'I'll live with Thee and be Thy love,'
I said to God, who, as a dove,
Did build a Nest within my Heart,
And who from me shall ne'er depart.

He gardens, farms, and tends a flock
Of silly sheep of spotless stock;
Secure beneath the Shepherd's gaze,
The sheep do roam and safely graze.  

He made for me a robe of wool,
The finest wool that He could pull:
It's snowy white, like Winter's breast:
In spotless wool He hath me drest.  

He makes the Sun to rise and shine,
And turns the fruit of life to wine,
And shares the Vintage when we sup,
And fills, and fills again, my cup.

For Him I sing a song that's new,
Falero, lero, lero, loo!
I pluck a string, and raise my voice,
And alway in the Lord rejoice.

My true love hath my heart, and I
Have His, because I heard on high
His wooing voice, which did me move
To live with Him and be His love.

Reformed euangelist of higher beautie
And higher loue that springeth forth from Truth,
Thou didst amend, according to thy dutie,
Thine indiscretions born of lustfull youth,
And didst so well, with wisdom from the tooth.
Repentance liued will giue the liuer life,
But sinne, redoubled daily, death and strife.
I read repentance in thy later verses,
And see the visions of the heauenlies.
Thy poetry baptizes and immerses
The rapt reader in sights diuine who sees
Life and the vanity of vanities.  
Saluation doth belong to those who bear
Witness of Him, the liuing Truth, in prayer.

Who love the LORD they fear,
Enter and worship here.  
Who love or know Him not,
Enter, but fear a lot.

Out of the night that covers me,
     Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank my God, King Christ, for He
     Has come and conquered, O, my soul.

Clutched by a fate that's felt like chance,
     I've winced and wept and cried aloud.
Under the gaze of God, my stance
     Is on my knees.  My head is bowed.

Beyond the place of wrath and tears,
     Where Death casts shadows, shade on shade,
The menaces of bygone years
     Are disappeared.  My debts are paid.

My gait's as strait as heaven's gate,
     My way as narrow as a scroll.
Christ is the master of my fate.
     Christ is the captain of my soul.

The light that lights the world we call the Sun:
Intelligently operates the pun.
The Sun of righteousness no shadow hath:
His circuit through the dark's a narrow path.
Within the shining Sun no darkness dwells:
So too the Son, the Word the reader tells.
How painful it would be by going through
The Sun to die, and through the Son so too.
The light of all the world, the Sun is dim
Compared to the light that comes from Him.

Knock, and it shall be opened unto you,
    If you, indeed, are true.
If so, the Bridegroom's door will open wide
    To let His guest inside.

Knock, but beware if true, indeed, you're not;
    For not one tittle or jot
Shall pass the Lion guarding, at attention,
    The door to God's dimension.  
He'll bounce you off the doorstep with a roar
    Like none you've heard before.

It's not a tick box exercise that can be done in a day, it will be long and relentless. It's learning to hold your tongue when your body screams to have a say in the matter, LORD forgive me. It is learning to die to yourself through all the guilt and temptation of modern life, LORD forgive me. It's learning to surrender to the inclinations of your natural life and bring them to the LORD.

Trying to ignore the voices inside my head is like trying to ignore the pain from a candle when my hand is held over the flame and sometimes I just can't. Living by faith is hard work, not wanting to live to satisfy the body is hard work. Wanting to live by faith isn't the same as being ‘good’, and I'm still trying to learn and remember that.

Water to wine and wine to precious blood
The Lord transfigures; taken at the flood,
    The dregs of outrageous fortune, once imbibed,
Will be like compost to a growing bud.  

So, drink and happy be, for all is well
In Paradise, where living waters swell
    The stilly stream by quiet pastures green,
And sheep in peace and pleasant weather dwell.

Miraculous rebirth!
   Ah! born to life anew!
The pain of life is worth
Miraculous rebirth
Upon a flattened earth.
   The best way out is through
Miraculous rebirth!
   Ah! born to life anew!