O Lord, I am oppressed, crushed--the heart is beaten out of me. I have
nothing to say for myself. Undertake for me. O Lord, confound me not. I
know I am weak, ignorant, unsuccessful; full of faults and failings,
which make me ashamed of myself every day of my life. I have gone
astray, like a sheep that is lost. But seek Thy servant, O Lord, for I
do not forget Thy commandments. I am trying to learn my duty. I am
trying to do my duty. I have stuck unto Thy testimonies. O Lord, have
mercy and confound me not. Man may confound me. But do not Thou of Thy
mercy and pity, O Lord. Let me not find when I die, or before I die,
that all my labour has been in vain; that I am not wiser, not more useful
after all. Let not my gray hairs go down with sorrow to the grave. Let
me not die with the miserable thought that in spite of all my struggles
to do my duty, my life has been a failure and I a fool. Let me not wake
in the next life, to be utterly confounded: to find that I was all wrong,
and have nothing left but disappointment and confusion of face. O Lord,
who didst endure all shame for me, save me from that most utter shame.
Thou art good and just. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. O God, in
Thee have I trusted; let me never be confounded.
Amen.