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THE PILGRIM LAND.
AN ODE.
The pilgrim land for ever, O,
The pilgrim land for ever!
Beneath her skies no bondman sighs,—
She hath no chains to sever!
From civil right, and Gospel light,
Her glory round her gathers;
Nor lord nor slave treads near a grave
Where sleep our Pilgrim Fathers.
The pilgrim land for ever, O,
Her beauty fadeth never!
Her heart is right, her paths are light;
No chain hath she to sever.
The pilgrim land for ever!
Beneath her skies no bondman sighs,—
She hath no chains to sever!
From civil right, and Gospel light,
Her glory round her gathers;
Nor lord nor slave treads near a grave
Where sleep our Pilgrim Fathers.
The pilgrim land for ever, O,
Her beauty fadeth never!
Her heart is right, her paths are light;
No chain hath she to sever.
Self-exiled from their native land,
In unrestrained devotion
To worship God, the Pilgrims braved
A wild and stormy ocean.
O'er briny caves and mountain waves
The Guide of Israel led them,
Till on the rock, his faithful flock!
Their holy Shepherd fed them.
Patuxet
rock for ever, O,
Patuxet rock for ever!
The Pilgrim's foot in thee hath put
A worth to perish never.
In unrestrained devotion
To worship God, the Pilgrims braved
A wild and stormy ocean.
O'er briny caves and mountain waves
The Guide of Israel led them,
Till on the rock, his faithful flock!
Their holy Shepherd fed them.
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Patuxet rock for ever!
The Pilgrim's foot in thee hath put
A worth to perish never.
The Church, amid the wilderness,
Had space and freedom granted,
To flourish as a goodly vine
The Lord's right hand had planted.
The solemn wood, her temple, stood,
With wintry skies for ceiling;
A desert shore lay frosted o'er—
Her altar-place, for kneeling.
The pilgrim faith for ever, O,
The pilgrim faith for ever!
Be this our might, through every fight,
Though flesh and spirit sever!
Had space and freedom granted,
To flourish as a goodly vine
The Lord's right hand had planted.
The solemn wood, her temple, stood,
With wintry skies for ceiling;
A desert shore lay frosted o'er—
Her altar-place, for kneeling.
The pilgrim faith for ever, O,
The pilgrim faith for ever!
Be this our might, through every fight,
Though flesh and spirit sever!
And may the children, as the sire,
To man's last generation,
Preserve its sacred altar-flame;—
It burneth to Salvation!—
Nor priest nor king prescribe the ring
The soul must not pass over,
Whom Gospel freedom maketh free
To serve the Lord Jehovah!
The pilgrim hope for ever, O,
The pilgrim hope for ever!
And up the skies let pæans rise
To Him who changeth never.
To man's last generation,
Preserve its sacred altar-flame;—
It burneth to Salvation!—
Nor priest nor king prescribe the ring
The soul must not pass over,
Whom Gospel freedom maketh free
To serve the Lord Jehovah!
The pilgrim hope for ever, O,
The pilgrim hope for ever!
And up the skies let pæans rise
To Him who changeth never.
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Let memory of the May-Flower bloom,
When we in dust are sleeping!
She bore the Word of God, to spread
In fields for angels' reaping.
And, 'mid our days of joy and praise,
Let every heart remember
The grateful love we owe above,
On Twenty-two, December!
The pilgrim land for ever, O,
Until the life-string sever!
Then, be we found on Canaan's ground,—
The pilgrim's Home for ever!
When we in dust are sleeping!
She bore the Word of God, to spread
In fields for angels' reaping.
And, 'mid our days of joy and praise,
Let every heart remember
The grateful love we owe above,
On Twenty-two, December!
The pilgrim land for ever, O,
Until the life-string sever!
Then, be we found on Canaan's ground,—
The pilgrim's Home for ever!
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