Verse 1
Christ our merciful High-priest,
With thy people’s grief distrest,
Help us for our guide to pray
Lost in his mistaken way:

Verse 2
By a show of good misled
Lest he farther shoud proceed,
Stop, restrain him, and defend,
Till the hour of darkness end.

Verse 3
Hide him from the thing design’d
Not according to thy mind;
Save him from the purpos’d Ill
After his, but not thy will.

Verse 4
We, alas, can nothing do,
But present him to thy view,
Weeping at thy feet complain
All the help of man is vain.

Verse 5
Gainst the truth he stops his ears,
Will not see his children’s tears,
Shuts his eyes against the light,
Sure, that He alone is right

Verse 6
Whom we cannot undeceive,
Lord, we to thy mercy leave;
Seize him for thy mercy’s sake,
Bring our wandring Shepherd back.

Verse 7
We concerning this agree
In thy Name to ask of Thee,
Pity on thy Servant show,
Show him what he dreads to know.

Verse 8
Of his ignorance convince,
Of his least-suspected sins,
Zeal, a name and sect to raise,
Love of power, and thirst of praise.

Verse 9
Mov’d by our united prayer
Pluck his feet out of the snare,
Guide of our bewilder’d guide,
Save him from the gulph of pride;

Verse 10
Rescu’d by Thy Spirit’s groans
Pleading in his pious Sons,
Led to his Reward above,
Thro’ the path of humble Love.