 | Lyrics |  |
170
TAKE UP AND READ.
‘Tolle, lege; tolle, lege.’
—St. Augustine's
Confess., viii. 12.
When light and darkness in his soul contended,
And sighs and tears forced their impetuous way,
As prostrate 'neath a fig-tree's shade he lay,
A voice melodious on his ear descended.
It seemed the tongue of men and angels blended;
Commissioned, with repeated strain, to say,
‘Take up and read,’ and soon will shine Truth's day,
‘Take up and read,’ soon will Sin's night be ended.
Instant he rose, and seized the sacred scroll:
He reads the words which meet his eager eye,
And God's own finger stamps them on his soul;
Absolving peace pervades him from on high,
The chains of his besetting sin unroll,
And leave him clothed with light and liberty.
| Lyrics | |