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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4.
“And the servant abideth not in the house for ever.”
Thy law hath bound me with a living band,
And in the dead of night, when all is still,
E'en like a thief, with footsteps dark and chill,
The great accuser shall before me stand,
And lift against me the upbraiding hand
In presence of the Judge; then vain the skill
That ever waits upon the tortuous will,
With ready self-deceivings at command,
To extricate, excuse, and to explain.
Nay, 'tis our will itself which is the chain
That binds us hand and foot, and doth remain
Drawing us, while we think not, to the gloom,
Till bondage doth itself become our home,
And thwarted will our everlasting doom.
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