A Form of Prayer

Almighty GOD, wilt thou thy people spare? Deliver them from this contagious snare! This mortal Plague at thy command began, And thou thereby hast humbled sinful man! Thou art the fountain of all good and love, And dost thy will on earth—in heav'n above! Thou givest life, thou givest health and ease, To all thy creatures, just as thou dost please! In thine own time thou smitest them with death, Their bodies fall when thou dost take their breath! Thou hast ordain'd that this shall be the fate Of ev'ry creature in this mortal state! These works of thine, if rightly understood, Promote, we find, the universal good; Remove thy children to a better shore, To realms of joy, to live for evermore!