 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
The Purification of the Temple
Lord! cleanse thine inner temple, as of oldThou didst thy holy place of traffic vile;
Of those who in its precincts bought and sold;
With sheep and oxen did thy courts defile.
Purge Thou the inner temple of the mind,
The heart itself of man, O Lord, make pure,
That he may Thee and thy true worship find,
491
Then will the offerings accepted be
Which he unto thy holy mount shall bear;
Fulfilled the word the prophet spake of Thee,
“My temple shall be called the House of Prayer”;
For every nation then shall hear thy Word,
And all the people know and serve the Lord.
Poem No. 321; c. 22 April 1876
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |