Appeal to Heaven

1. Alpha, Omega, source of light,
Great God, immortal, infinite,
O dazzling Sun, incline your ear
Unto your servant's humble prayer.

2. O Ruler of the universe,
We pray, dear Lord, remove the curse
Of hate and prejudice that stand
With ill design and fiery brand.

3. Lest vengeance, as a moral guide,
Infect those joining side by side,
And desolation’s barren arms
Invade our fact’ries and our farms.

4. Great God! Before me smells a flood
Of revolution’s crimson blood,
Blood of the youthful and the old,
Blood of the timid and the bold.

5. O Lord, these visions chase away,
And may your tender love allay
The storm approaching, mighty God,
And in your mercy, stretch your rod.

6. O’er this tempestuous hemisphere,
We bid the Sun of peace appear
In glory from this murky sky,
Proclaiming death to enmity.

7. In nature, all things stay in bound;
The planets in their place are found;
The angry waves break on the shore;
The mountains check the storm’s loud roar.

8. Vile souls alone exceed their bound;
Not where you placed them are they found;
For coveteous have grown their hearts,
And conquest has become an art.

9. O righteous Lord, your Spirit send;
Your people, lovingly defend:
The helpless, yea, the poor and weak,
The destitute, the just, the meek.

10. Restrain the Devil’s cruel lash;
The unjust judges now abash,
Confound, debase, expose, ungown,
And from their honored seats bring down.

11. Midst creatures on destruction bent,
Let love’s entreaties eloquent
The rising tide of hate becalm,
And minds of murder’s thoughts disarm.

12. Those who oppose your sovereign will,
You can create, and you can kill;
The worlds are captive in your hand;
By your decree, the heavens stand.

13. My God, your loving Spirit give
To sinful souls, that they may live
After the fashion of your Son,
Before the monster, death, has come.

14. And now, my Maker, to your trust
Do I consign this living dust.
A right to urge you do I claim
Through your dear Son, the Savior’s name.

15. Thus I these weak petitions make,
Which you will hear for Jesus’ sake,
And your name’s praise shall never end,
Both now and evermore, Amen.

16. Amen! all weary souls reply.
Amen! is echoed from the sky.
Amen! cries virtue from her seat.
Amen! all upright hearts repeat.


Source: Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship (African American Edition) #42b