This ayre or song is one of several religious works that Campion wrote alongside highly secular, even rather salacious songs, such as It fell on. This piece seems to spring more from the Italian school, where the recitative form was being developed, rather than from the more melodic lute-song and madrigal forms in England. As Campion was not dependent upon any patron's tastes, he was able to experiment with various forms as he pleased. This particular work is more meditative than dramatic or passionate, though the words are quite dramatic, and easily could have been set to more overtly emotional music. For example, the lines, "One drop of thy desired grace/the faint and fading heart can raise/ and in joy's bosom place/Sin and death, Hell and tempting fiends may rage/But God his own will guard/and their sharp pains/and grief in time assuage, " might easily have been set to dramatic intervals with vivid word-painting, but instead, the work is far more reflective than oratorical. The musical setting uses unexpected rhythms (for example, the accent in the first line) to keep the listener's attention focused upon the meaning of the text, again drawing attention to the thoughts, rather than just the musical setting of the text.

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