 | Sacra Poesis |  |
THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.
Thou hast seen many wonders, Olivet!
Since first at God's creative word, awoke
Thy pristine granite from its lethargy
In slumbering chaos, and was heav'd above
The plain, a mighty monument of power!
For oft beneath thy green and tufted oaks
Th' idolatrous Canaanite has bow'd the knee,
Or pour'd libations on the polish'd rock;
And oft the sword has reap'd upon thy brow
A bloody harvest;—oft have lightnings scathed,
And tempests wither'd thee,—and northern snows
Blanch'd thy tall summit. In thy central caves
Has lurk'd the robber, and the hermit pray'd—
Prophets been sepulchred, and sainted men
Hid them from tyranny;—those central caves
Cleft by the terrible earthquake, that laid bare
Thy giant roots, when erst Uzziah reign'd;
Fit retribution for the idol's house
That in his folly wisdom's child had rear'd.
Since first at God's creative word, awoke
Thy pristine granite from its lethargy
In slumbering chaos, and was heav'd above
The plain, a mighty monument of power!
For oft beneath thy green and tufted oaks
Th' idolatrous Canaanite has bow'd the knee,
Or pour'd libations on the polish'd rock;
And oft the sword has reap'd upon thy brow
A bloody harvest;—oft have lightnings scathed,
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Blanch'd thy tall summit. In thy central caves
Has lurk'd the robber, and the hermit pray'd—
Prophets been sepulchred, and sainted men
Hid them from tyranny;—those central caves
Cleft by the terrible earthquake, that laid bare
Thy giant roots, when erst Uzziah reign'd;
Fit retribution for the idol's house
That in his folly wisdom's child had rear'd.
And thou hast echoed to the listening skies,
The prayers and sorrows of the Righteous One,
And seen him agonizing at thy feet
In sad Gethsemane, near Kidron's dark
And melancholy stream; and when his death,
His innocent death, won sympathy from thee,
Thy stony sides did split, and render up
The holy men entomb'd within their caves:
Earnest and type of that astounding scene
When earth and Hades, casting out their dead,
All flesh shall stand before Messiah's throne!
The prayers and sorrows of the Righteous One,
And seen him agonizing at thy feet
In sad Gethsemane, near Kidron's dark
And melancholy stream; and when his death,
His innocent death, won sympathy from thee,
Thy stony sides did split, and render up
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Earnest and type of that astounding scene
When earth and Hades, casting out their dead,
All flesh shall stand before Messiah's throne!
On thee too, as he blest them, Jesus left
His weeping followers, and clouds of glory,
Upborne by cherub hands, receiv'd on high
Jehovah's fellow: and on thee again
His feet shall stand, and tread in vengeance dire
The winepress of his wrath, Jehosaphat!
Then shall be seen on thee glad Zion's King,
Her diadem of glory,—the desire
Of all creation,—joy of every land.
His weeping followers, and clouds of glory,
Upborne by cherub hands, receiv'd on high
Jehovah's fellow: and on thee again
His feet shall stand, and tread in vengeance dire
The winepress of his wrath, Jehosaphat!
Then shall be seen on thee glad Zion's King,
Her diadem of glory,—the desire
Of all creation,—joy of every land.
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