 | Complete Poems of Frances E. W. Harper |  |
BIBLE DEFENCE OF SLAVERY
Take sackcloth of the darkest dye,
And shroud the pulpits round!
Servants of Him that cannot lie,
Sit mourning on the ground.
And shroud the pulpits round!
Servants of Him that cannot lie,
Sit mourning on the ground.
Let holy horror blanch each cheek,
Pale every brow with fears:
And rocks and stones, if ye could speak,
Ye well might melt to tears!
Pale every brow with fears:
And rocks and stones, if ye could speak,
Ye well might melt to tears!
Let sorrow breathe in every tone,
In every strain ye raise;
Insult not God's majestic throne
With th' mockery of praise.
In every strain ye raise;
Insult not God's majestic throne
With th' mockery of praise.
A reverend man, whose light should be
The guide of age and youth,
Brings to the shrine of slavery
The sacrifice of truth!
The guide of age and youth,
Brings to the shrine of slavery
The sacrifice of truth!
For the direst wrong of man imposed,
Since Sodom's fearful cry,
The word of life has been enclosed,
To give your God the lie.
Since Sodom's fearful cry,
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To give your God the lie.
Oh! when we pray for the heathen lands,
And plead for their dark shores,
Remember Slavery's cruel hands
Make heathens at your doors!
And plead for their dark shores,
Remember Slavery's cruel hands
Make heathens at your doors!
| Complete Poems of Frances E. W. Harper | |