatter them abroad,
That wou'd distress thy servant, O my God!
Thy swift-wing'd shafts to their destruction send,
Who fain wou'd bring my life unto an end.

Thou, at thy pleasure, canst thy servant free,
Thou from my troubles canst deliver me,
Do thou then, in compassion, comfort give,
And me, by any means, from death reprieve.

Let not my soul be by the foe devour'd,
Let not me be confounded, or o'erpow'r'd,
Let not the world, and all its worldlings say,
That I'm become their victim or their prey.

Shew me some gracious token from above,
Some token of thy goodness and thy love,
That all the wond'ring world around, may see
How much, O God! how well, thou lovest me!

I ask no aid from any earthly thing,
From any prince, proud potentate, or king,
I ask no aid, but from th' Almighty's throne,
Who is my Keeper and my God, alone.

Do not, O God! my trusting heart deceive;
For I, in thee, and thee alone, believe:
Bring me salvation from thy holy hill,
For I, on thee, place my affiance still.

Do not, O God! my trusting heart deceive;
For I, in thee, and thee alone, believe:
Come then, O Lord! with comfort to my soul,
Nor long, for it, let my strain'd eyeballs roll!

Come, Lord! to my assistance, come with speed,
Come, save my soul, now in the time of need,
That I of thee in joyful strains may sing,
For the assistance thou didst deign to bring!