4.
“He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.”
When Thou wast laid on the sin-curséd ground
(Man's hiding-place until the day of doom),
It, sanctified by Thee, became the womb
Of Resurrection. Now, 'mid skies around,
The living Victim to the Altar bound,
'Mid universal nature's dreadful gloom
Thou shedd'st Thy light our darkness to illume;
With patience and with love immortal crowned,
Our Conqueror lifted on Thy throne; and there,
Pursuing through his realms the prince of air;
From soul-destroying vapours and disease
Clearing the foul and poisonous atmosphere;
Henceforth a road for saints to mount the skies,
Full of celestial and sweet influences.
