The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
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THE CHURCH IN CANADA.
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 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
629
THE CHURCH IN CANADA.
(INSCRIBED TO THE BISHOP OF TORONTO.)
Records of Grace divinely move
The Church's heart with hymnèd praise,
When the deep thought, how guardian Love
Has camp'd around her peril'd ways,
In some high mood of heaven-born calm
O'er mem'ry breathes a solemn balm;
Till Christ Himself in shadows seems
To rise upon Her ancient dreams.
The Church's heart with hymnèd praise,
When the deep thought, how guardian Love
Has camp'd around her peril'd ways,
In some high mood of heaven-born calm
O'er mem'ry breathes a solemn balm;
Till Christ Himself in shadows seems
To rise upon Her ancient dreams.
“For ever with you, I shall be,”—
Here is Faith's charter, strong as heaven!
Framed by incarnate Deity
And to His mystic Body given,
When, for Her mission-work on earth,
The sacrament of second Birth
Her Lord imparted; and the grace
To spread it o'er earth's boundless race.
Here is Faith's charter, strong as heaven!
Framed by incarnate Deity
And to His mystic Body given,
When, for Her mission-work on earth,
The sacrament of second Birth
Her Lord imparted; and the grace
To spread it o'er earth's boundless race.
Though manacled in murd'rous flame,
The martyr'd herald of The Cross
Hath gloried in Messiah's name
And counted life, not death, a loss:—
That Charter, like a living power
Sustain'd him in some tortured hour;
While viewless Angels, hov'ring nigh,
Wafted to heaven his farewell-sigh.
The martyr'd herald of The Cross
Hath gloried in Messiah's name
And counted life, not death, a loss:—
That Charter, like a living power
Sustain'd him in some tortured hour;
While viewless Angels, hov'ring nigh,
Wafted to heaven his farewell-sigh.
Yes, fire and sword, and dungeon-gloom,
And all which Hell and Hate have done
To bury truth in falsehood's tomb,
And blast the triumphs Faith has won,
The heroes of the Church have braved:
And never left Her cause enslaved,
Since all they suffer'd, fann'd the zeal
Her sacramental Warriors feel.
And all which Hell and Hate have done
To bury truth in falsehood's tomb,
And blast the triumphs Faith has won,
The heroes of the Church have braved:
And never left Her cause enslaved,
Since all they suffer'd, fann'd the zeal
Her sacramental Warriors feel.
Thus Canada! thy church and creed
Pure as our own, from England bred,
When Loyalty was doom'd to bleed
And banner'd Treason myriads led,
A sworn allegiance nobly kept
While havoc round thee raged, and swept,—
Ark'd in the promise of thy Lord,
And safe within His shelt'ring Word.
Pure as our own, from England bred,
When Loyalty was doom'd to bleed
And banner'd Treason myriads led,
A sworn allegiance nobly kept
While havoc round thee raged, and swept,—
Ark'd in the promise of thy Lord,
And safe within His shelt'ring Word.
By Lake Ontario's rocky shore
Where creedless pagans once abounded,
And exiles heard the torrent roar
By wood and wilderness surrounded,
Churches arise; and saintly Bands
Have come from far and famous lands;
And apostolic Symbols reign
O'er rescued swamp and ransom'd plain.
Where creedless pagans once abounded,
And exiles heard the torrent roar
By wood and wilderness surrounded,
Churches arise; and saintly Bands
Have come from far and famous lands;
And apostolic Symbols reign
O'er rescued swamp and ransom'd plain.
But never, till that Day of light
When God shall grief and guilt disclose,
Will thankless myriads learn aright
What to her Church Canadia owes:
For, social worth, and moral grace,
Freedom divine, and all we trace
Of present heaven in heart and home
From Faith, and not from Culture, come.
When God shall grief and guilt disclose,
Will thankless myriads learn aright
What to her Church Canadia owes:
For, social worth, and moral grace,
Freedom divine, and all we trace
Of present heaven in heart and home
From Faith, and not from Culture, come.
The churchless, soon, are godless, too!
The unbaptised grow base and blind;
And where no sacraments renew
The sin-worn heart and earth-toned mind,
All virtues die; all vices bloom;
The soul becomes a sensual tomb,
And men the Saviour yearn'd to cherish,
Eternalise their guilt, and perish!
The unbaptised grow base and blind;
And where no sacraments renew
The sin-worn heart and earth-toned mind,
All virtues die; all vices bloom;
The soul becomes a sensual tomb,
And men the Saviour yearn'd to cherish,
Eternalise their guilt, and perish!
Hence, laurell'd with a wreath of love
Be Stuart's patriarchal name;
While Langhorn, in the Church above
With Addison, of kindred fame,
May oft, perchance, the Past revive,
And view salvation's harvest thrive
From germs divine 'twas theirs to sow
Through scorching years of toil and woe.
Be Stuart's patriarchal name;
While Langhorn, in the Church above
With Addison, of kindred fame,
May oft, perchance, the Past revive,
And view salvation's harvest thrive
From germs divine 'twas theirs to sow
Through scorching years of toil and woe.
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |