Fifty of the Protestant Ballads and " The Anti-Ritualistic Directorium, " of Martin F. Tupper ... New; and reprinted |
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| XIV. | XIV.
THE IRISH CHURCH. |
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| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
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 | Fifty of the Protestant Ballads |  |
XIV. THE IRISH CHURCH.
Cut it down to the root,
For it cumbereth the ground!
It beareth wild fruit,
Its heart is unsound,—
The leaf, look! doth wither,
The grapes yield no wine,—
Stern woodman, speed hither,
And hew down this vine.
For it cumbereth the ground!
It beareth wild fruit,
Its heart is unsound,—
The leaf, look! doth wither,
The grapes yield no wine,—
Stern woodman, speed hither,
And hew down this vine.
Ah, God! is all true
The accuser hath said?
Is judgment so due,
And mercy so fled?
Hath grace quite departed
From branch and from root?
Is all hollow-hearted
And barren of fruit?
The accuser hath said?
Is judgment so due,
And mercy so fled?
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From branch and from root?
Is all hollow-hearted
And barren of fruit?
Alas! we have err'd
In thousands of ways,
Neglecting Thy word,
Forgetting Thy praise;
We grieve for transgression,
And ask at Thy throne,
In humble confession,
Forgiveness alone!
In thousands of ways,
Neglecting Thy word,
Forgetting Thy praise;
We grieve for transgression,
And ask at Thy throne,
In humble confession,
Forgiveness alone!
Yet, Lord! is it just
What the enemy saith?
Are we false to our trust?
Are we foes to Thy faith?
Have none of us striven,
By night and by day,
To win souls to Heaven
And teach them Thy way?
What the enemy saith?
Are we false to our trust?
Are we foes to Thy faith?
Have none of us striven,
By night and by day,
To win souls to Heaven
And teach them Thy way?
All missions elsewhere
That heathendom bless,
Would you crush the work there
For its feeble success?
Though millions benighted,
Now hold such in scorn,
They may yet be requited
By millions unborn
That heathendom bless,
Would you crush the work there
For its feeble success?
Though millions benighted,
Now hold such in scorn,
They may yet be requited
By millions unborn
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Is it duty, forsooth
(If a failure were shown),
To measure all truth
By successes alone?
So might we disparage
(Where merits are blank)
The thraldom of marriage,
The heirdom of rank!
(If a failure were shown),
To measure all truth
By successes alone?
So might we disparage
(Where merits are blank)
The thraldom of marriage,
The heirdom of rank!
Our grapes—were all wild?
Our leaf—is all sear?
Hath mammon defiled
All comeliness here?
Many lifetimes of labour—
Have these been quite vain,
That God and our neighbour
Condemn us again?
Our leaf—is all sear?
Hath mammon defiled
All comeliness here?
Many lifetimes of labour—
Have these been quite vain,
That God and our neighbour
Condemn us again?
Not so! We are bold
In help from above,
That the Lord will behold
This vine in His love,—
Will prune it and dress it,
To bring forth more fruit,
And spare it and bless it,
And stablish its root!
In help from above,
That the Lord will behold
This vine in His love,—
Will prune it and dress it,
To bring forth more fruit,
And spare it and bless it,
And stablish its root!
So the boar from the wood
Shall not break down its hedge,
Nor the foes of all good,
Though banded in pledge;
The Saviour, returning,
Around us shall reign,
And change all our mourning
To gladness again!
Shall not break down its hedge,
Nor the foes of all good,
Though banded in pledge;
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Around us shall reign,
And change all our mourning
To gladness again!
| Fifty of the Protestant Ballads | |