The Fool’s Prayer
By: Edward Rowland Sill
The royal feast was done; the
King
Sought some new sport to banish care,
And to his jester cried: “Sir Fool,
Kneel now, and make for us a prayer!”
The jester doffed his cap and
bells,
And stood the mocking court before;
They could not see the bitter smile
Behind the painted grin he wore.
He bowed his head, and bent his
knee
Upon the monarch’s silken stool;
His pleading voice arose: “O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!
“No pity, Lord, could change
the heart
From red with wrong to white as wool:
The rod must heal the sin; but, Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!
“’T is not by guilt the onward
sweep
Of truth and right, O Lord, we stay;
’T is by our follies that so long
We hold the earth from heaven away.
“These clumsy feet, still in
the mire,
Go crushing blossoms without end;
These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
Among the heart-strings of a friend.
“The ill-timed truth we might
have kept—
Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung!
The word we had not sense to say—
Who knows how grandly it had rung!
“Our faults no tenderness
should ask,
The chastening stripes must cleanse them all;
But for our blunders—oh, in shame
Before the eyes of heaven we fall.
“Earth bears no balsam for
mistakes;
Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool
That did his will; but Thou, O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool.”
The room was hushed; in silence
rose
The King, and sought his gardens cool,
And walked apart, and murmured low,
“Be merciful to me, a fool!” [1]
How often have we looked back at the things we have done and felt the sting that comes with the knowledge that we have done wrong? Thank God that he has provided a way for us to receive the mercy we do not deserve. If we accept the salvation Jesus Christ has provided for us, it is possible to stand confidently before Him at the judgement, covered by His righteousness – rather than our sin, or reliance on our own good deeds; that are too inadequate and too few to earn salvation on our own.
Please accept Jesus as
your Savior today. Be filled with the Holy
Spirit and empowered to become more and more like Jesus each day.
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