In strange contrast to these utterances of popular superstition are the hymns and prayers that were addressed by the cultivated Babylonian to the gods of the official creed. They were gods of light and healing, who punished, indeed, the sins of the wicked, but were ready to listen to the petitions of the penitent and to forgive them their transgressions. Bel-Merodach was “the merciful one who raises the dead to life,” and Ea was ever on the watch to send aid to suffering humanity and foil the demons who warred against man. Here, for example, are some extracts from one of those penitential psalms whose authors seem to have sprung from Eridu and which formed part of the Babylonian Bible long before the age of Abraham: The heart of my lord is wroth; may it be appeased! May the god whom I know not be appeased! May the goddess whom I know not be appeased! May both the god I know and the god I know not be appeased!… O lord, my sins are many, my transgressions are great!… The sin that I sinned I knew not, The transgression I committed I knew not.… The lord in the wrath of his heart has regarded me, God in the fierceness of his heart has revealed himself to me.… I sought for help, and none took my hand; I wept, and none stood at my side; I cried aloud, and there was none that heard me. I am in trouble and hiding; I dare not look up. To my god, the merciful one, I turn myself, I utter my prayer; The feet of my goddess I kiss and water with tears.… The sins I have sinned turn into a blessing; The transgressions I have committed let the wind carry away! Strip off my manifold wickednesses as a garment! O my god, seven times seven are my transgressions; forgive my sins! O my goddess, seven times seven are my transgressions; forgive my sins! To the same early period belongs a hymn to the Moon-god, originally composed for the services in the temple of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, and afterward incorporated in the sacred books of the state religion. It is thus that the poet speaks of his god: Father, long-suffering and full of forgiveness, whose hand upholdeth the life of all mankind!… First-born, omnipotent, whose heart is immensity, and there is none who may fathom it!… In heaven who is supreme? Thou alone, thou art supreme! On earth, who is supreme? Thou alone, thou art supreme! As for thee, thy will is made known in heaven, and the angels bow their faces. As for thee, thy will is made known upon earth, and the spirits below kiss the ground.