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‘Will you forgive my sins, which I was responsible for, though many have committed them before
me? If you will forgive me for those sins, then your work will not be done – for I have more sins
to confess when we’ve done those. Will you forgive me when I have led others to sin, and even
introduced them to the world of sin, acting like a door to welcome them in? Will you forgive me
for the sin which, barring a couple of years of abstinence, I practised for twenty whole years?
Again, if you will forgive me for those sins, then you should know: there are more. I also have
another sin – that of fear, or specifically, fear of death. But if you, God, can swear that when I
die, I will see your son, Jesus Christ, shining and there to save me, then all is all right: I fear no
more.’
Source: https://interestingliterature.com/2017/06/13/a-short-analysis-of-john-donnes-a-hymn-
to-god-the-father/
Explanation:
This Donne’s divine poem, is not a poem about praising God. Instead of praising Him,
this poem expresses the poet’s wish of God’s forgiveness. He constantly asks for His
forgiveness, shows his insecurities in His prayers. He know that he will always do sins more and
more, even the sin that has been committed by others in the first place.
In the third stanza, the poet looks cheeky for wanting God to swear to save him.
However, in the end, the poet is sure that by the death of the Son, he is saved. He does not need
to fear the sin anymore.