Classic Poem

“Dear friends, the wages of sin is death, indeed;
His sin was great, but prayer is strong at need.
Our brother Andersson has gone astray,
And left—poor youth!—the straight and narrow way.;”
Alas! poor slaves of sin are we;
Lord, keep us from iniquity.

“Richly endowed beyond all priests he was
With heavenly grace,—our youthful Barnabas.
His gifts of exhortation, more than human,
Roused many souls, especially of women.
Pleasant as Joseph was he to behold,
And tempted too as Joseph was of old.
—Oh, my young friends, ye tread on perilous ground!—
Yet thought we Andersson was strong and sound,
And could from devils win the victory;
But devils have been mightier than he!”
Oh, fallen, fallen Ichabod,
How sin doth rage in flesh and blood!

“A worthy widow for his wife we gave,
Steadfast and not too young, who well might save
The young man from the snares of Satan's guile
And fleshly lures of worldliness, the while.
A silent, sober woman, tried and true
Of heart was she, a faithful watcher too,
Who at her post was ever diligent
And followed Andersson where'er he went.—
Yet wisdom is but weakness here below,
As this assembly needeth not to know:
Our erring brother fled by night away
With Fia Bergman to America!”
Oh, sin and trouble, griefs and fears,
This world is but a vale of tears!