Poem: "Hymn to God the Father" by Ben Johnson

Hear me, O God!
A broken heart
Is my best part:
Use still Thy rod,
That I may prove
Therein, Thy love.

If Thou hadst not
Been stern to me,
But left me free,
I had forgot
Myself and Thee.

For sin’s so sweet,
As minds ill bent
Rarely repent
Until they meet
Their punishment.

Who more can crave
Than Thou hast done:
That gav’st a Son
To free a slave?
First made of naught,
Withal since bought.

Sin, death, and hell
His glorious Name
Quite overcame,
Yet I rebel
And slight the same.

But I’ll come in
Before my loss
Me farther toss,
As sure to winUnder His cross.