Total Depravity

A wretched soul, unclean in thought
And act, I could never dare
Demand forgiveness as what’s fair
Or mercy as a favor bought.   
All of my filthy spirit poured
In smaller vessels must distill
Into a still more potent will,
One more obnoxious to the Lord.  
Reduced into a concentrate,
Depravity is never thinned
Even in babes who haven’t sinned
Souls simmering must sulfurate.  
Has any weed, profusely spread
Sown millet, barley, rye, or corn?
So wickedness is those new born
Produces thistles not soft bread.
Despite my sin, the Lord has spared
An erring servant He reproves,
One lost His gentle guidance moves
On straighter paths His love prepared.  
It isn’t their sweet innocence
But infant weakness and a lack
Of opportunity that holds back
Children from wrath and violence.  
Do you know better than your peers,
Or are you older than the hills,
That we seem callow juveniles
Against the wisdom of your years?
If so, your juniors will defer,
But if your arrogance averts
To know the better and the worse
When God does not, we can’t concur.