A serpent so wily

A serpent so wily and set to deceive; 

A man and a woman who could not perceive;

A fruit plucked and eaten, the Lord's word maligned;

Now sin was the fortune of all humankind.

 

The Tempter, come boldly to stark wilderness;

The Teacher, sore troubled in hunger's distress;

Temptations rebuffed and the Tempter resigned;

And so came redemptions for all humankind.

 

As sin came through one, so redemption the same - 

But bringing new righteousness in place of blame.

The one who obeyed broke humanity's bind,

And brought God's free gift unto all humankind. 

 

 

TEXT: Charles Spence Freeman, February 2023, after Lent 1A verses

MUSIC: Tune ST. DENIO, Welsh folk melody; arr. Caniadau y Cyssegr, 1839.

 

 

The texts for the first Sunday of Lent in year A give us Adam and Eve in the garden, Jesus in the wilderness, and Paul trying to draw the connection between the two.