The Vision of Prophecy and Other Poems | ||
253
XIV.
All sainted souls, Lord, are the chords
From which thy fingers draw
Immortal music to the tones
Of Thy most holy Law.
The melodies which Thy wide heavens
Through all the ages fill,
Are wills responding, and at one
With Thine, the Master-Will.
From which thy fingers draw
Immortal music to the tones
Of Thy most holy Law.
The melodies which Thy wide heavens
Through all the ages fill,
Are wills responding, and at one
With Thine, the Master-Will.
The seraph's harp is but a heart
That knows no law but thine,
The cherub's song a creature's love
At one with Love Divine;—
And music breathes from all Thy worlds,
Because they never stray
From the blue spaces where of old
Thy hand hath traced their way.
That knows no law but thine,
The cherub's song a creature's love
At one with Love Divine;—
And music breathes from all Thy worlds,
Because they never stray
From the blue spaces where of old
Thy hand hath traced their way.
The soul of man was once the lyre
On which Thy fingers played,
Heaven's music then was heard on Earth,
And Earth an answer made,—
Till Sin untuned the instrument
Of paradisal days,
Broke all its golden chords, and marred
Man's blessèd psalm of praise.
On which Thy fingers played,
254
And Earth an answer made,—
Till Sin untuned the instrument
Of paradisal days,
Broke all its golden chords, and marred
Man's blessèd psalm of praise.
Yet not for ever will it lie
Mute, shattered on the ground,
One hand can wake its strings again
To some preluding sound,—
Some wandering murmurs of the strain
That clear through Eden rung,
When first it mingled in the hymn
The stars of morning sung.
Mute, shattered on the ground,
One hand can wake its strings again
To some preluding sound,—
Some wandering murmurs of the strain
That clear through Eden rung,
When first it mingled in the hymn
The stars of morning sung.
One sweet subduing touch contains
The secret charm to move
And re-inspire it with the power
And kindling glow of love.
The Saviour's hand re-strings the chords,
And makes it here begin
The everlasting psalm which floats
Through worlds unstained by sin.
The secret charm to move
And re-inspire it with the power
And kindling glow of love.
The Saviour's hand re-strings the chords,
And makes it here begin
The everlasting psalm which floats
Through worlds unstained by sin.
The Vision of Prophecy and Other Poems | ||