A Song of Faith Devout Exercises and Sonnets by Sir Aubrey De Vere |
A SONG OF FAITH. |
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A Song of Faith | ||
5
A SONG OF FAITH.
Proem.
Faith is the life-blood of the soul; the heart
That trusts hath need of faith: in search of truth
The spirit of Hope, confiding, yields assent
To that which, in itself worthy belief,
Stands by its attestation certified.
Not evidence of sense alone persuades,
Nor scientific consequences proven,
Nor doth opinion rest on argument
Of probabilities. The watchful mind
Investigates, deliberates, resolves;
And doctrine, thus assayed, comes stamped with truth:
Trust growing as a plant within the heart,
Whose flowerage is faith.
That trusts hath need of faith: in search of truth
The spirit of Hope, confiding, yields assent
To that which, in itself worthy belief,
Stands by its attestation certified.
Not evidence of sense alone persuades,
Nor scientific consequences proven,
Nor doth opinion rest on argument
Of probabilities. The watchful mind
Investigates, deliberates, resolves;
And doctrine, thus assayed, comes stamped with truth:
Trust growing as a plant within the heart,
Whose flowerage is faith.
The sacred Seers
Propounded knowledge taught to them by God;
And men believed their testimony, vouched
By miracles that spake to aftertimes:
Infallible witnesses! for He, alone,
Can prompt, who knowing all things doth foresee.
Propounded knowledge taught to them by God;
And men believed their testimony, vouched
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Infallible witnesses! for He, alone,
Can prompt, who knowing all things doth foresee.
To verities, attested thus, men clung
Implicitly; and this was faith Divine.
He, infinititely good, cannot deceive—
Nor, infinitely wise, can be deceived.
Himself our Holy Witness, He vouchsafes
A Revelation that forestalls all search;
Lightens all darkness; sounds all mystery.
Implicitly; and this was faith Divine.
He, infinititely good, cannot deceive—
Nor, infinitely wise, can be deceived.
Himself our Holy Witness, He vouchsafes
A Revelation that forestalls all search;
Lightens all darkness; sounds all mystery.
And why refuse that faith in Holy things
We grant through every phase of mind and life?
Love, and the increase of all life, is faith;
Habit and action rest on faith secure;
We watch for morning through the gloom of night,
New summers after winter, flowers from seeds,
Through faith alone: instinct is faith: the truths
Of abstract science, moral laws innate,
On axioms hang, whose basis still is faith.
God, therefore, hath built up this universe
A complex frame, of countless arches formed,
Concentrical, each with its keystone Faith.
At length behold, the mighty fabric stands
Complete in all its parts; as doth the Dome
Of some great temple, eminent to heaven;
Whose strength is one indissoluble bond.
That bond is Faith: the keystone of a Dome
Whose altar is the Cross, whose shrine the Church.
We grant through every phase of mind and life?
Love, and the increase of all life, is faith;
Habit and action rest on faith secure;
We watch for morning through the gloom of night,
New summers after winter, flowers from seeds,
Through faith alone: instinct is faith: the truths
Of abstract science, moral laws innate,
On axioms hang, whose basis still is faith.
God, therefore, hath built up this universe
A complex frame, of countless arches formed,
Concentrical, each with its keystone Faith.
At length behold, the mighty fabric stands
Complete in all its parts; as doth the Dome
Of some great temple, eminent to heaven;
Whose strength is one indissoluble bond.
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Whose altar is the Cross, whose shrine the Church.
Yet, gifted as men are with reasoning will,
Free to inquire and act, their intellect
They wield not as a passive instrument,
But follow as a Power, ruling of right.
The restless generations pass: the Young
Still crave the nutriment of faith: for them
Suffices not that trust which closed in peace
Their father's dying eyes: They, too, must prove
The evidence of things revealed. Not love
Of truth alone within us, but desire
Invincible of good, prompts yet restrains
This spirit; else an idle Questioner.
Free to inquire and act, their intellect
They wield not as a passive instrument,
But follow as a Power, ruling of right.
The restless generations pass: the Young
Still crave the nutriment of faith: for them
Suffices not that trust which closed in peace
Their father's dying eyes: They, too, must prove
The evidence of things revealed. Not love
Of truth alone within us, but desire
Invincible of good, prompts yet restrains
This spirit; else an idle Questioner.
O Thou! the Giver of our reason, so
Chastise its operation, that our hearts,
By no too curious subtlety misled,
Nor argument sophistical perplexed,
May cleave to Thee aright, and work Thy will!
Strengthen our faith! Lord, help our unbelief!
Chastise its operation, that our hearts,
By no too curious subtlety misled,
Nor argument sophistical perplexed,
May cleave to Thee aright, and work Thy will!
Strengthen our faith! Lord, help our unbelief!
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I. The Almighty Father.
In God the Father Christian men declare
True faith: this predicates the Son: from Both
The Holy Ghost proceeding, we confess
One Godhead; Three in One: the Father first.
True faith: this predicates the Son: from Both
The Holy Ghost proceeding, we confess
One Godhead; Three in One: the Father first.
O how shall Man presume to speak of God?
How fix, unblasted, his inquiring gaze
On the Celestial Vision? God supreme!
God from eternity and without end!
Invisible, Incomprehensible!
An omnipresent Spirit limitless!
Omniscient and omnipotent! by essence
God, very God! in full dominion Lord!
Earth, for He made it by The Word, is His;
And Man, the people of His pasture! He
Of all things Source, and Root, and Heart, and Head!
He by the prophets as the Living God
Adored; He who before all time begot
The Son, the Counsellor, who made the worlds;
He whom all Earth worships continually;
Whose will to faithful Abraham was law;
Whose warnings, moved by faith in things unknown,
Noah obeyed, and in the ark was saved;
Whose oracles Isaiah spake, denouncing
Judgments on Judah; who to Samuel
Revealed Himself in Shiloh, knowing not,
As yet, the Lord, but from that time believing;
Who on the Mount, and face to face before
The Tabernacle's door, to Moses spake,
Delivering to his hand the decalogue
By His own finger graved, and uttering
Words that should die not, though His prophets die!
This is the great “I am;” Jehovah; Jah!
God, without whom nothing that is had been;
Without whom infinitely perfect, nought
That is were good; nature had known no law,
Creatures no instinct, and no conscience man.
How fix, unblasted, his inquiring gaze
On the Celestial Vision? God supreme!
God from eternity and without end!
Invisible, Incomprehensible!
An omnipresent Spirit limitless!
Omniscient and omnipotent! by essence
God, very God! in full dominion Lord!
Earth, for He made it by The Word, is His;
And Man, the people of His pasture! He
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He by the prophets as the Living God
Adored; He who before all time begot
The Son, the Counsellor, who made the worlds;
He whom all Earth worships continually;
Whose will to faithful Abraham was law;
Whose warnings, moved by faith in things unknown,
Noah obeyed, and in the ark was saved;
Whose oracles Isaiah spake, denouncing
Judgments on Judah; who to Samuel
Revealed Himself in Shiloh, knowing not,
As yet, the Lord, but from that time believing;
Who on the Mount, and face to face before
The Tabernacle's door, to Moses spake,
Delivering to his hand the decalogue
By His own finger graved, and uttering
Words that should die not, though His prophets die!
This is the great “I am;” Jehovah; Jah!
God, without whom nothing that is had been;
Without whom infinitely perfect, nought
That is were good; nature had known no law,
Creatures no instinct, and no conscience man.
The voice divine within us cries, “God is!”
His power is manifest; His wisdom sure:
But Revelation shows us what He is.
The God oflove! glassed in His works we see Him:
The beautiful and great of His creation
Do testify their Maker. We behold
This world, and from the Visible infer
Things yet unseen; Godhead; eternal Power.
Creator of all beings, man alone,
The rational, may call Him Father. We
Participate with angels, and are sons.
And He who made preserves: paternal care
Upholds, as with a father's love on earth.
Duty thus binds the offspring to his Sire,
And filial ties endear. O blessed tie!
That vivifies devotion; making Hope
The cherisher of prayer: was it not Christ
Himself who taught us to invoke Him “Father!”
Nor use vain repetition in our prayer?
That Father, who knows all our wants, unsought;
And needs not importunity to give.
Instructed thus, afflictions fall on us
As fatherly correction; griefs as blessings.
He loves, He pities us! when sorrow melts
Our spirits, like exhaling dews our tears
Heavenward ascend, to sink in useful showers:
Making the desert blossom unto fruit.
And shall we not bear fruit, and closer draw
The sacred tie; and step, regenerate,
To the manhood of adoption? thence arising,
Faithful from death, to stand before His throne,
Affiliated with Saints: inheritors
Of life, and true similitude of God.
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But Revelation shows us what He is.
The God oflove! glassed in His works we see Him:
The beautiful and great of His creation
Do testify their Maker. We behold
This world, and from the Visible infer
Things yet unseen; Godhead; eternal Power.
Creator of all beings, man alone,
The rational, may call Him Father. We
Participate with angels, and are sons.
And He who made preserves: paternal care
Upholds, as with a father's love on earth.
Duty thus binds the offspring to his Sire,
And filial ties endear. O blessed tie!
That vivifies devotion; making Hope
The cherisher of prayer: was it not Christ
Himself who taught us to invoke Him “Father!”
Nor use vain repetition in our prayer?
That Father, who knows all our wants, unsought;
And needs not importunity to give.
Instructed thus, afflictions fall on us
As fatherly correction; griefs as blessings.
He loves, He pities us! when sorrow melts
Our spirits, like exhaling dews our tears
Heavenward ascend, to sink in useful showers:
Making the desert blossom unto fruit.
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The sacred tie; and step, regenerate,
To the manhood of adoption? thence arising,
Faithful from death, to stand before His throne,
Affiliated with Saints: inheritors
Of life, and true similitude of God.
But one there is, one Son, sole Archetype
Of human ties: compared with His how dim!
He, the “Belovëd Son,” whose title came
Direct from heaven, even as the Baptist heard.
What joy through Him to be saluted sons!
Hailed by His lips as Brethren, in that flesh
Sown in dishonour, rising undefiled!
With Moses and Elias and the Saints
To worship and fall down, and kneel before
The Lord our Maker, singing to our God;
“Rejoicing in the strength of our salvation;
And showing forth our joy in Him with psalms!”
Of human ties: compared with His how dim!
He, the “Belovëd Son,” whose title came
Direct from heaven, even as the Baptist heard.
What joy through Him to be saluted sons!
Hailed by His lips as Brethren, in that flesh
Sown in dishonour, rising undefiled!
With Moses and Elias and the Saints
To worship and fall down, and kneel before
The Lord our Maker, singing to our God;
“Rejoicing in the strength of our salvation;
And showing forth our joy in Him with psalms!”
“For Thou, O Lord, art the great God, and King
Above all gods! Earth to its furthest bounds
Lies in Thy hands: the strength of mighty hills,
The sea, for Thou hast made it, all are Thine:
Thy hand prepared the habitable land;
And stretched abroad the heavens; and set therein
The sun to rule by day, the moon by night,
The stars, and the great bounty of the cloud!
Come with thanksgiving to His gates! approach
His courts with praise! For gracious is the Lord;
His mercy everlasting; and His truth
Endures through generations without end!”
Above all gods! Earth to its furthest bounds
Lies in Thy hands: the strength of mighty hills,
The sea, for Thou hast made it, all are Thine:
Thy hand prepared the habitable land;
And stretched abroad the heavens; and set therein
The sun to rule by day, the moon by night,
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Come with thanksgiving to His gates! approach
His courts with praise! For gracious is the Lord;
His mercy everlasting; and His truth
Endures through generations without end!”
Hear how, through lips prophetical, the Lord
Boundless dominion and majestic state
Proclaims, “Behold, the heaven it is My throne,
The earth my footstool!”—“Fill I not heaven and earth?”
So spake the eternal One, Ancient of days;
Who dwelleth not in temples made with hands:
“But maketh earth His floor,” “that in the air
Hangeth on nothing;” and o'ercanopies
His chambers with the star-set firmament;
“Who rideth on the pinions of the wind;”
Whose voice is thunder from the cloud; who wrappeth
The tempest round Him as a garment; bows
The heaven descending; darkens earth; the sea
Before His footstep rushing into light!
The breeze that wakes beneath the morning star
Wafts perfume from His breath; the beams of noon
Are as His searching glances; dewy Eve
Shadowed with angel messengers of peace,
Sped from His cloudy tent on sunset's verge!
Boundless dominion and majestic state
Proclaims, “Behold, the heaven it is My throne,
The earth my footstool!”—“Fill I not heaven and earth?”
So spake the eternal One, Ancient of days;
Who dwelleth not in temples made with hands:
“But maketh earth His floor,” “that in the air
Hangeth on nothing;” and o'ercanopies
His chambers with the star-set firmament;
“Who rideth on the pinions of the wind;”
Whose voice is thunder from the cloud; who wrappeth
The tempest round Him as a garment; bows
The heaven descending; darkens earth; the sea
Before His footstep rushing into light!
The breeze that wakes beneath the morning star
Wafts perfume from His breath; the beams of noon
Are as His searching glances; dewy Eve
Shadowed with angel messengers of peace,
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O Fancies weak of Man! The weights of sin
And sorrow press them back upon the earth.
Our crowding thoughts are but as motes that load
The sunbeam, dimming our day. To man no more
The vision is vouchsafed, that erst unveiled
Heavens mysteries to Ezekiel; and inspired
John the Divine; that pictured forth to Job
The morning stars, shouting with joy and singing
While they beheld earth's deep foundations laid.
Glorious and blessed spirits! whose calm eyes
Gaze ever on the Temple and its Priest,
The immaculate Son; and, Cherub-borne afar,
Holy of Holies named, the Mercy-seat!
And sorrow press them back upon the earth.
Our crowding thoughts are but as motes that load
The sunbeam, dimming our day. To man no more
The vision is vouchsafed, that erst unveiled
Heavens mysteries to Ezekiel; and inspired
John the Divine; that pictured forth to Job
The morning stars, shouting with joy and singing
While they beheld earth's deep foundations laid.
Glorious and blessed spirits! whose calm eyes
Gaze ever on the Temple and its Priest,
The immaculate Son; and, Cherub-borne afar,
Holy of Holies named, the Mercy-seat!
Frail as thou art, Man, turn thee to thy God!
Confession of our faith is duty; worship
Glorifies God below; an humble prayer
Draws to obedience, and averts from sin;
Solaces all afflictions; elevates
From worldly care, by contemplating God.
Consider what He is: think what we are:
Look to His works, the heavens, the moon, the stars,
By Him ordained: O philosophic Pride!
Thine optic glass rebukes thee; mark, beyond
Thy natural ken, million on millions rise
Of Systems mightier than our own; and far
Above, like dust of stars, that luminous haze;
Illimitable worlds! known but to God!
Confession of our faith is duty; worship
Glorifies God below; an humble prayer
Draws to obedience, and averts from sin;
Solaces all afflictions; elevates
From worldly care, by contemplating God.
Consider what He is: think what we are:
Look to His works, the heavens, the moon, the stars,
By Him ordained: O philosophic Pride!
Thine optic glass rebukes thee; mark, beyond
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Of Systems mightier than our own; and far
Above, like dust of stars, that luminous haze;
Illimitable worlds! known but to God!
Lord! what is Man, 'mid Thy creation vast,
Visible and invisible, that Thou
Shouldst have respect for Adam's fallen race;
Children whom Thou hast nourished, sons perverse?
The creatures of the air, and earth, and waters,
Fulfil Thy mission; elements obey Thee;
But Man, cold as the snows, light as the clouds,
Inconstant as the wind, defies his Maker:
Inebriate with blessings, he forgets
The hand that gave; death; and the doom to come.
Visible and invisible, that Thou
Shouldst have respect for Adam's fallen race;
Children whom Thou hast nourished, sons perverse?
The creatures of the air, and earth, and waters,
Fulfil Thy mission; elements obey Thee;
But Man, cold as the snows, light as the clouds,
Inconstant as the wind, defies his Maker:
Inebriate with blessings, he forgets
The hand that gave; death; and the doom to come.
“Thou Searcher of all hearts! who knowest all
Our ways, and countest even our thoughts unborn
And hearest every utterance of the tongue,
O whither shall we flee Thy spirit, where
Hide from Thy presence? If we climb to heaven,
If we go down to hell, there, too, art Thou!
If we take the wings of morning, and go forth
Beyond the utmost sea, Thy hand shalt lead,
And Thy right hand uphold us! If we say
Darkness shall cover us, straightway our night
Becomes as day; dark is with Thee no dark,
Darkness and light to Thee are both alike!
How dear, O God! thy counsels are! how great
The sum of them! more numerous than the sands
Are they in telling. Try, O God! and prove,
Yea, purge our hearts; examine every thought;
Search out the ways of wickedness within us,
And lead us in the everlasting Way!”
Our ways, and countest even our thoughts unborn
And hearest every utterance of the tongue,
O whither shall we flee Thy spirit, where
Hide from Thy presence? If we climb to heaven,
If we go down to hell, there, too, art Thou!
If we take the wings of morning, and go forth
Beyond the utmost sea, Thy hand shalt lead,
And Thy right hand uphold us! If we say
Darkness shall cover us, straightway our night
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Darkness and light to Thee are both alike!
How dear, O God! thy counsels are! how great
The sum of them! more numerous than the sands
Are they in telling. Try, O God! and prove,
Yea, purge our hearts; examine every thought;
Search out the ways of wickedness within us,
And lead us in the everlasting Way!”
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II. The Eternal Son.
Immanuel—God with us! Brief, yet profound,
These words of mystery: nor less than this
Our creed must comprehend; our God proclaims.
These words of mystery: nor less than this
Our creed must comprehend; our God proclaims.
And such, before His human birth, that Name
By angel lips enjoined, Jesus! which speaks
A Saviour-God: and that which doth affirm
His office, and His glorious title, Christ!
By angel lips enjoined, Jesus! which speaks
A Saviour-God: and that which doth affirm
His office, and His glorious title, Christ!
Mark the distinction well: Jesus, the Man,
And Saviour of the world; Christ, the Anointed,
Messias, promised in old time by God;
And by His people awaited. This involves
The mystery sublime of divine Love,
From His eternal glory before worlds,
To the low station of afflicted Man,
Stooping; yea, from equality with God,
To serve and teach: by filial duties bound;
Obedient to all laws; inculcating
Reverence to rulers; by example high
Teaching self sacrifice and charity:
Physician sure, staying the plague of sin:
Good Shepherd of the flock, denying not
His life to save; the Bread; the mystic Vine,
Holier than Eden's tree of life; the door
Of life eternal; and the Way; the Truth;
The Sender of the Spirit on all flesh.
And Saviour of the world; Christ, the Anointed,
Messias, promised in old time by God;
And by His people awaited. This involves
The mystery sublime of divine Love,
From His eternal glory before worlds,
To the low station of afflicted Man,
Stooping; yea, from equality with God,
To serve and teach: by filial duties bound;
Obedient to all laws; inculcating
Reverence to rulers; by example high
17
Physician sure, staying the plague of sin:
Good Shepherd of the flock, denying not
His life to save; the Bread; the mystic Vine,
Holier than Eden's tree of life; the door
Of life eternal; and the Way; the Truth;
The Sender of the Spirit on all flesh.
