For some reason

For some reason, after breakfast today, this old hymn popped into my brain. It is old, written by Synesius of Cyrene in about AD 430. The tune is Elizabethan, composed by William Daman (from The Psalmes of David in English metre). I love the tune. This version is an abbreviation of the whole poem, but it works well, I think.

Lord Jesus, think on me

Lord Jesus, think on me
And purge away my sin;
From earthborn passions set me free
And make me pure within.

Lord Jesus, think on me,
With many a care oppressed;
Let me Thy loving servant be
And taste Thy promised rest.

Lord Jesus, think on me
Amid the battle’s strife;
In all my pain and misery
Be Thou my Health and Life.

Lord Jesus, think on me
Nor let me go astray;
Through darkness and perplexity
Point Thou the heavenly way.

Lord Jesus, think on me
When floods the tempest high;
When on doth rush the enemy,
O Saviour, be Thou nigh!

Lord Jesus, think on me
That, when the flood is past,
I may th’eternal brightness see
And share Thy joy at last.

Lord Jesus, think on me
That I may sing above
To Father, Spirit, and to Thee
The strains of praise and love.
                 (translated from Greek by Allen W Chatfield in 1876)

We don't often sing worship songs which acknowledge the harshness and perplexity of human life. Perhaps we should sing more of them - with hope at the end. I hope you find it helpful.