A Shakespearean Sonnet on 2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The Lord is not in slackness to His word,

Though scoffers mock the tarrying of the day;

His promise stands, as fixed as heaven’s sword,

Yet mercy bids the rising storm delay.

Longsuffering He bears toward erring men,

Not swift to strike, though justice claims her due;

For in His heart no soul He wills to send

To endless night where perished spirits rue.

He waits, that none should fall to ruin’s flood,

But all should turn and seek the narrow gate;

Repentance calls them from the chains of blood,

To taste the life that sin would desecrate.

O patient God, Thy forbearance is grace—

Repent and flee the coming wrath’s embrace.