X.
“For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
Heb. x. 14.
With blood, but not his own, the awful sign
At once of sin's desert and guilt's remission,
The Jew besought the clemency Divine,
The hope of mercy blending with contrition.
Sin must have death: its holy requisition
The Law may not relax. The opening tomb
Expects its prey; mere respite, life's condition;
Nor can the body shun its penal doom.
Yet there is mercy: wherefore else delay
To punish? Why the victim and the rite?
But can the type and symbol take away
The guilt, and for a broken law requite?
The Cross unfolds the mystery. Jesus died:
The sinner lives: the Law is satisfied.
