1 So foolish, so absurd am I,
That nothing can be more;
Was ever such a monster seen
Upon the earth before?
2 I dare not look upon the earth,
The witness of my sin;
My conscience is a doom's-day book,
I dare not look within.
3 Upward I dare not cast my eyes,
For there my Judge doth sit;
Nor downward whence the smoke doth rise,
From the infernal pit.
4 How shall I answer at the bar
Of him who is most pure?
I cannot answer for myself,
Myself I can't endure.
5 And as myself I can't endure,
Myself I cannot fly;
Thus fools do sell themselves for slaves,
And what a slave am I!
6 My heart the seet of folly is,
My life a life of sin;
Surely I am more brutal far,
Than ever brute has been.
7 Is this my wit? is this my way,
To make a glorious name?
Are these the thanks I've paid to heaven?
Ah, what a beast I am!
8 The crown is fallen from my head,
My royal robes are gone;
Confusion is my only cloak,
And I must put it on.
9 I am not worthy of the earth,
Nor worthy of the air,
Nor worthy of the wat'ry drop,
But of the damned's fare.
Source: Divine Hymns, or Spiritual Songs: for the Use of Religious Assemblies and Private Christians (7th Ed. Rev.) #124