To Forgive Is Divine

FATHER of Mercies, and all Human Love,

Who peereth far beyond our sullen skies,

Remember all the smile-borne agonies,

And stubborn scars of saintly men who strove

With glaives of griefless Faith, in dyke and grove,

And byre and barn, ’gainst the barbarities

Of priest and mob, and the atrocities

By traitors wreaked in passion for their dove.

Remember not those loathsome deeds, O Lord!

But spread the light of Wisdom in the hearts

Of Rulers, and of Nations in those parts,

Where ripens knowledge of Thine Holy Word,

That in our day, Israel may once more

Have Peace, and Sunshine, as in days of yore.