Ah, how shall fallen man
Be just before his God?
If He contend in righteousness,
We fall beneath His rod.

If He our ways should mark
With strict inquiring eyes,
Could we, for one of countless faults,
A just excuse devise?

All-seeing, powerful God,
Who can with Thee contend?
Or who that tries th’unequal strife
Shall prosper in the end?

The mountains, in Thy wrath,
Their ancient seats forsake;
The trembling earth deserts her place,
Her rotted pillars shake.

Ah, how shall guilty man
Contend with such a God?
None-none can meet Him and escape,
But through the Saviour’s blood.