Whan thousands thou hast left in night,

That I am here afore thy sight,
For gifts an' grace,

A burning an' a shining light,
To a' this place.

What was I, or my generation,
That I should get such exaltation?
I, wha deserve such just damnation,
For broken laws,

Five thousand years 'fore my creation,

Through Adam's cause.

When frae my mither's womb I fell,

Thou might hae plunged me into Hell,

To gnash my gums, to weep and wail,

In burnin' lake, Where damned Devils roar and yell, Chained to a stake.

Yet I am here a chosen sample,
To show thy grace is great and am-
ple;

I'm here a pillar in thy temple,
Strong as a rock,

A guide, a buckler, an example
To a' thy flock.

O Lord, thou kens what zeal I bear, When drinkers drink, and swearers

swear,

And singing there, and dancing here,
Wi' great and sma':
For I am keepit by thy fear,
Free frae them a'.

But yet, O Lord! confess I must,
At times I'm fashed wi' fleshly lust,
An' sometimes, too, wi' warldly
trust,-

Vile self gets in;

But thou remembers we are dust, Defiled in sin.