FATHER Supreme! Eternal God! We bow before thy throne; Spare the just vengeance of thy rod, While we our guilt bemoan. From early youth to riper age Thy perfect word we saw; But yet through each successive stage We spurn'd thy holy law. Guilt, like a fev'rish fest'ring wound, Has rankled all within; From head to feet pollution's found All leperous with sin. Dare we approach thy holy place? God! spotless and serene! Before whose sight the heavens are base, And angels are unclean. How shall we dare our God assail? With prayer before him come; When seraphims their faces veil, And cherubims are dumb. Clouds and thick darkness, flaming fires, With terror mark his ways; His mighty cherubs strike their lyres, And thunder forth his praise. He rideth on the stormy wind, His flaming spirits nigh; The lightning loiters far behind, When, at his word, they fly. With trembling awe! far off we stand, And offer our requests; And cry for mercy at thy hand, And smite our guilty breasts. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE FRIENDLY WOOD by PAUL VALERY ODE TO THE CUCKOO by MICHAEL BRUCE TO A LOUSE, ON SEEING ONE ON A LADY'S BONNET AT CHURCH by ROBERT BURNS TO DAFFODILS by ROBERT HERRICK ON SOME LINES OF LOPE DE VEGA by SAMUEL JOHNSON (1709-1784) |