ANGELS' SONGS FROM THE GOLDEN CITY OF THE BLESSED
Edythe Morahan-de Lauzon

<<  GO, SIN NO MORE  >>

The Master sat in the Temple,
And taught the listening throng
Of God's great love and mercy.
And judgment of earth's wrong.
As He spoke to the eager people,
The Scribes and Pharisees then
Dragged in a woman to be stoned
The victim of sinful men
And said,
" This woman we have taken
An adulteress, found in the act!
Moses commanded to stone all such
Shall we her with these rocks attack?"
They thought,
" Should He bid us stone her,
Roman judgment on Him we will bring
But should He bid us release her.
He is not Messiah, the King!"
They stood, with bitter, leering looks
On the sobbing woman weak.
With jagged rocks in their cruel hands.
Their hatred on her to wreak.
Themselves they thought most holy.
And with lustful sin undefiled
Yet many souls they had led to ruin,
Poor creatures by them beguiled.
But Jesus looked and stooping down,
With His finger traced on the ground
A message from the Searcher of hearts
For none free from sin was found.
And He arose and said unto them
As He looked on the one who did err
" He that is without sin among you.
Let him cast the first stone at her !"
And again He stooped and wrote on the ground
For their guilty hearts He could see
They had taken the woman to be stoned,
And the man her companion set free!
The law of Moses had said for this crime,
On each guilty one cast a stone
But they set the man free and brought the
woman
To suffer for both alone!
Even as God spoke their Conscience
Accused them one and all
And they each departed one by one
From the eldest to the small!
One by one they dropped the rocks
Which they held in their guilty hands,
And hurried forth in haste and fear
Away from Conscience which brands!
And God who was spotless and pure
He could cast the stone 'twas His right!
Looked with pity on the sobbing woman
The victim of Sin's dark night.
And Jesus stood alone
With the weeping woman near,
" Where are thine accusers?'' He gently said,
" Hath no man condemned thee here?"
And she sobbed,
" No man, Lord !"
Then the Saviour looked and smiled^-
" Neither do I condemn thee !
Go, sin no more! unhappy child."
The woman stood and beheld her God,
As her hot tears she brushed away
And cried, "Jehovah! Lord God! The Christ!"
And fell at His feet to pray !
And God with His compassionate love,
From sin cleansed all her heart
She went rejoicing on her way,
From the good she would never part!
And so 'tis the Woman who suffers,
When from virtue led astray
While Man, her companion in guilt,
Walks carelessly on his way.
As he scorns, and laughs, and leaves her
To bear the sorrow and shame
While the world approves and gaily jeers,
On his shoulders it puts not the blame.
But there reigns the Omnipotent God,
Who weighs Life's Balance, just and sure
He will not lightly pass Man by,
Who has robbed from Woman her virtue pure !