The Lord will happiness divine- On contrite hearts bestow;
- Then tell me, gracious God, is mine
- A contrite heart or no?
- I hear, but seem to hear in vain,
- Insensible as steel;
- If aught is felt, ‘tis only pain,
- To find I cannot feel.
- I sometimes think myself inclined
- To love Thee if I could;
- But often feel another mind,
- Averse to all that’s good.
- My best desires are faint and few,
- I fain would strive for more;
- But when I cry, “My strength renew!”
- Seem weaker than before.
- Thy saints are comforted, I know,
- And love Thy house of prayer;
- I therefore go where others go,
- But find no comfort there.
- Oh make this heart rejoice or ache;
- Decide this doubt for me;
- And if it be not broken, break —
- And heal it, if it be.
—William Cowper in Olney Hymns
It’s a strange hymn isn’t it? Knowing Cowper’s story1 helps explain it, but still, it’d be very odd to sing it as a congregation.
1Listen to a lecture on the life of Cowper by Michael Haykin or read these, posted here several years ago: