The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
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 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
BOOK VI.
“But who is He with tortured brow,
Degraded, bleeding, dying, now;
His Visage marr'd beyond despair?
Thou quaking earth! thy God is there!
The Sun appall'd hath slunk away,
And darkness hides the guilty Day;
Avert, O World! thine impious eyes;
The curse is o'er,—but Jesus dies!”
—MS.
Degraded, bleeding, dying, now;
His Visage marr'd beyond despair?
Thou quaking earth! thy God is there!
The Sun appall'd hath slunk away,
And darkness hides the guilty Day;
Avert, O World! thine impious eyes;
The curse is o'er,—but Jesus dies!”
—MS.
ANALYSIS OF BOOK VI.
The Book commences with an apostrophe connected with the sad and mighty events which the conclusion of the Saviour's Life unrolls; but, previous to detailing them, a retrospective view of His Character, Actions, and Doctrine, is attempted; the order of time is then preserved to the Ascension—The Sanhedrim take council against Christ — Judas agrees to betray Him—The Last Supper—Description of the same—Terror and sadness of the Disciples when Christ announced that He was about to be betrayed—The Rite of Sacrament founded—The Redeemer's Farewell—The Garden of Gethsemane
501
Here, as far as the Life of the Messiah is included, the Poem ends; but the Second Advent is the Hope, Faith, and Glory of a Christian, and could not be omitted. Previously to this, however, some reflections on the subject of the Poem, state of the human mind, the destinies of man, and the spirit of Poetry, viewed in connection with the advancement of Christianity, are offered: these naturally conclude in a contemplation of the immortality which was brought to light through the Redeemer —His Second Advent—Resurrection of the Dead— Last Judgment of Men and Angels—Conclusion.
Prepare, O Earth! with solemn gloom invest
Thy glories; bid the rayless Sun retire,
The Sky be sad, the Winds be tongues of wo,
And deep-toned litanies from Ocean swell:
Let time and nature, scene and conscious man
In one vast fellowship of grief unite;—
An hour is coming, charged with dreadful fate,
Whose darkness palls a Saviour's agony!
Thy glories; bid the rayless Sun retire,
The Sky be sad, the Winds be tongues of wo,
And deep-toned litanies from Ocean swell:
Let time and nature, scene and conscious man
In one vast fellowship of grief unite;—
An hour is coming, charged with dreadful fate,
Whose darkness palls a Saviour's agony!
But, ere the crisis of creation dawn
And palsied Earth her bleeding God proclaims,
Behold the beauty of His matchless life
In deed and thought connecting earth with heaven!
Cull every virtue which the Mind conceives,
Or view Perfection's archetypal Form
And what can emulate the Prince of Peace?
And palsied Earth her bleeding God proclaims,
Behold the beauty of His matchless life
In deed and thought connecting earth with heaven!
Cull every virtue which the Mind conceives,
Or view Perfection's archetypal Form
And what can emulate the Prince of Peace?
Where once the Seasons, in luxuriant strife,
Reign'd on the shore of that immortal Lake
Whose wave is purple as the heaven it loves,
In that blest clime where fruit and verdure bathed
Their tinted beauty in the richest sun,
Where all is dreary now—Messiah dwelt,
And bodied forth God's everlasting Will
In life and love, by Incarnation there.
Born in a manger,—yet by guardians bright
And wing'd adorers, heralded and hymn'd;
The Heir of all things—yet possessing none;
Surrender'd now to tears of mortal truth,
Or ministrant at some disciple's feet,
Then,—thunder-greeted by the glorious Sky!
Here from the flower a lovely doctrine flows,
And now,—a Tempest from His frown recoils;
Hung on the cross, a malefactor's doom
He suffer'd,—yet a paradise was there
By Him accorded to the felon-soul!
Though bleeding clay,—incarnate God confess'd
Whose pangs an aching Universe partook;
While from those agonies which man beheld
And mock'd the terror-blighted Sun withdrew!
Reign'd on the shore of that immortal Lake
Whose wave is purple as the heaven it loves,
In that blest clime where fruit and verdure bathed
Their tinted beauty in the richest sun,
Where all is dreary now—Messiah dwelt,
And bodied forth God's everlasting Will
In life and love, by Incarnation there.
Born in a manger,—yet by guardians bright
And wing'd adorers, heralded and hymn'd;
The Heir of all things—yet possessing none;
Surrender'd now to tears of mortal truth,
Or ministrant at some disciple's feet,
Then,—thunder-greeted by the glorious Sky!
Here from the flower a lovely doctrine flows,
And now,—a Tempest from His frown recoils;
Hung on the cross, a malefactor's doom
He suffer'd,—yet a paradise was there
By Him accorded to the felon-soul!
Though bleeding clay,—incarnate God confess'd
Whose pangs an aching Universe partook;
While from those agonies which man beheld
And mock'd the terror-blighted Sun withdrew!
Man never spake, in words divinely-toned
With tenderness beyond a tear to move,
Like Him, to Whom unutter'd feelings lay
Free as the clouds before a sun, exposed.
The Heart,—He knew it best, and proved it most,
And touch'd the master-chords of human mind.
And oh! what exquisite discernment mark'd
Each high discourse, to creed or sect applied.
Some true analogy in scenes, or sounds,
And palpably by outward sense perceived,
From mead and plough, the summer-task or toil,
From storm and season, fruit and flower,—enlived
Each sacred lesson which Emmanuel taught.
And when hath Poet from his airy world
To shape or action summon'd such express
And touching images of graceful power,
As Parables, where conscience is instinctive judge
And to the mind celestial truth commends?
Pathetic loveliness in all abounds;
And as the eloquent Creation oft
By moonlight more than storm the soul subdues,
When language by severest wrath sustain'd,
No passion quell'd, the parable prevail'd;
Whose soft dominion, like an angel-smile
Moved o'er the heart, and seemed reflected there.
With tenderness beyond a tear to move,
Like Him, to Whom unutter'd feelings lay
Free as the clouds before a sun, exposed.
The Heart,—He knew it best, and proved it most,
And touch'd the master-chords of human mind.
And oh! what exquisite discernment mark'd
Each high discourse, to creed or sect applied.
Some true analogy in scenes, or sounds,
And palpably by outward sense perceived,
From mead and plough, the summer-task or toil,
From storm and season, fruit and flower,—enlived
Each sacred lesson which Emmanuel taught.
And when hath Poet from his airy world
To shape or action summon'd such express
And touching images of graceful power,
As Parables, where conscience is instinctive judge
And to the mind celestial truth commends?
Pathetic loveliness in all abounds;
And as the eloquent Creation oft
By moonlight more than storm the soul subdues,
When language by severest wrath sustain'd,
No passion quell'd, the parable prevail'd;
Whose soft dominion, like an angel-smile
Moved o'er the heart, and seemed reflected there.
A Being thus surpassingly endow'd,
Whose life was goodness in perpetual act;
By pure magnificence of spirit raised
Above whate'er Platonic vision shaped
Of high and holy, in the perfect Man,
What hymnèd worship should all Earth have paid
To such embodied Glory! Yet a doom
Of torture hover'd o'er His righteous Head:
The Sinless for the sinful World must die!
E'en now, the plotting Sanhedrim convened;
When suddenly, disorder'd, pale, and rack'd
With guilty terror, which on brow and cheek
Imprinted, villain! lo, the traitor comes,
And thirty pieces for his Lord betray'd
Demandeth: then with unappall'd delight
The Priesthood revels o'er His dying form!
Whose life was goodness in perpetual act;
By pure magnificence of spirit raised
Above whate'er Platonic vision shaped
Of high and holy, in the perfect Man,
What hymnèd worship should all Earth have paid
To such embodied Glory! Yet a doom
Of torture hover'd o'er His righteous Head:
The Sinless for the sinful World must die!
502
When suddenly, disorder'd, pale, and rack'd
With guilty terror, which on brow and cheek
Imprinted, villain! lo, the traitor comes,
And thirty pieces for his Lord betray'd
Demandeth: then with unappall'd delight
The Priesthood revels o'er His dying form!
There, as the traitor in the twilight-gloom
Is homeward skulking with a stealthy pace
While every breeze like condemnation sounds,
By Nature mutter'd with mysterious scorn,
A Spirit, dark as demons love, behold!
He, ever when the proffer'd crown approach'd
The head of Christ, in worldly vision hail'd
The sceptred honours of some high domain
About to dawn: but when the Saviour's lip
Blest the meek hands which typically pour'd
Balsamic odours to anoint His head,
Rebuke was felt, and disappointment raged;
Till Satan enter'd with a rush of guilt
The soul of Judas, and the traitor rose
A dark apostate in his dream of blood!
Is homeward skulking with a stealthy pace
While every breeze like condemnation sounds,
By Nature mutter'd with mysterious scorn,
A Spirit, dark as demons love, behold!
He, ever when the proffer'd crown approach'd
The head of Christ, in worldly vision hail'd
The sceptred honours of some high domain
About to dawn: but when the Saviour's lip
Blest the meek hands which typically pour'd
Balsamic odours to anoint His head,
Rebuke was felt, and disappointment raged;
Till Satan enter'd with a rush of guilt
The soul of Judas, and the traitor rose
A dark apostate in his dream of blood!
Meanwhile Messiah, whose omniscient word
A room appointed for the paschal Feast,
To eat the Lamb of covenant prepared.
His pangs approach, His agonies begin
To throng around Him! and that hour, foretold,
Prefigured, and so oft in gloom unveil'd
To His mistaken Twelve, is come at last
The Man of Wo to meet! A feast is set
Of wine and water, as Mosaic law
Ordain'd; where each with due thanksgiving drinks
The Cup whose seal and sanction typified
The Blood of Jesus, by symbolic power;
And then, the taintless Lamb, the ritual Herb,
And Bread unleaven'd, psalm and prayer succeed,
Each serving each with ceremonious awe.
But in the midst, again rebellious pride,
Like Satan when he darken'd Paradise
By curst intrusion, mars the lovely scene
And mournful beauty of our Lord's farewell.
But, princes, thrones, and dominations bow,
Lie mute and dead, ye arrogant desires!
Ambition! dooming life one long despair,
Quench the wild fever of thy fire-struck brain,
Heaven stoops to earth, a Deity to dust,
A God is kneeling at the foot of Man!—
Humility which makes the heart to reel,
Our blood to quiver, and the brow of pride
Prostrates beneath the scathing light of shame!
Oh, when was meekness so almighty found,
As when the Saviour dwarfs degree and state
And dims the splendour of all outward things,
Till, like the radiance of a dying eve,
The waning glories of the World depart!
A room appointed for the paschal Feast,
To eat the Lamb of covenant prepared.
His pangs approach, His agonies begin
To throng around Him! and that hour, foretold,
Prefigured, and so oft in gloom unveil'd
To His mistaken Twelve, is come at last
The Man of Wo to meet! A feast is set
Of wine and water, as Mosaic law
Ordain'd; where each with due thanksgiving drinks
The Cup whose seal and sanction typified
The Blood of Jesus, by symbolic power;
And then, the taintless Lamb, the ritual Herb,
And Bread unleaven'd, psalm and prayer succeed,
Each serving each with ceremonious awe.
But in the midst, again rebellious pride,
Like Satan when he darken'd Paradise
By curst intrusion, mars the lovely scene
And mournful beauty of our Lord's farewell.
But, princes, thrones, and dominations bow,
Lie mute and dead, ye arrogant desires!
Ambition! dooming life one long despair,
Quench the wild fever of thy fire-struck brain,
Heaven stoops to earth, a Deity to dust,
A God is kneeling at the foot of Man!—
Humility which makes the heart to reel,
Our blood to quiver, and the brow of pride
Prostrates beneath the scathing light of shame!
Oh, when was meekness so almighty found,
As when the Saviour dwarfs degree and state
And dims the splendour of all outward things,
Till, like the radiance of a dying eve,
The waning glories of the World depart!
