February 23

“Think kindly of the erring!
Ye know not of the power
With which the dark temptation came
In some unguarded hour;
Ye may not know how earnestly
They struggled, or how well,
Until the hour of weakness came,
And sadly then they fell.

“Think kindly of the erring!
Oh! Do not thou forget
However darkly stained by sin,
He is thy brother yet.
Heir of the self-same heritage,
Child of the self-same God,
He has but stumbled in the path
Thou hast in weakness trod.

“Speak gently to the erring!
For is it not enough
That happiness and peace are gone
Without the censure rough?
It sure must be a weary lot
The sin-crushed soul to bear,
And they who have a happier lot
Their chiding well may spare.

“Speak Gently to the erring!
And thou may’st lead them back,
With holy words and tones of love
From misery’s thorny track.
Forget not thou hast often sinned,
And sinning yet may be.
Deal gently with the erring one,
As He has dealt with thee.”

BATES