Dost see the error in thy brother's thought,
Which thou wouldst fain cast out? Wouldst firmly stand
For truth and righteousness? Yet pause, to know
If in thy zeal thou hast forgotten aught.
We read that David, spiritually armed,
All zealous for the glory of his God,
Went forth to meet Goliath, who was clad
In weighty armor, boasting in his strength,
Disdaining, with a curse, the shepherd youth
Who, in reliance on the Lord of hosts,
Defied with fearlessness the vaunting foe,
And proved but nothingness his seeming power.
O brother, are we zealous only for
The glory of our ever gracious God?
Or are we ever tempted to apply
Coercive and unloving thought and speech,
Perchance to let resentment and a sense
Of condemnation of our fellow-man
Be in our consciousness unrecognized,
Forgetting that these traits of mortal mind
Ne'er in our Master's loving thought found place?
Yet ever wielded he a mighty sword
Against all evil—yea, the Word of God,
Which is the sword of Spirit, and "is quick,
And powerful" to sever wrong from right.