But why hath sadness with a sudden gloom
On each descended? What hath blanch'd the cheek
With terror, in the eye dejection pour'd,
And stirr'd the calm of countenance with lines
Of feeling, working into restless play
Like breeze-moved water? Eye to eye, and brow
To brow, in horrible dismay upturn'd,
Each reads the other with unspoken dread
Of something buried in the soul's abyss,
Which now must be untomb'd, and stand condemn'd
In the full light of God's omniscient gaze!
And yet, though terror-struck, with sad exclaim
Each utters, “Is it I?” Eleven are pure;
Their souls are ramparted with sacred truth,
They tremble deeply, but with guiltless fear.
And one there was, o'er all the rest beloved;
Whose tender mildness and devoted faith
With childlike fervour to the Lord endear'd
A guileless nature,—him whom “Jesus loved,”
The meek St. John! Beyond expressive wo,
The tearful language of his eye reveal'd
A yearning spirit; while his drooping head
Lay fondly pillow'd on the breast of Christ.
By Peter urged, with look of saddest depth
On Christ he gazed, and whisperingly ask'd,
“Who is it, Lord?” Then Jesus, “He who takes
The bread I give, the Son of Man betrays:
But, wo the traitor! well for him, had light
And being never an Iscariot known!”
Betrayer! thou whose spirit coil'd and sunk
Within thee, as a serpent when the day
Shines on the darkness of his den retires
To deeper gloom! upon thy face appears
A pale confession, which thy tongue denies:
Yes! thou art he,—a traitor to thy Lord!
And driven by the whirlwind of despair,
Forth from the chamber of discover'd guilt
Thou speedest; darkness is a heaven to thee;
And thou hast night, sepulchrally array'd,
And starless, fit to cloak a traitor's deed
Or give to earth the gloominess of hell!
On each descended? What hath blanch'd the cheek
With terror, in the eye dejection pour'd,
And stirr'd the calm of countenance with lines
Of feeling, working into restless play
Like breeze-moved water? Eye to eye, and brow
To brow, in horrible dismay upturn'd,
Each reads the other with unspoken dread
Of something buried in the soul's abyss,
Which now must be untomb'd, and stand condemn'd
In the full light of God's omniscient gaze!
And yet, though terror-struck, with sad exclaim
Each utters, “Is it I?” Eleven are pure;
Their souls are ramparted with sacred truth,
They tremble deeply, but with guiltless fear.
And one there was, o'er all the rest beloved;
Whose tender mildness and devoted faith
With childlike fervour to the Lord endear'd
A guileless nature,—him whom “Jesus loved,”
The meek St. John! Beyond expressive wo,
The tearful language of his eye reveal'd
A yearning spirit; while his drooping head
Lay fondly pillow'd on the breast of Christ.
By Peter urged, with look of saddest depth
On Christ he gazed, and whisperingly ask'd,
“Who is it, Lord?” Then Jesus, “He who takes
The bread I give, the Son of Man betrays:
But, wo the traitor! well for him, had light
And being never an Iscariot known!”
Betrayer! thou whose spirit coil'd and sunk
Within thee, as a serpent when the day
Shines on the darkness of his den retires
To deeper gloom! upon thy face appears
A pale confession, which thy tongue denies:
Yes! thou art he,—a traitor to thy Lord!
And driven by the whirlwind of despair,
Forth from the chamber of discover'd guilt
Thou speedest; darkness is a heaven to thee;
And thou hast night, sepulchrally array'd,
And starless, fit to cloak a traitor's deed
Or give to earth the gloominess of hell!
As the dim spell-work of some awful dream
Can people slumber with a ghastly host
Of shapes and sounds, till lo! the morning-smile
Dissolves it, so hath this phantasmal scene
Of doubt and dread, of agonising sway,
At once receded; and quiescent joy
Again upon the true disciples came,
When Judas from the paschal-chamber went,
Convicted traitor! Then, with mien august,
The mild Redeemer took the Bread, and blest
And brake it; and the cup of Wine He took,
And then of both made each disciple take:—
A holy Sacrament, whose typic shade
The great Passover was; but mightier far
The rite of Jesus, whose remembrance speaks
No single nation, but a boundless World
Deliver'd, saved, and free! As bread and wine
The body nourish, so the soul is fed
By faith in this symbolic meal of Love,
Wherein is shadow'd the Redeemer's death.
Can people slumber with a ghastly host
Of shapes and sounds, till lo! the morning-smile
Dissolves it, so hath this phantasmal scene
Of doubt and dread, of agonising sway,
At once receded; and quiescent joy
Again upon the true disciples came,
When Judas from the paschal-chamber went,
503
The mild Redeemer took the Bread, and blest
And brake it; and the cup of Wine He took,
And then of both made each disciple take:—
A holy Sacrament, whose typic shade
The great Passover was; but mightier far
The rite of Jesus, whose remembrance speaks
No single nation, but a boundless World
Deliver'd, saved, and free! As bread and wine
The body nourish, so the soul is fed
By faith in this symbolic meal of Love,
Wherein is shadow'd the Redeemer's death.
“Do This, and thou wilt then remember Me!”
Remember Thee! the Way, the Truth, and Life,
On Whose pure eyelids hung our mortal tears;
Who wert so inaccessibly supreme
In the bright plenitude of awe and power,
And yet, so veil'd by condescending love
That Childhood gazed upon Thy glorious smile,
And deem'd it heavenlier than mothers wear;
Refuge and Rest 'mid all the woes of time!
Almighty Anchor for a sin-toss'd world!
Incarnate Saviour, and co-equal God,
Remember Thee!—oh, if some dying words
Of honour'd parent round the memory cling
With aye unweaken'd charm, shall man forget
That dear and solemn, Thy divine command
Beyond all parents'? Till Thy Kingdom come
When the great Banquet of perpetual bliss
With Thee in glory Thine elected sons
Partake, O Saviour! be this Sacrifice
And Sacrament with awful love revered:
For in it pardon and preserving grace
Abound, and by it Earth with Heaven communes;
And when o'erwearied by this anxious world,
Or toss'd in the tempestuous gloom of sin
The soul repenteth, yet in doubt appears
Like Hagar in the wilderness, to weep and die
Forsaken, there in this all-heavenly Feast
Redeemer! Thine incarnate Presence dwells:
And gently as the arkless dove was ta'en
Back to a shelter from the dreary wild
Of waters, welcomed by a meeting smile,
The soul is bosom'd on Thy holy rest.
Remember Thee! the Way, the Truth, and Life,
On Whose pure eyelids hung our mortal tears;
Who wert so inaccessibly supreme
In the bright plenitude of awe and power,
And yet, so veil'd by condescending love
That Childhood gazed upon Thy glorious smile,
And deem'd it heavenlier than mothers wear;
Refuge and Rest 'mid all the woes of time!
Almighty Anchor for a sin-toss'd world!
Incarnate Saviour, and co-equal God,
Remember Thee!—oh, if some dying words
Of honour'd parent round the memory cling
With aye unweaken'd charm, shall man forget
That dear and solemn, Thy divine command
Beyond all parents'? Till Thy Kingdom come
When the great Banquet of perpetual bliss
With Thee in glory Thine elected sons
Partake, O Saviour! be this Sacrifice
And Sacrament with awful love revered:
For in it pardon and preserving grace
Abound, and by it Earth with Heaven communes;
And when o'erwearied by this anxious world,
Or toss'd in the tempestuous gloom of sin
The soul repenteth, yet in doubt appears
Like Hagar in the wilderness, to weep and die
Forsaken, there in this all-heavenly Feast
Redeemer! Thine incarnate Presence dwells:
And gently as the arkless dove was ta'en
Back to a shelter from the dreary wild
Of waters, welcomed by a meeting smile,
The soul is bosom'd on Thy holy rest.
But listen! for the Lord's farewell begins,
And deeply-solemn, His mysterious tones
Fall on the silence of the sacred room,
Till tears have gather'd in their gazing eyes
From whence He parteth, to ascend and reign
Where man beholds not. Yet, in dreadless faith,
The fervent Peter, with erected brow
And voice triumphant over hell, replied,
“Though all desert Thee, still will Peter stand
A rock unshaken! death nor dungeon frights
His spirit; life itself but lives in Thee!”
“I tell thee, Peter, ere the cock shall crow
This very night wilt thou deny Me thrice!”
Then, more impassion'd with a louder voice
And lip that quiver'd with exulting throb,
“Deny Thee! unto death my soul is fix'd!”
The fond one answer'd, and on Jesus gazed
With mild reproach, like one who feels his wrong,
But pleaded only by a look which spake!
And deeply-solemn, His mysterious tones
Fall on the silence of the sacred room,
Till tears have gather'd in their gazing eyes
From whence He parteth, to ascend and reign
Where man beholds not. Yet, in dreadless faith,
The fervent Peter, with erected brow
And voice triumphant over hell, replied,
“Though all desert Thee, still will Peter stand
A rock unshaken! death nor dungeon frights
His spirit; life itself but lives in Thee!”
“I tell thee, Peter, ere the cock shall crow
This very night wilt thou deny Me thrice!”
Then, more impassion'd with a louder voice
And lip that quiver'd with exulting throb,
“Deny Thee! unto death my soul is fix'd!”
The fond one answer'd, and on Jesus gazed
With mild reproach, like one who feels his wrong,
But pleaded only by a look which spake!
A sadness, deep and holy as the heart
E'er felt, came o'er that mute assembly now,
When the meek Saviour with angelic truth
Began: “Believe in God, in Me believe,
For in My Father's everlasting House
Are many Mansions, and your Lord departs,
That ye may follow to a place prepared.
The Comforter, the Holy Ghost, shall come,
And all I utter'd, memory shall teach,
By Him instructed; peace, immortal Peace!
Beyond the world to give, with you I leave:
Abide in Me, as branches in the Vine
Endure, and ye shall bear celestial Fruit!”
And then, as o'er Him, in its dark array
A vision of their sad desertion swept,
Messiah added, “Do ye now believe?
Behold! it cometh, yea, the hour is come!
When all are scatter'd, and the Son of Man
Is left,—yet not alone, for God is there:
The world is trouble, but in Me a peace
Unfading; let your souls in that confide
Nor tremble; I have overcome the World!”
Then, lifting his omniscient eyes to Heaven,
“My Father, glorify Thy Son!” He cried;
“Thy work is finish'd, and Thy faith is taught,
And Light and Immortality declared;
And now The Glory, Mine before this earth
Was founded, I ascend with Thee to share!”
E'er felt, came o'er that mute assembly now,
When the meek Saviour with angelic truth
Began: “Believe in God, in Me believe,
For in My Father's everlasting House
Are many Mansions, and your Lord departs,
That ye may follow to a place prepared.
The Comforter, the Holy Ghost, shall come,
And all I utter'd, memory shall teach,
By Him instructed; peace, immortal Peace!
Beyond the world to give, with you I leave:
Abide in Me, as branches in the Vine
Endure, and ye shall bear celestial Fruit!”
And then, as o'er Him, in its dark array
A vision of their sad desertion swept,
Messiah added, “Do ye now believe?
Behold! it cometh, yea, the hour is come!
When all are scatter'd, and the Son of Man
Is left,—yet not alone, for God is there:
The world is trouble, but in Me a peace
Unfading; let your souls in that confide
Nor tremble; I have overcome the World!”
Then, lifting his omniscient eyes to Heaven,
“My Father, glorify Thy Son!” He cried;
“Thy work is finish'd, and Thy faith is taught,
And Light and Immortality declared;
And now The Glory, Mine before this earth
Was founded, I ascend with Thee to share!”
Thus ended, Lord! thy first and last farewell.
When rose the parting hymn Devotion sang,
And all o'er Kedron to the Olive Mount
Departing, wait upon Thy steps divine.
When rose the parting hymn Devotion sang,
And all o'er Kedron to the Olive Mount
Departing, wait upon Thy steps divine.
But, veil thyself, Imagination! veil
And worship; put thy shoes from off thy feet,
Thou mortal Gazer! for on hallow'd ground
More consecrate than he of Horeb saw
When the bush burn'd with sacramental fire,
Thou tread'st,—the garden of Gethsemane!
The Moon, pale hermitress of heaven, hath found
With no bright fellowship of starry orb
Her midway-sphere; and now with conscious dread
Shrined in a cloudy haze, she disappears,
While motionless yon patriarchal trees
Of towering olive lift their spectral gloom.
But listen! groan on groan, with awful swell
Heaves on the air, as though a God bewail'd
His creatures!—Christ in agony is bow'd,
And prostrate; while from each denuded pore
A litany of Blood to Heaven appeals!
Convulsed within Him, hark, the Human cries,
“My Father! if it can be, let this Cup
Be taken from Me, from this hour removed:
And yet not Mine, but let Thy Will, be done!”
And worship; put thy shoes from off thy feet,
Thou mortal Gazer! for on hallow'd ground
More consecrate than he of Horeb saw
When the bush burn'd with sacramental fire,
504
The Moon, pale hermitress of heaven, hath found
With no bright fellowship of starry orb
Her midway-sphere; and now with conscious dread
Shrined in a cloudy haze, she disappears,
While motionless yon patriarchal trees
Of towering olive lift their spectral gloom.
But listen! groan on groan, with awful swell
Heaves on the air, as though a God bewail'd
His creatures!—Christ in agony is bow'd,
And prostrate; while from each denuded pore
A litany of Blood to Heaven appeals!
Convulsed within Him, hark, the Human cries,
“My Father! if it can be, let this Cup
Be taken from Me, from this hour removed:
And yet not Mine, but let Thy Will, be done!”
Dark agonies, ineffable as deep
That moment knew, whose merit countervail'd
All which Eternity's remorse could pay,
Wrung from the torment of a punish'd World!
As once on Tabor His transfigured Form
A shadow of celestial Glory threw
On Man's perception, so in this doom'd hour
Gethsemane's most awful Scene declares
The dreadful Infinite of sin, and guilt.
His Manhood suffer'd all that Flesh could feel:—
God unappeased, and Satan unsubdued,
Darkness, and death, and unrepented crimes
Still brooding o'er the world, and He foredoom'd
Upon the Cross of agony to die
That Heaven might open on forgiven man,—
These were combined in one almighty pang!
Exceeding sorrowful His soul became
E'en unto death; till from the Throne His cry
Of anguish brought a soothing Angel down.
But in the passion of this fateful hour,
Oh! where are they, whose eyes so oft beheld
His wonders, in whose hearts His voice had pour'd
The balm and blessing of immortal Truth?
Alas! one hour they could not watch, nor pray;
And they were sleeping, when the Saviour thrice
From prayer arose, and thrice their sleep forgave!
That moment knew, whose merit countervail'd
All which Eternity's remorse could pay,
Wrung from the torment of a punish'd World!
As once on Tabor His transfigured Form
A shadow of celestial Glory threw
On Man's perception, so in this doom'd hour
Gethsemane's most awful Scene declares
The dreadful Infinite of sin, and guilt.
His Manhood suffer'd all that Flesh could feel:—
God unappeased, and Satan unsubdued,
Darkness, and death, and unrepented crimes
Still brooding o'er the world, and He foredoom'd
Upon the Cross of agony to die
That Heaven might open on forgiven man,—
These were combined in one almighty pang!
Exceeding sorrowful His soul became
E'en unto death; till from the Throne His cry
Of anguish brought a soothing Angel down.
But in the passion of this fateful hour,
Oh! where are they, whose eyes so oft beheld
His wonders, in whose hearts His voice had pour'd
The balm and blessing of immortal Truth?
Alas! one hour they could not watch, nor pray;
And they were sleeping, when the Saviour thrice
From prayer arose, and thrice their sleep forgave!
Yet now sleep on; and take unthinking rest;
The Son of Man, Emmanuel is betray'd,
The traitor hath his treason-work fulfill'd!
For, hear ye not the sound of rushing feet
And ruder voices, through the moonless air
Advancing? Stirr'd, as by a tempest-wing,
Around the olive-branches creak and bend,
And light comes flashing with a fierce intent,
Till on the countenance of Christ it falls
And lights His features: marr'd and pale they shone
Beneath it, as He met a midnight-band
With torch and lantern, sword and stave empower'd
Their impious hands on His pure Form to lay.
When “I am He!” was spoken, back they fell
Like life before a sudden blast of death
By miracle emitted!—“I am He”
Again was utter'd, and again they fell
Confounded, till the traitor with a kiss
Betoken'd Jesus; then the troop approach'd
And bound Him. Legions! from your thrones of Light
Descend, and wither that unhallow'd throng!
No: meekly as a lamb to slaughter goes
The Lord hath yielded; fetter'd, silent, sad,
Deserted, and betray'd, alone He meets
The Powers of darkness in their deepest might.
The Son of Man, Emmanuel is betray'd,
The traitor hath his treason-work fulfill'd!
For, hear ye not the sound of rushing feet
And ruder voices, through the moonless air
Advancing? Stirr'd, as by a tempest-wing,
Around the olive-branches creak and bend,
And light comes flashing with a fierce intent,
Till on the countenance of Christ it falls
And lights His features: marr'd and pale they shone
Beneath it, as He met a midnight-band
With torch and lantern, sword and stave empower'd
Their impious hands on His pure Form to lay.
When “I am He!” was spoken, back they fell
Like life before a sudden blast of death
By miracle emitted!—“I am He”
Again was utter'd, and again they fell
Confounded, till the traitor with a kiss
Betoken'd Jesus; then the troop approach'd
And bound Him. Legions! from your thrones of Light
Descend, and wither that unhallow'd throng!
No: meekly as a lamb to slaughter goes
The Lord hath yielded; fetter'd, silent, sad,
Deserted, and betray'd, alone He meets
The Powers of darkness in their deepest might.
The break of morning with a dim uprise!
Pale as a Prophet, when his eye foresees
Unutter'd woes upon the future throng,
The Sun awaketh from his cloudy sleep
To usher in this all-tremendous Day.
Already in yon judgment-chamber meet
The fell accusers; there, aloft upraised,
Their holy Victim in the upper-hall
His trial waiteth:—not a shade of fear
The innocence of that calm Brow defiles!
In shape a Man, in dignity a God
He seemeth. But around the palace-fire
Beneath Him, from the council-seat apart,
What curses, loud with wrathful meaning, roll?
A damsel, when the Galilean-voice
Of Peter sounded with betrayful tones,
His true discipleship at once declared
Then, he who hail'd Him “Son of living God!”
Adored His Person, saw His glory shine,
And vow'd eternally with changeless love
Through life and death unswerving faith to hold,
The sacred knowledge of his Lord denied!
But when with horrid malediction rang
The fierce denial of his furious lip,
Till his eye glitter'd with a ghastly fire,
And falsehood, cowardice, and guilty fear
All met and mingled with terrific clash
Within, a second time the Cock then crew!
And Jesus,—who shall paint the glance He gave,
Where pity, pardon, and subdued reproach
Concenter'd in such look of loving power
That Peter shrank, and trembled into tears!
Pale as a Prophet, when his eye foresees
Unutter'd woes upon the future throng,
The Sun awaketh from his cloudy sleep
To usher in this all-tremendous Day.
Already in yon judgment-chamber meet
The fell accusers; there, aloft upraised,
Their holy Victim in the upper-hall
His trial waiteth:—not a shade of fear
The innocence of that calm Brow defiles!
In shape a Man, in dignity a God
He seemeth. But around the palace-fire
Beneath Him, from the council-seat apart,
What curses, loud with wrathful meaning, roll?
A damsel, when the Galilean-voice
Of Peter sounded with betrayful tones,
His true discipleship at once declared
Then, he who hail'd Him “Son of living God!”
Adored His Person, saw His glory shine,
And vow'd eternally with changeless love
Through life and death unswerving faith to hold,
The sacred knowledge of his Lord denied!
But when with horrid malediction rang
The fierce denial of his furious lip,
Till his eye glitter'd with a ghastly fire,
And falsehood, cowardice, and guilty fear
All met and mingled with terrific clash
Within, a second time the Cock then crew!
And Jesus,—who shall paint the glance He gave,
Where pity, pardon, and subdued reproach
505
That Peter shrank, and trembled into tears!
Impassion'd, bold, beyond thy strength sincere,
Sublime apostle but a sinful man,
As in thy faith, so in thy fall we find,
A truth which bids the yearning bosom feel,
E'en as thou wert, how half the world has been!
Forgiven mourner! while with mantled face
In groaning penitence without the porch
Thou weepest, and from unforgotten scenes
A radiant vision of the Past returns
With blighting splendour to condemn thy soul,
Thou art a Moral for mankind to read
And heart to study, long as Earth remains!
Sublime apostle but a sinful man,
As in thy faith, so in thy fall we find,
A truth which bids the yearning bosom feel,
E'en as thou wert, how half the world has been!
Forgiven mourner! while with mantled face
In groaning penitence without the porch
Thou weepest, and from unforgotten scenes
A radiant vision of the Past returns
With blighting splendour to condemn thy soul,
Thou art a Moral for mankind to read
And heart to study, long as Earth remains!
While thus in penance sad St. Peter wept,
Amid a council of encircling priests
And scribes and elders, lone Emmanuel stood
For judgment. Witness after witness rose,
Suborn'd and savage; yet a war of words
Where lie to lie and truth to truth opposed
A meaning, all their accusation grew;
But when His doctrine the Archpriest assail'd;
“The temple, synagogue, the open world,
Let these My doctrine testify, and tell,
For nought in secret have I said or done!”
Thus answer'd the Redeemer; then uprose
Accusers, who with dreadless voice declared
“The gorgeous Fabric which our eyes adore,
He thus blasphemed; ‘This temple built with hands,
Will I destroy; in three days shall arise
Another, built by no terrestrial hands!’”
Majestic silence was the sole reply.
Then Caiaphas, with fierce emotion shook
And darken'd; from his council-throne up sprang
And with a voice like far-off thunder cried,
“Now by the living and tremendous God
Thee I adjure! art Thou The Christ?”—“I am!
Hereafter, coming with the clouds of heaven
Girt like Jehovah, see the Son of Man!”
Then, “Let Him die!” throughout th' assembly rung.
Amid a council of encircling priests
And scribes and elders, lone Emmanuel stood
For judgment. Witness after witness rose,
Suborn'd and savage; yet a war of words
Where lie to lie and truth to truth opposed
A meaning, all their accusation grew;
But when His doctrine the Archpriest assail'd;
“The temple, synagogue, the open world,
Let these My doctrine testify, and tell,
For nought in secret have I said or done!”
Thus answer'd the Redeemer; then uprose
Accusers, who with dreadless voice declared
“The gorgeous Fabric which our eyes adore,
He thus blasphemed; ‘This temple built with hands,
Will I destroy; in three days shall arise
Another, built by no terrestrial hands!’”
Majestic silence was the sole reply.
Then Caiaphas, with fierce emotion shook
And darken'd; from his council-throne up sprang
And with a voice like far-off thunder cried,
“Now by the living and tremendous God
Thee I adjure! art Thou The Christ?”—“I am!
Hereafter, coming with the clouds of heaven
Girt like Jehovah, see the Son of Man!”
Then, “Let Him die!” throughout th' assembly rung.
The morning comes; and with unfolding day
The tragedy a deeper die assumes.
Again did Pilate, with proclaiming voice
To elder, priest, and multitude pronounce
The Saviour guiltless: “Let Him be released!”
In vain he cried; for hark the savage yell,
“A prisoner! be our wonted right perform'd,
A captive freed!” 'Twas in that stormy hour
The dark confession of a hideous dream
The wife of Pilate in her slumber saw,
Was then reported: but His hour had come!
