Because I knew not when my life was good,
And when there was a light up­on my path,
But turned my soul per­verse­ly to the dark,
O Lord, I do re­pent.

Because I held upon my self­ish road,
And left my bro­ther wound­ed by the way,
And called am­bi­tion du­ty, and pressed on,
O Lord, I do re­pent.

Because I spent the strength Thou gav­est me
In strug­gle which Thou ne­ver didst or­dain,
And have im­per­fect life to of­fer Thee,
O Lord, I do re­pent.

Because I was im­pa­tient, would not wait,
And thrust my will­ful hand across Thy threads,
And marred the pat­tern drawn out for my life,
O Lord, I do re­pent.

Because Thou hast borne with me all this while,
Hast smit­ten me with love unt­il I weep,
Hast called me as a mo­ther calls her child,
O Lord, I do re­pent.