My soul is sad, and much dismay'd; <br />See, Lord, what legions of my foes, <br />With fierce Apollyon at their head, <br />My heavenly pilgrimage oppose. <br /> <br />See, from the ever-burning lake, <br />How like a smoky cloud they rise! <br />With horrid blasts my soul they shake, <br />With storms of blasphemies and lies. <br /> <br />Their fiery arrows reach the mark, <br />My throbbing heart with anguish tear; <br />Each lights upon a kindred spark, <br />And finds abundant fuel there. <br /> <br />I hate the thought that wrongs the Lord; <br />Oh! I would drive it from my breast, <br />With Thy own sharp two-edged sword, <br />Far as the east is from the west. <br /> <br />Come, then, and chase the cruel host, <br />Heal the deep wounds I have received! <br />Nor let the power of darkness boast <br />That I am foil'd, and Thou art grieved!<br /><br />William Cowper<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death/