O Earth! be glad: “for unto us hath come
Good tidings of great joy: to us that day,
In the city of David, was a Saviour born,
Even Christ the Lord!” “They that in darkness walked
Have seen a glorious light: on them the light
Hath shone—the people, dwellers in the land
Of the shadow of death! For unto us a Child
Is born, a Son is given. His name shall be
Wonderful! Counsellor! the Mighty God!
The everlasting Father! Prince of Peace!”
Good tidings of great joy: to us that day,
In the city of David, was a Saviour born,
Even Christ the Lord!” “They that in darkness walked
Have seen a glorious light: on them the light
Hath shone—the people, dwellers in the land
Of the shadow of death! For unto us a Child
Is born, a Son is given. His name shall be
Wonderful! Counsellor! the Mighty God!
The everlasting Father! Prince of Peace!”
His were the words that, piercing as a sword,
Made men, yea kings, His captives; conquering
To save. Unarmed He wrought the victory!
He, with authority, the will of God
Revealed. He, only, might declare the Father
Who in His bosom, from eternity,
Hath dwelt, His Only Son: whose Word, believed,
Hath virtue to win everlasting palms.
True Saviour He, indeed, who, not with gold,
Nor silver, corruptible things, redeems
From Satan and the slavery of sin;
But gives His priceless blood, His own dear life,
A Lamb upon the altar, without spot!
Made men, yea kings, His captives; conquering
To save. Unarmed He wrought the victory!
He, with authority, the will of God
Revealed. He, only, might declare the Father
Who in His bosom, from eternity,
Hath dwelt, His Only Son: whose Word, believed,
Hath virtue to win everlasting palms.
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Nor silver, corruptible things, redeems
From Satan and the slavery of sin;
But gives His priceless blood, His own dear life,
A Lamb upon the altar, without spot!
O wondrous love of God to man! that yields
His Only Son to save! O mighty love
Of Christ who died for us! What love in us
Can satisfy our debt? He, in return,
Asks but obedience: He, whom winds and waves
And hell obeyed; before whose touch disease
Retired, and re-awakened life arose!
Alas! shall Man, of all created things,
Alone rebel?
His Only Son to save! O mighty love
Of Christ who died for us! What love in us
Can satisfy our debt? He, in return,
Asks but obedience: He, whom winds and waves
And hell obeyed; before whose touch disease
Retired, and re-awakened life arose!
Alas! shall Man, of all created things,
Alone rebel?
Behold, with open gate
The second Temple stands; and prophet voices,
The old Evangelists, sound from the porch,
And bid us enter. Lo! the glorious House!
And He, the Angel of the covenant,
More glorious than all glories of the first!
Urim and Thummim, the great Oracle,
God's will revealing; Ark of the covenant,
Whence God spake audibly: the altar fire,
Descending to the sacrifice: the unction,
That made the anointed Priest as God with us;
The Spirit of Grace prophetic, which on Him
Was, without measure, poured, and He to us
Communicates from His great overflow!
All earth is Sion now—the Temple Christ!
The second Temple stands; and prophet voices,
The old Evangelists, sound from the porch,
And bid us enter. Lo! the glorious House!
And He, the Angel of the covenant,
More glorious than all glories of the first!
Urim and Thummim, the great Oracle,
God's will revealing; Ark of the covenant,
Whence God spake audibly: the altar fire,
Descending to the sacrifice: the unction,
That made the anointed Priest as God with us;
The Spirit of Grace prophetic, which on Him
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Communicates from His great overflow!
All earth is Sion now—the Temple Christ!
To Him, in full dominion absolute,
As God, from whom all good things emanate,
This world belongs: in Him, as Son of man,
All power is vested till the day of doom,
In earth and heaven, salvation to achieve;
And over sin and death triumphant, lead
His rescued people to eternal joys.
A mystery this; for truth is mystery:
Yea, things there are whose height nor thought of man,
Nor ken of angels, can attain; and truths
Authentic, yet incomprehensible.
In Christ we must believe as Man and God;
Eternal Son of the eternal Father;
Coeval, co-essential: this is Faith;
Based on the rock of eighteen centuries.
Vainly hath human wit perverse, and art
Sophistical, assailed this citadel.
The shafts of fancy fall innocuous,
And Genius in the web of heresy
Sinks strangled: blessed scriptures are too strong,
Tradition too unshaken: Reason uplifts
Her large eyes from the scrutiny, and frowns
On the reviler. In the ways of God
He finds no contradiction, though remote
From Man's accustomed path: God's attributes
He trusts, however vast, because Divine.
All questions, therefore, terminate in this;
The Finite cannot comprehend the Infinite—
Man is but Man at last; and God is God!
As God, from whom all good things emanate,
This world belongs: in Him, as Son of man,
All power is vested till the day of doom,
In earth and heaven, salvation to achieve;
And over sin and death triumphant, lead
His rescued people to eternal joys.
A mystery this; for truth is mystery:
Yea, things there are whose height nor thought of man,
Nor ken of angels, can attain; and truths
Authentic, yet incomprehensible.
In Christ we must believe as Man and God;
Eternal Son of the eternal Father;
Coeval, co-essential: this is Faith;
Based on the rock of eighteen centuries.
Vainly hath human wit perverse, and art
Sophistical, assailed this citadel.
The shafts of fancy fall innocuous,
And Genius in the web of heresy
Sinks strangled: blessed scriptures are too strong,
Tradition too unshaken: Reason uplifts
Her large eyes from the scrutiny, and frowns
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He finds no contradiction, though remote
From Man's accustomed path: God's attributes
He trusts, however vast, because Divine.
All questions, therefore, terminate in this;
The Finite cannot comprehend the Infinite—
Man is but Man at last; and God is God!
With wonder and deep pity we look back,
We from our vantage ground of time, on them
The people and the land, illustrious long
With glories all their own. Lo! where they stand,
Patriarchs, anointed Priests, and Saviour Kings,
Judges, and Prophets! He, at last, their Lord,
From David sprang; Redeemer of the world!
Who dwelt, and taught, and prayed with them alone.
There stood the altar of that sacrifice
Which cleanses earth: from thence shone forth that Power
Ruling no more a nation, but the world.
Thy vital air He breathed, He trod thy mountains,
Drank thy pure wells, and voyaged on thy waters,
Dwelt in thy homesteads, taught within thy temple,
Gazed, mournful, on thy fields of old renown,
And cedarn woods with shadowy frondage cool.
We from our vantage ground of time, on them
The people and the land, illustrious long
With glories all their own. Lo! where they stand,
Patriarchs, anointed Priests, and Saviour Kings,
Judges, and Prophets! He, at last, their Lord,
From David sprang; Redeemer of the world!
Who dwelt, and taught, and prayed with them alone.
There stood the altar of that sacrifice
Which cleanses earth: from thence shone forth that Power
Ruling no more a nation, but the world.
Thy vital air He breathed, He trod thy mountains,
Drank thy pure wells, and voyaged on thy waters,
Dwelt in thy homesteads, taught within thy temple,
Gazed, mournful, on thy fields of old renown,
21
O Judah! who was like to thee? O people!
To you the oracles of God were trusted;
To you pertained the adoption and the name,
The Covenant, the Services, the Law,
Of God, and His great promises fulfilled.
From you the Elders issued; in your flesh
Christ, Lord and King of all, was living Man;
He, sole Redeemer of mankind, to whom
All knees in worship bend, the Wonderful!
He, Israel's glory, and the Gentile's light;
God everlastingly, yet Man with us;
Eternal Son in heaven, yet born in Time;
An Infant, glorified by Angel choirs;
Laid lowly in a manger, yet adored
By star-led Sages coming from afar.
To you the oracles of God were trusted;
To you pertained the adoption and the name,
The Covenant, the Services, the Law,
Of God, and His great promises fulfilled.
From you the Elders issued; in your flesh
Christ, Lord and King of all, was living Man;
He, sole Redeemer of mankind, to whom
All knees in worship bend, the Wonderful!
He, Israel's glory, and the Gentile's light;
God everlastingly, yet Man with us;
Eternal Son in heaven, yet born in Time;
An Infant, glorified by Angel choirs;
Laid lowly in a manger, yet adored
By star-led Sages coming from afar.
And yet, O People of David! whose high song
Invoked Him fairer than the sons of men,
Ye saw no divine beauty in His face:
Sad seemed He, not to be desired, although
His goodness and His wonders were before you;
His power encompassed you like light and air.
Invoked Him fairer than the sons of men,
Ye saw no divine beauty in His face:
Sad seemed He, not to be desired, although
His goodness and His wonders were before you;
His power encompassed you like light and air.
And so He walked with you, and shared in all
Your sorrows; and partook the common lot.
Baptized as Man; forgiving sins as God:
Suffering, as Man, temptation; who for men
Hath overcome the world, and conquered sin:
He hungered; but fed thousands: was athirst;
But cried aloud, “Come all who thirst to Me!”
Weary He was; but promised rest to all:
He slept; but waked to calm the wind and sea:
He prayed; but listened to our prayers: He wept;
But from our eyes wiped all their tears away:
Sold for a price, He ransomed all: endured
Stripes from the hands he came to strengthen, wounds
From those who saw Him heal all sicknesses:
He died; was buried: and rose up again
To heaven: the Saviour of the Race that slew Him!
Your sorrows; and partook the common lot.
Baptized as Man; forgiving sins as God:
Suffering, as Man, temptation; who for men
22
He hungered; but fed thousands: was athirst;
But cried aloud, “Come all who thirst to Me!”
Weary He was; but promised rest to all:
He slept; but waked to calm the wind and sea:
He prayed; but listened to our prayers: He wept;
But from our eyes wiped all their tears away:
Sold for a price, He ransomed all: endured
Stripes from the hands he came to strengthen, wounds
From those who saw Him heal all sicknesses:
He died; was buried: and rose up again
To heaven: the Saviour of the Race that slew Him!
Ay, this was He for whom the Elders looked;
Whom prophets hymned; whom high observances,
And sacrifice, and ceremonies led to;
In whom all was fulfilled that was foretold;
All imperfection cured; all doubt dispelled!
Whom prophets hymned; whom high observances,
And sacrifice, and ceremonies led to;
In whom all was fulfilled that was foretold;
All imperfection cured; all doubt dispelled!
And now, behold! a new thing hath befallen:
All things that are, His coming hath made new!
New priesthood; a new covenant; new law;
New sacraments; new people; who indeed
Worship not at Jerusalem, nor pray
In the Temple only, but, in every place,
Worship their God in spirit and in truth!
All things that are, His coming hath made new!
New priesthood; a new covenant; new law;
New sacraments; new people; who indeed
Worship not at Jerusalem, nor pray
In the Temple only, but, in every place,
Worship their God in spirit and in truth!
23
“O sing we a new song unto the Lord!
For marvellous are the things that He hath done.
With His own right hand, and with His holy arm,
He for Himself hath won the victory!
Salvation hath the Lord declared; and shewed
The Heathen openly His righteousness.
To Israel His truth He hath remembered;
Our God's salvation all the Earth hath seen!
Shew yourselves joyful in the Lord, all lands;
Sing ye; rejoice; give thanks!
For marvellous are the things that He hath done.
With His own right hand, and with His holy arm,
He for Himself hath won the victory!
Salvation hath the Lord declared; and shewed
The Heathen openly His righteousness.
To Israel His truth He hath remembered;
Our God's salvation all the Earth hath seen!
Shew yourselves joyful in the Lord, all lands;
Sing ye; rejoice; give thanks!
O praise the Lord
Upon the harp: sing to the harp with psalms!
Blow out your trumpets and sweet shawms; and shew
Your joyfulness before your Lord and King!
Exult, deep Sea and all that in thee dwells;
Round Earth, be glad, with all thy children sing!
Yea, let the mighty waters clap their hands—
And joyful be the hills before the Lord!
For He cometh, for He cometh, to the Earth
To judge: and He with righteousness shall judge
The world at last, with equity the People!”
Upon the harp: sing to the harp with psalms!
Blow out your trumpets and sweet shawms; and shew
Your joyfulness before your Lord and King!
Exult, deep Sea and all that in thee dwells;
Round Earth, be glad, with all thy children sing!
Yea, let the mighty waters clap their hands—
And joyful be the hills before the Lord!
For He cometh, for He cometh, to the Earth
To judge: and He with righteousness shall judge
The world at last, with equity the People!”
24
III. Christ born of Woman.
The Word made flesh, the human and Divine
United, thus the Son of God became
The Son of man; of David's house; the seed
Of Eve, ordained to crush the Serpent's head.
By miracle of holy power and virtue
Conceived, and sanctified to holy ends:
Born of a Virgin, under the law, undowered
In aught, save her renowned progeniture,
Beloved the most by God: she, poor and lowly,
Humble and meek, religious and sincere,
Of purity unsullied through all time,
She was the sacred vessel set apart
With favour and especial blessing; she
For whom the Almighty hath done glorious things,
Endowing with such privilege, unshared;
Who by all nations ever hath been blessed,
With honour, such as Christian Fathers gave;
(But worship, adoration, to her Son)
Mary, Deipara! mother of the Lord!
United, thus the Son of God became
The Son of man; of David's house; the seed
Of Eve, ordained to crush the Serpent's head.
By miracle of holy power and virtue
Conceived, and sanctified to holy ends:
Born of a Virgin, under the law, undowered
In aught, save her renowned progeniture,
Beloved the most by God: she, poor and lowly,
Humble and meek, religious and sincere,
Of purity unsullied through all time,
She was the sacred vessel set apart
With favour and especial blessing; she
For whom the Almighty hath done glorious things,
Endowing with such privilege, unshared;
Who by all nations ever hath been blessed,
With honour, such as Christian Fathers gave;
(But worship, adoration, to her Son)
Mary, Deipara! mother of the Lord!
Think of Him then, the Woman born, her flesh,
The nursling of her blood, in infancy
Pillowed in sleep on her soft lap, or bright
With His awakened smile; and dewy lip
Seeking the well of life within her breast;
With fixed eyes gazing on her stooping face
In love unutterable; she the while
Chaunting with joy renewed her spiritual song:
25
Pillowed in sleep on her soft lap, or bright
With His awakened smile; and dewy lip
Seeking the well of life within her breast;
With fixed eyes gazing on her stooping face
In love unutterable; she the while
Chaunting with joy renewed her spiritual song:
“My soul doth magnify the Lord!
My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour!
For He hath had regard
To His handmaiden's lowliness. Behold!
Henceforth the sons of men shall call me blessed;
For me the Mighty One hath magnified:
And Holy is His Name!
With them that fear Him dwells His mercy ever.
His arm hath shewn its strength, scattering the Proud
In the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the Mighty from their seat
And raised the Meek: the Hungry with good things
Hath filled; and empty sent the Rich away.
Remembering His mercy, He hath holpen
Israel His servant: as to our forefathers
He promised, Abraham and his seed for ever!”
My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour!
For He hath had regard
To His handmaiden's lowliness. Behold!
Henceforth the sons of men shall call me blessed;
For me the Mighty One hath magnified:
And Holy is His Name!
With them that fear Him dwells His mercy ever.
His arm hath shewn its strength, scattering the Proud
In the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the Mighty from their seat
And raised the Meek: the Hungry with good things
Hath filled; and empty sent the Rich away.
Remembering His mercy, He hath holpen
Israel His servant: as to our forefathers
He promised, Abraham and his seed for ever!”
26
So sang the Virgin-mother o'er her Babe:
True fruitage of her womb, though Son of God.
For perfect man He was, in all but sin;
With sentient soul to all emotions thrilling,
Laborious thought, and body sensitive;
A nature prone to suffering; sure to die;
All these were His: nor otherwise could be
Propitiatory sacrifice fulfilled.
True fruitage of her womb, though Son of God.
For perfect man He was, in all but sin;
With sentient soul to all emotions thrilling,
Laborious thought, and body sensitive;
A nature prone to suffering; sure to die;
All these were His: nor otherwise could be
Propitiatory sacrifice fulfilled.
In wisdom and in stature thus He grew:
Finite perfections, with a subject will
Appealing to the Father: and His soul
Heavy with sorrows, as His eyes with tears.
And when they struck the thorns into His brow,
And pierced with cruel spear His sacred side,
Did not the wounds bleed, and the tender flesh
Quiver?—All this He suffered: 'twas the bond
Of a mysterious covenant, whereby
God to His creatures might be reconciled.
Finite perfections, with a subject will
Appealing to the Father: and His soul
Heavy with sorrows, as His eyes with tears.
And when they struck the thorns into His brow,
And pierced with cruel spear His sacred side,
Did not the wounds bleed, and the tender flesh
Quiver?—All this He suffered: 'twas the bond
Of a mysterious covenant, whereby
God to His creatures might be reconciled.
Love, such as this, to man unsanctified
By faith, must seem incomprehensible.
Love without measure, fain to combat all
The evils of humanity, and bow
Beneath the yoke of law, to die; that so
Perfect Atonement should be made, and one
Sin offering from one altar rise to heaven.
Thenceforth all they who look upon the Cross,
As Israel on the serpent held on high
By Moses in the desert, shall have hope;
And wrath appeased surcease.
By faith, must seem incomprehensible.
Love without measure, fain to combat all
The evils of humanity, and bow
Beneath the yoke of law, to die; that so
Perfect Atonement should be made, and one
Sin offering from one altar rise to heaven.
Thenceforth all they who look upon the Cross,
27
By Moses in the desert, shall have hope;
And wrath appeased surcease.
In perfect manhood
Did Christ thus walk subjected upon earth.
The great example of all righteous deeds,
Pure thoughts, and dutiful observances.
Shewing how pangs, and sorrows, and disgrace,
May be endured: and all the pomps of earth,
Wealth, splendour, joys, contentedly renounced!
Did Christ thus walk subjected upon earth.
The great example of all righteous deeds,
Pure thoughts, and dutiful observances.
Shewing how pangs, and sorrows, and disgrace,
May be endured: and all the pomps of earth,
Wealth, splendour, joys, contentedly renounced!
Yet deem not that in Him was ever pause
In the divine prerogative. He took
Our Being, and assumed Humanity,
With Power; and, therefore, was He God and Man.
Not by commixture; so, being different
From each, He could be neither: nor conversion;
For how could God be changed? nor in division,
Distinguishable; for as soul and flesh
Are but one man, so there is but one Christ:
But joined for ever, and inseparably;
Persistent God and Man; even when the bond
Of soul and flesh were, humanly, dissolved!
Such in the sacramental elements
We hold the mystic union; bread and wine
Not changed to fleshly substance nor to blood,
But still what they appear; with Christ in them.
So taught the Fathers—and the Church approves!
In the divine prerogative. He took
Our Being, and assumed Humanity,
With Power; and, therefore, was He God and Man.
Not by commixture; so, being different
From each, He could be neither: nor conversion;
For how could God be changed? nor in division,
Distinguishable; for as soul and flesh
Are but one man, so there is but one Christ:
But joined for ever, and inseparably;
Persistent God and Man; even when the bond
Of soul and flesh were, humanly, dissolved!
Such in the sacramental elements
We hold the mystic union; bread and wine
Not changed to fleshly substance nor to blood,
28
So taught the Fathers—and the Church approves!
“Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel!
Who comest to Thy people to redeem.
Who raisest in thy servant David's house
Mighty salvation; as before Thou spakest
By mouths of prophets, since the world began,
That we should be delivered from our foes!
Thy mercies promised to our forefathers
Thou dost perform: and Thou rememberest
Thy holy covenant; to keep the oath
Thou swearest to our father Abraham:
That we, from thraldom saved, in holiness
And righteousness might serve Thee without fear.
