Charles H. Spurgeon on Psalms 9:17

Will without power, the element of hell,

Abortive all its acts returning still

Upon itself;. . . . Oh, anguish terrible!

Meet guerdon of self-love, its proper ill!

Malice would scowl upon the foe he fears;

And he with lip of scorn would seek to kill;

But neither sees the other, neither hears —

For darkness each in his own dungeon bars,

Lust pines for dearth, and grief drinks its own tears —

Each in its solitude apart. Hate wars

Against himself, and feeds upon his chain,

Whose iron penetrates the soul it scars,

A dreadful solitude each mind insane,

Each its own place, its prison all alone,

And finds no sympathy to soften pain. J. A. Heraud.