Hymn 40
The Valley of the Shadow of Death
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 heav’nly 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 receiv’d!
Nor let the pow’rs of darkness boast
That I am foil’d, and thou art griev’d!