Adventist Pioneer Library

The Christian — Unfaithfulness Lamented

O thou whose mercy hears

  • No. 585
  • Words Anne Steele.
  • 5 stanzas
  • Words only in the original

Words

⤢ Full screen
1

O thou whose mercy hearsContrition's humble sigh,Whose hand indulgent wipes the tearsFrom Sorrow's weeping eye;—

2

See, at thy throne of grace,A wretched wanderer mourn:Hast thou not bid me seek thy face?Hast thou not said, "Return"?

3

Shall guilty fears prevailTo drive me from thy feet?O let not this last refuge fail,This only safe retreat.

4

Absent from thee, my Light,Without one cheering ray,Through dangers, fears, and gloomy night,How desolate my way!

5

On this benighted heartWith beams of mercy shine,And let thy voice again impartA taste of joy divine.

About this hymn

As printed Words only. As printed: hymn number «585» (large) with the reference line «89, 558, 736.» in italics beside it (sing to the tune of hymn 89, 558 or 736); stanzas 1–2 at the foot of the left column of p. 190 (below hymn 584), stanzas 3–5 at the top of the right column, «Anne Steele.» in italics at the end. The first word after «O», «THOU», is set in capitals and small capitals. The print sets a thin space before «;», «:», «?» and «!» («eye ;—», «mourn :», «face ?», «way !»); it is closed up here. The double quotation marks of stanza 2 are typographic in the print, written straight here. Lines 2 and 4 of each stanza are indented in the print. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's. No meter is printed (the text is S. M., 6.6.8.6).

Source
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1886/1888)
Where
The Christian — Unfaithfulness Lamented · No. 585 · printed page 190
Checked
lyrics verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-10-01