I was a groveling creature once,

I was a groveling creature once,
And safely 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 angel's form,
The wings of joy and love.

With these to Pisgah's 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 mountain's edge,
O 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.