The Writings of Patrick (9)

But I am sorry for my friend: For how
did we deserve that he should bring just now
this evidence against me? He to whom
I had my soul entrusted! He had room
within his heart for me before this case
was mooted (for I was not in that place
when my transgression was discussed); for he
had argued they should offer me the See
of Ireland, and had told me once, “You should
be made a bishop,” though I was not good
or worthy of this calling. How did he,
a short time later, turn his back on me,
before men good and bad, to bring me to
disgrace for what I shared with him, he who
forgave me willingly and gladly, just
as God Himself had done, in Whom I trust,
and Who is greater than the rest?

                                                      I will
belabor my disgrace no longer. Still,
I must not hide the gift of God, which He
so graciously and freely gave to me
when I was captive here in Ireland. For
it was when I was yet a slave, for more
than six long years, that I with tears then sought
Him strenuously, and found Him – as I ought
to have done much sooner on. He saved me from
my sins, and now His Holy Spirit has come
to dwell within me, as I now believe;
and He is pleased my labors to receive
unto this day. And though I may sound bold
in this, I am convinced the voice that told
me to continue here was from the Lord,
and not from men. For if it were the word
of men alone that brought me here, I could
not speak for Him, as every Christian should.

And so I thank my God untiringly,
Who on the day that I was tried kept me
within His grace, so that today I may
present unto my Lord in every way
the sacrifice of my own soul. For He
has saved me through my trials, thus causing me
to ask, “Who am I, Lord, what must I do,
that in Your majesty and mercy You
have shown Yourself to me, so that today
I magnify Your holy Name and say
among the heathen, all throughout this land,
that You alone are Lord, and in Your hand
are all our times, both good and bad?” And so
whatever comes, though good or bad, I go
in gratitude and faith to serve the Lord,
Who taught me how to find within His Word
the faith I need to follow Him, and Who
has helped me, ignorant as I am, to do
this holy work to which at last I came,
to bring the Irish to obey His Name.
It is as if I were a member of
those glorious ones of whom the God of love
foretold in ancient times, that they would be
the harbingers of Gospel grace that He
would send as witnesses before all men,
before this dying world should reach its end.
And we have seen this done, for we have preached
where never had before the Gospel reached,
and we have offered what He freely gives
to places that, beyond which, no one lives.

So this alone I boast, and nothing more:
That I, a rustic man, who was before
a wretched sinner and a slave, have been
exalted to proclaim God’s Word to men.

For more about Patrick and the impact of his ministry, order a copy of The Legacy of Patrick, by T. M. Moore from our online store.