Of old.

ANON.

Penitential Prayer

Forth flies my soul, upborne by hope untiring,
The land of rest, the spring of life desiring,
Unto the heavenly dwelling-place aspiring,
To seek its peace by day and night.

My spirit does God's majesty adore,
And without wings shall to His presence soar,
There to behold His glory evermore,
At dawn, at noonday, and at night.

On all His works mine eye in wonder gazes,
And heavenward an eager look upraises;
Day unto day proclaims its Maker's praises,
And night declares them unto night.

Thy loving-kindness is my lifelong guide,
But often from Thy path I've turned aside.
O Lord, how hast Thou searched my heart and tried
My inmost thoughts at dead of night!

Sleepless upon my bed the hours I number,
And, rising, seek the house of God, while slumber
Lies heavy on men's eyes, and dreams encumber
Their souls in visions of the night.

In sin and folly passed my early years,
Wherefore I am ashamed, and life's arrears
Now strive to pay, the while my bitter tears
Have been my food by day and night.

Pent in the body's cage, pure child of heaven,
Bethink thee, life but as a bridge is given.
Awake, arise, to praise God gladly, even
In the first hours of the night.

Haste then, pure heart, to break sin's deadly sway,
And seek the path of righteousness alway;
For all our years are but as yesterday--
Soon past, and as a watch at night.

Short is man's life, and full of care and sorrow,
This way and that he turns some ease to borrow,
Like to a flower he blooms, and on the morrow
Is gone--a vision of the night.

How does the weight of sin my soul oppress!
Because God's law too often I transgress;
I mourn and sigh: with tears of bitterness
My bed I water all the night.

I rise at dawn and still the salt stream flows,
My heart's blood would I shed to find repose;
But when my soul is downcast with my woes,
I will recall my prayer at night.

My youth wanes like a shadow that is cast,
Swifter than eagles' wings my years fly fast,
And I remember not my gladness past,
Either by day or yet by night.

Proclaim we then a fast, a holy day,
Make pure our hearts from sin, God's will obey,
And unto Him, with humble spirits, pray