“Barabbas!” was the universal shout
By thousands echoed, when their judge preferr'd
To free Messiah, “Let Barabbas loose!”
But “Christ, what deadly evil hath he done?”
Again did “Crucify!” in one fell war
Rise on the air so murderous and loud,
That Pilate quiver'd on his judgment-throne.
The tragedy a deeper die assumes.
Again did Pilate, with proclaiming voice
To elder, priest, and multitude pronounce
The Saviour guiltless: “Let Him be released!”
In vain he cried; for hark the savage yell,
“A prisoner! be our wonted right perform'd,
A captive freed!” 'Twas in that stormy hour
The dark confession of a hideous dream
The wife of Pilate in her slumber saw,
Was then reported: but His hour had come!
“Barabbas!” was the universal shout
By thousands echoed, when their judge preferr'd
To free Messiah, “Let Barabbas loose!”
But “Christ, what deadly evil hath he done?”
Again did “Crucify!” in one fell war
Rise on the air so murderous and loud,
That Pilate quiver'd on his judgment-throne.
Then Jesus, by the soldiers dragg'd, endured
The mockery of reed, and robe, and crown
Of platted thorns, upon His temples press'd;
There as He bled, before Him bow the knees
Of scoffing worshippers, who shout and hail
“King of the Jews!” then smite His awful head
And crush the crown upon His aching brows!
The mockery of reed, and robe, and crown
Of platted thorns, upon His temples press'd;
There as He bled, before Him bow the knees
Of scoffing worshippers, who shout and hail
“King of the Jews!” then smite His awful head
And crush the crown upon His aching brows!
Thus bleeding, marr'd and mock'd, the Saviour comes:
Unmoved He stands, insuperably calm.
But wilder grew the clamour; hand, and eye,
And voice were raging with terrific signs
Of vengeance; till the name of “Cæsar” rang
Loud on the soul of Pilate, like the knell
Of his destruction! Cæsar's foe must die;
And Hate shall crucify whom Justice spared.
Then took he water, laved his hands, and cried,
“That I am innocent of blood, behold,
Of this just Person; be it yours to bear.”
“His blood be on us! on our children be!”
In mingled answer from that murderous crowd
Ascended; dreary as the dying swell
Of ocean, up to heaven this awful breath
Of imprecation roll'd, and drew from God
The answer, Judah's myriads suffer now!
Unmoved He stands, insuperably calm.
But wilder grew the clamour; hand, and eye,
And voice were raging with terrific signs
Of vengeance; till the name of “Cæsar” rang
Loud on the soul of Pilate, like the knell
Of his destruction! Cæsar's foe must die;
And Hate shall crucify whom Justice spared.
Then took he water, laved his hands, and cried,
“That I am innocent of blood, behold,
Of this just Person; be it yours to bear.”
“His blood be on us! on our children be!”
In mingled answer from that murderous crowd
Ascended; dreary as the dying swell
Of ocean, up to heaven this awful breath
Of imprecation roll'd, and drew from God
The answer, Judah's myriads suffer now!
Earth never parallel'd a scene like this,
When list'ning Worlds were overawed to hear
A creature his incarnate God condemn!
A paved tribunal by the Palace rose
Of pictured marble, and mosaic sheen,
Whereon was Pilate as in kingly state
Enthroned; before him stood a bleeding Form
Of solemn aspect, in Whose mild regret
A sanctitude beyond expression spake.
Below a raving multitude was seen
Upgazing, all athirst for righteous blood;
And who, with features harrow'd by the strife
And scorn of passion, from their God invoked
Eternal vengeance for eternal Blood!
When list'ning Worlds were overawed to hear
A creature his incarnate God condemn!
A paved tribunal by the Palace rose
Of pictured marble, and mosaic sheen,
Whereon was Pilate as in kingly state
Enthroned; before him stood a bleeding Form
Of solemn aspect, in Whose mild regret
A sanctitude beyond expression spake.
Below a raving multitude was seen
Upgazing, all athirst for righteous blood;
And who, with features harrow'd by the strife
And scorn of passion, from their God invoked
Eternal vengeance for eternal Blood!
But where the vile traducer? While the doom
Of death was pass'd, and Jesus like a Lamb
To slaughter by the savage crowd decreed,
Then, Conscience, thy tremendous power began!
The beauty, glory, and sublime display
Of virtues godlike by the sinless Christ
Embodied, back upon his memory came;
And in the light of that immaculate Lord
From all He did reflected, dark and deep
The perfidy of His betrayer frown'd!
Lash'd by remorse, the council-Chief he sought,
The crime of Innocence by him betray'd
Confess'd; but when in vain his pleading guilt
Repented, in the Temple down he hurl'd
The wages of Iniquity, and fled
On wings of horror!—like a maniac, wild
And blasted into solitude he ran.
The ground grew fire beneath his guilty tread;
The heavens hung o'er him like a vast reproach;
And groans which make the jubilee of hell
Heaved from his soul with terrible excess!
Where rose a precipice, whose rocky gloom
The plunging billows of a torrent fill'd
With mimic thunder in chaotic roar,
At length he stood, and on the black abyss
Stared wildly—then a pace withdrew,
Look'd o'er the heavens his horrible despair!
Till Nature with a ghastly dimness seem'd
Enshrouded; round him the horizon reel'd,
The earth was waning, and with hideous yell
He seized the branches of a rock-grown tree,
Swung from its height, and down the dizzy steep
Sunk into darkness, and was seen no more!
Of death was pass'd, and Jesus like a Lamb
To slaughter by the savage crowd decreed,
Then, Conscience, thy tremendous power began!
The beauty, glory, and sublime display
Of virtues godlike by the sinless Christ
506
And in the light of that immaculate Lord
From all He did reflected, dark and deep
The perfidy of His betrayer frown'd!
Lash'd by remorse, the council-Chief he sought,
The crime of Innocence by him betray'd
Confess'd; but when in vain his pleading guilt
Repented, in the Temple down he hurl'd
The wages of Iniquity, and fled
On wings of horror!—like a maniac, wild
And blasted into solitude he ran.
The ground grew fire beneath his guilty tread;
The heavens hung o'er him like a vast reproach;
And groans which make the jubilee of hell
Heaved from his soul with terrible excess!
Where rose a precipice, whose rocky gloom
The plunging billows of a torrent fill'd
With mimic thunder in chaotic roar,
At length he stood, and on the black abyss
Stared wildly—then a pace withdrew,
Look'd o'er the heavens his horrible despair!
Till Nature with a ghastly dimness seem'd
Enshrouded; round him the horizon reel'd,
The earth was waning, and with hideous yell
He seized the branches of a rock-grown tree,
Swung from its height, and down the dizzy steep
Sunk into darkness, and was seen no more!
But come, thou Spirit of believing Awe
Whom nothing boundeth, and a scene behold
More wond'rous than eternity conceals,—
A crucified Redeemer! With His cross
To Calvary the lacerated Christ
Is now ascending; famish'd, faint, and pale,
Beneath the burden of a tree accursed
He falters; yet the goading throng
His limbs profane, and trample when He falls
Their silent Martyr! Lest at once He die
And cheat the tortures of intended doom,
To bear it, from Cyrene is compell'd
A pilgrim; and again with murd'rous glee
The rabble round about Him dance and hoot.
Thus, all are merciless, while Mercy bleeds,
Save thou, fond Woman! in thy faithful eyes
Are tears; and from thine unforsaking love
The language of sublimest pity flows.
Yet not for Him, but for yourselves lament;
Ye daughters of Jerusalem! who wail;
The days are coming when the soul will cry
“The wombs how blessèd which have never borne!”
But lo; the hill of Golgotha appears;
The Cross is planted; with convulsive shake
Each limb unloosen'd; and the starting blood
In liquid torment from the flesh distill'd;
In vain, a potion to benumb His pangs
Is proffer'd; dying God, He suffers all.
“Forgive them; for they know not what they do!”
Whom nothing boundeth, and a scene behold
More wond'rous than eternity conceals,—
A crucified Redeemer! With His cross
To Calvary the lacerated Christ
Is now ascending; famish'd, faint, and pale,
Beneath the burden of a tree accursed
He falters; yet the goading throng
His limbs profane, and trample when He falls
Their silent Martyr! Lest at once He die
And cheat the tortures of intended doom,
To bear it, from Cyrene is compell'd
A pilgrim; and again with murd'rous glee
The rabble round about Him dance and hoot.
Thus, all are merciless, while Mercy bleeds,
Save thou, fond Woman! in thy faithful eyes
Are tears; and from thine unforsaking love
The language of sublimest pity flows.
Yet not for Him, but for yourselves lament;
Ye daughters of Jerusalem! who wail;
The days are coming when the soul will cry
“The wombs how blessèd which have never borne!”
But lo; the hill of Golgotha appears;
The Cross is planted; with convulsive shake
Each limb unloosen'd; and the starting blood
In liquid torment from the flesh distill'd;
In vain, a potion to benumb His pangs
Is proffer'd; dying God, He suffers all.
“Forgive them; for they know not what they do!”
And thus they crucify the Son of Man!
Those Hands are bleeding, which have bless'd a world;
Those Feet are tortured, which have never moved
Except on errands of celestial Love;
Those Brows are throbbing, and those Eyes bedimm'd
Where light and immortality were throned;
And ah! that pure, unspotted, perfect Soul,
Divine as Deity on earth could be,
Doth agonise beneath th' imputed Curse
Whereby a ransom for the World is paid:
And silently He all endures! Around His Cross
The soldiers wrangle for the parted vest;
And when His eye in lifted torment gazed
O'er Calvary, by crowding myriads trod,
How few the faces where compassion dwelt,
Or tears were trickling, did that look behold!
The scowl of Pharisees, the hate of Scribes,
And the fierce glance of hypocrites rebuked,
Were turn'd upon Him, to translate His pangs,
And drink the fulness of a deep revenge!
While others underneath the Cross advanced
To read His title with reviling scorn,
“King of the Jews!”
Those Hands are bleeding, which have bless'd a world;
Those Feet are tortured, which have never moved
Except on errands of celestial Love;
Those Brows are throbbing, and those Eyes bedimm'd
Where light and immortality were throned;
And ah! that pure, unspotted, perfect Soul,
Divine as Deity on earth could be,
Doth agonise beneath th' imputed Curse
Whereby a ransom for the World is paid:
And silently He all endures! Around His Cross
The soldiers wrangle for the parted vest;
And when His eye in lifted torment gazed
O'er Calvary, by crowding myriads trod,
How few the faces where compassion dwelt,
Or tears were trickling, did that look behold!
The scowl of Pharisees, the hate of Scribes,
And the fierce glance of hypocrites rebuked,
Were turn'd upon Him, to translate His pangs,
And drink the fulness of a deep revenge!
While others underneath the Cross advanced
To read His title with reviling scorn,
“King of the Jews!”
Two thieves beside Him hung
In kindred torture to increase the shame.
The one did rail, the other's soften'd heart
Repented; sudden faith his soul illumed,
And, “Lord! when in Thy kingdom Thou art throned
Remember me!” the dying creature said;
And lo! a paradise was his reward.
In kindred torture to increase the shame.
The one did rail, the other's soften'd heart
Repented; sudden faith his soul illumed,
And, “Lord! when in Thy kingdom Thou art throned
Remember me!” the dying creature said;
And lo! a paradise was his reward.
Then look'd Messiah where His mother stood,
The Virgin Mary, with His Own beloved
Disciple; agony could not subdue
His tenderness; compassion fill'd His gaze
With heavenly lustre, while in filial love
He bent on Mary the divinest look
That ever Child on weeping parent cast,
And murmur'd, “Woman! there a Son behold;
Disciple! there a future Mother see.”
O Maiden! purest of all pure, who felt
A love maternal, when thy bosom throbb'd
Beneath the pangs of thine almighty Son,
The sword of anguish, then thy soul it pierced,
As hoary Simeon in the Temple sang.
