A Meek Appeal

“I will remove the heart of stone from your fleshand give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you . . . and you shall be my people, and I will be your God” (). Forgive my apathyMy soul, not wholly awedForgetful, where a blood-drenched treeExtolled the Lamb of God Forgive my wayward eyeFrom Cal’vry’s silhouetteWhere grief does not compose a cryOf true repentance yet Forgive my easy lossOf sorrow for my sinForbid, I gaze upon the crossYet bar the Door within Forgive my errant whimDesires, prone to prideUnshaken, as I gaze on HimWith Self, not yet denied Forgive my lack of zealFor Your sufficient graceDraw me back to the cross to feelYour blood drops on my face Forbid that I should bowO Christ, beneath thy BloodOnly to return to sin’s sloughLike a pig to the mud Remove my heart of stoneBreak through my ache of skinWith renewed awe for You aloneWho takes away my sin Forgive me when I seekThe willing ways of men Lord, enter in where flesh is weakAnd make me strong again © Janet Martin