The Choir and The Oratory or Praise and Prayer. By Josiah Conder |
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 | The Choir and The Oratory |  |
I.
“God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.”
“Be ye reconciled to God.”—2 Cor. v. 19, 20.
Mysterious ambassage! Be reconciled,
Man, to thy Maker: to thy God return,
Poor, ruined wanderer, nor thy Saviour spurn,
Who woos thy stubborn heart in terms so mild.
Yield to his love, and be again a child.
Humbly accept what thou couldst never earn.
Look to the cross, and there thy guilt discern;
And in that fountain wash thy soul defiled.
Only believe and love.—Distasteful creed!
More harsh than harshest lore of Stoic school,
Carthusian penance, or Franciscan rule,
To man's proud heart; and terms that far exceed
His reach, until he knows himself a fool,
Accepts the boon, and finds it grace indeed.
| The Choir and The Oratory | |