 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
The Bible Does Not Sanction Polygamy
I.
The Word of God doth sanction nothing ill,Nor low, nor base; whatever men may find
Written of old. The letter oft doth kill,
Or to the grovelling Past the spirit bind.
So they, who once did Slavery uphold,
Found in the Bible sanction for their deed;
Their hearts more hardened like the King of old,
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So War, twin-relic of a barbarous age,
Claims too the sanction of the Holy Word;
And nations still in hostile strife engage,
And call themselves the followers of the Lord!
The Spirit only quickens; gives the light,
That we may read the Word of God aright.
II.
A loftier state of purity and bliss,Than this man's mortal lot doth yet unfold;
In the new life, which shall succeed to this,
Was by the Savior to mankind foretold;
The Resurrection;—when no more we die,
Nor parted are by time, or cruel fate;
But as the angels are, who dwell on high;
And, made immortal, share their deathless state!
There soul meets soul, and heart to heart is known,
Nor sundered are the ties, which spirits bind;
There none is ere compelled to walk alone,
Or lacks the fellowship of kindred mind;
Would that such purity we now might share,
And for that blissful state might here prepare!
Poem No. 600; c. 16 September 1870
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |