Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
The poem opens with an abrupt  question. It is blunt and unexpected, without the softening of, for example, ‘Dear God, please …’  This sets the tone for the poem, an unusually direct address to God. 
 Lines similar to this begin the second and third stanzas, forming a refrain or  anaphora . This not only gives emphasis but creates a rhythmic beat that would suit a song or hymn. 
 The ‘sin where I begun’ is a reference to what we might call ‘original sin’, reaching back to the  Fall of Man  and Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The significance of this becomes clear as the poem progresses. 
 
 Adam and Eve and a strange-looking avenging angel
A Hymn To God The Father