 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
The Altar
Oh kindle up thine altar! see the brandsLie scattered here and there that lit the pile;
Thy priests to other service turn their hands,
And with unhallowed works their souls defile;
No victims bleed, no fire is blazing high,
They leave thy shrine to serve another god;
Who will not hear them when to him they cry,
But be to them thine own avenging rod;
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With none to lead them right, with none to feed;
No more within thy courts their hearts rejoice,
But at each word the Christ must in them bleed;
Oh kindle up the heart's expiring flame!
Come quickly Lord, and magnify thy name.
Poem No. 385; late 1838–early 1839
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |