A Prayer

Now wilt me take for Jesus' sake,
Nor cast me out at all;
I shall not fear the foe awake,
Saved by thy City wall;
But in the night without affright
Shall hear him steal without,
Who may not scale thy wall of might,
Thy bastion, nor redoubt.

Full well I know that to the foe
Wilt yield me not for aye,
Unless mine own hand should undo
The gates that are my stay —
My folly and pride should open wide
Thy doors and set me free
'Mid tigers striped and panthers pied
Far from thy liberty.

Unless by debt myself I set
Outside thy loving ken,
And yield myself by weight of debt
Unto my fellow-men;
Deal with my guilt Thou as Thou wilt,
And 'Hold! 'I shall not cry,
So I be thine in storm and shine,
Thine only till I die.