The Altar or, Meditations in Verse On The Great Christian Sacrifice By The Author of "The Cathedral," [i.e. Isaac Williams] |
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 | The Altar |  |
3.
“And laid the wood in order”....“and laid him on the
altar upon the wood.”
Upon the ground extended lies the Rood,
In substance, not in shadow, to that mount
Which the true Isaac bare. Who shall recount
His pains, as 'mid the unpitying multitude
And scornful priests, from His pure virginal Flesh,
Marked with those livid wounds that bleed afresh,
They strip His robe adhesive,—on the wood
They stretch His pallid Body; with His Blood
The One true Priest His Altar doth anoint,
As through His outstretch'd palms the iron point
They drive, and through His feet the piercing wound.
His bones may all be number'd, joint by joint.
The God Who made all creatures, on the ground
Rack'd on the accurséd wood lies prostrate bound!
| The Altar | |