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holy willie&039;s prayer

“and send the godly a pet to pray”—pope

argunt

holy willie was a rather oldish bachelor elder, the parish of auchle, and uch and jtly fad for that poleical chatterg, which ends tipplg orthodoxy, and for that spiritualized bawdry which refes to liorish devotion a sessional process with a ntlean auchle—a r gav hailton—holy willie and his priest, father auld, after full hearg the presbytery of ayr, ca off but send best; og partly to the oratorical powers of r robert aiken, r hailton&039;s unsel; but chiefly to r hailton&039;s beg one of the ost irreproachable and truly respectable characters the unty on losg the process, the e overheard hi [holy willie] at his devotions, as follows:—

o thou, who the heavens does dwell,

who, as it pleases best thysel&039;,

sends ane to heaven an&039; ten to hell,

a&039; for thy glory,

and no for ony gude or ill

they&039;ve done afore thee!

i bless and praise thy atchless ight,

when thoands thou hast left night,

that i a here afore thy sight,

for gifts an&039; grace

a burng and a shg light

to a&039; this pce

what was i, or y neration,

that i should t sic exaltation,

i wha deserve ost jt danation

for broken ws,

five thoand years ere y creation,

thro&039; ada&039;s cae?

when frae y ither&039;s wob i fell,

thou ight hae pnd hell,

to gnash y gus, to weep and wail,

burn kes,

where daned devils roar and yell,

cha&039;d to their stakes

yet i a here a chosen saple,

to show thy grace is great and aple;

i&039; here a pilr o&039; thy teple,

strong as a rock,

a guide, a buckler, and exaple,

to a&039; thy flock

o lord, thou kens what zeal i bear,

when drkers drk, an&039; swearers swear,

an&039; sg there, an&039; danc here,

wi&039; great and sa&039;;