Angels that fly, and worms that creep, Are both alike to thee;

If thou mak'st worms thine angels, Lord,
They bring my God to me.

As sons of thunder first they come,
And I the lightning fear;

But then they bring me to my home,
And sons of comfort are.

Lord, thou art in them of a truth,
That I might never stray;
The clouds and pillars march before,
And show me Canaan's way:
I bless my God, who is my guide;
I sing in Sion's ways:
When shall I sing on Sion's hill
Thine everlasting praise ?

A SONG OF PRAISE FOR GRACE.

O GOD of grace, who hast restor❜d

Thine image unto me,

Which by my sins was quite defac'd,
What shall I render thee!

Thine image and inscription, Lord,
Upon my heart I bear:

Thine own I render unto thee,

O God, my God most dear.

Myself I owe thee for myself,

Whom thou didst make of earth;

But thou hast made me o'er again,
Thou gav'st a second birth.

Twice born, and twice endu'd with life,
I haste to come to thee,

To pay my vows, my thanks, my heart, With all humility.

O, was I born first from beneath,
And then born from above!
Am I a child of man and God?
O rich and endless love!·
When I had broke the tables, Lord,
New tables thou didst hew;
And with thy finger didst engrave
Thy laws on them anew.

Earth is my mother, earth my nurse,
And earth must be my tomb:
Yet God, the God of heaven and earth,
My Father is become.

Hell enter'd me, and into hell

I quickly should have run;

But, O! kind heav'n laid hold on me: Heav'n is in me begun.

This spark will rise into a flame,

This seed into a tree;

My songs shall rise, my praises shall
Loud hallelujahs be.

A SONG OF PRAISE FOR DELIVERANCE FROM
IMMINENT DANGERS OF DEATH.

LORD of my life, length of my days,
Thy hand hath rescu'd me;
Who lying at the gates of death
Among the dead was free.
My dearest friends I had resign'd
Unto their Maker's care:
Methought I only time had left
For a concluding prayer.

Methought Death laid his hands on me,
And did his pris'ner bind;

And by the sound, methought I heard
His Master's feet behind.

Methought I stood upon the shore,

And nothing could I see

But the vast ocean, with my eyes-
A vast eternity!

Methought I heard the midnight cry,
Behold the Bridegroom comes!
Methought I was call'd to the bar,

Where souls receive their dooms.

The world was at an end to me,
As if it all did burn:

But, lo! there came a voice from heaven,
Which order'd my return.

Lord, I return'd at thy command,

What wilt thou have me do ?

O let me wholly live to thee,

To whom my life I owe!

Fain would I dedicate to thee
The remnant of my days:
Lord, with my life renew my heart,
That both thy name may praise.

LAMENTING THE LOSS OF FIRST LOVE.

O THAT my soul was now as fair
As it hath sometimes been,
Devoid of that distracting care
Without, and guilt within.
There was a time when I could tread
No circle but of love;

That joyous morning now is fled-·
How heavily I move!

Unhappy soul, that thou shouldst force
Thy Saviour to depart,
When he was pleased with so coarse
A lodging in thy heart!
How sweetly I enjoy'd my God!
With how divine a frame!
I thought on every plant I trod,
I read my Saviour's name!

I liv'd, I lov'd, I talk'd with thee,
So sweetly we agreed ;

And thou no stranger wast to me
"Till I became a weed:

The tempter robb'd me, and I must

I fear be ever poor;

May this suffice-to roll i' th' dust,
Before thy temple door.

My dearest Lord, my heart flames not With love, that sacred fire;

But since my love has wore that blot Repentance runs the higher."

Lord of my soul, return, return,