Verse 1
Wretched Sinner that I am,
What doth all my Strife avail?
Sin, my dire Reproach, and Shame,
Character indelible
Can my utmost Powers erase,
Can my Tears, or Blood deface?
Verse 2
Lo! the Beastly Mark is seen
Lo! the Inbred Sin is found,
Written with an Iron Pen,
With a pointed Diamond,
Deep engrav’d by hellish Art
On the Marble of my Heart
Verse 3
Forty long and mournful years
Have I strove to purge the Stain:
Still it mocks my ceaseless Tears,
Baffles all my Efforts vain:
Lord, at last to Thee I fly,
Help, or I forever die.
Verse 4
Faith I surely have in Thee,
Sins Thou canst forgive below,
Red as Scarlet though they be,
Thou canst wash them white as Snow,
Canst blot out the thickest Cloud,
Justify me by thy Blood.
Verse 5
Flows a Fountain from thy Side,
For Impurity and Sin,
Plunge me in the Purple Tide,
Purge me, and I shall be clean,
Wash’d from all my guilty Stains
Sav’d from Sin, and Sins Remains.