Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart
A
And now, what will you do, my lost soul?
Where will you hide?
How will you live?
And how can you escape the prison of your sin?
Your transgressions are many and your
punishments countless.
The scoldings severe and the harsh words endless.
Even the angels have lost patience and the
judge cannot be bribed.
1
The court is mighty and the tribunal just.
The vengeance is terrible and the retribution, merciless.
The sentence terrifying and the condemnation, complete.
The rivers fiery and the streams impassable.
The darkness is thick and the fog impenetrable.
The pit is vile and the torment eternal.
2
Hell is all-encompassing and the blizzard unrelenting.
Now, indeed you have piled up all these bitter things,
a depraved and terrible cell of unbearable punishment,
O my worthless sinful soul, evildoer, prostitute,
soiled, a refuse dump of filth.
Here then are the wages of your handiwork:
3
You have turned from the straight path and
strayed from holiness.
You have been outcast from the ranks of the
righteous and honest.
You lack spiritual gifts and riches of our
most jealous benefactor and almighty king.
B
You have ensnared yourself in an inescapable prison,
by confessing that your wounds are incurable
and your punishment unequaled and
testifying that your soul is condemned to
death and incurably broken.
You are
evil among the good,
bitter among the sweet,
dark among the light,
bruised among the adorned,
rejected among the praised,
impious among the pious,
brute among the thoughtful,
stupid among the intelligent,
foolish among the wise,
unclean among the elect,
dead among the living,
filthy among the saints,
drunken among the sober,
deceptive among the just,
useless among the useful,
dishonored among the glorious,
deficient among the abundant,
underling among the superiors,
most lowly among the sublime,
poor among the wealthy,
unworthy among the saved,
homeless among the rich in spirit,
cast away among the blessed.