And Thou, O Child! shalt evermore be called
Prophet of the most High! Thou shalt prepare
His way before the Lord, and shew His people
Salvation; for remission of their sins;
And through the mercy of our God, whereby
The day-spring from on high hath come, give light
To them in darkness sitting, and the shadow
Of death: and guide our wandering feet to peace!”
Who comest to Thy people to redeem.
Who raisest in thy servant David's house
Mighty salvation; as before Thou spakest
By mouths of prophets, since the world began,
That we should be delivered from our foes!
Thy mercies promised to our forefathers
Thou dost perform: and Thou rememberest
Thy holy covenant; to keep the oath
Thou swearest to our father Abraham:
That we, from thraldom saved, in holiness
And righteousness might serve Thee without fear.
And Thou, O Child! shalt evermore be called
Prophet of the most High! Thou shalt prepare
His way before the Lord, and shew His people
Salvation; for remission of their sins;
And through the mercy of our God, whereby
The day-spring from on high hath come, give light
To them in darkness sitting, and the shadow
Of death: and guide our wandering feet to peace!”
29
IV. Christ Crucified.
By primal sin and its attendant curse,
By need of an expiatory rite,
By types foreshown, by prophecies foretold,
By time fulfilled and the accomplished hour,
And by that voice which from the wilderness
Caught up Isaiah's song and cried “Prepare
The way of the Lord!” Israel expected Christ:
And night forespent the promised Star arose.
By need of an expiatory rite,
By types foreshown, by prophecies foretold,
By time fulfilled and the accomplished hour,
And by that voice which from the wilderness
Caught up Isaiah's song and cried “Prepare
The way of the Lord!” Israel expected Christ:
And night forespent the promised Star arose.
Not rare, but manifold, significant,
Shone forth, like dawn upon the mountain tops
Kindling successively, those types. Behold!
First fruit of sin, first sacrifice by man,
Near his accepted offering Abel falls;
While far the fratricide, with brand of guilt,
Flies from his father's home, and dwells apart;
Progenitor of crime, and mighty woes!
Next, Enoch the beloved, who walked with God,
And passed from earth without the pains of death;
Blest herald of a world beyond the grave!
He, ere the Law was given: and after him,
But subject to the Law, Elias came,
And saw his Angel ministrant, and heard
The voice of God conversing on the Mount,
And knew that he should die not, but ascend,
As Enoch, in the flesh; leaving behind
His mantle to the chosen Follower.
Shone forth, like dawn upon the mountain tops
Kindling successively, those types. Behold!
First fruit of sin, first sacrifice by man,
Near his accepted offering Abel falls;
While far the fratricide, with brand of guilt,
Flies from his father's home, and dwells apart;
Progenitor of crime, and mighty woes!
Next, Enoch the beloved, who walked with God,
And passed from earth without the pains of death;
Blest herald of a world beyond the grave!
30
But subject to the Law, Elias came,
And saw his Angel ministrant, and heard
The voice of God conversing on the Mount,
And knew that he should die not, but ascend,
As Enoch, in the flesh; leaving behind
His mantle to the chosen Follower.
He too, Melchisedec, father of the Church,
Who stands without record of birth or death,
Mysterious; yet projecting a true shadow,
Like a great Torso on the floor of Time.
Him Abram, girt from battle, knew, and sought
With offerings due, apportioned; and from him,
The Priest of the high God, free blessing took;
And, not without a sign, the bread and wine,
Of Earth the sacramental fruit, received.
So Abram went refreshed. Thence mark his way
To far Moriah's mount: behold them there,
The patriarchal sire, the patient son,
Bending beneath the sacrificial wood;
The altar, and inexorable steel!
Obedience proved, the pretermitted rite
Pauses, and lo! in the near boscage snared,
The doomed ram struggles with entangled horn.
Who stands without record of birth or death,
Mysterious; yet projecting a true shadow,
Like a great Torso on the floor of Time.
Him Abram, girt from battle, knew, and sought
With offerings due, apportioned; and from him,
The Priest of the high God, free blessing took;
And, not without a sign, the bread and wine,
Of Earth the sacramental fruit, received.
So Abram went refreshed. Thence mark his way
To far Moriah's mount: behold them there,
The patriarchal sire, the patient son,
Bending beneath the sacrificial wood;
The altar, and inexorable steel!
Obedience proved, the pretermitted rite
Pauses, and lo! in the near boscage snared,
The doomed ram struggles with entangled horn.
Onward the vision sweeps. Lo! Sinai's hill;
And Moses shining from the light of God!
Commissioned prophet; Giver of the Law;
Deliverer from bondage; and for sin
An Intercessor, not without avail.
And Moses shining from the light of God!
31
Deliverer from bondage; and for sin
An Intercessor, not without avail.
Next Joshua; true Captain, faithful Judge,
Renewer of the Covenant; who died
Binding his People to their God. Then David;
Warrior and King, Prophet and holy Bard;
Champion, before whose arm the mightiest fell;
Clear visioned Seer, before whose eye resolved
The mist of time; whose sacred mouth discoursed
The mercies of the Lord, and solemnized
His worship with the people. Glorious Train!
Before the eyes of Angels how they passed;
(And now and ever pass before man's eye)
In long procession o'er the stage of earth:
That mystery of seasons and of times,
Hid in the deep heart of futurity,
Rehearsing here below!
Renewer of the Covenant; who died
Binding his People to their God. Then David;
Warrior and King, Prophet and holy Bard;
Champion, before whose arm the mightiest fell;
Clear visioned Seer, before whose eye resolved
The mist of time; whose sacred mouth discoursed
The mercies of the Lord, and solemnized
His worship with the people. Glorious Train!
Before the eyes of Angels how they passed;
(And now and ever pass before man's eye)
In long procession o'er the stage of earth:
That mystery of seasons and of times,
Hid in the deep heart of futurity,
Rehearsing here below!
And holy symbols
There were, that yielded foretaste, and prepared
Submissive minds to watch the coming signs.
The Paschal Lamb; the cleansing blood, whereby
The averted pestilence might overpass;
The unbroken bones; the hour; the day; the month;
In all decreed to be coincident
With that divine Oblation typified.
There were, that yielded foretaste, and prepared
Submissive minds to watch the coming signs.
The Paschal Lamb; the cleansing blood, whereby
The averted pestilence might overpass;
The unbroken bones; the hour; the day; the month;
In all decreed to be coincident
32
Again, when in the desert, by Mount Hor,
The serpent brood of fiery tooth were loosed
On impious men murmuring against their God,
He bade prepare a symbol; and raise up
On high the brazen serpent, that all such
As lifted up their eyes should live; from thence
Drawing the medicine for their wound.
The serpent brood of fiery tooth were loosed
On impious men murmuring against their God,
He bade prepare a symbol; and raise up
On high the brazen serpent, that all such
As lifted up their eyes should live; from thence
Drawing the medicine for their wound.
“Lift up—
O lift we up our hearts unto the Lord;
With Angels and Archangels, and with all
The Hosts of heaven, to magnify thy name;
Praising Thee ever! Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of Hosts! Heaven and the earth are full
Of Thy great Glory: Glory be to Thee,
O lift we up our hearts unto the Lord;
With Angels and Archangels, and with all
The Hosts of heaven, to magnify thy name;
Praising Thee ever! Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of Hosts! Heaven and the earth are full
Of Thy great Glory: Glory be to Thee,
O Lord most High!”
Adumbrated by types, by prophecies
Promulgated, Messias and the Cross
Were looked for; and They came; Redemption came:
The awful ransom for mankind was paid.
Hunger and thirst; temptation's subtle sting;
The agony and bloody sweat; keen sense
Of faith corrupt and trustful love betrayed;
Death, with accumulated pangs and shames,
All exquisite torments of the mind and flesh;
This, the worst malediction of the law,
This death He chose, that we might be assoiled
From our severest curse; and that in Him
The body of sin might be destroyed. He gave
The seal of love, stronger than death, to bind
Man to his God; exemplifying thus
How with an humble spirit he may bear
His heaviest lot, and triumph in the end.
Adumbrated by types, by prophecies
Promulgated, Messias and the Cross
Were looked for; and They came; Redemption came:
The awful ransom for mankind was paid.
Hunger and thirst; temptation's subtle sting;
The agony and bloody sweat; keen sense
33
Death, with accumulated pangs and shames,
All exquisite torments of the mind and flesh;
This, the worst malediction of the law,
This death He chose, that we might be assoiled
From our severest curse; and that in Him
The body of sin might be destroyed. He gave
The seal of love, stronger than death, to bind
Man to his God; exemplifying thus
How with an humble spirit he may bear
His heaviest lot, and triumph in the end.
Heir of first Adam by the Virgin's womb
The Man, the God, Messias, on the Cross
Died! conscious Nature shuddered; rocks were rent;
Darkness fell on the noontide sun; earth shook;
Graves opened, and the Ghostly Dead arose!
He suffered as the Son of man; so only
Could He for man propitiate and atone:
For us He suffered: ay, if wants and pains,
Sorrows and shame, arraignment before men,
And death upon the tree, be sufferings,
For us He suffered! if infirmities
Of nature, and the weight of all our sins,
And human malice, and Satanic wiles,
Encompassing His way, be sufferings,
For us He suffered! if the voice of Saints,
And Apostolic Scripture, martyr's death,
And the Jew's scoff, be testimony, then
For us He suffered!
The Man, the God, Messias, on the Cross
Died! conscious Nature shuddered; rocks were rent;
Darkness fell on the noontide sun; earth shook;
Graves opened, and the Ghostly Dead arose!
He suffered as the Son of man; so only
Could He for man propitiate and atone:
For us He suffered: ay, if wants and pains,
Sorrows and shame, arraignment before men,
And death upon the tree, be sufferings,
For us He suffered! if infirmities
Of nature, and the weight of all our sins,
And human malice, and Satanic wiles,
Encompassing His way, be sufferings,
34
And Apostolic Scripture, martyr's death,
And the Jew's scoff, be testimony, then
For us He suffered!
Now, the end fulfilled;
Hear, O ye People! and give ear, O Earth!
Whose myriad creatures in the time of old
For Man's transgression have sustained a doom;
Hear, sceptred Potentates! and laurelled Chiefs!
And toil-worn Sages! whose dominions are
The depths and bright heights of Philosophy;
The Lord hath triumphed gloriously! The Lord
Hath vanquished Sin; and for mankind achieved
Eden restored, and Immortality!
Hear, O ye People! and give ear, O Earth!
Whose myriad creatures in the time of old
For Man's transgression have sustained a doom;
Hear, sceptred Potentates! and laurelled Chiefs!
And toil-worn Sages! whose dominions are
The depths and bright heights of Philosophy;
The Lord hath triumphed gloriously! The Lord
Hath vanquished Sin; and for mankind achieved
Eden restored, and Immortality!
“Glory to God on High!
And peace be on the earth, good will to wards men!
We praise Thee, God! we bless, we worship Thee;
We glorify Thy Name; we give Thee thanks;
For Thy great glory we give thanks, O Lord!
God—Heavenly King—God, the Almighty Fa-ther!
And peace be on the earth, good will to wards men!
We praise Thee, God! we bless, we worship Thee;
We glorify Thy Name; we give Thee thanks;
For Thy great glory we give thanks, O Lord!
God—Heavenly King—God, the Almighty Fa-ther!
Lord Jesu Christ—only begotten Son!
Lord God—Thou Lamb of God—Son of the Fa-ther!
That takest from the world its sins away;
Have mercy on us! Thou that dost remove
The sins of all the world, receive our prayer!
Thou that dost sit at God's right hand, have mercy!
Lord God—Thou Lamb of God—Son of the Fa-ther!
That takest from the world its sins away;
35
The sins of all the world, receive our prayer!
Thou that dost sit at God's right hand, have mercy!
For Thou alone art Holy: Thou alone
Art Lord: Thou only with the Holy Ghost,
In the glory of God the Father, art most High!”
Art Lord: Thou only with the Holy Ghost,
In the glory of God the Father, art most High!”
36
V. The Descent into Hell.
There is a law of death, controling each,
The vital soul, and perishable flesh:
This law the Saviour purposed to fulfil.
The vital soul, and perishable flesh:
This law the Saviour purposed to fulfil.
Hence the undying spirit, the dire throes
Of dissolution past, through realms unknown
Wings its mysterious flight; the empire vast
Of Hades, and the inner domes of earth;
Dim vaults or regioned space; wherein the sires
Of the old world in Abraham's bosom slept,
Or moaned in chains of night awaiting doom.
So schoolmen, versed in pious lore, have taught,
And venerable Fathers vouched sincere.
Of dissolution past, through realms unknown
Wings its mysterious flight; the empire vast
Of Hades, and the inner domes of earth;
Dim vaults or regioned space; wherein the sires
Of the old world in Abraham's bosom slept,
Or moaned in chains of night awaiting doom.
So schoolmen, versed in pious lore, have taught,
And venerable Fathers vouched sincere.
So, too, Tradition, of all times and lands,
Gentile or Hebrew, held; as from one source
Consistently devolving. We refer
To Scandinavian Scald, and Tartar Bonze,
Bramin, and elder Buddha's worshippers,
Asteck, and Nubian, Cuzco's royal Priests,
The Guebre, and Chaldean Zeradusht,
And Misraim's old magician crew, who stalked
The halls of Isis, murmuring mighty spells.
These, in whatever guise of fable cloaked,
Still hold in common four unquestioned truths:
A serpent tempter; a prevailing flood;
Incarnate Deity avenging sin;
And Hades in the nether earth; where bide
Elysian bowers of joy for souls beloved;
But for the wicked Stygian glooms forlorn,
And unappeasable Tartarean fires.
Gentile or Hebrew, held; as from one source
Consistently devolving. We refer
To Scandinavian Scald, and Tartar Bonze,
Bramin, and elder Buddha's worshippers,
Asteck, and Nubian, Cuzco's royal Priests,
The Guebre, and Chaldean Zeradusht,
37
The halls of Isis, murmuring mighty spells.
These, in whatever guise of fable cloaked,
Still hold in common four unquestioned truths:
A serpent tempter; a prevailing flood;
Incarnate Deity avenging sin;
And Hades in the nether earth; where bide
Elysian bowers of joy for souls beloved;
But for the wicked Stygian glooms forlorn,
And unappeasable Tartarean fires.
Faint though they be, those echoes prove a voice;
Those lights refracted an original ray.
We gaze on Truth through Fable's prism, all flushed
With evanescent gleams and gem-like hues,
And know it, though in phantom beauty veiled.
So, when in holy scripture we peruse
Types needful to our faith, we naught mistrust;
Though antique bards in mythic verse have clothed
Deep mysteries of days foregone, and shaped
Solemnities to come.
Those lights refracted an original ray.
We gaze on Truth through Fable's prism, all flushed
With evanescent gleams and gem-like hues,
And know it, though in phantom beauty veiled.
So, when in holy scripture we peruse
Types needful to our faith, we naught mistrust;
Though antique bards in mythic verse have clothed
Deep mysteries of days foregone, and shaped
Solemnities to come.
No legend vain
Feigned the old poets of Pandora: She
Fairest and first, all woman, shaped of man,
With her Olympian dowry, fatal gift,
Fraught with unheard of woes, and plagues, and sin:
And He, the Archer of unerring bow,
That slew the Python: and great Hercules,
The Ophicide, Lernean conqueror,
And strangler of the giant Son of Earth;
Who trod the caverned depths, and from the gloom
Of penal Tartarus restored to-day
Theseus, Perithous; and the shrouded form
Of fond Alcestis, self devoted, bore
Home to the widowed couch; and dragged enchained
The guardian hound of hell to upper air.
Feigned the old poets of Pandora: She
Fairest and first, all woman, shaped of man,
With her Olympian dowry, fatal gift,
Fraught with unheard of woes, and plagues, and sin:
38
That slew the Python: and great Hercules,
The Ophicide, Lernean conqueror,
And strangler of the giant Son of Earth;
Who trod the caverned depths, and from the gloom
Of penal Tartarus restored to-day
Theseus, Perithous; and the shrouded form
Of fond Alcestis, self devoted, bore
Home to the widowed couch; and dragged enchained
The guardian hound of hell to upper air.
Gleams, too, of pale, unearthly light invest
That wondrous tale which of Prometheus spake;
Moulder of men, who brought down fire from heaven,
Wakening the wrath of sublunary gods.
Lo! how, the Race he loved personified
In him, unflinchingly he bears his pangs;
Reared high in air on that Caucasian rock,
The storm around him roaring; at his feet
The foaming waves; the vulture at his heart.
That wondrous tale which of Prometheus spake;
Moulder of men, who brought down fire from heaven,
Wakening the wrath of sublunary gods.
Lo! how, the Race he loved personified
In him, unflinchingly he bears his pangs;
Reared high in air on that Caucasian rock,
The storm around him roaring; at his feet
The foaming waves; the vulture at his heart.
Not these, as proof, we urge; nor claim regard
More than in early days of Christendom
Was yielded, with reserve, by careful men,
To the wild voicings of the pagan lyre;
Nor wrest from fable dubious evidence.
But, gifted as we are with searching thought,
And that most subtile reason which aspires
To glean from proof the nutriment of faith,
It is our nature to elaborate,
By power that works in the capacious brain,
What seems obscure in scripture; or falls faint
Through distance from the apostolic voice.
More than in early days of Christendom
Was yielded, with reserve, by careful men,
To the wild voicings of the pagan lyre;
Nor wrest from fable dubious evidence.
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And that most subtile reason which aspires
To glean from proof the nutriment of faith,
It is our nature to elaborate,
By power that works in the capacious brain,
What seems obscure in scripture; or falls faint
Through distance from the apostolic voice.
Such thoughts, perchance, have root in error; yet
They rise like plants from crypts in search of day.
Unbidden, they arise: for not by light
Of the prophetic torch, nor doctrine plain,
Seek we to fathom the profound abysm;
And pierce the spectral shadow of the tomb:
Hades, and mournful Limbus; awful names!
They rise like plants from crypts in search of day.
Unbidden, they arise: for not by light
Of the prophetic torch, nor doctrine plain,
Seek we to fathom the profound abysm;
And pierce the spectral shadow of the tomb:
Hades, and mournful Limbus; awful names!
From speculative truths, however sure,
Yet wrapped in dimness, and like objects seen
Through mist, to bulk fallacious magnified,
Turn we to Truth revealed. That Christ, who died
To satisfy the inexorable Law,
Descended after death to hell, and rose
Again: for it was writ—“Thou shalt not leave
My soul in hell, neither Thy Holy-One
Suffer to see corruption.” Thither He went
To satisfy the doom of man extreme,
And from dark thrall restore. That act released
Man from unutterable fears; and gave,
In His Ascension, hope that shall not fail
To all who seek in faith to follow Him;
Bearing His blood upon their front; sure sign
To Satan, that his plagues must overpass.
Yet wrapped in dimness, and like objects seen
Through mist, to bulk fallacious magnified,
Turn we to Truth revealed. That Christ, who died
To satisfy the inexorable Law,
Descended after death to hell, and rose
Again: for it was writ—“Thou shalt not leave
My soul in hell, neither Thy Holy-One
Suffer to see corruption.” Thither He went
To satisfy the doom of man extreme,
40
Man from unutterable fears; and gave,
In His Ascension, hope that shall not fail
To all who seek in faith to follow Him;
Bearing His blood upon their front; sure sign
To Satan, that his plagues must overpass.