The Virgin Mary, with His Own beloved
Disciple; agony could not subdue
His tenderness; compassion fill'd His gaze
With heavenly lustre, while in filial love
He bent on Mary the divinest look
That ever Child on weeping parent cast,
And murmur'd, “Woman! there a Son behold;
Disciple! there a future Mother see.”
O Maiden! purest of all pure, who felt
A love maternal, when thy bosom throbb'd
Beneath the pangs of thine almighty Son,
The sword of anguish, then thy soul it pierced,
As hoary Simeon in the Temple sang.
Thus in the light, 'tween heaven and earth upraised,
Upon the malefactor's cross was nail'd,
Was crucified, the Lord of living Worlds!
Till came the sixth hour, when the noontide-sun
Waned from his throne; and sudden darkness fell
O'er all Judea, till creation seem'd
By God forsaken, Whose averted face
Bade darkness emblematically type
The gloom internal God in Flesh endured.
Jerusalem, her temples, domes, and towers,
Were shaded; Lebanon and Tabor shrunk
And wither'd; Carmel, Gilead, and the rocks
By ocean towering, shadow cover'd all
With night's terrific semblance. In the gloom
The mutter of a multitude uprose
Like sounds infernal; while their features wore
A fell expression of unearthly hue,—
Each fearing what his impious tongue denied,
As ever and anon some coward took
A shuddering glance, where Man's Redeemer hung,
While the blood quiver'd in his guilty veins
Till blasphemy in hollow murmur died!
Heart cannot dream, imagination dare
By words to image th' almighty pangs
That in His darkness and distress of soul
Th' Ineffable upon the Cross endured!
Who held His spirit as the Prince of Life,
To torment subject, till the Curse was paid.
The ninth hour came; and then, with loud appeal,
From the deep midnight of atoning Blood,
He utter'd, “Why hast Thou forsaken Me!
My God! My God!”—then came an awful hush
In which they deem'd Elias would descend
To save Him: but, a second time, a Voice
More audible the souls of myriads shook:
“'Tis finish'd! Father, to Thy hands divine
My Spirit I commend,” the Saviour cried,
And bow'd His head, and breathed His soul away!
Upon the malefactor's cross was nail'd,
Was crucified, the Lord of living Worlds!
Till came the sixth hour, when the noontide-sun
507
O'er all Judea, till creation seem'd
By God forsaken, Whose averted face
Bade darkness emblematically type
The gloom internal God in Flesh endured.
Jerusalem, her temples, domes, and towers,
Were shaded; Lebanon and Tabor shrunk
And wither'd; Carmel, Gilead, and the rocks
By ocean towering, shadow cover'd all
With night's terrific semblance. In the gloom
The mutter of a multitude uprose
Like sounds infernal; while their features wore
A fell expression of unearthly hue,—
Each fearing what his impious tongue denied,
As ever and anon some coward took
A shuddering glance, where Man's Redeemer hung,
While the blood quiver'd in his guilty veins
Till blasphemy in hollow murmur died!
Heart cannot dream, imagination dare
By words to image th' almighty pangs
That in His darkness and distress of soul
Th' Ineffable upon the Cross endured!
Who held His spirit as the Prince of Life,
To torment subject, till the Curse was paid.
The ninth hour came; and then, with loud appeal,
From the deep midnight of atoning Blood,
He utter'd, “Why hast Thou forsaken Me!
My God! My God!”—then came an awful hush
In which they deem'd Elias would descend
To save Him: but, a second time, a Voice
More audible the souls of myriads shook:
“'Tis finish'd! Father, to Thy hands divine
My Spirit I commend,” the Saviour cried,
And bow'd His head, and breathed His soul away!
“'Tis finish'd!” let seraphic mind these words
Translate, for immortality is there!
Which heaven re-echoed, while the regions dark
Where Christ descended in a shape of Light
Triumphant over Powers and Thrones of Hell,
Groan'd at the sound which deepen'd their despair!
The Universe a ghastly signal gave,
And Nature, as in agony, confess'd
The Lord of Glory as His Spirit fled.
The earth was palsied; and the mountains rent
Like garments; tomb and sepulchre their dead
Released, and out of dust the saints arose
And look'd upon the living; while the Veil,
As 'mid the Temple of the Holies stood
A robed High Priest, in sacerdotal pomp,
Was riven, from the top to bottom torn;
And full at once the Oracle reveal'd.
Now, in the tremor of created things
While rock and earthquake, tomb and temple, speak
With dread conviction, “'tis a God that dies!”
The pale centurion and the crowd aghast
Lift their wild looks, and smite their breasts, and cry,
With lips that shudder, “'Tis the Son of God!”
Translate, for immortality is there!
Which heaven re-echoed, while the regions dark
Where Christ descended in a shape of Light
Triumphant over Powers and Thrones of Hell,
Groan'd at the sound which deepen'd their despair!
The Universe a ghastly signal gave,
And Nature, as in agony, confess'd
The Lord of Glory as His Spirit fled.
The earth was palsied; and the mountains rent
Like garments; tomb and sepulchre their dead
Released, and out of dust the saints arose
And look'd upon the living; while the Veil,
As 'mid the Temple of the Holies stood
A robed High Priest, in sacerdotal pomp,
Was riven, from the top to bottom torn;
And full at once the Oracle reveal'd.
Now, in the tremor of created things
While rock and earthquake, tomb and temple, speak
With dread conviction, “'tis a God that dies!”
The pale centurion and the crowd aghast
Lift their wild looks, and smite their breasts, and cry,
With lips that shudder, “'Tis the Son of God!”
A Tragedy which made the sun eclipse
His beams, and sympathising Earth to cast
Her waken'd dead from out their riven tombs,
Is ended! and the oriental Night
O'er Palestine her dewy wings unfolds.
On Calvary the solemn moonbeams lie
All chill and lovely, like those trancèd smiles
Which light the features, when the pangs of death
Have ceased to flutter, and the face is still.
The stars are trooping; and the wintry air
Is mellow'd with a soft mysterious glow
Caught from their beauty; not a vapour mars
The stainless welkin, where the moon aloft
One blue immensity of sky commands,
Save where the fringe of some minutest cloud
Hangs like an eyelid on a brilliant Orb,
Then vanishes, in quenching lustre hid.
Few hours have fleeted, and yon trampled hill
Was shaken with a multitude, who foam'd
And raged beneath their agonising God!
But Nature hath her calm resumed; and night,
As if to spread oblivion o'er the day
And give creation a sabbatic rest,
In balm and beauty on the world descends.
The crowds have disappear'd like waves that melt
And leave a shore to quietude again:
Some in their dreams, perchance, the day renew;
But thou! upon a kingly couch reposed,
The Judge of Jesus, could thy soul conceive
That long as Time's recorded truths endure
Thy name, united to this awful scene,
Would live, when all the Cæsars are forgot?
His beams, and sympathising Earth to cast
Her waken'd dead from out their riven tombs,
Is ended! and the oriental Night
O'er Palestine her dewy wings unfolds.
On Calvary the solemn moonbeams lie
All chill and lovely, like those trancèd smiles
Which light the features, when the pangs of death
Have ceased to flutter, and the face is still.
The stars are trooping; and the wintry air
Is mellow'd with a soft mysterious glow
Caught from their beauty; not a vapour mars
The stainless welkin, where the moon aloft
One blue immensity of sky commands,
Save where the fringe of some minutest cloud
Hangs like an eyelid on a brilliant Orb,
Then vanishes, in quenching lustre hid.
Few hours have fleeted, and yon trampled hill
Was shaken with a multitude, who foam'd
And raged beneath their agonising God!
But Nature hath her calm resumed; and night,
As if to spread oblivion o'er the day
And give creation a sabbatic rest,
In balm and beauty on the world descends.
The crowds have disappear'd like waves that melt
And leave a shore to quietude again:
Some in their dreams, perchance, the day renew;
But thou! upon a kingly couch reposed,
The Judge of Jesus, could thy soul conceive
That long as Time's recorded truths endure
Thy name, united to this awful scene,
Would live, when all the Cæsars are forgot?
The hum and murmur of a distant town
How faintly on the breeze they roll, and die
In soft confusion! Turn thy gaze, and see,
Encircled with a huge Titanian wall,
Where tower and turret, and Herodian piles,
And battlements of dusky gloom uprear
Their vastness, there the Holy City stands!
Augustly beautiful, in moonlight bathed,
Jehovah's palace awes the midnight-air
Around it; while her mountain-bulwarks veil'd
With dimmer lustre, far and near preside
Like guardians planted by almighty hands,
To watch the city, where a million breathe.
From plain and desert, isles and regions call'd,
Wherever son of Abram was, they throng
For worship, and their Paschal Feast enjoy.
And there, in some unnoticed chamber lurk
The panic-struck apostles! When the gloom
Of earthquake on the hill of Calvary hung,
That God was coming from the Cross to take
Messiah, or, that Christ Himself would free
And shake the universe to show the God,—
Ambition blindly dreamt. As Lord of Worlds
Him they conceived too wonderful to die!
A veil was on them; though the truthful Lord
His future resurrection oft declared,
'Twas unremember'd, while the sudden pangs
Of terror crucified the faith of all.
How faintly on the breeze they roll, and die
In soft confusion! Turn thy gaze, and see,
Encircled with a huge Titanian wall,
Where tower and turret, and Herodian piles,
And battlements of dusky gloom uprear
Their vastness, there the Holy City stands!
Augustly beautiful, in moonlight bathed,
Jehovah's palace awes the midnight-air
Around it; while her mountain-bulwarks veil'd
508
Like guardians planted by almighty hands,
To watch the city, where a million breathe.
From plain and desert, isles and regions call'd,
Wherever son of Abram was, they throng
For worship, and their Paschal Feast enjoy.
And there, in some unnoticed chamber lurk
The panic-struck apostles! When the gloom
Of earthquake on the hill of Calvary hung,
That God was coming from the Cross to take
Messiah, or, that Christ Himself would free
And shake the universe to show the God,—
Ambition blindly dreamt. As Lord of Worlds
Him they conceived too wonderful to die!
A veil was on them; though the truthful Lord
His future resurrection oft declared,
'Twas unremember'd, while the sudden pangs
Of terror crucified the faith of all.
But north of Zion, on a mountain-slope
That garden where the tomb of Jesus lies
Behold! impressively by vestal beams
Of moonlight touch'd, his rocky grave appears;
Before it, with a frequent play, the flash
Of steely armour, as the Roman watch
Changes and moves in circular array,
Is seen; yet, save the night's uncertain sound,
The fitful motion of a rambling breeze
That stirs the olive, or the towering palm,
And timid murmur of a garden-brook,
The scene is voiceless; while on high enthroned
Yon firmamental Orbs are fixed and bright,
As though in wonder, that their glory falls
On the dread tomb where buried Godhead lies!
That garden where the tomb of Jesus lies
Behold! impressively by vestal beams
Of moonlight touch'd, his rocky grave appears;
Before it, with a frequent play, the flash
Of steely armour, as the Roman watch
Changes and moves in circular array,
Is seen; yet, save the night's uncertain sound,
The fitful motion of a rambling breeze
That stirs the olive, or the towering palm,
And timid murmur of a garden-brook,
The scene is voiceless; while on high enthroned
Yon firmamental Orbs are fixed and bright,
As though in wonder, that their glory falls
On the dread tomb where buried Godhead lies!
Still Calvary sleeps; and nothing harsh or wild
The holy slumber of the Night arrests.
The sentries in their panoply are ranged;
Some on the gleaming worlds of air a glance
Upturn, and with inaudible delight
Adore their beauty; some on fairy wings
Of fondness to the haunt of childhood flee
Among the hills of unforgotten Rome;
Or vaguely round yon high-wall'd city view
The shadowy watch-towers on the vineyards raised,
Or mountain dim, or Maccabean pile;
While others, haply, to the tomb devote
A gaze of sorrow, for that righteous Form
They helped to rivet on the Cursed Tree!
