The Poetry Corner

Lively Hope And Gracious Fear.

By William Cowper

I was a grovelling creature once, And basely cleaved to earth; I wanted spirit to renounce The clod that gave me birth. But God has breathed upon a worm, And sent me, from above, Wings such as clothe an angels form, The wings of joy and love. With these to Pisgahs top I fly, And there delighted stand, To view beneath a shining sky The spacious promised land. The Lord of all the vast domain Has promised it to me; The length and breadth of all the plain, As far as faith can see. How glorious is my privilege! To thee for help I call; I stand upon a mountains edge, Oh save me, lest I fall! Though much exalted in the Lord, My strength is not my own; Then let me tremble at his word, And none shall cast me down.