The third day Christ revisited the tomb,
And in the nostrils of the sacred Dead
Again breathed living soul: the sepulchre
Was rent—and He arose!
And in the nostrils of the sacred Dead
Again breathed living soul: the sepulchre
Was rent—and He arose!
Their vigilant watch
The Roman sentinels maintained; yet heard
No sound, nor vision saw: and when advanced
The holy women, in procession sad,
With spicery and odoriferous gums,
Wrapped in their robes on mournful dues intent,
Him found they not; but with amazement looked
On the bright angel there; who answered them,
“Fear not—He is not here—for He is risen!”
Then too the trembling Guards perceived, and fled;
Reluctant witnesses, with fear-blanched lips.
The Roman sentinels maintained; yet heard
No sound, nor vision saw: and when advanced
The holy women, in procession sad,
With spicery and odoriferous gums,
Wrapped in their robes on mournful dues intent,
Him found they not; but with amazement looked
On the bright angel there; who answered them,
“Fear not—He is not here—for He is risen!”
Then too the trembling Guards perceived, and fled;
Reluctant witnesses, with fear-blanched lips.
Not to the general People, in their guilt
Leprous, nor to the Priests corrupt, nor him
That Judge accursed, did Christ make manifest
His resurrection. Those He chose were few,
But worthy to bear witness through all time.
These, though they wept Him lost, and hoped though dead,
Yet saw with doubt; until His palms and side
He bared, and bade them touch; and sat with them
Discoursing, and partook the honeycomb.
Then unbelief was quickened, and they hailed
Him they had mourned as dead their living Lord!
Leprous, nor to the Priests corrupt, nor him
That Judge accursed, did Christ make manifest
His resurrection. Those He chose were few,
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These, though they wept Him lost, and hoped though dead,
Yet saw with doubt; until His palms and side
He bared, and bade them touch; and sat with them
Discoursing, and partook the honeycomb.
Then unbelief was quickened, and they hailed
Him they had mourned as dead their living Lord!
And so He dwelt with them a space, and gave
Counsel and inextinguishable hope,
Precepts, and full commission, with the Keys.
They saw, they heard, felt, knew Him, as a man
Of living texture; yet, so glorified
In spiritual nature, that all obstacles
Of place and distance were as naught: His steps
They marked not as He came; but suddenly,
He stood, an apparition, in the midst!
Counsel and inextinguishable hope,
Precepts, and full commission, with the Keys.
They saw, they heard, felt, knew Him, as a man
Of living texture; yet, so glorified
In spiritual nature, that all obstacles
Of place and distance were as naught: His steps
They marked not as He came; but suddenly,
He stood, an apparition, in the midst!
And He was gentle with them, and refrained;
And sweetly with His Godhead mingled man.
He, recent from the altar, whence His blood
Rose in atoning sacrifice to heaven;
He, Conqueror of Death and Satan's brood;
Triumphant Captain, holding in His grasp
Spoil of infernal Powers, and leading forth
Captivity His captive! Then, even then,
Was the decree enrolled, that all baptized
With Him in burial with Him should rise;
And all the Dead in sin through Him be quickened;
All guilt forgiven! Adam's curse annulled!
And sweetly with His Godhead mingled man.
He, recent from the altar, whence His blood
Rose in atoning sacrifice to heaven;
He, Conqueror of Death and Satan's brood;
Triumphant Captain, holding in His grasp
Spoil of infernal Powers, and leading forth
Captivity His captive! Then, even then,
Was the decree enrolled, that all baptized
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And all the Dead in sin through Him be quickened;
All guilt forgiven! Adam's curse annulled!
O day of joy! when from the yielding grave,
As a mild infant from the font, wherein
The world and sin lie dead, the Saviour rose!
O day, henceforward to be set apart,
Not in the weekly cycle last, but first!
Day to be watched with an exceeding love,
And cheerful celebration, through all ages!
By bannered Nations marching 'neath the Cross;
By sacred Kings; by dedicated Priests;
By Sage; the gifted Great; the holy Poor!
As a mild infant from the font, wherein
The world and sin lie dead, the Saviour rose!
O day, henceforward to be set apart,
Not in the weekly cycle last, but first!
Day to be watched with an exceeding love,
And cheerful celebration, through all ages!
By bannered Nations marching 'neath the Cross;
By sacred Kings; by dedicated Priests;
By Sage; the gifted Great; the holy Poor!
Sing praises then, Thou universal Church!
Shout forth to heaven, Ye choirs antiphonal,
With Catholic voices clear, and hearts elate!
The Sabbath of the Saviour comes—Behold,
The Day of the Lord! Hallow it evermore!
Shout forth to heaven, Ye choirs antiphonal,
With Catholic voices clear, and hearts elate!
The Sabbath of the Saviour comes—Behold,
The Day of the Lord! Hallow it evermore!
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VI. The Ascension.
Christ, in his burial and descent to hell,
And resurrection, one momentous part
Of that great Action, typified and sang
By prophets breathing hope where right was none,
Accomplished; and a Saviour stood on earth,
Amid a Race redeemed.
One closing scene remained. Sin through His blood
Was washed away; Death of his sting despoiled;
The grave of victory: and now, behold!
He stands on earth's extremest verge, and soon
With gradual ascent shall cleave the clouds,
The firmament transpiercing; and unbar
The gate of heaven and immortality!
And resurrection, one momentous part
Of that great Action, typified and sang
By prophets breathing hope where right was none,
Accomplished; and a Saviour stood on earth,
Amid a Race redeemed.
One closing scene remained. Sin through His blood
Was washed away; Death of his sting despoiled;
The grave of victory: and now, behold!
He stands on earth's extremest verge, and soon
With gradual ascent shall cleave the clouds,
The firmament transpiercing; and unbar
The gate of heaven and immortality!
Ay, Be ye opened, Everlasting Gates!
And let the King of Glory enter! Him,
With shout of Angel Hosts accompanied;
And song of Cherubim and Seraphim;
And glorious company of Saints; and troop
Of noble Martyrs; and bright fellowship
Of Prophets, and the pure, undying Church,
With golden censers swinging on His path,
Marshalling onward to the inner shrine;
Where at the holy altar before God
He, all sufficing Priest, shall offer up
The incense of our prayers; and consecrate
His acceptable sacrifice.
And let the King of Glory enter! Him,
With shout of Angel Hosts accompanied;
And song of Cherubim and Seraphim;
And glorious company of Saints; and troop
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Of Prophets, and the pure, undying Church,
With golden censers swinging on His path,
Marshalling onward to the inner shrine;
Where at the holy altar before God
He, all sufficing Priest, shall offer up
The incense of our prayers; and consecrate
His acceptable sacrifice.
And thus,
Without abating His Humanity,
Or aught from Godhead derogating, passed
Even from the midst of those He loved and taught,
Their blessed Lord: by Power divine to heaven
Ascending; there to sit at God's right hand;
Clothed in the splendour of the Deity
On that etherial throne not made by hands,
Nor reached by mortal eye, whose shadow is
The purple firmament which bends above
The stars, and doth encompass the great earth,
He sat transfigured; calm and beautiful,
With lofty brows benign, and eyes that beamed
Dominion: while above, below, around,
Archangels glorious in organic light,
A Beatific Vision, compassed Him,
Even as a living Halo! There—and ever—
At the right hand of Power supreme He dwells;
Around whose footstool, constant as the tide
Of ocean swelling 'neath the orb of night,
The awful sea of souls perpetually
Surge with imploring voice and suppliant eyes!
Without abating His Humanity,
Or aught from Godhead derogating, passed
Even from the midst of those He loved and taught,
Their blessed Lord: by Power divine to heaven
Ascending; there to sit at God's right hand;
Clothed in the splendour of the Deity
On that etherial throne not made by hands,
Nor reached by mortal eye, whose shadow is
The purple firmament which bends above
The stars, and doth encompass the great earth,
He sat transfigured; calm and beautiful,
With lofty brows benign, and eyes that beamed
Dominion: while above, below, around,
Archangels glorious in organic light,
A Beatific Vision, compassed Him,
Even as a living Halo! There—and ever—
At the right hand of Power supreme He dwells;
45
Of ocean swelling 'neath the orb of night,
The awful sea of souls perpetually
Surge with imploring voice and suppliant eyes!
His station such, and such His functions are,
By predetermined destiny; whereby
The mystery might be resolved of sin
And death redeemed; an Intercessor won,
Human in nature, yet of power divine;
By whom our wants had been experienced, all
Temptations, and affections without sin;
Who to the fulness of the Godhead joined
Total Humanity: and so stood forth
At once Atoner, Mediator, Judge;
Without presumption loved, feared without shame,
Without idolatry adored!
By predetermined destiny; whereby
The mystery might be resolved of sin
And death redeemed; an Intercessor won,
Human in nature, yet of power divine;
By whom our wants had been experienced, all
Temptations, and affections without sin;
Who to the fulness of the Godhead joined
Total Humanity: and so stood forth
At once Atoner, Mediator, Judge;
Without presumption loved, feared without shame,
Without idolatry adored!
Not such
Those wild illusions of poor human craft,
Creatures of visionary bards, seduced
By weak desires, or by vague wants impelled;
Who, for great Conquerors, wise Lawgivers,
Beneficent Inventors, Heroes, Saints,
Asserted a vain Apotheosis;
Worshipping idols wrought by human hands.
So dedicated Statues rose to Pan,
Belus, and Mercury, Ceres, Bacchus, Mars;
The Avatars of Brama, multiform;
And Odin, phantom of the northern seers:
Till men, grown mad in their excesses, smeared
His altars with the gore of fellow men;
And thronged with rites obscene his temple gates;
Making the name of the Most High a scoff
Before His desecrated shrines!
Those wild illusions of poor human craft,
Creatures of visionary bards, seduced
By weak desires, or by vague wants impelled;
Who, for great Conquerors, wise Lawgivers,
Beneficent Inventors, Heroes, Saints,
Asserted a vain Apotheosis;
Worshipping idols wrought by human hands.
So dedicated Statues rose to Pan,
46
The Avatars of Brama, multiform;
And Odin, phantom of the northern seers:
Till men, grown mad in their excesses, smeared
His altars with the gore of fellow men;
And thronged with rites obscene his temple gates;
Making the name of the Most High a scoff
Before His desecrated shrines!
From shames
Like these, and their attendant woes, hath Christ
Restored; bequeathing to His followers
Authority to build up His true Church;
And Grace dispense, and pardon: a rich store
That hath sufficed. He, in this world, arraigned
As Criminal, adjudged to death, and slain,
With malefactors, on the felon's cross,
Hath in the eternal heaven resumed His throne:
King, with a sov'reignty uncircumscribed;
Judge, on a just tribunal fixed; nor there
Judge only, but an Advocate, to plead
Our cause and sue for pardon; as a Priest
To intercede, and aid us in our prayer,
Solicit for our needs, and invocate
Blessings on our endeavours; ever prompt
With favour to excuse, authority
To remedy, our weakness. He who speaks
The sentence is Himself our Mediator!
Like these, and their attendant woes, hath Christ
Restored; bequeathing to His followers
Authority to build up His true Church;
And Grace dispense, and pardon: a rich store
That hath sufficed. He, in this world, arraigned
As Criminal, adjudged to death, and slain,
With malefactors, on the felon's cross,
Hath in the eternal heaven resumed His throne:
King, with a sov'reignty uncircumscribed;
Judge, on a just tribunal fixed; nor there
Judge only, but an Advocate, to plead
Our cause and sue for pardon; as a Priest
To intercede, and aid us in our prayer,
Solicit for our needs, and invocate
Blessings on our endeavours; ever prompt
With favour to excuse, authority
To remedy, our weakness. He who speaks
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“The Lord is King! O earth, be glad thereof!
Through all thy multitude of isles rejoice!
Be glad—though clouds and darkness shadow Him,
Judgment and Righteousness surround His throne!
Sion hath heard it and rejoiced. O ye,
Who love the Lord, see that ye hate the thing
That evil is! The Lord preserves His Saints,
And from ungodly men shall He deliver!
A Light is sprung up for the Righteous; joy
For the True hearted. To your King give thanks
For a remembrance of His holiness!”
Through all thy multitude of isles rejoice!
Be glad—though clouds and darkness shadow Him,
Judgment and Righteousness surround His throne!
Sion hath heard it and rejoiced. O ye,
Who love the Lord, see that ye hate the thing
That evil is! The Lord preserves His Saints,
And from ungodly men shall He deliver!
A Light is sprung up for the Righteous; joy
For the True hearted. To your King give thanks
For a remembrance of His holiness!”
Why holds He thus His royal session, one
With God, yet visibly our King? Because
The office of a king is merciful,
Yet constant in upholding righteous Law;
A Scourger of Oppression; who rides forth
Our Captain, in the presence of our foes;
Friend of the Lowly; Queller of the Proud;
Because Regality, itself, is held
Through Grace of Christ alone; Christ, who subdues
Hell, and the sinful flesh, and Death himself;
All that resists His service; or debars
From full fruition of all gifts and grace;
And access to those heavenly joys, prepared
For those who tread the path He heralded.
With God, yet visibly our King? Because
The office of a king is merciful,
Yet constant in upholding righteous Law;
A Scourger of Oppression; who rides forth
Our Captain, in the presence of our foes;
Friend of the Lowly; Queller of the Proud;
Because Regality, itself, is held
Through Grace of Christ alone; Christ, who subdues
48
All that resists His service; or debars
From full fruition of all gifts and grace;
And access to those heavenly joys, prepared
For those who tread the path He heralded.
That throne on High He took, from thence to send
On man the Holy Spirit. Precious pledge
Of an incomparable love! first fruit
Of intercession!
On man the Holy Spirit. Precious pledge
Of an incomparable love! first fruit
Of intercession!
Who henceforth shall doubt
His promises—and who that trusts shall fear?
Who suffers sorrow, or endures a wrong,
Or stands in peril, but shall look to Him,
Encompassed with Divinity, for strength?
To Him, who dwelt with us, and was of us;
Our Master and our Friend; now King in heaven:
Who bids us to approach Him fearlessly,
With open speech, and confident of aid!
His promises—and who that trusts shall fear?
Who suffers sorrow, or endures a wrong,
Or stands in peril, but shall look to Him,
Encompassed with Divinity, for strength?
To Him, who dwelt with us, and was of us;
Our Master and our Friend; now King in heaven:
Who bids us to approach Him fearlessly,
With open speech, and confident of aid!
In Him be all our trust—devotion—hope!
And high as heaven, in which His dwelling is,
Be all our aspirations! may no vain
And base desires, no objects mean, compel
Our souls to earth! but, having Christ our head,
Our life, our treasure, where He is direct,
Almighty Father! our affections—lead
Our wandering steps to Him, and that Abode—
That glorious Rest—to which, poor sojourners
Of weary Earth, our pilgrimage aspires!
Strengthen us in obedience; stimulate
With prospect of the great reward He won,
And we, through Him, may reach! For lo! the race
Is set before us; and the Goal appears!
That Kingdom which He covenants to us,
Even as the Father covenants to Him!
And high as heaven, in which His dwelling is,
Be all our aspirations! may no vain
And base desires, no objects mean, compel
Our souls to earth! but, having Christ our head,
Our life, our treasure, where He is direct,
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Our wandering steps to Him, and that Abode—
That glorious Rest—to which, poor sojourners
Of weary Earth, our pilgrimage aspires!
Strengthen us in obedience; stimulate
With prospect of the great reward He won,
And we, through Him, may reach! For lo! the race
Is set before us; and the Goal appears!
That Kingdom which He covenants to us,
Even as the Father covenants to Him!
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VII. The Day of Judgment.
“The trumpet shall sound, and incorruptible
The Dead arise; and we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye!”
The Dead arise; and we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye!”
To the four winds that Seraph trump shall blow
Sonorous, in their graves it shall awake
The Sleepers, and compel all breathing Flesh
From life's vain dream to start, and meet their Judge.
Sonorous, in their graves it shall awake
The Sleepers, and compel all breathing Flesh
From life's vain dream to start, and meet their Judge.
Behold, He comes! The firmament is rent;
The clouds unrol their glowing canopy,
Instinct with Cherub faces, and bright eyes
Intensely gazing, and loud harmonies
Echoing through all those luminous aisles that lead
To the expanded gates and courts of heaven.
The clouds unrol their glowing canopy,
Instinct with Cherub faces, and bright eyes
Intensely gazing, and loud harmonies
Echoing through all those luminous aisles that lead
To the expanded gates and courts of heaven.
And who that Judge? Say, whose that kingly form
Of human lineament, but mien divine;
That Apparition stepping on the air
Beaming with inward light, and glorious brow?
'Tis He who trod the earth as Man, and died
As Man; but as a God went up to heaven;
While the clouds opened, and the Angels stood
White robed, and with reverted eyes intent
On the Apostles; as, with upraised arm,
And finger pointing to the Saviour's form,
They spake—“This Jesus, who from you is taken
To heaven, shall thus from heaven return again!”
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That Apparition stepping on the air
Beaming with inward light, and glorious brow?
'Tis He who trod the earth as Man, and died
As Man; but as a God went up to heaven;
While the clouds opened, and the Angels stood
White robed, and with reverted eyes intent
On the Apostles; as, with upraised arm,
And finger pointing to the Saviour's form,
They spake—“This Jesus, who from you is taken
To heaven, shall thus from heaven return again!”
He comes to judge the world!—Thou palsied Earth—
Mother of many children! thy last throes
Are past: no more shalt thou conceive in sin,
No more bring forth in sorrow: Wake—arise.
The thunders of the Lord are muttering doom
Around thy smouldering couch; thy hoary hills
Wax paler 'neath the flashing pageantry
Of Hosts angelical that throng the air.
Yet wail not, terror stricken; weep no more.
He comes—but with long suffering, full of mercy;
And will absolve the Penitent.—O grief!
O People! Raise that wail of woe, once more!
For who of woman born is penitent—
Or who shall hope through merit of his own?
But hush! a fearful calm—a shuddering pause—
And one low voice sounding at every ear—
“Arise! and to the judgment seat of Christ
Bring Conscience!”
Mother of many children! thy last throes
Are past: no more shalt thou conceive in sin,
No more bring forth in sorrow: Wake—arise.
The thunders of the Lord are muttering doom
Around thy smouldering couch; thy hoary hills
Wax paler 'neath the flashing pageantry
Of Hosts angelical that throng the air.
Yet wail not, terror stricken; weep no more.
He comes—but with long suffering, full of mercy;
And will absolve the Penitent.—O grief!
O People! Raise that wail of woe, once more!
For who of woman born is penitent—
Or who shall hope through merit of his own?
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And one low voice sounding at every ear—
“Arise! and to the judgment seat of Christ
Bring Conscience!”
Ah—no more our Monitor;
Dread Witness now! one earthquake wide to dust
Shakes tower and temple to the ground; vast rifts
Gape in the vallies; whence the legion hands
Of flame-uplifted Demons are thrust forth:
For Man must be condemned! A hollow laughter
Rolls up from the profound depths, heaved, like surges
Heard in the tempest's lull on rock-bound shores.
Hush—once again! Once more that silver voice,
Low, musical, and clear, pierces the air;
And still, alas! in every ear.
Dread Witness now! one earthquake wide to dust
Shakes tower and temple to the ground; vast rifts
Gape in the vallies; whence the legion hands
Of flame-uplifted Demons are thrust forth:
For Man must be condemned! A hollow laughter
Rolls up from the profound depths, heaved, like surges
Heard in the tempest's lull on rock-bound shores.
