The Choir and The Oratory :: :: University of Virginia Library

Thus to my Sovereign hath Jehovah said:
“Enthroned at my right hand, await the hour
When every rebel that withstands Thy power
Shall crouch beneath Thy feet. The sceptre swayed
By Sion's King, remotest tribes shall own;
Thy foes shall come and bow before Thy Throne.
Upon these hallowed hills shall be displayed
Thy power divine; and here with glad accord,
The chosen race shall own their rightful Lord.
A countless progeny, a seed new-born,
Innumerous as the dew-drops of the morn,
Shall be that day disclosed, in glorious pomp arrayed.”

Thus hath Jehovah with an oath decreed,
The God who changeth not: “Be Thou ordained
High-priest for ever;—not as Aaron's seed,
But as, of old, Melchisedec sustained,

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In mystic union, both exalted names,
Pontiff and King;—type of Thy sacred claims.”

But in that day of wrath, Oh, who shall stand,
When He who sits at God's right hand,
In vengeance shall descend again?
Then kings shall from their thrones be hurled;
Then shall the nations of the world
Be judged: on the mighty slain
The birds shall banquet: He will whelm
The Prince of many a leagued realm
With dismal ruin, endless pain.
But first the Conqueror shall taste
Of that dark torrent in His way:
Then to pursue His triumph haste,
And, Lord of all, enjoy His universal sway.