Retribution
by James Furneaux"As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women."--1 Samuel XV. 33.
Oh woe to sin, and therefore woe to me!
God ever punishes though He forgive.
Oh, who would dare to sin could he foresee
Stern Retribution (who would cease to live
But for man's crimes) avenging one by one
Each evil thought and word and action done.
Let him who thinks of sin mark David's fall,
His penitence and punishment, his flight,
The never failing sword, and most of all
His secret sin repaid in Israel's sight.
When all his visitations I recall
(The man of God's own heart) a fearful light
Across my shuddering memory seems to creep,
I think upon my secret sins -- and weep.Lent, Feb. 1844