Hush—once again! Once more that silver voice,
Low, musical, and clear, pierces the air;
And still, alas! in every ear.
“Your Judge
Was Brother of your nature, meek and lowly;
For your salvation suffered all things; prayed
For you in death, and reconciled to God!
And, now, He wears the crown who bore the cross!
And He is God whom ye behold, but sheathed
In that fraternal flesh that ye have known;
So, may ye look upon Him, face to face,
And know your Judge, and own the sentence just.
Ye Blessed! come to that bright Realm prepared
By the Father, before all the worlds, for you!
But Ye, accursed Race! depart from Me!
Go to the everlasting fires reserved
For Satan and his angels!”
[OMITTED]
Was Brother of your nature, meek and lowly;
For your salvation suffered all things; prayed
For you in death, and reconciled to God!
And, now, He wears the crown who bore the cross!
And He is God whom ye behold, but sheathed
In that fraternal flesh that ye have known;
So, may ye look upon Him, face to face,
And know your Judge, and own the sentence just.
Ye Blessed! come to that bright Realm prepared
53
But Ye, accursed Race! depart from Me!
Go to the everlasting fires reserved
For Satan and his angels!”
The vision fades—the sounds in distance die!
And now I stand like one o'er whom the deep
Waters have rolled, emerging with a cry,
And hollow murmurs busy in the brain.
The vision fades, but awful thoughts endure.
And now I stand like one o'er whom the deep
Waters have rolled, emerging with a cry,
And hollow murmurs busy in the brain.
The vision fades, but awful thoughts endure.
Ponder this well; The day of doom will come;
Doom of ecstatic joy, or vast despair!
Should not such thought beget some fear? Shall we
Not tremble—yea, as Felix on his throne
Shook, when he heard the voice of holy Paul
Discoursing judgment and the doom to come?
O Creatures weak as blind! our nerves are strong
In disobedience, strong where Devils tremble!
Doom of ecstatic joy, or vast despair!
Should not such thought beget some fear? Shall we
Not tremble—yea, as Felix on his throne
Shook, when he heard the voice of holy Paul
Discoursing judgment and the doom to come?
O Creatures weak as blind! our nerves are strong
In disobedience, strong where Devils tremble!
Power is of God: His ways infallible:
His sentence changeless. Think, ere yet too late,
Think, subjects of His Royalty, and serfs
Who owe Him true obedience, under bond;
Ye stand accountable for talents, given
To worthy ends; for exercise of will
Bestowed to instigate to righteous deeds;
For dutiful observance of plain laws,
Framed for God's glory, and the good of man.
In fine, He gave His Son!—Who disobeys,
Dishonours, by that act, his Saviour; spurns
The Holy Spirit; and renounces God.
His sentence changeless. Think, ere yet too late,
Think, subjects of His Royalty, and serfs
Who owe Him true obedience, under bond;
Ye stand accountable for talents, given
To worthy ends; for exercise of will
Bestowed to instigate to righteous deeds;
For dutiful observance of plain laws,
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In fine, He gave His Son!—Who disobeys,
Dishonours, by that act, his Saviour; spurns
The Holy Spirit; and renounces God.
You whisper doubt?—and, if a doubt there were,
Have you no natural fears—no worldly craft?
If to be safe is wise, be wise in time!
But ah! your Judge is just: you hope Him mild;
Benign of purpose, liberal of hand;
Apt to relent on importunity?
And dare you, then, confront those gracious eyes,
Those lips whose mild behests you disregard,
The confidence you violate, the will
You combat, and the love you have repulsed?
Dare you?—Consider, then, His anger; frowns
Clouding that generous amplitude of brow;
That voice, so sweet in its affection, toned
To stern rebuke, sad words of destiny!
Think of Him thus—in all His Terrors robed,
With menace in His mien, and voice of wrath;
And the judicial Doom; without appeal!
Have you no natural fears—no worldly craft?
If to be safe is wise, be wise in time!
But ah! your Judge is just: you hope Him mild;
Benign of purpose, liberal of hand;
Apt to relent on importunity?
And dare you, then, confront those gracious eyes,
Those lips whose mild behests you disregard,
The confidence you violate, the will
You combat, and the love you have repulsed?
Dare you?—Consider, then, His anger; frowns
Clouding that generous amplitude of brow;
That voice, so sweet in its affection, toned
To stern rebuke, sad words of destiny!
Think of Him thus—in all His Terrors robed,
With menace in His mien, and voice of wrath;
And the judicial Doom; without appeal!
For then, not as a Monitor, He comes,
But terrible in majesty; and armed
With regal emblems, and a Victor's sword;
Ensigns of Power, and Train of Empery.
He speaks—the irrevocable words go forth—
And fate ensues, concluding all! For all,
Yea, every tongue, condition, sex, or age,
The prince, the peasant, wise or ignorant,
The Rich, the Poor, the Scholar, or the Fool,
Must stand on trial, and hear sentence pass.
That time we know not. Watch, for it will come!
But terrible in majesty; and armed
With regal emblems, and a Victor's sword;
Ensigns of Power, and Train of Empery.
He speaks—the irrevocable words go forth—
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Yea, every tongue, condition, sex, or age,
The prince, the peasant, wise or ignorant,
The Rich, the Poor, the Scholar, or the Fool,
Must stand on trial, and hear sentence pass.
That time we know not. Watch, for it will come!
“I said, I will take heed unto my ways;
That I offend not with my tongue. My mouth
As with a bridle I will keep. I held
My peace; but it was pain and grief to me.
My heart grew hot within me while I mused,
And the fire kindled; and I spake at last.
Lord! let me know the number of my days—
O tell me, Lord! how long I have to live!
Behold, our days are as a span; our age
To Thee as naught. In a vain shadow Man
Walketh, himself vainly disquieting.
He heapeth wealth, knowing not who shall gather:
Now, Lord! what is my hope—in Thee alone!”
O Thou! with whom the inevitable hour
To Thy omniscient glance is as to-day;—
For separable times, to Thee, and space,
Are idle names; the future and the Past
Converging to one everlasting Now;—
Make strong our feeble nature: that our thoughts
May, with raised hope, anticipate that day.
Yet not our hearts shall judge; for then, indeed,
The account were easy, and the verdict light;
But they shall answer make before that Bar
Where subterfuge avails not.
That I offend not with my tongue. My mouth
As with a bridle I will keep. I held
My peace; but it was pain and grief to me.
My heart grew hot within me while I mused,
And the fire kindled; and I spake at last.
Lord! let me know the number of my days—
O tell me, Lord! how long I have to live!
Behold, our days are as a span; our age
To Thee as naught. In a vain shadow Man
Walketh, himself vainly disquieting.
He heapeth wealth, knowing not who shall gather:
Now, Lord! what is my hope—in Thee alone!”
O Thou! with whom the inevitable hour
To Thy omniscient glance is as to-day;—
For separable times, to Thee, and space,
Are idle names; the future and the Past
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Make strong our feeble nature: that our thoughts
May, with raised hope, anticipate that day.
Yet not our hearts shall judge; for then, indeed,
The account were easy, and the verdict light;
But they shall answer make before that Bar
Where subterfuge avails not.
And well for Man
That there shall be just judgment after death!
For not on earth does punishment pursue
The Evil doer; nor does virtue meet
Reward: these are hereafter. So, the griefs
Of righteous, and rejoicings of bad men;
And persecutions of the Wise, and strength
Of froward Fools; and youthful Martyrs yielding
Their breath in agony; and hoary Tyrants
Folding their sanguinary hands in peace
On reverend death-beds; these, that to the Sage
Of ancient days were as a stumbling block,
Rocks of offence, whereon even David struck,
With faltering footstep; these, to Christian men,
Are proof that God His canon hath decreed
Of overruling justice after death:
That retribution is deferred: the due
Award, proportionate to each, reserved
For one great Judgment Day—the last of Time!
That there shall be just judgment after death!
For not on earth does punishment pursue
The Evil doer; nor does virtue meet
Reward: these are hereafter. So, the griefs
Of righteous, and rejoicings of bad men;
And persecutions of the Wise, and strength
Of froward Fools; and youthful Martyrs yielding
Their breath in agony; and hoary Tyrants
Folding their sanguinary hands in peace
On reverend death-beds; these, that to the Sage
Of ancient days were as a stumbling block,
Rocks of offence, whereon even David struck,
With faltering footstep; these, to Christian men,
Are proof that God His canon hath decreed
Of overruling justice after death:
That retribution is deferred: the due
Award, proportionate to each, reserved
For one great Judgment Day—the last of Time!
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VIII. The Holy Spirit.
The Sadducee hath said there is no Soul,
Angel, nor Resurrection after death:
Yet there seems room to doubt that even he
Denied the Being of the Spirit of God:
For he denied not God: and God is Spirit.
Angel, nor Resurrection after death:
Yet there seems room to doubt that even he
Denied the Being of the Spirit of God:
For he denied not God: and God is Spirit.
The Pharisee, by him despised, confessed
A resurrection; and, in a sense restrained,
Spirits angelical, created Powers.
Therefore they erred, not knowing yet the truth
By gospel light revealed: for to the Jews,
Whose law of faith was God in Unity,
The mystery profound of Three in One
Was undeveloped. Prophecies were dark,
And faint traditions fell as shadows, cast
Down from unseen Realities, 'till Earth
Received her Christ; and, when He passed away,
Him whom He sent, the Holy Paraclete;
Acknowledged not to outward sense revealed,
But known within the heart, and by His Fruits.
A resurrection; and, in a sense restrained,
Spirits angelical, created Powers.
Therefore they erred, not knowing yet the truth
By gospel light revealed: for to the Jews,
Whose law of faith was God in Unity,
The mystery profound of Three in One
Was undeveloped. Prophecies were dark,
And faint traditions fell as shadows, cast
Down from unseen Realities, 'till Earth
Received her Christ; and, when He passed away,
Him whom He sent, the Holy Paraclete;
Acknowledged not to outward sense revealed,
But known within the heart, and by His Fruits.
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Then the essential Truth, Triunity
Of Godhead; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;
Three Persons but one God, was manifest
By proofs unerring; with appeal to words
Plainly pronounced, and context manifold;
Creed, from the first delivered and maintained,
Which none may question who confess that Word
Through ages of enduring faith devolved.
Of Godhead; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;
Three Persons but one God, was manifest
By proofs unerring; with appeal to words
Plainly pronounced, and context manifold;
Creed, from the first delivered and maintained,
Which none may question who confess that Word
Through ages of enduring faith devolved.
Not now may we plead ignorance, as once
Ephesian converts, the baptized of John,
Knew not the Spirit; uninstructed then
Of His miraculous effusion, yet
Denying not His name and potency.
For they to Christ conformed, and recognized
The manner of His birth; no mortal Sire
Conceiving, but the Holy One from Heaven:
As Gabriel to the Virgin Mother spake
Wrapt in the shadow of the Deity.
Ephesian converts, the baptized of John,
Knew not the Spirit; uninstructed then
Of His miraculous effusion, yet
Denying not His name and potency.
For they to Christ conformed, and recognized
The manner of His birth; no mortal Sire
Conceiving, but the Holy One from Heaven:
As Gabriel to the Virgin Mother spake
Wrapt in the shadow of the Deity.
How shall we then confess that Holy Name?
How speak of Him whose energy and power
And operative Nature pierces through
All flesh, and mingles with the subtile soul?
Even as a perfect Entity—a Spirit
Of vital, uncreated intellect:
For such the Saviour's words clearly expressed,
When to His sorrowing Followers He said—
“If I go not away The Comforter
Will not come to you; but, if I depart,
Him will I send.” And thus, again, He spake—
“The Comforter, whom I shall send to you—
Send—from the Father.” Mark distinctly here
Three Persons, and three Actions, separate;
With functional abstraction: Father—Son—
And, from these Two proceeding, Holy Ghost.
How speak of Him whose energy and power
And operative Nature pierces through
All flesh, and mingles with the subtile soul?
Even as a perfect Entity—a Spirit
Of vital, uncreated intellect:
For such the Saviour's words clearly expressed,
When to His sorrowing Followers He said—
59
Will not come to you; but, if I depart,
Him will I send.” And thus, again, He spake—
“The Comforter, whom I shall send to you—
Send—from the Father.” Mark distinctly here
Three Persons, and three Actions, separate;
With functional abstraction: Father—Son—
And, from these Two proceeding, Holy Ghost.
And who shall dare condemn as idle form,
Or empty words, recital of these names
In baptism, and all sacramental rites?
To these, be sure, an efficacious Power
Belongs, and by that adjuration bound
We make a plain profession: which, renounced,
May draw down penalties irrevocable
On all who sin against the Holy Ghost.
Or empty words, recital of these names
In baptism, and all sacramental rites?
To these, be sure, an efficacious Power
Belongs, and by that adjuration bound
We make a plain profession: which, renounced,
May draw down penalties irrevocable
On all who sin against the Holy Ghost.
We are not, then, abandoned to surmise:
For He, in whom is all our trust, hath spoken.
Mark well: a Person may have qualities,
And energies, with actions suitable;
But it were folly to impersonate
Functions and operations, and impute
To Faculties volition, thought and life;
As He must have, who, sent by One, is known
Departing from Another. This, indeed,
Infers disfinction broad and palpable.
For He, in whom is all our trust, hath spoken.
Mark well: a Person may have qualities,
And energies, with actions suitable;
But it were folly to impersonate
Functions and operations, and impute
To Faculties volition, thought and life;
As He must have, who, sent by One, is known
Departing from Another. This, indeed,
Infers disfinction broad and palpable.
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O Holy One! O Comforter! in Thee
Such mysteries of feeling are evolved
Paternal, as within the human heart
Of the Redeemer dwelt; and Thou dost share
With Him emotions and affections, stirred
By grief: for Thou dost “Intercession make
With groanings, which cannot be uttered.” Thou
“Searchest all things—yea, the deep things of God!”
All spiritual gifts are Thine—“ to each
Dividing severally as Thou wilt.”
God's will Thou dost reveal, speaking to men;
As when at Antioch Thou bad'st separate,
Meet for Thy service, Barnabas and Saul.
And Christ, Himself, that we might know aright
Thy blessed Nature, called Thee “Comforter”—
“Teacher of all things that should testify
Of Him; with the Disciples witnessing.”
He promised, “that Thou shouldst reprove the world,
Guiding His Followers to all truth; and shew
The things to come.”
O praise ye then His Name
For ever! He whose Power conceived the Christ:
Whom, in his benediction, holy Paul
Named with the Father and the Son; who dwells
With man unseen, but spiritual and true;
Who spake, who heard, who testified, reproved,
Instructs us, crowns us: pouring Grace divine,
As sanctifying unction, o'er our hearts.
Such mysteries of feeling are evolved
Paternal, as within the human heart
Of the Redeemer dwelt; and Thou dost share
With Him emotions and affections, stirred
By grief: for Thou dost “Intercession make
With groanings, which cannot be uttered.” Thou
“Searchest all things—yea, the deep things of God!”
All spiritual gifts are Thine—“ to each
Dividing severally as Thou wilt.”
God's will Thou dost reveal, speaking to men;
As when at Antioch Thou bad'st separate,
Meet for Thy service, Barnabas and Saul.
And Christ, Himself, that we might know aright
Thy blessed Nature, called Thee “Comforter”—
“Teacher of all things that should testify
Of Him; with the Disciples witnessing.”
He promised, “that Thou shouldst reprove the world,
Guiding His Followers to all truth; and shew
The things to come.”
O praise ye then His Name
For ever! He whose Power conceived the Christ:
Whom, in his benediction, holy Paul
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With man unseen, but spiritual and true;
Who spake, who heard, who testified, reproved,
Instructs us, crowns us: pouring Grace divine,
As sanctifying unction, o'er our hearts.
Praise Him! the Uncreated—Spirit of God—
Who is in God—and is God—One for ever!
Who is in God—and is God—One for ever!
Praise Him! whose Majesty to violate
Is that mysterious, remediless, Sin!
Is that mysterious, remediless, Sin!
Praise Him! who in the manner of a Dove
On Christ descended, while the Father spake
From Heaven, and openly proclaimed His Son!
On Christ descended, while the Father spake
From Heaven, and openly proclaimed His Son!
Praise Him! who cleanses all impurities,
And wraps us in the robe of holiness:
So that with white-stoled Angels we may stand
Before the throne of God!
And wraps us in the robe of holiness:
So that with white-stoled Angels we may stand
Before the throne of God!
Praise Him! who moulds
Our stubborn will depraved, 'till it conform
To God's known pleasure; unpolluted thus,
Able to taste joys incorruptible!
For who but He shall shape our actions, prompt
Our lips to acceptable service, wrought
With loving reverence? who renovate
Our courage, quell desires, direct our prayer?
Who spiritually make us one with Christ;
By baptism creating us in Him,
And Him in us by a pure life? Who give
The grace of confirmation, and anoint
Warriors of God, Princes and Priests, yea children
Whose cry is, “Abba—Father!” with sure pledge,
And earnest sealed, of that Inheritance
Which those shall reach who keep His covenant.
Our stubborn will depraved, 'till it conform
To God's known pleasure; unpolluted thus,
Able to taste joys incorruptible!
For who but He shall shape our actions, prompt
Our lips to acceptable service, wrought
With loving reverence? who renovate
Our courage, quell desires, direct our prayer?
Who spiritually make us one with Christ;
By baptism creating us in Him,
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The grace of confirmation, and anoint
Warriors of God, Princes and Priests, yea children
Whose cry is, “Abba—Father!” with sure pledge,
And earnest sealed, of that Inheritance
Which those shall reach who keep His covenant.
And He it is whose ordination gives
Their sanctity to Christian ministers;
Placing them men apart; to intercede,
And bless, expound the Gospel, pray, exhort,
Denounce bad men, absolve the Penitent,
And consecrate all sacramental gifts.
A ministry successively derived
From the Apostles: with full power endued
For pastoral functions, and command to lead
The Flocks of God through pastures ever green;
Where holiness is as the scent of flowers,
And joy innumerous as leaves on trees,
And sorrow gentle as dispersing showers,
And hope reviving as was Elim's well,
And memory soothing as the hum of bees,
Or murmuring fall remote, or chiming bells,
And consciousness of life a keen delight,
Pure, fresh, and glowing, as the spousal Spring!
Their sanctity to Christian ministers;
Placing them men apart; to intercede,
And bless, expound the Gospel, pray, exhort,
Denounce bad men, absolve the Penitent,
And consecrate all sacramental gifts.
A ministry successively derived
From the Apostles: with full power endued
For pastoral functions, and command to lead
The Flocks of God through pastures ever green;
Where holiness is as the scent of flowers,
And joy innumerous as leaves on trees,
And sorrow gentle as dispersing showers,
And hope reviving as was Elim's well,
And memory soothing as the hum of bees,
Or murmuring fall remote, or chiming bells,
And consciousness of life a keen delight,
Pure, fresh, and glowing, as the spousal Spring!
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“Creator Spirit come!
Thou who hast formed our hearts, fill them with grace;
Dwell in our minds, and make us thine! For Thou
Art Comforter—the Gift of God most High!
Wellspring of life—eternal Fire of Love—
And Spiritual unction! Thou of sevenfold gifts
Writest with God's own finger in man's heart;
Making our lips rich with the Father's praise.”
