 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
The Faith of the First Christians
Blessed were they, who in the early time,In Jesus saw the Christ, the Son of God;
Followed his footsteps with a faith sublime,
And the same path of duty, suffering trod.
They saw what prophets, kings desired to see,
And heard what they had longed to hear in vain;
The parable's deep truth, the mystery,
Hid from the multitude, to them was plain.
In him they saw the world redeemed, forgiven,
Suffering no more the blight and curse of sin;
And, still beyond, the encircling walls of heaven,
Whose radiant light bids all to enter in.
Would that like faith were ours, that we might be
Thus born of God, and thus his kingdom see!
Poem No. 71; c. 16 June 1875
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |