Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — The Sifting of Peter

In St. Luke's Gospel we are told How Peter in the days of old        &nbsp Was sifted; And now, though ages intervene, Sin is the same, while time and scene        &nbsp Are shifted. Satan desires us, great and small, As wheat to sift us, and we all        &nbsp Are tempted; Not one, however rich or great, Is by his station or estate        &nbsp Exempted. No house so safely guarded is But he, by some device of his,        &nbsp Can enter; No heart hath armor so complete But he can pierce with arrows fleet        &nbsp Its centre. For all at last the cock will crow, Who hear the warning voice, but go        &nbsp Unheeding, Till thrice and more they have denied The Man of Sorrows, crucified        &nbsp And bleeding. One look of that pale suffering face Will make us feel the deep disgrace        &nbsp Of weakness; We shall be sifted till the strength Of self-conceit be changed at length        &nbsp To meekness. Wounds of the soul, though healed will ache; The reddening scars remain, and make        &nbsp Confession; Lost innocence returns no more; We are not what we were before        &nbsp Transgression. But noble souls, through dust and heat, Rise from disaster and defeat        &nbsp The stronger, And conscious still of the divine Within them, lie on earth supine        &nbsp No longer.