Thou who hast formed our hearts, fill them with grace;
Dwell in our minds, and make us thine! For Thou
Art Comforter—the Gift of God most High!
Wellspring of life—eternal Fire of Love—
And Spiritual unction! Thou of sevenfold gifts
Writest with God's own finger in man's heart;
Making our lips rich with the Father's praise.”
Dawn, Light of heaven! upon our eyes! O Love
Divine within our souls be kindled! Strength,
Come from above, for human flesh is frail!
Beat back our Foe! be Thou our Guide, our Peace,
And evil shall fly far! Teach us to know
The Father, and confess the Son, and Thee
O Holy Ghost believe, from Both proceeding!
For lo! the Fruits are Thine, whose primal flowers
Swelled on the Tree of Life in Paradise;
Love, joy, and peace, long suffering, gentleness,
Goodness and faith, meekness and temperance:
Against such is no Law. “Blessed are They,
The poor in spirit, Heaven is their heritage:
Blessed are they that mourn, they shall have comfort:
Blessed the meek, they shall inherit earth:
Blessed all they who thirst for righteousness,
They shall be filled: blessed the merciful,
Mercy shall they obtain: blessed the pure
In heart, for they shall look upon their God:
Blessed the peacemakers, God's children they:
Blessed the persecuted for Christ's sake,
Yea, for the Master's Kingdom shall be their's!”
Divine within our souls be kindled! Strength,
Come from above, for human flesh is frail!
Beat back our Foe! be Thou our Guide, our Peace,
And evil shall fly far! Teach us to know
The Father, and confess the Son, and Thee
O Holy Ghost believe, from Both proceeding!
For lo! the Fruits are Thine, whose primal flowers
Swelled on the Tree of Life in Paradise;
Love, joy, and peace, long suffering, gentleness,
Goodness and faith, meekness and temperance:
Against such is no Law. “Blessed are They,
The poor in spirit, Heaven is their heritage:
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Blessed the meek, they shall inherit earth:
Blessed all they who thirst for righteousness,
They shall be filled: blessed the merciful,
Mercy shall they obtain: blessed the pure
In heart, for they shall look upon their God:
Blessed the peacemakers, God's children they:
Blessed the persecuted for Christ's sake,
Yea, for the Master's Kingdom shall be their's!”
Spirit of Grace eternal! who, alone,
All maledictions of the world dost turn
To Blessings, come! that we may yet partake
Their sanatory sweets, refreshed, and live!
All maledictions of the world dost turn
To Blessings, come! that we may yet partake
Their sanatory sweets, refreshed, and live!
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IX. The Church Catholic.
The supernatural Truths revealed in Christ,
The sacraments and holy ceremonies
Used as He hath appointed, which lead on,
Nay instigate to Godliness, and fence
From sin, and are memorials of His gifts,
Sure warrants of our faith, and marks whereby
His Flock may be distinguished: furthermore
Men's union with these things, in word and deed,
While by their lawful Pastors undefiled,
Leaders along the paths of holiness,
They walk instructed: these denote the true
And manifest condition of “The Church;”
Essential, proper, and inseparable.
The sacraments and holy ceremonies
Used as He hath appointed, which lead on,
Nay instigate to Godliness, and fence
From sin, and are memorials of His gifts,
Sure warrants of our faith, and marks whereby
His Flock may be distinguished: furthermore
Men's union with these things, in word and deed,
While by their lawful Pastors undefiled,
Leaders along the paths of holiness,
They walk instructed: these denote the true
And manifest condition of “The Church;”
Essential, proper, and inseparable.
Ponder these things; discuss in humbleness:
So chastened Reason shall submit to Faith,
And help thee to shake off all adversaries,
As the vexed viper from the hand of Paul.
So chastened Reason shall submit to Faith,
And help thee to shake off all adversaries,
As the vexed viper from the hand of Paul.
The day of Pentecost was come; They sat
Together: when a mighty sound was heard
As of the rushing wind: and suddenly,
Like tongues of fire alighting on each head,
The Holy Spirit came; sent forth by God,
The promised Gift of their departed Lord!
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As of the rushing wind: and suddenly,
Like tongues of fire alighting on each head,
The Holy Spirit came; sent forth by God,
The promised Gift of their departed Lord!
Rightly the Church commemorates that time,
And as her Birthday keeps: for then began
The Gospel to be preached throughout the world.
Then their commission the Apostles spread
Before all people, and proclaimed the Faith.
The Church began: the sacred Body rose
To life, with limbs of power and generous pulse;
Her breath the Holy Spirit, Christ her head!
And as her Birthday keeps: for then began
The Gospel to be preached throughout the world.
Then their commission the Apostles spread
Before all people, and proclaimed the Faith.
The Church began: the sacred Body rose
To life, with limbs of power and generous pulse;
Her breath the Holy Spirit, Christ her head!
No earthly frame was hers; no secular bond
Compulsive, as the human law requires
To mould and to coerce society.
Yet her's a regal state: for Christ hath said,
“Even as my Father sent Me, send I you.”
“And I appoint to you a Kingdom, as
He to a Kingdom hath appointed Me.”
Compulsive, as the human law requires
To mould and to coerce society.
Yet her's a regal state: for Christ hath said,
“Even as my Father sent Me, send I you.”
“And I appoint to you a Kingdom, as
He to a Kingdom hath appointed Me.”
And Sacerdotal powers, with functions meet,
Are her's; the visible Exponent given
Of the Invisible—Guardian of the Keys,
And consecrated Vicar in those towers
That stand upon the Rock, and point to Heaven.
There holds she up her hands; sends down from thence
Her glorious ministration; from the first
Expanding with legitimate descent
Even to our day; and by inheritance
With pomps severe adorned, and emblems sure
Illustrated, and orderly array
Of a sufficing Hierarchy endowed.
Are her's; the visible Exponent given
Of the Invisible—Guardian of the Keys,
And consecrated Vicar in those towers
That stand upon the Rock, and point to Heaven.
There holds she up her hands; sends down from thence
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Expanding with legitimate descent
Even to our day; and by inheritance
With pomps severe adorned, and emblems sure
Illustrated, and orderly array
Of a sufficing Hierarchy endowed.
Holy she must be ever. Christ in her
Hath fixed His dwelling; 'mid the crowded mart,
Or lonely desert, or the pathless sea,
Wherever two or three shall gather, there
His Sanctuary stands, hallowed on earth.
Hath fixed His dwelling; 'mid the crowded mart,
Or lonely desert, or the pathless sea,
Wherever two or three shall gather, there
His Sanctuary stands, hallowed on earth.
Holy she is in her appointed Powers,
And functions exercised—holy of life,
And deeds that glorify and crown her faith.
And functions exercised—holy of life,
And deeds that glorify and crown her faith.
Holy in her high office to prepare
Her People for His gifts; communicate
His Sanctity; and point the path that leads
To heaven, and full fruition of Himself.
Her People for His gifts; communicate
His Sanctity; and point the path that leads
To heaven, and full fruition of Himself.
Holy in her departed Saints, who owned
His covenants, and clung to them in death;
And stand before His throne perpetually,
Her witnesses on High!
His covenants, and clung to them in death;
And stand before His throne perpetually,
Her witnesses on High!
Thus we profess
The Church a holy Creature; Daughter of God!
Nor beauty, with these lineaments divine,
Alone is hers, but that great Attribute,
Becoming Type of her august descent,
That Catholicity diffused o'er earth,
An omnipresent Unity, which holds
Her session in all lands, and wears a crown
Bright, not with jewels, but such orient beams
As kindle haloes in the clouds of morn:
O'er Emperors and Peoples dominant;
Yet tempering of each the stringent Rule,
Or wild unreasoning force, with her calm voice,
Strong with a supernatural aid, and felt
Not less by him who hates, than those who love.
The Church a holy Creature; Daughter of God!
Nor beauty, with these lineaments divine,
Alone is hers, but that great Attribute,
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That Catholicity diffused o'er earth,
An omnipresent Unity, which holds
Her session in all lands, and wears a crown
Bright, not with jewels, but such orient beams
As kindle haloes in the clouds of morn:
O'er Emperors and Peoples dominant;
Yet tempering of each the stringent Rule,
Or wild unreasoning force, with her calm voice,
Strong with a supernatural aid, and felt
Not less by him who hates, than those who love.
Not her's a power which mortal breath can give,
Or take: her life is not like kings, who die;
Or captains, whom a factious breath can shake;
Or favourites, whom Murder may pluck down.
Her days are for eternity; her form
Impassive in its spirituality
To human weapon; her observant eye
Piercing as light, her presence as the air;
And thus for eighteen centuries hath been,
And shall be, till the Prince of Peace return;
Though heretics affront, and schismatics
Stand impotently armed to bar her way.
No !—by that Throne ineffable—and Him
Who sits thereon!—for He hath sworn—the power
Of Hell against her gates shall not prevail!
For is she not the mystic Bride of Heaven?
Her courts have they not echoed to the voice
Of Apostolic preaching, and the prayers
Of congregated multitudes baptized
To God's good service, and departing, free
From the old taint, to scatter forth the seed
Of faith through Earth's wide borders, till at length,
All praise to God! the harvest home draws nigh.
Or take: her life is not like kings, who die;
Or captains, whom a factious breath can shake;
Or favourites, whom Murder may pluck down.
Her days are for eternity; her form
Impassive in its spirituality
To human weapon; her observant eye
Piercing as light, her presence as the air;
And thus for eighteen centuries hath been,
And shall be, till the Prince of Peace return;
Though heretics affront, and schismatics
Stand impotently armed to bar her way.
No !—by that Throne ineffable—and Him
Who sits thereon!—for He hath sworn—the power
Of Hell against her gates shall not prevail!
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Her courts have they not echoed to the voice
Of Apostolic preaching, and the prayers
Of congregated multitudes baptized
To God's good service, and departing, free
From the old taint, to scatter forth the seed
Of faith through Earth's wide borders, till at length,
All praise to God! the harvest home draws nigh.
Yea, Christ himself commanded “to go forth
And teach all nations.”—Christ himself acquired
“The Heathen for inheritance—all earth
For His possession to its utmost bounds!”
And said He not to His Vicegerents, “Go
Throughout the world—to every creature preach
The gospel—that repentance may be preached,
And the remission of Sins!”
And teach all nations.”—Christ himself acquired
“The Heathen for inheritance—all earth
For His possession to its utmost bounds!”
And said He not to His Vicegerents, “Go
Throughout the world—to every creature preach
The gospel—that repentance may be preached,
And the remission of Sins!”
'Twas thus they taught;
And their successors teach; all that concerns
The Christian man to know in earth or heaven;
All necessary tenets, saving truths,
That fix in universal faith their roots,
Spread through all people, and in every age,
Compelling to obedience; and from all
The souls of men extirpating offence,
And with sweet graces healing.
And their successors teach; all that concerns
The Christian man to know in earth or heaven;
All necessary tenets, saving truths,
That fix in universal faith their roots,
Spread through all people, and in every age,
Compelling to obedience; and from all
The souls of men extirpating offence,
And with sweet graces healing.
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Meditate
These verities; for such, be sure, they are:
That Church persistant lives, to which the Lord
Ordained there should be added, day by day.
All such as should be saved. There cannot be
Two ways: “there is no other name below
The heavens, but Jesus, whereby Man is saved!”
So, none survived the Deluge but the Few
Who trusted to the Ark at God's command:
So, all of Egypt's First-born perished, all
But those whose sleep the sacrificial blood
Saved, on the doorposts marked: so, none escaped
From Jericho, but those in Rahab's house.
The Church thus saves us now: beneath her roof
All congregate on earth to meet in heaven.
These verities; for such, be sure, they are:
That Church persistant lives, to which the Lord
Ordained there should be added, day by day.
All such as should be saved. There cannot be
Two ways: “there is no other name below
The heavens, but Jesus, whereby Man is saved!”
So, none survived the Deluge but the Few
Who trusted to the Ark at God's command:
So, all of Egypt's First-born perished, all
But those whose sleep the sacrificial blood
Saved, on the doorposts marked: so, none escaped
From Jericho, but those in Rahab's house.
The Church thus saves us now: beneath her roof
All congregate on earth to meet in heaven.
The Saints shall meet in heaven! for not through earth
Alone, the Church hath her communion spread;
Nor yet to men confined: also the Angels
Participate, the glorious Host of heaven!
They who foretold the Baptist—who announced
Her Offspring to the Virgin—hymned His Star—
Who ministered to Christ in agony—
And waited in His tomb—and stood before
The apostles when He rose to heaven—who freed
From prison bonds, and bade them forth to preach.
These, messengers of God, most surely hold
Communion with His children of the earth.
Nor is her high companionship restrained
To brethren of the later time: her place
Patriarchs and Prophets knew; and holy men
Partook the resurrection, and arose
Beheld of many; Saints, as Lazarus,
Who slept in Abraham's bosom, and foresaw
With David the triumphant reign of Christ.
Alone, the Church hath her communion spread;
Nor yet to men confined: also the Angels
Participate, the glorious Host of heaven!
They who foretold the Baptist—who announced
Her Offspring to the Virgin—hymned His Star—
Who ministered to Christ in agony—
And waited in His tomb—and stood before
The apostles when He rose to heaven—who freed
From prison bonds, and bade them forth to preach.
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Communion with His children of the earth.
Nor is her high companionship restrained
To brethren of the later time: her place
Patriarchs and Prophets knew; and holy men
Partook the resurrection, and arose
Beheld of many; Saints, as Lazarus,
Who slept in Abraham's bosom, and foresaw
With David the triumphant reign of Christ.
Thus saints in life, and saints improved by death,
And Angels, elder brethren of mankind,
Participate one glorious fellowship;
Whose bond is reverential hope below,
With aspiration; and above, through prayer,
Infinite love, and pure solicitude!
And Angels, elder brethren of mankind,
Participate one glorious fellowship;
Whose bond is reverential hope below,
With aspiration; and above, through prayer,
Infinite love, and pure solicitude!
O whither shall we turn, whose aid suffice
To consummate this blessing—leading on
To that august Jerusalem, where dwell
Those saintly Bands and holy Brotherhood
Who marched beneath the banner of the Cross,
Conquerors of Satan, and his legion hosts—
Whose aid but her's, the consecrated Church?
The strong, the meek, the holy, and the true;
Interpreter of wisdom! Who but she
Holds high the cup, and shares the Bread of life,
The Guardian of the Eucharist? To her
Draw near; her Altar is Mankind's great hearth!
To consummate this blessing—leading on
To that august Jerusalem, where dwell
Those saintly Bands and holy Brotherhood
Who marched beneath the banner of the Cross,
Conquerors of Satan, and his legion hosts—
Whose aid but her's, the consecrated Church?
The strong, the meek, the holy, and the true;
Interpreter of wisdom! Who but she
Holds high the cup, and shares the Bread of life,
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Draw near; her Altar is Mankind's great hearth!
O Fount of living waters! Paradise
Of priceless and most medicinable fruits!
Pure Spouse of Christ! Mother of Christendom!
Are we not issue of thy bosom, nursed
With milk from thy full breast, and shall we not
Joy in thy smiles, and tremble at thy frown?
Yea, as a mother pitiful art thou;
Pardoning oft thy children's wanderings.
For in thy fields are mingled tares with wheat,
And in thy chambers foolish virgins loiter,
Where the wise wait the Bridegroom with full lamps.
Thy will it is that all may cling to thee,
How weak soever, who confess thy law,
Sincere, through faith in Christ; with God's great truths,
In manifest communion, conversant.
Of priceless and most medicinable fruits!
Pure Spouse of Christ! Mother of Christendom!
Are we not issue of thy bosom, nursed
With milk from thy full breast, and shall we not
Joy in thy smiles, and tremble at thy frown?
Yea, as a mother pitiful art thou;
Pardoning oft thy children's wanderings.
For in thy fields are mingled tares with wheat,
And in thy chambers foolish virgins loiter,
Where the wise wait the Bridegroom with full lamps.
Thy will it is that all may cling to thee,
How weak soever, who confess thy law,
Sincere, through faith in Christ; with God's great truths,
In manifest communion, conversant.
And Thou dost promise everlasting love
And mercy to the Chosen of the Lord:
Knowledge, and means whereby they may be saved,
To all Believers. Thine is the Ministry,
The holy Book, the sacramental Gifts,
The right to teach, the duty to stand forth
The great example of the world thou guidest.
And mercy to the Chosen of the Lord:
Knowledge, and means whereby they may be saved,
To all Believers. Thine is the Ministry,
The holy Book, the sacramental Gifts,
The right to teach, the duty to stand forth
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O! if to differ be a fearful thing,
Preserve thy Flock from severance! let all
Find in the concourse of thy gates the hope
Of heaven, and earthly peace in unity!
For Grace dwells with thee, Mercy waits beside thee,
Truth beams around, Eternity before thee;
The Dwelling place art thou of Faith, the Temple
Of Everlasting God—that whoso enters
May live; and that man die who shall depart.
Preserve thy Flock from severance! let all
Find in the concourse of thy gates the hope
Of heaven, and earthly peace in unity!
For Grace dwells with thee, Mercy waits beside thee,
Truth beams around, Eternity before thee;
The Dwelling place art thou of Faith, the Temple
Of Everlasting God—that whoso enters
May live; and that man die who shall depart.
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X. Forgiveness of Sins.
The blood of Jesus, shed upon the Cross,
Last Sacrifice for sin, and for Mankind
Atonement; by which act Man to his God
Was reconciled; identifying thus
Himself with our frail nature, glorified,
Even from that hour, by mystic fellowship
With God in heaven; this blood unto the Church
Her animating principle became
And vital current: for within her heart
The hope lies deep, and from her holy lips
Proceeds the doctrine sure, that in our flesh
Christ perfected Atonement for mankind.
Last Sacrifice for sin, and for Mankind
Atonement; by which act Man to his God
Was reconciled; identifying thus
Himself with our frail nature, glorified,
Even from that hour, by mystic fellowship
With God in heaven; this blood unto the Church
Her animating principle became
And vital current: for within her heart
The hope lies deep, and from her holy lips
Proceeds the doctrine sure, that in our flesh
Christ perfected Atonement for mankind.
To universal Earth, redeemed, restored,
The Church, before the face of God, stands forth,
Sponsorial guide and Representative.
Upon her brow the true baptismal sign
She bears; and her first ministry to man
Is that blest rite which consecrates to Christ,
And seals the warrant of remitted sin.
The Church, before the face of God, stands forth,
Sponsorial guide and Representative.
Upon her brow the true baptismal sign
She bears; and her first ministry to man
Is that blest rite which consecrates to Christ,
And seals the warrant of remitted sin.
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First of her many offices this rite
In time, as in importance, stands; and pours
The lustral waters, purifying men
From the hereditary stain: nor doubt
The virtue of the act, though feeble hands
Impress the cross, or weak lips invocate
The blessing; and the water in the font
Bedrawn from wells that slake our common thirst.
Jordan, of old, had no peculiar power
To cleanse, nor yet the Supper of the Lord
Grace in its natural elements: the act
Of consecration, and the will of God,
Each with its supernatural force endued.
In time, as in importance, stands; and pours
The lustral waters, purifying men
From the hereditary stain: nor doubt
The virtue of the act, though feeble hands
Impress the cross, or weak lips invocate
The blessing; and the water in the font
Bedrawn from wells that slake our common thirst.
Jordan, of old, had no peculiar power
To cleanse, nor yet the Supper of the Lord
Grace in its natural elements: the act
Of consecration, and the will of God,
Each with its supernatural force endued.
Ours is, indeed, a birthright to be prized
Beyond all marvels of past time, when God
In judgments dire revealed Himself to Men.
Now, His first voice is gentle, as the song
Of new made mothers to awakening babes.
He puts all past conclusions from His sight;
And bids us, like the storied phœnix, rise,
Creatures renewed for immortality.
Thus sings the Gospel only: man, untaught,
Dares hope no reconcilement with his God.
Remission of past sin, grace to subdue
Satanic tempting, and all worldly lures,
The absolution of the Penitent,
And that sublime Hereafter, which, even here,
Dawns on the Faithful; these are Christian truths
Assured, peculiar. Jesus came to save
Sinners, and not alone to pardon sin.
Beyond all marvels of past time, when God
In judgments dire revealed Himself to Men.
Now, His first voice is gentle, as the song
Of new made mothers to awakening babes.
He puts all past conclusions from His sight;
And bids us, like the storied phœnix, rise,
Creatures renewed for immortality.
Thus sings the Gospel only: man, untaught,
Dares hope no reconcilement with his God.
Remission of past sin, grace to subdue
Satanic tempting, and all worldly lures,
The absolution of the Penitent,
76
Dawns on the Faithful; these are Christian truths
Assured, peculiar. Jesus came to save
Sinners, and not alone to pardon sin.
Mankind denied not, but confessed and mourned,
Throughout all regions and of every creed
Delusive, that ingrained, original guilt
From our first Parent to his latest seed
Descending: and, though void of rational hope,
By primitive tradition knowing God,
And Providential acts experienced, clung
In dim perplexity to lustral rites,
And sacrifice propitiatory, made
With flowers and fruits and firstlings of the flock;
All they held dearest, yea, their infants' blood,
Draughts for avenging Nemesis! Blind Guides
Went staggering through the wilderness, nor found
A refuge from despair: the natural light
Sufficed not: though the Patriarchs of old
Had intimations of the Grace reserved;
And Prophets told the People, giving hope.
That hope, in after time, men recognized
As the preluding star that heralds day;
Blessing the better light that dissipates
That gloom which shrouds our earthly pilgrimage.
Throughout all regions and of every creed
Delusive, that ingrained, original guilt
From our first Parent to his latest seed
Descending: and, though void of rational hope,
By primitive tradition knowing God,
And Providential acts experienced, clung
In dim perplexity to lustral rites,
And sacrifice propitiatory, made
With flowers and fruits and firstlings of the flock;
All they held dearest, yea, their infants' blood,
Draughts for avenging Nemesis! Blind Guides
Went staggering through the wilderness, nor found
A refuge from despair: the natural light
Sufficed not: though the Patriarchs of old
Had intimations of the Grace reserved;
And Prophets told the People, giving hope.
That hope, in after time, men recognized
As the preluding star that heralds day;
Blessing the better light that dissipates
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Nor vain their hope who sought with humble gifts
To avert awakened wrath. The Chosen race
Were taught how through expiatory rites
Those sins, not deadly, might be cleansed on earth:
But who dared hope, what human mind conceive,
Atonement that should justify with God
Man to mysterious woe sin-doomed? 'Twas Mercy
That sounded first the depths unknown of Sin,
Measured by depth of Love! all wealth of worlds,
Were light as vanity in such a scale.
One sacrifice, alone, there was, so pure
In nature, of such worth ineffable,
Such perfect satisfaction for offence;
And that was made. The Son of God came down,
And as our Brother-Man, flesh of our flesh,
Shed on the altar His untainted blood;
A perfect Offering, without spot: He bought
Our souls, descending to our nature; gave
His life for our redemption; and arose
To heaven our gracious Minister with God;
Leading His liberated Captives forth,
With contrite hearts refreshed, their sins forgiven.
To avert awakened wrath. The Chosen race
Were taught how through expiatory rites
Those sins, not deadly, might be cleansed on earth:
But who dared hope, what human mind conceive,
Atonement that should justify with God
Man to mysterious woe sin-doomed? 'Twas Mercy
That sounded first the depths unknown of Sin,
Measured by depth of Love! all wealth of worlds,
Were light as vanity in such a scale.
One sacrifice, alone, there was, so pure
In nature, of such worth ineffable,
Such perfect satisfaction for offence;
And that was made. The Son of God came down,
And as our Brother-Man, flesh of our flesh,
Shed on the altar His untainted blood;
A perfect Offering, without spot: He bought
Our souls, descending to our nature; gave
His life for our redemption; and arose
To heaven our gracious Minister with God;
Leading His liberated Captives forth,
With contrite hearts refreshed, their sins forgiven.
All stand redeemed! may we not, therefore, hope
To each salvation offered? Signs there are
Of hope, dim intimations, glimmering
Along the page of holy writ, faint lights,
Like those that kindle on a distant hill
Seen 'neath a rainbow's arch through melting showers.
Man may not limit God's mysterious ways;
His justice by low precedents define;
His providence restrain. Enough—we know
The Chosen in His Church participate
Alone the Spirit of Grace; and trust, in faith,
To live their Saviour's Brethren after death!
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Of hope, dim intimations, glimmering
Along the page of holy writ, faint lights,
Like those that kindle on a distant hill
Seen 'neath a rainbow's arch through melting showers.
Man may not limit God's mysterious ways;
His justice by low precedents define;
His providence restrain. Enough—we know
The Chosen in His Church participate
Alone the Spirit of Grace; and trust, in faith,
To live their Saviour's Brethren after death!
Yet 'twere a deadly error to conclude
All Christians safe through baptism: by their acts
Shall men be judged; if evil, they again
Crucify Christ thereby, and share that guilt;
If worthy, these are evidence of faith;
But shine not where the Saviour's light is all.
Those who approach His altar penitent
Shall be absolved, such is God's promise: but
For him who obstinately dwells in sin
Sentence shall stand: the state of Grace hath passed.
At Death's dread hour the eternal cloud shall close
Of conscience o'er him, and the growing sound
Of Judgment thunder through his frenzied brain!
All Christians safe through baptism: by their acts
Shall men be judged; if evil, they again
Crucify Christ thereby, and share that guilt;
If worthy, these are evidence of faith;
But shine not where the Saviour's light is all.
Those who approach His altar penitent
Shall be absolved, such is God's promise: but
For him who obstinately dwells in sin
Sentence shall stand: the state of Grace hath passed.
At Death's dread hour the eternal cloud shall close
Of conscience o'er him, and the growing sound
Of Judgment thunder through his frenzied brain!
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Not thus, but full of hope and virtuous cheer,
The faithful Christian shall await his hour.
For him the Gospel teems with words of peace:
For him, as the world fades, the gates of heaven
Before his lifted eyes shall be unbarred,
Streaming a path of rays unto his bed;
Like Jacob's ladder trod by Angel forms:
While Seraph songs, and voices jubilant,
With saintly welcome and divine salute,
Fan the last smile on his expiring lips!
Mercy shall stoop, like slumber to his eyes,
The emanation of Divinity!
Yes—He who dowered us with faculties,
Beauty, and motion, and wise appetites,
Speech, and perception, and industrious powers,
With sweet rewards of labour, food and rest,
All our necessities that lead to joy,
Bounties, that were our portion before sin,
Mercies, that are acquittances from sin:
He who promulgated our sentence, death,
Hath made that death the gate of life, and changed
Our deepest woes to precious donatives.
O Race! with benefits so high enriched,
Shalt thou not, too, be merciful? Behold!
Thy Fellow labours in affliction; soothe him:
He toils in vain through adverse fortune; aid him:
He sinks before a slanderous breath; uphold him:
He is thy debtor manifold; absolve him:
Thine ancient enemy he is; forgive him:
So shall thy deeds with God's behests accord,
And vindicate His Providence on earth.
The faithful Christian shall await his hour.
For him the Gospel teems with words of peace:
For him, as the world fades, the gates of heaven
Before his lifted eyes shall be unbarred,
Streaming a path of rays unto his bed;
Like Jacob's ladder trod by Angel forms:
While Seraph songs, and voices jubilant,
With saintly welcome and divine salute,
Fan the last smile on his expiring lips!
Mercy shall stoop, like slumber to his eyes,
The emanation of Divinity!
Yes—He who dowered us with faculties,
Beauty, and motion, and wise appetites,
Speech, and perception, and industrious powers,
With sweet rewards of labour, food and rest,
All our necessities that lead to joy,
Bounties, that were our portion before sin,
Mercies, that are acquittances from sin:
He who promulgated our sentence, death,
Hath made that death the gate of life, and changed
Our deepest woes to precious donatives.
O Race! with benefits so high enriched,
Shalt thou not, too, be merciful? Behold!
Thy Fellow labours in affliction; soothe him:
He toils in vain through adverse fortune; aid him:
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He is thy debtor manifold; absolve him:
Thine ancient enemy he is; forgive him:
So shall thy deeds with God's behests accord,
And vindicate His Providence on earth.
O Race beloved! the Chosen of the Lord!
Dishonour not the nature ye partake,
Even His, who wore and glorified your flesh,
And sits, your Judge, upon the throne of God:
Judge, not of you alone—Prince, not of earth
But the wide wilderness of worlds that pace
Immortal measures through the courts of Heaven:
All the Seraphic Hosts, Cherubic choirs,
And Angel-ministers that walk the air
Wafting His messages on paths of light.
Dishonour not the nature ye partake,
Even His, who wore and glorified your flesh,
And sits, your Judge, upon the throne of God:
Judge, not of you alone—Prince, not of earth
But the wide wilderness of worlds that pace
Immortal measures through the courts of Heaven:
All the Seraphic Hosts, Cherubic choirs,
And Angel-ministers that walk the air
Wafting His messages on paths of light.
O Race redeemed! Honoured Humanity!
Sink not degenerate from your high estate
To crouch the slaves of Sense: madmen who reel
From the hot wine cup to the harlot's lap;
Ambition's Fools; the Parasites of Power;
Hoarders of gold obscene; scorners of truth;
Envious maligners! Hence—ye Brood of Hell!
Who haunt the seething brain and throbbing heart;
And watch the pampered couch; and lurk within
Hovels of want, staining a sacred place—
Back! to your haunts of woe, your gates where all
Who enter hope no more! our chains are rent!
And Angel-Guardians hover o'er our path!
The patriarchal spirit breathes around us—
The voices of the Prophets sound above us—
The apostolic Teaching lives before us—
The Lessons of the Fathers work within us—
The holy Church triumphant stands beside us—
The arms of Christ are open, and the way
Made glorious as the path of golden beams
Tracking the Sun adown the vesper waves.
Sink not degenerate from your high estate
To crouch the slaves of Sense: madmen who reel
From the hot wine cup to the harlot's lap;
Ambition's Fools; the Parasites of Power;
Hoarders of gold obscene; scorners of truth;
Envious maligners! Hence—ye Brood of Hell!
Who haunt the seething brain and throbbing heart;
And watch the pampered couch; and lurk within
Hovels of want, staining a sacred place—
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Who enter hope no more! our chains are rent!
And Angel-Guardians hover o'er our path!
The patriarchal spirit breathes around us—
The voices of the Prophets sound above us—
The apostolic Teaching lives before us—
The Lessons of the Fathers work within us—
The holy Church triumphant stands beside us—
The arms of Christ are open, and the way
Made glorious as the path of golden beams
Tracking the Sun adown the vesper waves.
And lo! the Cross! and hark! the words of grace
That murmur on all winds, and beam on brows
Angelical—Phylacteries of Power!
“Turn from your wickedness and ye shall live!”
“Your sins, that be as scarlet, shall be white
As snow—though crimson, they shall be as wool!”
“For God delights not in the Sinner's death,
But hath desire that all men should be saved!”
“If any sin, he hath, on penitence,
An Advocate!” And, “Blest is he to whom
The Lord imputeth not iniquity!”
“These, justified by faith, have peace with God!”
That murmur on all winds, and beam on brows
Angelical—Phylacteries of Power!
“Turn from your wickedness and ye shall live!”
“Your sins, that be as scarlet, shall be white
As snow—though crimson, they shall be as wool!”
“For God delights not in the Sinner's death,
But hath desire that all men should be saved!”
“If any sin, he hath, on penitence,
An Advocate!” And, “Blest is he to whom
The Lord imputeth not iniquity!”
“These, justified by faith, have peace with God!”
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XI. The Resurrection.
I heard a voice from Heaven, commanding; “Write:
Blessed henceforward are the Dead which die
In Christ!”—even so the Spirit saith—“Because
They from their labours rest: Blessed the Dead!”
We die to rise again (such strength hath faith)
Banished from earth, but not from God exiled.
Praised be His name! who thus from every eye
Wipes every tear. Shout we to heaven, “O Death,
Where is thy sting—O Grave, thy victory!”
Blessed henceforward are the Dead which die
In Christ!”—even so the Spirit saith—“Because
They from their labours rest: Blessed the Dead!”
We die to rise again (such strength hath faith)
Banished from earth, but not from God exiled.
Praised be His name! who thus from every eye
Wipes every tear. Shout we to heaven, “O Death,
Where is thy sting—O Grave, thy victory!”
O mystery! O wonder! dust to dust
Goes down; Man's form supreme; his godlike head;
This majesty of beauty, tinted o'er
With varying blushes, eloquent as speech;
These bones, the stately pillars of our strength;
Muscles, the springs of our activity;
Nerves, channels of volition; veins of life
All moulder into nothingness;—so seems
The common lot to ill-observant eyes.
Goes down; Man's form supreme; his godlike head;
This majesty of beauty, tinted o'er
With varying blushes, eloquent as speech;
These bones, the stately pillars of our strength;
Muscles, the springs of our activity;
Nerves, channels of volition; veins of life
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The common lot to ill-observant eyes.
But God hath said—and shall not man believe?
“That those who slumber in the dust of earth
Shall wake:—the sea, the earth, yea hell, yield up
Their Dead—and incorruptible arise
This mortal flesh to immortality!”
Ay, as the corn, our body's nourisher,
Is sown, dissolves, and germinates again,
Struggling into the light with fruitful ear
And grain identical, even so Man's frame
Its germ of life retains, and shall be clothed
Celestially, with vital functions pure
Tempered, and still, though spiritualized, the same.
“That those who slumber in the dust of earth
Shall wake:—the sea, the earth, yea hell, yield up
Their Dead—and incorruptible arise
This mortal flesh to immortality!”
Ay, as the corn, our body's nourisher,
Is sown, dissolves, and germinates again,
Struggling into the light with fruitful ear
And grain identical, even so Man's frame
Its germ of life retains, and shall be clothed
Celestially, with vital functions pure
Tempered, and still, though spiritualized, the same.
Then shall we wait upon the Lord, with strength
Renewed, mounting, as eagles, with glad wings;
And swifter than the sightless winds, or track
Of star-beams through the blue serene of night,
Our Beings shall pervade all space, partake
All sympathies, embrace all knowledge, bask
In the pure radiance of Almighty Love!
Will shall be then to us as Power, and Thought
Move like a living principle, transpiercing
The intellectual universe; as streams
Magnetic, shot through all the earth like blood.
Renewed, mounting, as eagles, with glad wings;
And swifter than the sightless winds, or track
Of star-beams through the blue serene of night,
Our Beings shall pervade all space, partake
All sympathies, embrace all knowledge, bask
In the pure radiance of Almighty Love!
Will shall be then to us as Power, and Thought
Move like a living principle, transpiercing
The intellectual universe; as streams
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O censure not as human vanities
Thoughts such as these, not without warrant held.
The Apocalyptic Vision testifies
Of functional joys ennobled, sights and sounds;
And faculties employed, distinguishing,
Reflecting, and resolving; sense of love,
And adoration, prompting praise and prayer.
From that which God hath made perfectible
The Future shall not derogate: this flesh
Which modifies our souls on earth must share
Our final doom, but tempered to intense
Capacity of pain, or exquisite
Relish of joy, enlarged and purified.
Thoughts such as these, not without warrant held.
The Apocalyptic Vision testifies
Of functional joys ennobled, sights and sounds;
And faculties employed, distinguishing,
Reflecting, and resolving; sense of love,
And adoration, prompting praise and prayer.
From that which God hath made perfectible
The Future shall not derogate: this flesh
Which modifies our souls on earth must share
Our final doom, but tempered to intense
Capacity of pain, or exquisite
Relish of joy, enlarged and purified.
Lean not on false philosophy: in vain
Stoic and Epicurean mocked at Paul.
Judging of Nature from her outward shew,
Where nothing is from nothing, they inferred
Annihilation when the crumbling bones
Sank in the dust. To us, the word of God
Is all sufficing proof: they knew it not.
Enough for Man that He, in whom we live,
Knows all our atoms, wrought of His own hand;
He numbereth the sands; permitteth not
One sparrow to fall down: Searcher of hearts!
Shall dust escape Him? Man was made of dust!
Senseless as clay beneath the sculptor's hand,
Till God breathed in his nostrils. What hath been
Shall be, when from earth's womb, hopeless and old,
Omnipotence evokes our second birth.
Stoic and Epicurean mocked at Paul.
Judging of Nature from her outward shew,
Where nothing is from nothing, they inferred
Annihilation when the crumbling bones
Sank in the dust. To us, the word of God
Is all sufficing proof: they knew it not.
Enough for Man that He, in whom we live,
Knows all our atoms, wrought of His own hand;
He numbereth the sands; permitteth not
One sparrow to fall down: Searcher of hearts!
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Senseless as clay beneath the sculptor's hand,
Till God breathed in his nostrils. What hath been
Shall be, when from earth's womb, hopeless and old,
Omnipotence evokes our second birth.
Mournful our lot, if cast for earth alone!
The birds warbling in woods, the trees that root
In the rich soil, the beasts depasturing
The herbage green, all these have natural life
Transcending ours, undimmed by care or grief.
But life however short sufficeth man.
Enough—we live—eternity ensues!
We reason—'tis the earnest we enjoy
Of larger gifts! Sorrow, the Monitor,
Attends our steps, and Pain, the Chastener:
Death at the last, no spectral Tyrant, comes,
Blest Harbinger of freedom, as of old
God's Messenger to Peter! Life on earth,
Precarious ever, is but brief at best:
But the flesh, only, dies; the soul for aye
Persists, an inextinguishable light,
Again to be united to its mould
For joy or bale. All lower creatures fall
And rise no more; knowing not good from ill:
The Angels, Beings of no mortal birth,
Spirits who know not death, and yet have sinned,
Fell, and no resurrection dawns for them:
But Man, made in the image of his God,
The beautiful, the wonderful, the wise,
With guiding conscience, and free will, endowed,
Assayed on earth to be refined in heaven,
It is his greatest privilege to die!
The birds warbling in woods, the trees that root
In the rich soil, the beasts depasturing
The herbage green, all these have natural life
Transcending ours, undimmed by care or grief.
But life however short sufficeth man.
Enough—we live—eternity ensues!
We reason—'tis the earnest we enjoy
Of larger gifts! Sorrow, the Monitor,
Attends our steps, and Pain, the Chastener:
Death at the last, no spectral Tyrant, comes,
Blest Harbinger of freedom, as of old
God's Messenger to Peter! Life on earth,
Precarious ever, is but brief at best:
But the flesh, only, dies; the soul for aye
Persists, an inextinguishable light,
Again to be united to its mould
For joy or bale. All lower creatures fall
And rise no more; knowing not good from ill:
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Spirits who know not death, and yet have sinned,
Fell, and no resurrection dawns for them:
But Man, made in the image of his God,
The beautiful, the wonderful, the wise,
With guiding conscience, and free will, endowed,
Assayed on earth to be refined in heaven,
It is his greatest privilege to die!
