(Jeremiah, xxxi. 18-20) <br /> <br />My God, till I received Thy stroke, <br />How like a beast was I! <br />So unaccustom'd to the yoke, <br />So backward to comply. <br /> <br />With grief my just reproach I hear; <br />Shame fills me at the thought, <br />How frequent my rebellions were, <br />What wickedness I wrought. <br /> <br />Thy merciful restraint I scorn'd, <br />And left the pleasant road; <br />Yet turn me, and I shall be turn'd; <br />Thou art the Lord my God. <br /> <br />"Is Ephraim banish'd from my thoughts, <br />Or vile in my esteem? <br />No," saith the Lord, "with all his faults, <br />I still remember him. <br /> <br />"Is he a dear and pleasant child? <br />Yes, dear and pleasant still; <br />Though sin his foolish heart beguiled, <br />And he withstood my will. <br /> <br />"My sharp rebuke has laid him low, <br />He seeks my face again; <br />My pity kindles at his woe, <br />He shall not seek in vain."<br /><br />William Cowper<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ephraim-repenting/
