Fifty of the Protestant Ballads and " The Anti-Ritualistic Directorium, " of Martin F. Tupper ... New; and reprinted |
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OUR CHURCH'S ENEMIES. |
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 | Fifty of the Protestant Ballads |  |
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OUR CHURCH'S ENEMIES.
Ah! dear old Church of England,—if we should live to see
Thy many foes of many sorts exultant over thee,
The Papist, with the profligate and infidel combined
And, of more right, those nobler men of Non-conformist mind,—
Thy many foes of many sorts exultant over thee,
The Papist, with the profligate and infidel combined
And, of more right, those nobler men of Non-conformist mind,—
If ever, no one knows how soon, thou may'st be swept away
From every parish of the land,—Alas, that evil day!—
The fault of it, the grievous fault, the cause of so great sin
Is less the bitter foe without, than the false friend within.
From every parish of the land,—Alas, that evil day!—
The fault of it, the grievous fault, the cause of so great sin
Is less the bitter foe without, than the false friend within.
Of thine own house some sons are found, some bishops, rectors, deans,
Traitors,—who smoothly work thy fall by Jesuitic means,
Weaning the layman from his church, the pastor from his fold,
And scattering Sheep that have no Shepherds, as was said of old.
Traitors,—who smoothly work thy fall by Jesuitic means,
Weaning the layman from his church, the pastor from his fold,
And scattering Sheep that have no Shepherds, as was said of old.
True, there be clergy pure and good, some eloquent and wise,
The honour'd servants of their Lord, and precious in His eyes;
But also many tainted with the living lies of Rome,
While more are dull, and dead of heart, and drones within the home.
The honour'd servants of their Lord, and precious in His eyes;
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While more are dull, and dead of heart, and drones within the home.
And loudly do we laymen, ay and sorrowingly, protest
Against the Judas teachers that our Mother-church infest,
The Ritualizing formalist, the Romanizing priest,
The misbeliever with the mark and image of the beast.
Against the Judas teachers that our Mother-church infest,
The Ritualizing formalist, the Romanizing priest,
The misbeliever with the mark and image of the beast.
True, some of us too of the lay are following those who lead,
As men that cannot think themselves adopt their teacher's creed,
The weak, the vicious, and the vain are easy to be caught,
And humbler ignorance is glad and eager to be taught.
As men that cannot think themselves adopt their teacher's creed,
The weak, the vicious, and the vain are easy to be caught,
And humbler ignorance is glad and eager to be taught.
And vestments, flowers, and music, with celibates in stoles,
Are pleasant medicines for sin, and sweet to frailer souls,
And fashion makes all comme-il-faut, and guilt is glad to find
That priestly absolution salves a cankered heart and mind.
Are pleasant medicines for sin, and sweet to frailer souls,
And fashion makes all comme-il-faut, and guilt is glad to find
That priestly absolution salves a cankered heart and mind.
And so, poor Church of England, because thy tolerant heart
Hath striven to keep within thee some of those who should depart,
They drown thee with false doctrines, and they drive us from the place
Wherein our fathers worshipped God,—elsewhere to seek His face.
Hath striven to keep within thee some of those who should depart,
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Wherein our fathers worshipped God,—elsewhere to seek His face.
They decorate, they chant and sing, processionize, intone,
Till Common-prayer and Litany we scarce can think our own,
They worship bread and wine, and so to Baal bow the knee,
And make thy better children, Church of England, fear for thee.
Till Common-prayer and Litany we scarce can think our own,
They worship bread and wine, and so to Baal bow the knee,
And make thy better children, Church of England, fear for thee.
O traitors! quickly leave us,—may ye soon depart in peace
To join infallible old Rome, or fallible new Greece;
And may thy truer clergy, Church of England, yet stand strong
Beside thy faithful laity who never wrought thee wrong!
To join infallible old Rome, or fallible new Greece;
And may thy truer clergy, Church of England, yet stand strong
Beside thy faithful laity who never wrought thee wrong!
| Fifty of the Protestant Ballads | |