Lord, my voice by nature is harsh and untunable, and it is vain to lavish any art to better it. Can my singing of Psalms be pleasing to thy ears, which is unpleasant to my own? Yet though I cannot chant with the nightingale, or chirp with the blackbird, I had rather chatter with the swallow (Isa 38:14), yea, rather croak with the raven, than be altogether silent. Hadst thou given me a better voice, I would have praised thee with a better voice. Now what my music wants in sweetness, let it have in sense, singing praises with understanding (Psa 47:7). Yea, Lord, create in me a new heart (therein to make melody) (Eph 5:19), and I will be contented with my old voice, until in thy due time, being admitted into the great choir, I have another, more harmonious one bestowed upon me.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One