Sentence:  Hear Thou our plaint, when light is gone / And lawlessness and strife prevail. / Hear, lest the <WSD>whelming</WSD> weight of crime / Wreck us with life in view; / Lest thoughts and schemes of sense and time / Earn us a sinner's due. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To overcome with emotion; to overwhelm.