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 |  |
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2.
“If thou see Me when I am taken from thee, it shall be
so unto thee: but if not, it shall not be so.”
As from an exile's sad and ruined coast,
They who would send one to prepare a home
In happier climes, where they themselves would come,
And watch him in departing; yet, when lost,
Miss his protecting hand, and feel then most
Bereaved; so we, where clouds the skies illume,
Watch Him ascend, and feel an evening gloom
Steal o'er us on our way by shadows cross'd.
But if our hearts we wean from things of sense,
And cleanse our eyes by faith and abstinence
To see Him still in His departing hence,
The mantle of His peace shall on us rest;
His Spirit's double portion fill our breast;
And we e'en by His absence be more blest.
| The Altar | |