THE LIGHT OF MY SOUL

​​

Doomed is he who lives in the flesh!

For he seeks not after God,

Nor does he understand the fleetingness of life.

For he says to himself: ‘Life is too short,

And we only live once.

So let’s feast and be merry,

For tomorrow we are gone.’

Oh if he were able to acknowledge

The wretchedness of his heart,

By gazing at the holiness of the Living God!

He would sob for his damned soul

And bury his face in shame.

 

But pride is the jewel of his neck,

Rebellion is encrusted in his heart,

Destruction and ruin are in his midst.

But he thinks all is well with his soul,

For the corruption of his heart keeps him blind.

He does not see the judgements of the Lord of hosts,

But suppresses his conscience,

And rejects the Light that comes from God,

The Gospel of peace, the Truth of life.

 

Oh that he were able to understand

That his life is under the plight of eternal ruin!

Like a slumbering seed imprisoned by death,

So is his soul to the passions and lusts of the flesh,

Held captive by the sting of death,

Enslaved by the king of darkness.

He is hostile toward God,

And understands not that which is of the Spirit.

He heeds not the Word of God,

For so callous and haughty is his heart.

Yet the sovereign grace of the Lord abounds.

 

Oh, what a glorious gift to you, my soul!

For the Lord in his grace has been merciful to me.

Awake, o wretched heart of mine, and sing to the Lord.

Proclaim the goodness of our God;

For so gracious He has been to me.

He has removed the scales from my eyes,

Exposed to me the wretchedness of my heart,

And revealed to me his magnificent glory.

I sought Him not but He sought me and found me;

I loved Him not but He so loved me,

That He sent his Beloved Son

To live the perfect live I can never live,

And die for my sins.

He has given me a new heart and a new mind

To accept and understand the things of the Spirit,

To heed his Word and to love Him.

 

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD,

The Lord my salvation,

The righteousness of the poor in spirit!

He has freed me from the sting of death,

And given me victory over sin and the flesh.

For Thee, O Light of my soul, I live!

In You, my Redeemer, my soul boasts.

For in your mercy and grace,

You have saved me from the wrath to come

And endowed my soul with life everlasting.

Be blessed, O Spirit of grace!

You are the Light of my soul.