A LONGSUFFERING VILLANELLE

The God of grace in whom true blessings start,
Desiring the salvation of us all,
Showed through longsuffering His loving hear.

Whence was the work, far nobler than man's art
Displayed in the longsufferings of Paul?
The God of grace in whom true blessings start.

The apostle, formed by God and set apart,
Made righteous through Christ's answer to the fall,
Showed through longsuffering his loving heart.

What has secured that virgin counterpart
To Christ's longsuffering till she hears His call?

The God of grace in whom true blessings start.

Lovely to God, shielded from Satan's dart,
The saint who has, though sin's attacks appall,
Showed through longsuffering his loving heart.

Let saints in testimony here impart
This message of God's ways to great and small:

The God of grace in whom true blessings start
Showed through longsuffering His loving heart.