Confession of a Penitent

Whence shall my tears begin ?
What first - fruits shall I bear
Of earnest sorrow for my sin ?
Or how my woes declare ?
O Thou the Merciful and Gracious One !
Forgive the foul transgressions I have done .

With Adam I have vied,
Yea , passed him in my fall;
And I am naked now by pride
And lust made bare of all -
Of Thee, O God , and that celestial band ,
And all the glory of the Promised Land!

If Adam's righteous doom ,
Because he dared transgress
Thy one decree, lost Eden's bloom
And Eden's loveliness,
What recompense , O Lord , must I expect ,
Who all my life Thy quickening laws neglect ?

My guilt for vengeance cries ;
But yet Thou pardonest all !
And whom Thou lov'st Thou dost chastise ,
And mourn'st for them that fall ;
Thou, as a father , mark'st our tears and pain ,
And welcomest the prodigal again .    S. Andrew

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