Our own weakness, and Christ our strength,

Isaac Watts · 1707

Catalog grade guidance: 3–5 — Watts hymn chosen for school recitation; some archaic pronouns.

23 content lines · 155 words · Est. recitation about 1 min 31 sec (approx.)

Public-domain text for reading and recitation practice. Source: Project Gutenberg #13341.Estimated time uses ~120 words/minute plus short pauses—not a contest rule.

Hymn 1:15.
Our own weakness, and Christ our strength,
2 Cor. 12. 7 9 10.

1 Let me but hear my Saviour say,
"Strength shall be equal to thy day,"
Then I rejoice in deep distress,
Leaning on all-sufficient Grace.

2 I glory in infirmity,
That Christ's own power may rest on me;
When I am weak, then am I strong,
Grace is my shield, and Christ my song.

3 I can do all things, or can bear
All sufferings, if my Lord be there;
Sweet pleasures mingle with the pains,
While his left hand my head sustains.

4 But if the Lord be once withdrawn,
And we attempt the work alone,
When new temptations spring and rise
We find how great our weakness is.

5 [So Samson, when his hair was lost,
Met the Philistines to his cost;
Shook his vain limbs with sad surprise,
Made feeble fight, and lost his eyes.]