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176

ODE III.

10,10,6,6

Theodore of the Studium

O KurioV ercetai.

GOD comes;--and who shall stand before His fear?

Who bide His Presence, when He draweth near?

My soul, my soul, prepare

To kneel before Him there!

Haste,--weep,--be reconciled to Him before

The fearful judgment knocketh at the door

Where, in the judge's eyes,

All bare and naked lies.

Have mercy, LORD, have mercy, LORD, I cry,

When with Thine angels Thou appear'st on high:

And each shall doom inherit,

According to his merit.

177

How can I bear Thy fearful anger, LORD?

I, that have so often transgressed Thy word?

But put my sins away,

And spare me in that day!

O miserable soul, return, lament,

Ere earthly converse end, and life be spent:

Ere, time for sorrow o'er,

The Bridegroom close the door!

Yea, I have sinned, as no man sinned beside:

With more than human guilt my soul is dyed:

But spare, and save me here,

Before that day appear!

Three Persons in One Essence uncreate,

On Whom, both Three and One, our praises wait,

Give everlasting light,

To them that sing Thy might!

178

ODE IV.

10,10,10,10,6,6

Theodore of the Studium

efesthken h hmera.

The Day is near, the judgment is at hand,

Awake, my soul, awake, and ready stand!

Where chiefs shall go with them that filled the throne,

Where rich and poor the same tribunal own:

And every thought and deed

Shall find its righteous meed.

There with the sheep the shepherd of the fold

Shall stand together; there the young and old;

Master and slave one doom shall undergo;

Widow and maiden one tribunal know.

Oh woe, oh woe, to them

Whom lawless lives condemn!

179

That Judgment-seat, impartial in decree,

Accepts no bribe, admits no subtilty:

No orator persuasion may exert,

No perjured witness wrong to right convert:

But all things, hid in night,

Shall then be dragged to light.

Let me not enter in the land of woe,

Let me not realms of outer darkness know!

Nor from the wedding-feast reject Thou me,

For my soiled vest of immortality;

Bound hand and foot, and cast

In anguish that shall last!

When Thou, the nations ranged on either side,

The righteous from the sinners shalt divide,

Then give me to be found amongst Thy sheep,

Then from the goats Thy trembling servant keep:

That I may hear the voice

That bids Thy Saints rejoice!

180

When righteous inquisition shall be made,

And the books opened, and the thrones arrayed,

My soul, what plea to shield thee canst thou know,

Who hast no fruit of righteousness to show,

No holy deeds to bring

To CHRIST the LORD and King?,

I hear the rich man's wail and bitter cry,

Out of the torments of eternity;

I know, beholding that devouring flame,

My guilt and condemnation are the same;

And spare me, LORD, I say,

In the great judgment Day!

The WORD and SPIRIT, with the FATHER ONE,

One Light and emanation of One Sun,

The WORD by generation, we adore,

The SPIRIT by procession, evermore;

And with creation raise

The thankful hymn of praise.

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CCEL
This document is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
at Calvin College. Last updated on July 30, 2001.
Contacting the CCEL.
Calvin seal: My heart I offer you O Lord, promptly and sincerely