318. Discipline by George Herbert
G Herbert read by Classic Poetry Aloud:\nhttp://www.classicpoetryaloud.com/\n\nGiving voice to the poetry of the past.\n\n---------------------------------------------\n\nDiscipline\nby George Herbert (1593 \u2013 1632)\n\nThrow away Thy rod,\nThrow away Thy wrath;\n O my God,\nTake the gentle path!\nFor my heart's desire\nUnto Thine is bent:\n I aspire\nTo a full consent.\n\nNot a word or look\nI affect to own,\n But by book,\nAnd Thy Book alone.\n\nThough I fail, I weep;\nThough I halt in pace,\n Yet I creep\nTo the throne of grace.\n\nThen let wrath remove;\nLove will do the deed;\n For with love\nStony hearts will bleed.\n\nLove is swift of foot;\nLove 's a man of war,\n And can shoot,\nAnd can hit from far.\n\nWho can 'scape his bow?\nThat which wrought on Thee,\n Brought Thee low,\nNeeds must work on me.\n\nThrow away Thy rod;\nThough man frailties hath,\n Thou art God:\nThrow away Thy wrath!\n\nFirst aired: 12 August 2008\n\nFor hundreds more poetry readings, visit the Classic Poetry Aloud index.\n\nReading \xa9 Classic Poetry Aloud 2008