Jehovah, to my prayer give ear,
Nor hide Thee from my cry;
Attend my sad complaint, and hear
My restless moan and sigh.
My enemies lift up their voice,
The violent oppress;
To do me wrong my foes rejoice,
And love my soul’s distress.

Sore pained in heart I find no ease,
Death’s terrors fill my soul,
Great fear and trembling on me seize,
And horrors o’er me roll.
O had I wings, I sigh and say,
Like some swift dove to roam,
Then I would hasten far away
And a find a peaceful home.

Lo, wandering far, my rest would be
In some lone desert waste;
I from the stormy wind would flee,
And to a shelter haste.
O Lord, their malice recompense
Their wicked tongues confound,
For in the city violence
And bitter strife abound.

They walk her walls both night and day,
Within all vices meet;
Oppression, fraud and crime hold sway,
Nor leave the crowded street.
No foreign foe provokes alarm,
But enemies within;
May God destroy their power to harm
And recompense their sin.

O God, give Thou ear to my plea,
And hide not Thyself from my cry;
O hearken and answer Thou me,
As restless and weary I sigh.

O that I had wings like a dove,
For then I would fly far away
And seek for the rest that I love,
Where trouble no more could dismay.

Nay, soul, call on God all the day;
The Lord for thy help will appear;
At eve, morn, and noon humbly pray,
And He thy petition will hear.

Thy burden now cast on the Lord,
And He shall thy weakness sustain;
The righteous who trust in His Word
Unmoved shall forever remain.