The holy slumber of the Night arrests.
The sentries in their panoply are ranged;
Some on the gleaming worlds of air a glance
Upturn, and with inaudible delight
Adore their beauty; some on fairy wings
Of fondness to the haunt of childhood flee
Among the hills of unforgotten Rome;
Or vaguely round yon high-wall'd city view
The shadowy watch-towers on the vineyards raised,
Or mountain dim, or Maccabean pile;
While others, haply, to the tomb devote
A gaze of sorrow, for that righteous Form
They helped to rivet on the Cursed Tree!
But in that syncope, that solemn trance,
When darkness as a fading thought decays
Amid the glimmer of increasing dawn,
Like God in thunder, hark! an earthquake-throb
While the rock quivers as a shaken reed!
In rushing glory down the sky advanced
A giant Angel; from the tomb he roll'd
The barrier-stone, and on it sat, and blazed.
His face was lightning! and as dazzling snow
His vestment glitter'd: with a clang of arms
Prone on the earth affrighted soldiers fell!
And as Eliphaz, when the vision spake,
Upon the Formless turn'd a fearful gaze,
They look'd—were blasted—like the dead they lay!
And then Emmanuel from the grave arose
Invisible; all paramount and pure
The Resurrection and the Life He stood,
Lord of the tomb, victorious and sublime!
Oh, then Captivity was captive led;
Satan unthroned; His domination spoil'd;
Hell-gates were sunder'd, and from earthy sleep
The dead awaking, as they lived and moved
Felt on their brows a beam immortal play!
When darkness as a fading thought decays
Amid the glimmer of increasing dawn,
Like God in thunder, hark! an earthquake-throb
While the rock quivers as a shaken reed!
In rushing glory down the sky advanced
A giant Angel; from the tomb he roll'd
The barrier-stone, and on it sat, and blazed.
His face was lightning! and as dazzling snow
His vestment glitter'd: with a clang of arms
Prone on the earth affrighted soldiers fell!
And as Eliphaz, when the vision spake,
Upon the Formless turn'd a fearful gaze,
They look'd—were blasted—like the dead they lay!
And then Emmanuel from the grave arose
Invisible; all paramount and pure
The Resurrection and the Life He stood,
Lord of the tomb, victorious and sublime!
Oh, then Captivity was captive led;
Satan unthroned; His domination spoil'd;
Hell-gates were sunder'd, and from earthy sleep
The dead awaking, as they lived and moved
Felt on their brows a beam immortal play!
But He who moved invisible to man,
To guardian woman did Himself reveal.
As weeping Mary by the tomb remain'd
And bow'd within its rocky depth to gaze,
Two angel-watchers, robed in dazzling white,
Were seated, where the vanish'd body lay:
“Why weepest thou?” with gentlest tone they cried:
“Because I know not where my stolen Lord
Be taken;” back she turn'd her eye of tears,
And there stood Jesus! but to her unknown.
“Why weepest thou?” again was mildly heard;
Then Mary, with mistaking love, replied,
“If thou hast borne Him from this garden-tomb,
Oh! tell me where; these hands will take Him thence.”
But Jesus, vocal with His wonted voice,
Responded, “Mary!” and the mourner fell
Down at His feet! Rabboni she adored!
Let one at midnight, when the cradling sea
Hath rock'd his slumber, and a dream of Home
In murmuring faintness to the soul renews
Parental language, till his ocean-sleep
Is harrow'd by that heart-entrancing sound,
Her feeling image! such may faintly tell
When Mary worshipp'd how her spirit thrill'd!
To guardian woman did Himself reveal.
As weeping Mary by the tomb remain'd
And bow'd within its rocky depth to gaze,
Two angel-watchers, robed in dazzling white,
Were seated, where the vanish'd body lay:
“Why weepest thou?” with gentlest tone they cried:
“Because I know not where my stolen Lord
Be taken;” back she turn'd her eye of tears,
And there stood Jesus! but to her unknown.
“Why weepest thou?” again was mildly heard;
Then Mary, with mistaking love, replied,
“If thou hast borne Him from this garden-tomb,
Oh! tell me where; these hands will take Him thence.”
But Jesus, vocal with His wonted voice,
Responded, “Mary!” and the mourner fell
Down at His feet! Rabboni she adored!
Let one at midnight, when the cradling sea
Hath rock'd his slumber, and a dream of Home
In murmuring faintness to the soul renews
Parental language, till his ocean-sleep
Is harrow'd by that heart-entrancing sound,
Her feeling image! such may faintly tell
When Mary worshipp'd how her spirit thrill'd!
'Twas on the evening of this hallow'd day
That two disciples, down a western vale
To where Emmaus in the sunset show'd
Her whitening cots, with pensive step approach'd.
O dying hour of beautiful delight!
The painter's worship and the poet's song,
How few embrace thee with a purer thought
Than one, whose dreaming Boyhood loved to form
Romantic visions of the unreveal'd
From thine own hues; when like those fairy clouds
Which float and perish, yearning Fancy shaped
Bright unrealities long roll'd away!
Divinest evening! when thy Syrian glow
On verdurous olive, sycamore, and palm
Descended, not unfelt thy magic woo'd
These holy pilgrims. Homeward flocks and herds
Were wending; while around them richly-soft
The lingering decadence of light began.
But more than Nature on their brows has hung
A solemn meaning! of the Day they talk,
Of Death, and Resurrection; such their theme,
When, silent as the shadow of their forms,
Another came! and mingled word with word,
In deep communion. Then of Christ He spake;
From prophecy to prophecy unroll'd
Each revelation, till the shade of doubt
Fell from their spirit like a film removed
From Blindness, letting in the light of heaven.
But when, abiding to partake their meal,
He sat before them, and the Blessing gave,
That Eye, so eloquent with awe devout,
That voice heaven-toned, that superhuman Mien
Declared Messiah! Now at once He gazed
Upon them, featured like that living Christ
So often follow'd, worshipp'd,—and forsook!
Within them how each wondering heart had burn'd
To hear Him as an Oracle reveal
The Word of Life, God's Everlasting Will!
But like a vision of the soul He fled.
Then back they speeded, to th' Eleven rehearsed
Their tale of wonder: when again behold!
Th' Incarnate Saviour! “Peace be with you! hail!”
Becalming thus with salutation mild
Th' appall'd Assembly, on them all He breathed
His Holy Spirit, and to each bestow'd
O'er sin a power, to pardon or retain.
But Thomas doubted, till his hand could touch
The living Jesus! lo! again He came
Inaudibly, within a chamber barr'd;
So like a Spirit of the shapeless air
He enter'd, that o'erawed disciples quaked!
“Thy finger hither reach, These hands behold,
And thrust thine own within My wounded side,
Not faithless, but believing!” Thus He spoke
To him who answer'd “Saviour, Lord, and God!”
That two disciples, down a western vale
To where Emmaus in the sunset show'd
Her whitening cots, with pensive step approach'd.
O dying hour of beautiful delight!
The painter's worship and the poet's song,
How few embrace thee with a purer thought
509
Romantic visions of the unreveal'd
From thine own hues; when like those fairy clouds
Which float and perish, yearning Fancy shaped
Bright unrealities long roll'd away!
Divinest evening! when thy Syrian glow
On verdurous olive, sycamore, and palm
Descended, not unfelt thy magic woo'd
These holy pilgrims. Homeward flocks and herds
Were wending; while around them richly-soft
The lingering decadence of light began.
But more than Nature on their brows has hung
A solemn meaning! of the Day they talk,
Of Death, and Resurrection; such their theme,
When, silent as the shadow of their forms,
Another came! and mingled word with word,
In deep communion. Then of Christ He spake;
From prophecy to prophecy unroll'd
Each revelation, till the shade of doubt
Fell from their spirit like a film removed
From Blindness, letting in the light of heaven.
But when, abiding to partake their meal,
He sat before them, and the Blessing gave,
That Eye, so eloquent with awe devout,
That voice heaven-toned, that superhuman Mien
Declared Messiah! Now at once He gazed
Upon them, featured like that living Christ
So often follow'd, worshipp'd,—and forsook!
Within them how each wondering heart had burn'd
To hear Him as an Oracle reveal
The Word of Life, God's Everlasting Will!
But like a vision of the soul He fled.
Then back they speeded, to th' Eleven rehearsed
Their tale of wonder: when again behold!
Th' Incarnate Saviour! “Peace be with you! hail!”
Becalming thus with salutation mild
Th' appall'd Assembly, on them all He breathed
His Holy Spirit, and to each bestow'd
O'er sin a power, to pardon or retain.
But Thomas doubted, till his hand could touch
The living Jesus! lo! again He came
Inaudibly, within a chamber barr'd;
So like a Spirit of the shapeless air
He enter'd, that o'erawed disciples quaked!
“Thy finger hither reach, These hands behold,
And thrust thine own within My wounded side,
Not faithless, but believing!” Thus He spoke
To him who answer'd “Saviour, Lord, and God!”
Once more upon the lake Messiah view,
Whose azure waters at His word o'erfill'd
With countless fish the Galilean bark,
Which night had baffled; then was Peter ask'd
That threefold question, threefold wisdom fill'd
With memory of his denial thrice!
And yet, so toned with tenderness divine,
The soul of Peter in his fond reply,
“Thou knowest I love thee!” spake with answering tears.
Whose azure waters at His word o'erfill'd
With countless fish the Galilean bark,
Which night had baffled; then was Peter ask'd
That threefold question, threefold wisdom fill'd
With memory of his denial thrice!
And yet, so toned with tenderness divine,
The soul of Peter in his fond reply,
“Thou knowest I love thee!” spake with answering tears.
And now, the Counsel of eternal Love,
Mysterious, vast, omniscient as profound,
Wrapt in the folds of Heaven's decretive Will
Before the universe was shaped or born,
Concludeth! Man's Redemption is complete,
And sanction'd; all the archetypal Plan
Of Deity, for reconciling grace
With justice, by the mediating Blood
Of covenant, in Christ has been fulfill'd.
The Woman's Seed hath bruised the Serpent's Head;
For Man hath lived, for Man hath bled, and died,
Soar'd from the grave, and His true Person shown
Not in the midnight, when the spirit shapes
An earthless phantom; but by living day
Was risen Jesus handled, seen and heard.
Mysterious, vast, omniscient as profound,
Wrapt in the folds of Heaven's decretive Will
Before the universe was shaped or born,
Concludeth! Man's Redemption is complete,
And sanction'd; all the archetypal Plan
Of Deity, for reconciling grace
With justice, by the mediating Blood
Of covenant, in Christ has been fulfill'd.
The Woman's Seed hath bruised the Serpent's Head;
For Man hath lived, for Man hath bled, and died,
Soar'd from the grave, and His true Person shown
Not in the midnight, when the spirit shapes
An earthless phantom; but by living day
Was risen Jesus handled, seen and heard.
But, ere ascending to His seat on high,
Again the apostolic Band He taught
The true Salvation, in its glorious light.
From age to age prophetically sung,
By type and shadow heralded or seen,
Begotten Son of Co-Eternal Sire,
His goings forth from Everlasting were!
Before the works of Old, ere earth began,
When God His compass on the waters set
And gave the sea commandment,—He was there!
The Star; the Prophet, like to Moses raised;
The Priest for ever, on the Right Hand placed
Of glory, while the sun and moon endure,—
Dominion o'er all nations, kings, and isles,
To Him was given, whom the Gentiles sought;
Born of a Virgin; perfect God and Man;
Desire of nations; He whom Daniel saw,
Ancient of Days; by king and kingdoms served;
The Heritor of Heathens and the Throne
Of David: higher than the Heaven of Heavens,
Expressive Semblance of the bright Unseen!
