Think Gently of the Erring
Ye know not of the power
With which the dark temptation came
In some unguarded hour.
Ye may not know how earnestly
They struggled, or how well,
Until the hour of weakness came
And sadly thus they fell.
Think gently of the erring:
Oh! do not thou forget,
However darkly stained by sin
He is thy brother yet;
Heir of the selfsame heritage,
Child of the selfsame God,
He has but stumbled in the path
Thou hast in weakness trod.
Speak gently to the erring:
For is it not enough
That innocence and peace have gone,
Without thy censure rough?
It sure must be a weary lot,
That sin-stained heart to bear,
And those who share a happier fate
Their chidings well may spare.
Speak gently to the erring:
Thou yet may'st lead them back
With holy words and tones of love,
From misery's thorny track:
Forget not thou hast often sinned,
And sinful yet must be;
Deal gently with the erring, then,
As God has dealt with thee.
Julia Abigail Fletcher was born on the 6th April 1823 in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Her ancestors included important military figures from the American Revolution and it is believed that she inherited her strong sense of patriotism from them. She was expressing her thoughts in verse from a very early age, sometimes relying on her siblings to write them down, but an aunt expressed dismay to her mother that she should not be allowed to continue doing so. Julia was banned from writing for a while but this did not last too long. Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney was an American poet and teacher of the 19th century who wrote under a number of pseudonyms including “Sadie Sensible” and “Minnie May”. Much of her work was religiously-themed and her words were often set to music and sung as hymns. These were so popular that they could be found in American hymn books for at least fifty years after publication.