Classic Poem

Thee do I ask for help, O God, the One, the Indivisible.
Only beneath Thy shadow can I succeed.
I crouch on Thy threshold, Thy slave. Thee do I praise.
Thee shall I praise while breath is in my body.

Thy mercies are without number, like the sands of the desert.
And who can count the sands?
Thou art beyond age and time. Thou wast.
Thou remainest.
Eternal art Thou, the One.

Thou alone, with help from none,
Hast created the earth, the seven heavens,
The two worlds, all humans and all animals.
Thy will, O God, created everything.
Yet none created Thee!

White or black, we are all but symbols of Thy unity.
All Thy works are wondrous, fashioned in goodness,
While the work of men's hands may be good or bad.
But Thou dost not close the door of mercy to the sinner.

Thus my confession of faith. Does my life agree with it?
No! My life stammers, though my words do not.
I do not deserve Thy Mercy.
Then help me to deserve it, O God, Eternal and One!