And Morning-Star of Immortality;
The Light of Light, unspotted Lamb of God,
For sin an Offering, and for sinners slain,
But now arisen from the tomb to soar
Eternal Saviour of forgiven man!—
Thus in the beams of revelation shone
The great Messiah: thus the cloudy veil
Of error from their souls He took, and cried,
“Go forth! repentance and remission teach,
Baptising Nations in the Name triune
Of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Behold
All living Unction from the Spirit's grace
From Me shall clothe you, as the promise spake;
Within the City tarry till they come,
Lo! I am with you to the ended world.”
Again the apostolic Band He taught
The true Salvation, in its glorious light.
From age to age prophetically sung,
By type and shadow heralded or seen,
Begotten Son of Co-Eternal Sire,
His goings forth from Everlasting were!
Before the works of Old, ere earth began,
When God His compass on the waters set
And gave the sea commandment,—He was there!
The Star; the Prophet, like to Moses raised;
The Priest for ever, on the Right Hand placed
Of glory, while the sun and moon endure,—
Dominion o'er all nations, kings, and isles,
To Him was given, whom the Gentiles sought;
Born of a Virgin; perfect God and Man;
Desire of nations; He whom Daniel saw,
Ancient of Days; by king and kingdoms served;
The Heritor of Heathens and the Throne
Of David: higher than the Heaven of Heavens,
Expressive Semblance of the bright Unseen!
And Morning-Star of Immortality;
The Light of Light, unspotted Lamb of God,
For sin an Offering, and for sinners slain,
510
Eternal Saviour of forgiven man!—
Thus in the beams of revelation shone
The great Messiah: thus the cloudy veil
Of error from their souls He took, and cried,
“Go forth! repentance and remission teach,
Baptising Nations in the Name triune
Of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Behold
All living Unction from the Spirit's grace
From Me shall clothe you, as the promise spake;
Within the City tarry till they come,
Lo! I am with you to the ended world.”
My soul is shaken with a mighty Dream!
Dominion, Majesty, and Truth proceed
In blended union from the deeps of Heaven.
I hear the gates of second Eden ope,
And balm and freshness on the blighted world
Come flowing forth with universal love
And Earth regenerate with redemption's smile.
And hark! the echoes of a choral strain
Above; a new and Everlasting Song
Is chanted, for the seven-seal'd Book unroll'd
The Lamb hath open'd; and symphonious hymns
Of thousand times ten thousand Saints ascend
The Throne around: “Hosannah to the Lamb!”
For He is worthy! shout, ye Angels! shout
Till Earth re-echoes that unwearied strain!
Let sun, let moon, and each melodious star,
The winds, the rivers, mountains, floods, and hills,
The diapason deepen, and the loud
Eternal hallelujah of the Sea
Wake into sound; while regions, zones, and isles,
The glory of our great Redeemer sing!
And thus with angels and archangels laud
The Lamb Almighty, in the skies adored!
Dominion, Majesty, and Truth proceed
In blended union from the deeps of Heaven.
I hear the gates of second Eden ope,
And balm and freshness on the blighted world
Come flowing forth with universal love
And Earth regenerate with redemption's smile.
And hark! the echoes of a choral strain
Above; a new and Everlasting Song
Is chanted, for the seven-seal'd Book unroll'd
The Lamb hath open'd; and symphonious hymns
Of thousand times ten thousand Saints ascend
The Throne around: “Hosannah to the Lamb!”
For He is worthy! shout, ye Angels! shout
Till Earth re-echoes that unwearied strain!
Let sun, let moon, and each melodious star,
The winds, the rivers, mountains, floods, and hills,
The diapason deepen, and the loud
Eternal hallelujah of the Sea
Wake into sound; while regions, zones, and isles,
The glory of our great Redeemer sing!
And thus with angels and archangels laud
The Lamb Almighty, in the skies adored!
But, lo! upon Mount Olivet appears
With hands uplifted in their last farewell,
The parting Saviour; on His God-like brow
The radiance of eternity begins:
Disciples kneeling for His blessing ask,
And, hark! 'tis given; on their souls He breathes
The breath of sanctity, of love sublime
And endless: then His mighty hand is lift,
But while it blesseth the beloved of earth,
The Air is waiting to upwaft its Lord.
And see, He riseth! solemnly and slow,
Array'd in brightness, such as God invests,
In soaring grandeur from the baffled gaze
Of His adorers, through the pathless air
In the full lustre of unclouded day
He riseth! leaving, like th' Atlantic sun
On ocean when he dies a gorgeous death,
A beaming track magnificently bright
Behind Him; till a radiant star He seems,
And then, is trackless., in celestial depths
Evanish'd, soaring back to God again!
With hands uplifted in their last farewell,
The parting Saviour; on His God-like brow
The radiance of eternity begins:
Disciples kneeling for His blessing ask,
And, hark! 'tis given; on their souls He breathes
The breath of sanctity, of love sublime
And endless: then His mighty hand is lift,
But while it blesseth the beloved of earth,
The Air is waiting to upwaft its Lord.
And see, He riseth! solemnly and slow,
Array'd in brightness, such as God invests,
In soaring grandeur from the baffled gaze
Of His adorers, through the pathless air
In the full lustre of unclouded day
He riseth! leaving, like th' Atlantic sun
On ocean when he dies a gorgeous death,
A beaming track magnificently bright
Behind Him; till a radiant star He seems,
And then, is trackless., in celestial depths
Evanish'd, soaring back to God again!
But, oh, if Angels at His birth did sing,
What pæans now through heaven's wide concave roll!
Who welcome there the sempiternal Lord,
The Son incarnate, into glory come,
O'er Sin and Death victorious, with a World
Recover'd, ransom'd, and for ever saved,
To speak his triumph in the state of Man.
The skies are kindled! from the opal walls
And battlements of uncreated Light,
Lo! seraphim and cherubim appear,
With angel and archangel,—rank on rank
In wing'd array of infinite extent
And brightness, to conduct the Lord of heaven.
Now lift your heads, ye Everlasting Doors,
Receive the King of Glory! Hark! the choir
With jubilant Hosannas shout and sing,
“For ever and for ever is Thy Throne,
Thou Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Hosts!
By Thee of old the heaven and earth were framed,
Were founded: but they all shall fade and die
And as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up,
And they shall perish! still art Thou the same
Unchanging, Holy, Holy, Lord of Hosts!
Thy Throne eternal in the heavens resume
Almighty Saviour, and triumphant King!”
What pæans now through heaven's wide concave roll!
Who welcome there the sempiternal Lord,
The Son incarnate, into glory come,
O'er Sin and Death victorious, with a World
Recover'd, ransom'd, and for ever saved,
To speak his triumph in the state of Man.
The skies are kindled! from the opal walls
And battlements of uncreated Light,
Lo! seraphim and cherubim appear,
With angel and archangel,—rank on rank
In wing'd array of infinite extent
And brightness, to conduct the Lord of heaven.
Now lift your heads, ye Everlasting Doors,
Receive the King of Glory! Hark! the choir
With jubilant Hosannas shout and sing,
“For ever and for ever is Thy Throne,
Thou Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Hosts!
By Thee of old the heaven and earth were framed,
Were founded: but they all shall fade and die
And as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up,
And they shall perish! still art Thou the same
Unchanging, Holy, Holy, Lord of Hosts!
Thy Throne eternal in the heavens resume
Almighty Saviour, and triumphant King!”
My theme is o'er, the great Messiah sung;
And this attempt, whose vast persuasion fill'd
My being with o'erawed delight, concludes.
How often, in some pause of holy fear
Hath Fancy folded her adventurous wing,
And my soul bow'd with this unutter'd thought,
That He, whose mediatorial love I sang,
Beheld me, fathoming my spirit's depth!
And now, as girt with glory, in the Heaven
Of Heavens the Son of Man His Throne resumes,
A dread comes round me, like a shadow cast
From waning tempest o'er a trancèd sea.
And this attempt, whose vast persuasion fill'd
My being with o'erawed delight, concludes.
How often, in some pause of holy fear
Hath Fancy folded her adventurous wing,
And my soul bow'd with this unutter'd thought,
That He, whose mediatorial love I sang,
Beheld me, fathoming my spirit's depth!
And now, as girt with glory, in the Heaven
Of Heavens the Son of Man His Throne resumes,
A dread comes round me, like a shadow cast
From waning tempest o'er a trancèd sea.
Thou Land sublime, of miracles and men,
Where Poetry from God on earth came down
In warbled echoes of celestial song!
Where Hebron, Tabor, and Mount Carmel, lift
Their speaking vastness in the sultry air
Divinely-haunted; where the Jordan rolls,
Where rock, and cavern, grotto, cell and cave
Are mighty; where the curse of Heaven has graved
Terrific warning on thy blasted trees
And haggard vales, all fountainless and dry,
The stately vision of thy mingled Scene
Departeth! He whose spirit oft has heard
The thunder-music of thy tempest roll,
Beheld thy sun-blaze, seen thine eagles mount
And dream-led roved beside that mournful Lake
Where man's Redeemer in His days of earth
Hath wander'd,—bids thee now a long farewell!
Where Poetry from God on earth came down
In warbled echoes of celestial song!
Where Hebron, Tabor, and Mount Carmel, lift
Their speaking vastness in the sultry air
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Where rock, and cavern, grotto, cell and cave
Are mighty; where the curse of Heaven has graved
Terrific warning on thy blasted trees
And haggard vales, all fountainless and dry,
The stately vision of thy mingled Scene
Departeth! He whose spirit oft has heard
The thunder-music of thy tempest roll,
Beheld thy sun-blaze, seen thine eagles mount
And dream-led roved beside that mournful Lake
Where man's Redeemer in His days of earth
Hath wander'd,—bids thee now a long farewell!
Autumnal morning round my chamber threw
The gleaming wanness of its gentle smile,
When tremblingly, as though omniscient Eyes
Look'd on my soul, I struck the sacred Lyre
And bade it warble this surpassing Theme.
But ever, as the waves of moving life
From England's capital, with heave and swell
Came surging from afar, my soul partook
A deep communion with the fate of Man
Amid a sea of wide Existence toss'd,
Whose billows only the Redeemer trod
Secure; but left along the stormy wild
A track of glory for terrestrial feet
To follow, guided by the star of Heaven.
The gleaming wanness of its gentle smile,
When tremblingly, as though omniscient Eyes
Look'd on my soul, I struck the sacred Lyre
And bade it warble this surpassing Theme.
But ever, as the waves of moving life
From England's capital, with heave and swell
Came surging from afar, my soul partook
A deep communion with the fate of Man
Amid a sea of wide Existence toss'd,
Whose billows only the Redeemer trod
Secure; but left along the stormy wild
A track of glory for terrestrial feet
To follow, guided by the star of Heaven.
But now, the Spirit of mysterious Night
Comes forth, and, like a ruin'd Angel, seems
All dimly-glorious, and divinely-sad:
And Earth, forgetful of her primal fall,
Lies in the beauty of reflected heaven.
Oh! night creates the paradise of thought,
Enchanting back whatever Time has wrong'd
Or exiled, touch'd with that celestial hue
Which faith and fancy on the Dead bestow.
Emotions which the tyrant Day destroys
Can now awaken, like reviving flowers;
And e'en the darkness of unheavenly souls
Must feel illumined, as the Eye receives
From all its views, a loveliness which comes
To light the dimness of the spirit's depth.
As when at morning, oft a sunrise pours
A stream of splendour through the window-panes
Of Temple vast, to cheer its barren aisles,
And on the gloom of monumental Sleep
To glisten, like a resurrection-morn.
Comes forth, and, like a ruin'd Angel, seems
All dimly-glorious, and divinely-sad:
And Earth, forgetful of her primal fall,
Lies in the beauty of reflected heaven.
Oh! night creates the paradise of thought,
Enchanting back whatever Time has wrong'd
Or exiled, touch'd with that celestial hue
Which faith and fancy on the Dead bestow.
