“Forgive our sins as we forgive,” you taught us, Lord to pray;
But you alone can grant us grace to live the words we say.
How can your pardon reach and bless the unforgiving heart
That broods on wrongs and will not let old bitterness depart?
In blazing light your cross reveals the truth we dimly knew;
What trivial debts are owed to us, how great our debt to you.
Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls and bid resentment cease;
Then, bound to all in bonds of love, our lives will spread your peace.
-Rosamond E. Herklots
Of this hymn she said:
"The idea of writing the "Forgiveness" hymn came to me some years ago when I was digging up docks in a long-neglected garden. Realizing how these deeply-rooted weeds were choking the life out of the flowers in the garden, I came to feel that deeply-rooted resentments in our lives could destroy every Christian virtue and all joy and peace unless, by God's grace, we learn to forgive."
No comments:
Post a Comment