 | The Sanctuary |  |
299
The Address.
“We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord,
trusting in our own righteousness.”
—Prayer Book.
Encircl'd by mysterious awe
The legal mount of Sinai rear'd
Its clouded vastness, when the Law
In symbols of dread light appear'd:—
Religion view'd it with alarmèd soul
And round its lurid heights heard pealing thunders roll!
The legal mount of Sinai rear'd
Its clouded vastness, when the Law
In symbols of dread light appear'd:—
Religion view'd it with alarmèd soul
And round its lurid heights heard pealing thunders roll!
Who touch'd with sacrilegious hand
Its sainted borders, died the death!
For man and beast alike were bann'd
From soiling with their sinful breath
That guarded precinct, where exceeding-loud
The trumpet-clang was heard from out the riven cloud.
Its sainted borders, died the death!
For man and beast alike were bann'd
From soiling with their sinful breath
That guarded precinct, where exceeding-loud
The trumpet-clang was heard from out the riven cloud.
And when the wav'ring Ark to hold
The unanointed Uzzah tried,
His crime was impious and so bold
That in the very act he died!—
Thus hath our God by symbol word or sign
For rev'rence set apart what He declares divine.
The unanointed Uzzah tried,
His crime was impious and so bold
That in the very act he died!—
Thus hath our God by symbol word or sign
For rev'rence set apart what He declares divine.
But Mount nor Ark can e'er appeal
To faith with such celestial awe,
As that which thrills adoring zeal
With more than kings and prophets saw,—
When Christ Himself by sacrament imparts
And feeds with mystic food our eucharistic hearts.
To faith with such celestial awe,
As that which thrills adoring zeal
With more than kings and prophets saw,—
When Christ Himself by sacrament imparts
And feeds with mystic food our eucharistic hearts.
Not in ourselves as guilty dust
Presume we now while drawing nigh,—
To cultivate a holy trust;
But rather with compunction sigh,
And meekly in the depths of Mercy find
Some anchor of sure hope to calm unsteady mind.
Presume we now while drawing nigh,—
To cultivate a holy trust;
But rather with compunction sigh,
And meekly in the depths of Mercy find
Some anchor of sure hope to calm unsteady mind.
300
So grant us, Lord, thy Flesh to eat
And Thine atoning Blood to drink,
That while we own ourselves unmeet
And in the dust of anguish sink,—
Pardon'd and purified true saints may live
On that immortal Bread Thy bleeding merits give.
And Thine atoning Blood to drink,
That while we own ourselves unmeet
And in the dust of anguish sink,—
Pardon'd and purified true saints may live
On that immortal Bread Thy bleeding merits give.
For could men pure as angels be
Or rival seraphim with love,
What countless sins Those Eyes could see
Which read the heart in heaven above!
But man's affections are, at best, infirm,
And he has most of faith who feels himself a “worm.”
Or rival seraphim with love,
What countless sins Those Eyes could see
Which read the heart in heaven above!
But man's affections are, at best, infirm,
And he has most of faith who feels himself a “worm.”
O Thou by Whose ethereal fire
All inward dross is purged away,
Now let Thy fervency inspire
Our longing hearts to love and pray,—
Spirit of Christ! by Whom the Cross alone
To man's reluctant will can make its virtue known.
All inward dross is purged away,
Now let Thy fervency inspire
Our longing hearts to love and pray,—
Spirit of Christ! by Whom the Cross alone
To man's reluctant will can make its virtue known.
Each low and languid pulse of thought
Touch'd by pure grace soon throbs for Thee;
And nerveless minds by guilt unwrought
Soar God-ward, when from sin set free
And those dull cares which chain the wingèd heart
And bind its flames to earth when they for heaven depart.
Touch'd by pure grace soon throbs for Thee;
And nerveless minds by guilt unwrought
Soar God-ward, when from sin set free
And those dull cares which chain the wingèd heart
And bind its flames to earth when they for heaven depart.
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