Robert Burns(1759–1796)
Holy Willie's Prayer
Thou that in the heavens does dwell!
Wha, as it pleases best thysel,
Sends ane to heaven and ten to hell,
A' for thy glory!
And no for ony guid or ill
They've done before thee.
bless and praise thy matchless might,
Whan thousands thou has left in night,
That I am here before thy sight,
For gifts and 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 deserv'd most just damnation,
For broken laws
Sax thousand years ere my creation,
Thro'Adam's cause!
When from my mother's womb I fell,
Thou might hae plunged me deep in hell,
To gnash my gooms, and weep and wail,
In burning lakes,
Where damned devils roar and yell
Chained to their stakes.
Yet I am here, a chosen sample,
To show thy grace is great and ample:
I'm here, a pillar o' thy temple,
Strong as a rock,
A guide, a ruler, and example
To a' thy flock.
O Lord thou kens what zeal I bear,
When drinkers drink, and swearers swear,
And singin' there, and dancin' here,
Wi' great an' sma';
For I am keepet by thy fear,
Free frae them a'.
But yet—O Lord—confess I must—
At times I'm fashed 0 wi' fleshy lust;troubled
And sometimes too, in warldly trust
Vile Self gets in;
But thou remembers we are dust,
Defiled wi' sin.
O Lord—yestreen— thou kens—wi' Meg-last night
Thy pardon I sincerely beg!
O may't ne'er be a living plague,
To my dishonor!
And I'll ne'er lift a lawless leg
Again upon her.
Besides, I farther maun allow,must
Wi' Lizzie's lass, three times—I trow—believe
But Lord, that Friday I was foufull (of liquor)
When I cam near her;
Or else, thou kens, thy servant true
Wad never steer 0 her.touch ("stir")
Maybe thou lets this fleshly thorn
Buffet thy servant e'en and morn,
Lest he o'er high and proud should turn,
That he's sae gifted;
If sae, thy hand maun e'en be borne
Until thou lift it.
Lord bless thy Chosen in this place,
For here thou hast a chosen race;
But God, confound their stubborn face,
And blast their name,
Wha bring thy elders to disgrace
And open shame.
Lord mind Gaun Hamilton's5 deserts!
He drinks, and swears, and plays at cartes,
Yet has sae mony taking arts
Wi' great an' sma';
Frae God's ain priest the people's hearts
He steals awa'.
An when we chastened him therefore,
Thou kens how he bred sic a splore 0row
As set the warld in a roar
O' laughin at us;
Curse thou his basket and his store,
Kail and potatoes.cabbage
Lord hear my earnest cry and prayer
Against that Presbytery of Ayr!
Thy strong right hand, Lord, make it bare
Upon their heads!
Lord visit them, and dinna spare,
For their misdeeds!
O Lord my God, that glib-tongued Aiken!
My very heart and flesh are quaking
To think how I sat, sweating, shaking,
And pissed wi' dread,
While Auld, wi' hingin lips gaed sneakinghanging
And hid his head!
Lord, in thy day o' vengeance try him!
Lord visit him that did employ him!
And pass not in thy mercy by them,
Nor hear their prayer;
But for thy people's sake destroy them,
And dinna spare!
But Lord, remember me and mine
Wi' mercies temporal and divine!
That I for grace and gear 0 may shinewealth
Excelled by nane!
And a' the glory shall be thine!
A M E N , A M E N !
1808