Methinks all Nature, by analogies
Obvious to every eye, doth teach the law
Of resurrection: so, to earthly watchers,
The sun from the blue waves of ocean rising,
The moon emerging from the forest hills,
The star in its heliacal ascent,
The leaves in spring, spring from its tomb of snow,
Flowers, that have died upon the lap of winter,
Breathing fresh odours on the vernal breeze;
All start to life again from seeming death;
Decay the parent of immortal youth.
God who perennially restores to man
This good, will sure restore man to himself.
Obvious to every eye, doth teach the law
Of resurrection: so, to earthly watchers,
The sun from the blue waves of ocean rising,
The moon emerging from the forest hills,
The star in its heliacal ascent,
The leaves in spring, spring from its tomb of snow,
Flowers, that have died upon the lap of winter,
Breathing fresh odours on the vernal breeze;
All start to life again from seeming death;
Decay the parent of immortal youth.
God who perennially restores to man
This good, will sure restore man to himself.
Away! all sensuous aids of feeble thought—
Frail arguments of reason! 'Tis enough
That God reveals His Will—we know His Power!
This should suffice. Hear the prophetic song
Of Job, beloved of God; who saw the vision,
But in no trance; who spake in ecstasy,
But not as Dreamers from deep sleep: “I know
That my Redeemer liveth, and that He
Shall stand at the last day upon the earth;
And though the worm this body shall destroy
Yet in my flesh shall I behold my God!”
Vainly his sins false friends denounced; his voice
Called still on his Redeemer, and adjured
The resurrection: his no doubtful hope,
But solemn words of faith infallible!
Frail arguments of reason! 'Tis enough
That God reveals His Will—we know His Power!
This should suffice. Hear the prophetic song
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But in no trance; who spake in ecstasy,
But not as Dreamers from deep sleep: “I know
That my Redeemer liveth, and that He
Shall stand at the last day upon the earth;
And though the worm this body shall destroy
Yet in my flesh shall I behold my God!”
Vainly his sins false friends denounced; his voice
Called still on his Redeemer, and adjured
The resurrection: his no doubtful hope,
But solemn words of faith infallible!
And spake not royal Daniel,“Many who sleep
In the dust of earth shall waken, some to life
Eternal, some to everlasting shame!”
In the dust of earth shall waken, some to life
Eternal, some to everlasting shame!”
These are plain words: now hark to Christ himself:
“Touching the resurrection have ye not heard
That which was spoken unto you by God?
I am the God of Abraham; the God
Of Isaac; and the God of Jacob!” “God
Is not God of the Dead, but of the Living!”
“Touching the resurrection have ye not heard
That which was spoken unto you by God?
I am the God of Abraham; the God
Of Isaac; and the God of Jacob!” “God
Is not God of the Dead, but of the Living!”
Thenceforth the Sadducee was silent; knowing
The patriarch blessings, unfulfilled on earth,
In heaven should blossom and the life to come.
They erred, not knowing Scripture, nor the power
Of God. We know the truth; our fathers saw
The spirit to their Dead restored—the child
Of Jairus—and the widow's son of Nain;
And Lazarus, four days in darkness held.
High pledges these of life to come! But chief
The resurrection of the Lord compels
Faith that with Him all Flesh shall rise to heaven!
The patriarch blessings, unfulfilled on earth,
In heaven should blossom and the life to come.
They erred, not knowing Scripture, nor the power
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The spirit to their Dead restored—the child
Of Jairus—and the widow's son of Nain;
And Lazarus, four days in darkness held.
High pledges these of life to come! But chief
The resurrection of the Lord compels
Faith that with Him all Flesh shall rise to heaven!
Nor dwells He there Lord of the Dead—and Judge
Of senseless Dust—but Myriads His dominion
Worship, and round His chariot shout Hosannas:
For, like a warrior King, avenging thunders
Rolling beneath His footsteps, He shall trample
On the Satanic Host, and launch His bolts
Till Death, the latest foe, shall be destroyed.
Then shall He sit upon the throne of glory,
And gathered nations kneel around His throne!
Of senseless Dust—but Myriads His dominion
Worship, and round His chariot shout Hosannas:
For, like a warrior King, avenging thunders
Rolling beneath His footsteps, He shall trample
On the Satanic Host, and launch His bolts
Till Death, the latest foe, shall be destroyed.
Then shall He sit upon the throne of glory,
And gathered nations kneel around His throne!
Hark to that shout—precursor of His coming!
Seraphic harpings, archangelic trumpets,
And choral cry of Saints, and all the Powers
Of heaven, proclaiming—“Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord of Sabaoth! Heaven and Earth are full
Of the majesty of Thy Glory! all the Earth
Doth worship Thee, the Father everlasting;
Thine honourable, true, and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter!
Thou who hast overcome the sting of death;
Thou who dost open heaven to all believers;
Thou who dost sit at the right hand of God;
Help Thou Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed,
With Thy most precious blood! O number them
In Glory everlasting with Thy Saints!
Lord, save Thy people, bless thine heritage!”
Seraphic harpings, archangelic trumpets,
And choral cry of Saints, and all the Powers
Of heaven, proclaiming—“Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord of Sabaoth! Heaven and Earth are full
Of the majesty of Thy Glory! all the Earth
Doth worship Thee, the Father everlasting;
Thine honourable, true, and only Son;
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Thou who hast overcome the sting of death;
Thou who dost open heaven to all believers;
Thou who dost sit at the right hand of God;
Help Thou Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed,
With Thy most precious blood! O number them
In Glory everlasting with Thy Saints!
Lord, save Thy people, bless thine heritage!”
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XII. Life Everlasting.
“Thereafteri beheld, and lo, in heaven,
Clothed with white robes, and palm boughs in their hands,
A multitude too great for man to number,
Of every nation, kindred, people, tongues,
Stood up before the throne, before the Lamb;
Crying aloud, Salvation to our God,
Which sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb!
Then all the Angels stood about the Throne,
The Elders, and the four miraculous Beasts,
And fell upon their faces, worshipping;
Saying, Amen! Blessing and infinite glory
Wisdom, than ksgiving, honour, power, and might,
Be everlastingly to God!—Amen!”
Clothed with white robes, and palm boughs in their hands,
A multitude too great for man to number,
Of every nation, kindred, people, tongues,
Stood up before the throne, before the Lamb;
Crying aloud, Salvation to our God,
Which sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb!
Then all the Angels stood about the Throne,
The Elders, and the four miraculous Beasts,
And fell upon their faces, worshipping;
Saying, Amen! Blessing and infinite glory
Wisdom, than ksgiving, honour, power, and might,
Be everlastingly to God!—Amen!”
Time hath its night for all things; sunset hours
Close heavily on empires as o'er Man.
His mortal throe surceased, Man lives again;
But Nations fall annihilate: for them,
With destiny accomplished, Hope expires.
Close heavily on empires as o'er Man.
His mortal throe surceased, Man lives again;
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With destiny accomplished, Hope expires.
Communities are as the Giant-brood
Fabled by poets old; dread archetypes
Of those fierce aggregates of human strength
Who triumph in oppression, and set up
Laws, at their wild wills varying, which for them
Stand in the place of conscience, till corruption
Eat like a canker to their heart of hearts,
And national death concludes the people's guilt.
Fabled by poets old; dread archetypes
Of those fierce aggregates of human strength
Who triumph in oppression, and set up
Laws, at their wild wills varying, which for them
Stand in the place of conscience, till corruption
Eat like a canker to their heart of hearts,
And national death concludes the people's guilt.
The Devastators perish: curses, only,
Come frothing on the surges of old Time,
And break in ominous thunder on our shores.
The Persian tyrant and the Helot slave
Mingle their harmless ashes; priestly spell
Saved not the Pharoahs; nor unbridled will
The Demos of the Athenian Portico.
The Assyrian, and the Mede, the Wolf of Rome,
The Macedonian madman, and the Hun,
All sowed the whirlwind and have reaped the storm.
In vain Earth pleads for mercy, and the stern
Historian graves his record: through our veins
Still the old poison rolls; and Lust of power
Leads on, with Death's pale courser in the van.
Come frothing on the surges of old Time,
And break in ominous thunder on our shores.
The Persian tyrant and the Helot slave
Mingle their harmless ashes; priestly spell
Saved not the Pharoahs; nor unbridled will
The Demos of the Athenian Portico.
The Assyrian, and the Mede, the Wolf of Rome,
The Macedonian madman, and the Hun,
All sowed the whirlwind and have reaped the storm.
In vain Earth pleads for mercy, and the stern
Historian graves his record: through our veins
Still the old poison rolls; and Lust of power
Leads on, with Death's pale courser in the van.
One Brotherhood, alone, survives; not born
Of fleshly will, nor knit by mortal ties,
No national bond confining. The wide earth
Is as a tabernacle to the Church;
And heaven her home. From her Ambition draws
No precedents: She inculcates the law
Of God; obedience and humility.
Her armoury is Grace, her buckler Faith,
Her helm Salvation, and the Spirit her sword:
Her victories are over worldly snares;
Her voice proclaims a kingdom not of earth;
The King she magnifies is King of Kings!
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No national bond confining. The wide earth
Is as a tabernacle to the Church;
And heaven her home. From her Ambition draws
No precedents: She inculcates the law
Of God; obedience and humility.
Her armoury is Grace, her buckler Faith,
Her helm Salvation, and the Spirit her sword:
Her victories are over worldly snares;
Her voice proclaims a kingdom not of earth;
The King she magnifies is King of Kings!
Led by her counsel to that lore of life
By heedful lips expounded, Christians know
The ways of Christ; pray with His prayer; confess
His name; are blest with His beatitudes;
Receive His Spirit; do His Father's will.
Steadfast by faith, with Charity enriched,
Hope leads their steps, an Angel-guide to heaven;
Weaning from low affections, solacing
Disastrous days. Eternity in Time
They find, and Heaven on Earth: Death falls on them
Gently as twilight sinks on wearied eyes
Of traveller belated; who, afar,
Descries his home of rest, with outstretched arms
Of unforgotten Loved-ones at the gate.
By heedful lips expounded, Christians know
The ways of Christ; pray with His prayer; confess
His name; are blest with His beatitudes;
Receive His Spirit; do His Father's will.
Steadfast by faith, with Charity enriched,
Hope leads their steps, an Angel-guide to heaven;
Weaning from low affections, solacing
Disastrous days. Eternity in Time
They find, and Heaven on Earth: Death falls on them
Gently as twilight sinks on wearied eyes
Of traveller belated; who, afar,
Descries his home of rest, with outstretched arms
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Hard was the task to part with those who went
Before, and will be, when we leave our Loved.
But O! what rapture to regain the Lost!
What joy to welcome those we left behind!
What holy gladness in the consciousness
Of God's approval; trials past; high crowns
Apportioned; sense of faculties enlarged;
Capacities unknown developed; powers,
Like mythic Pallas without visible birth,
Sprung to existence; and the mind lit up
With knowledge, as a sun-burst on the sea!
Even senses there may be we know not of
More than the Blind of colours, Deaf of sound:
Senses, whose fine edge contact with this flesh
Makes blunt; or without object here below.
Before, and will be, when we leave our Loved.
But O! what rapture to regain the Lost!
What joy to welcome those we left behind!
What holy gladness in the consciousness
Of God's approval; trials past; high crowns
Apportioned; sense of faculties enlarged;
Capacities unknown developed; powers,
Like mythic Pallas without visible birth,
Sprung to existence; and the mind lit up
With knowledge, as a sun-burst on the sea!
Even senses there may be we know not of
More than the Blind of colours, Deaf of sound:
Senses, whose fine edge contact with this flesh
Makes blunt; or without object here below.
Fashioned like Christ Himself, heirs of His glory,
We, too, shall stand before the throne with Spirits
Of just men perfected, and holy angels,
Martyrs, and Confessors! Hunger no more
Assailing us, nor sorrow, nor disease,
Nor the perplexities of care, nor fear
Of death. The Veil that shrouds Omnipotence
Withdrawn, not darkly then, as through a glass,
Shall we behold our God; but face to face
Look up with reverential love, with songs
Of sweet thanksgiving, adoration pure,
Awe-tempered joy, hope sparkling from our eyes,
And Hallelujahs through our lips outpoured.
We, too, shall stand before the throne with Spirits
Of just men perfected, and holy angels,
Martyrs, and Confessors! Hunger no more
Assailing us, nor sorrow, nor disease,
Nor the perplexities of care, nor fear
Of death. The Veil that shrouds Omnipotence
Withdrawn, not darkly then, as through a glass,
Shall we behold our God; but face to face
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Of sweet thanksgiving, adoration pure,
Awe-tempered joy, hope sparkling from our eyes,
And Hallelujahs through our lips outpoured.
Diviner ecstasies than human thought
Can compass, or poetic vision paint,
Have been upon this earth. They who beheld,
Not by the visual ray, but inward light
Intuitive, have spoken: they have told
Who felt: and dying Martyrs cried aloud,
While the unfolding heaven above their head
Disclosed the Beatific Vision! Vain
Are words, even such as leaped from Dante's lip,
These holy themes descanting: colour fades
In the celestial brightness: sound expires
Amid the choral surge antiphonal
Of Cherubim: too glorious for the ken
Of mortal brain that concourse of blest Spirits
Who circle, multitudinous as stars,
Ring within ring, the inmost throne of God,
Gazing with rapturous ardour; hearing, feeling,
As breath of flowers pervading vernal air,
The inexpressive voicings from that Throne
Thrill through their subtile Beings.
Can compass, or poetic vision paint,
Have been upon this earth. They who beheld,
Not by the visual ray, but inward light
Intuitive, have spoken: they have told
Who felt: and dying Martyrs cried aloud,
While the unfolding heaven above their head
Disclosed the Beatific Vision! Vain
Are words, even such as leaped from Dante's lip,
These holy themes descanting: colour fades
In the celestial brightness: sound expires
Amid the choral surge antiphonal
Of Cherubim: too glorious for the ken
Of mortal brain that concourse of blest Spirits
Who circle, multitudinous as stars,
Ring within ring, the inmost throne of God,
Gazing with rapturous ardour; hearing, feeling,
As breath of flowers pervading vernal air,
The inexpressive voicings from that Throne
Thrill through their subtile Beings.
Ah! too gross
The chain which Earth hangs round us: we, at best,
Fancy the unutterable Glory; yearning
To realize the phantoms of our dream.
We judge from known analogies: we paint
The bliss of heaven from our emotions here:
That conscious spring of inarticulate joy
Which overflows the eyes with quiet tears,
When the heart flutters and the breath comes quick,
And sighs through parted lips are eloquent.
Such the absorbing sympathy that binds
The mother to her infant: such the chain
Electric that suffices without speech
To wrap in purity two loving hearts:
Such the attuning concord that awakes
The unison of friendship; and gives life
To the deep Charities, reciprocal,
That link Beneficence to Poverty.
The chain which Earth hangs round us: we, at best,
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To realize the phantoms of our dream.
We judge from known analogies: we paint
The bliss of heaven from our emotions here:
That conscious spring of inarticulate joy
Which overflows the eyes with quiet tears,
When the heart flutters and the breath comes quick,
And sighs through parted lips are eloquent.
Such the absorbing sympathy that binds
The mother to her infant: such the chain
Electric that suffices without speech
To wrap in purity two loving hearts:
Such the attuning concord that awakes
The unison of friendship; and gives life
To the deep Charities, reciprocal,
That link Beneficence to Poverty.
Yet gleams of glory, tremulously bright,
And intermitting, as the midnight dawn
Of Boreal Aurora, oft descend
On the authentic Church; then most, what time
The congregated people meet beneath
The vault of some Cathedral sanctuary,
Kneeling along the venerable choir,
Or round the glowing altar bowed; the flood
Ofrainbow lights from the eastern window bathing
The roofs and chequered pavement. Eminent
Upon the highest altar step stands forth
The mitred Minister of God; around,
In order due, the consecrated Priests;
Below, with bended knees and upraised brow,
The contrite people gather: a low voice
Intones with awe the comfortable words;
While Angels scatter blessings; and men's lips
Chaunt the Cherubic anthem. Hark! the peal
Of the voluminous organ through the aisles
Grows like a swelling tide: the air around,
Suffused with melody, perfumed with prayer,
An acceptable incense, floats to heaven!
And intermitting, as the midnight dawn
Of Boreal Aurora, oft descend
On the authentic Church; then most, what time
The congregated people meet beneath
The vault of some Cathedral sanctuary,
Kneeling along the venerable choir,
Or round the glowing altar bowed; the flood
Ofrainbow lights from the eastern window bathing
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Upon the highest altar step stands forth
The mitred Minister of God; around,
In order due, the consecrated Priests;
Below, with bended knees and upraised brow,
The contrite people gather: a low voice
Intones with awe the comfortable words;
While Angels scatter blessings; and men's lips
Chaunt the Cherubic anthem. Hark! the peal
Of the voluminous organ through the aisles
Grows like a swelling tide: the air around,
Suffused with melody, perfumed with prayer,
An acceptable incense, floats to heaven!
Here rest my Song! The wearied wings of thought
Droop—the voice falters; and my eyes grow dim.
Yet would I raise, once more, a prayer for those,
Beloved, who still dwell round me, or have gone
Before; and for my own weak nature.
Droop—the voice falters; and my eyes grow dim.
Yet would I raise, once more, a prayer for those,
Beloved, who still dwell round me, or have gone
Before; and for my own weak nature.
Bend
Thine ear, O Christ! Lord, open Thou our lips!
That worthily our mouth may speak Thy praise.
O Lamb of God! Thou who dost take away
The sins of the whole world grant us Thy peace!
Hear us, O Christ! have mercy on us, Lord!
Teach us to turn from the vain gauds of life;
Contemn the world, and all at this side heaven!
Set our affections upon things above:
For where our treasure is, will be our hearts:
So shall we sin no more; so gain, for ever,
The vision of Thy Glory; best of joys!
Fruition of our God! This—This, is Life!
Thine ear, O Christ! Lord, open Thou our lips!
That worthily our mouth may speak Thy praise.
O Lamb of God! Thou who dost take away
The sins of the whole world grant us Thy peace!
Hear us, O Christ! have mercy on us, Lord!
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Contemn the world, and all at this side heaven!
Set our affections upon things above:
For where our treasure is, will be our hearts:
So shall we sin no more; so gain, for ever,
The vision of Thy Glory; best of joys!
Fruition of our God! This—This, is Life!
“Lord! Let Thy servant now depart in peace,
According to Thy blessed word: for now
Upon mine eyes hath Thy salvation dawned,
Which Thou before all people hast prepared;
To be a guiding light unto the Gentiles—
The glory of Thy People, Israel!”
“And now to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Be glory everlastingly; as ever
Hath been, is now, and through all time shall be!”
According to Thy blessed word: for now
Upon mine eyes hath Thy salvation dawned,
Which Thou before all people hast prepared;
To be a guiding light unto the Gentiles—
The glory of Thy People, Israel!”
“And now to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Be glory everlastingly; as ever
Hath been, is now, and through all time shall be!”
Amen!
A Song of Faith | ||