THE CONTRITE HEART

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.

My best desires are faint and few,
I fain would strive for more; 10
But when I cry, “My strength renew!”
Seem weaker than before.

O 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 (1731-1800)

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