Awake, my soul, to joyful lays,
And sing thy great Redeemer’s praise;
He justly claims a song from me,
His loving-kindness O how free!
He saw me ruin’d in the fall,
Yet lov’d me, notwithstanding all;
He sav’d me from my lost estate;
His loving-kindness O how great!
Tho’ numerous hosts of mighty foes,
Tho’ earth and hell my way oppose,
He safely leads my soul along,
His loving-kindness O how strong!
When trouble, like a gloomy cloud,
Has gather’d thick, and thunder’d loud,
He near my soul has always stood,
His loving-kindness O how good!
Often I feel my sinful heart
Prone from my Jesus to depart;
But tho’ I have him oft forgot,
His loving-kindness changes not.
Soon shall I pass the gloomy vale,
Soon all my mortal powers must fail;
O! may my last expiring breath
His loving-kindness sing in death.
Then let me mount and soar away,
To the bright worlds of endless day,
And sing with rapture and surprise,
His loving-kindness in the skies.
–Samuel Medley (1738 – 1799)