Emotions which the tyrant Day destroys
Can now awaken, like reviving flowers;
And e'en the darkness of unheavenly souls
Must feel illumined, as the Eye receives
From all its views, a loveliness which comes
To light the dimness of the spirit's depth.
As when at morning, oft a sunrise pours
A stream of splendour through the window-panes
Of Temple vast, to cheer its barren aisles,
And on the gloom of monumental Sleep
To glisten, like a resurrection-morn.
Thus, life is charter'd for a nobler fate
Than glory, by the breath of man bestow'd:
A living world a living God reflects,
Morn, noon, and night, with everlasting change!
And who can hide the universe; o'erawe
The Elements; the sun unseat; or mar
That mighty Poem which the heavens and earth
Exhibit, written by Eternal Hands?
A sense of beauty, which is so divine,
Haunts human nature with undying spell;
And while the wonders of creation teem,
To love and worship their majestic power,
Can lift the spirit into purer light
Than ever canopied the throne of Fame.
Than glory, by the breath of man bestow'd:
A living world a living God reflects,
Morn, noon, and night, with everlasting change!
And who can hide the universe; o'erawe
The Elements; the sun unseat; or mar
That mighty Poem which the heavens and earth
Exhibit, written by Eternal Hands?
A sense of beauty, which is so divine,
Haunts human nature with undying spell;
And while the wonders of creation teem,
To love and worship their majestic power,
Can lift the spirit into purer light
Than ever canopied the throne of Fame.
And cold the heart, whose aspirations wing'd
Their flight from thee, my own inviolate Land!
Whom night and beauty have apparell'd now.
Thy heavens are stainless, as the molten blue
Of ocean, in the noontide's dazzling sleep;
Thy starry multitudes their thrones have set;
And the young Moon gazeth on yon quiet sea
Tranced like a mother, with her doating eye
Intently fix'd upon a cradled child.
While, round, and full, and ravishingly bright,
A planet here and there the sky adorns.
A path of lustre has o'erlaid the Deep,
Which heaves and glitters, like a wizard shore
For sea-enchanters, when they rise and walk
The waves in glory: voice nor foot profanes
This dreaming silence; but the mellow lisp
Of dying waters on the beach dissolved,
Makes ocean-language for the heart and hour.
Their flight from thee, my own inviolate Land!
Whom night and beauty have apparell'd now.
Thy heavens are stainless, as the molten blue
Of ocean, in the noontide's dazzling sleep;
Thy starry multitudes their thrones have set;
And the young Moon gazeth on yon quiet sea
Tranced like a mother, with her doating eye
Intently fix'd upon a cradled child.
While, round, and full, and ravishingly bright,
A planet here and there the sky adorns.
A path of lustre has o'erlaid the Deep,
Which heaves and glitters, like a wizard shore
For sea-enchanters, when they rise and walk
The waves in glory: voice nor foot profanes
This dreaming silence; but the mellow lisp
Of dying waters on the beach dissolved,
Makes ocean-language for the heart and hour.
Now thought is heaven-like; and our earthly frame
Of Purity beyond the day to bring,
Is conscious. From the uncreated Fount
Of Glory, may not emanations steal,
By night absorbed, and mystically felt?
Or creatures, such as once the mental eye
Of seraph-haunted Milton saw descend
Like sunbeams darted from a riven cloud
On Eden's mount, with viewless wing career
Around us, charming with a gaze unseen
Whate'er the beauty of their glances touch?
Of Purity beyond the day to bring,
Is conscious. From the uncreated Fount
Of Glory, may not emanations steal,
By night absorbed, and mystically felt?
Or creatures, such as once the mental eye
Of seraph-haunted Milton saw descend
Like sunbeams darted from a riven cloud
On Eden's mount, with viewless wing career
Around us, charming with a gaze unseen
Whate'er the beauty of their glances touch?
But oh! dark Spirit, whose unquiet shade
Our fancy visions in reflected gloom,
Again thou comest! and thy frown declares
What penal agonies, what groans and pangs,
In this calm hour a bleeding World contains!
E'en now, the curtains of Futurity
Are shaken, by the blasts of coming doom!
For Self has overshadow'd Love divine
With dread oblivion; till our daring thoughts
To helm the Universe, and guide the wheels
Of human Fate, have awfully presumed!
Our fancy visions in reflected gloom,
Again thou comest! and thy frown declares
What penal agonies, what groans and pangs,
In this calm hour a bleeding World contains!
E'en now, the curtains of Futurity
Are shaken, by the blasts of coming doom!
For Self has overshadow'd Love divine
With dread oblivion; till our daring thoughts
To helm the Universe, and guide the wheels
Of human Fate, have awfully presumed!
A Mind which glories in the world of Man
And graves, immortal! on the meanest brow,
Oh! how it loves the universe, and longs
To see the spirits whom Redemption won
Annihilate the hopes of Hell! Shall souls,
So highly destined, that a swell of joy
Heaves o'er the harp of Heaven's resounding choir
When Sin repents, be perfected and lost?
No! let us, as the prince of morning quells
A cloudy tempest with imperial rays,
So learn to vanquish with celestial light
Our Sin and Darkness, till, as demons shrunk
To shapeless nothing at Messiah's look,
Our Vices wither from our Virtues' gaze.
And graves, immortal! on the meanest brow,
Oh! how it loves the universe, and longs
To see the spirits whom Redemption won
Annihilate the hopes of Hell! Shall souls,
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Heaves o'er the harp of Heaven's resounding choir
When Sin repents, be perfected and lost?
No! let us, as the prince of morning quells
A cloudy tempest with imperial rays,
So learn to vanquish with celestial light
Our Sin and Darkness, till, as demons shrunk
To shapeless nothing at Messiah's look,
Our Vices wither from our Virtues' gaze.
Amid deep Energies which now unfold
Like harmonies from some awaking lyre,
Wilt Thou, divinest of all Arts divine!
Last in the train of renovating Truths
Advance, poetical Enchantress? Muse,
Who art the Angel of the soul, whose voice
The primal loveliness of vanish'd Things
Renews; or haply, thou in pure perfection art
A Priestess, who behind the veil of sense
Conducts the Spirit to the holy shrine
Where Beauty, Love, and Everlasting Light
Are shrouded; or, a Prophetess, whose lip
Their power interprets with a vocal spell.
Like harmonies from some awaking lyre,
Wilt Thou, divinest of all Arts divine!
Last in the train of renovating Truths
Advance, poetical Enchantress? Muse,
Who art the Angel of the soul, whose voice
The primal loveliness of vanish'd Things
Renews; or haply, thou in pure perfection art
A Priestess, who behind the veil of sense
Conducts the Spirit to the holy shrine
Where Beauty, Love, and Everlasting Light
Are shrouded; or, a Prophetess, whose lip
Their power interprets with a vocal spell.
Thou beautiful Magician! be thy name
Whate'er Thou wilt: Creatress of delight
Expression paints not! though the World affright
Thy radiant visit, still art Thou revered;
And the soft wave of Thy descending wings
Is token'd by the pulse's quivering joy.
Beneath the play of thy melodious smiles
Our spirit quickens into thrills of heaven,
And Feeling worships at thy faintest sound!
All hours are thine; all climes and seasons drink
Thine effluence bright, and immaterial power.
Thou with the Universe twin-born didst rise!
And Thou alone, when tempted Nature fell,
Unfallen wert: and thus Thy glorious aim
Like true religion's, is to lead us back
From recreant darkness to primeval bliss.
Whate'er Thou wilt: Creatress of delight
Expression paints not! though the World affright
Thy radiant visit, still art Thou revered;
And the soft wave of Thy descending wings
Is token'd by the pulse's quivering joy.
Beneath the play of thy melodious smiles
Our spirit quickens into thrills of heaven,
And Feeling worships at thy faintest sound!
All hours are thine; all climes and seasons drink
Thine effluence bright, and immaterial power.
Thou with the Universe twin-born didst rise!
And Thou alone, when tempted Nature fell,
Unfallen wert: and thus Thy glorious aim
Like true religion's, is to lead us back
From recreant darkness to primeval bliss.
All moods are Thine; all maladies of thought
By thee are visited with healing sway.
In those dread moments, when a hideous veil
Of darkness, woven by some demon-hand,
Lies on the world; when Love itself is cold
Or earthly; and the tone Affection breathes
Falls fruitless on the mind, as ocean-spray
Which dies unheeded on the savage rock;
When Nature is untuned, and all things wear
The coarse reality Derision loves,
E'en then, how often thine assuasive balm
Spirit of beauty! intellectual queen!
Descendeth, melting over heart and brain
Like dew upon the desert, till the soul
Revives, and this bad World seems exorcised!
And Thou canst hallow with ennobling power
High impulses, of superhuman sway,
Which come like shades of pre-existent Life
Athwart the mind, when dream-eyed Fancy rules.
For is not Man mysteriously begirt
By something dread, imagination feels,
Yet fathoms not? Dare human Creed deny
That mortal feeling, in its finest mood,
May be some thrill of sympathetic chords
Which link our nature to a world unknown!
By thee are visited with healing sway.
In those dread moments, when a hideous veil
Of darkness, woven by some demon-hand,
Lies on the world; when Love itself is cold
Or earthly; and the tone Affection breathes
Falls fruitless on the mind, as ocean-spray
Which dies unheeded on the savage rock;
When Nature is untuned, and all things wear
The coarse reality Derision loves,
E'en then, how often thine assuasive balm
Spirit of beauty! intellectual queen!
Descendeth, melting over heart and brain
Like dew upon the desert, till the soul
Revives, and this bad World seems exorcised!
And Thou canst hallow with ennobling power
High impulses, of superhuman sway,
Which come like shades of pre-existent Life
Athwart the mind, when dream-eyed Fancy rules.
For is not Man mysteriously begirt
By something dread, imagination feels,
Yet fathoms not? Dare human Creed deny
That mortal feeling, in its finest mood,
May be some thrill of sympathetic chords
Which link our nature to a world unknown!
And since the spirit with the flesh doth war,
And Life is oft an agonising thirst
Which nothing visible can tame, or cool,
That Beauty, which the hues of thought create,
By thee enchanted, slakes the mental fire
That parches us within: and yearning dreams
And hopes which breathe of immortality
Thy power ennobles with mysterious aid.
Then, long as Earth is round us, and the wings
Of Fancy by the light of faith ascend,
May Poetry her sibyl-language weave,
Enlighten, charm, and elevate the world.
And Life is oft an agonising thirst
Which nothing visible can tame, or cool,
That Beauty, which the hues of thought create,
By thee enchanted, slakes the mental fire
That parches us within: and yearning dreams
And hopes which breathe of immortality
Thy power ennobles with mysterious aid.
Then, long as Earth is round us, and the wings
Of Fancy by the light of faith ascend,
May Poetry her sibyl-language weave,
Enlighten, charm, and elevate the world.
Creation's hope! our universal All!
From Thee alone believing spirits learn
That man is deathless, an immortal heir
Of Being yet to be. Stupendous thought!
Though frail as dew thy fleeting life departs,
The Soul is godlike! world on world may rise
And wither, quench'd in everlasting gloom;
And surging ages into silence roll
Like haughty billows which have heaved and died;
But still unfading, bright with awful bliss,
Or pale with agony, the Soul shall live
And like Jehovah, utter its “I am!”
From Thee alone believing spirits learn
That man is deathless, an immortal heir
Of Being yet to be. Stupendous thought!
Though frail as dew thy fleeting life departs,
The Soul is godlike! world on world may rise
And wither, quench'd in everlasting gloom;
And surging ages into silence roll
Like haughty billows which have heaved and died;
But still unfading, bright with awful bliss,
Or pale with agony, the Soul shall live
And like Jehovah, utter its “I am!”
We shall not sleep, but we shall all arise
For judgment;—with an instantaneous frame
Of being, Dust shall look on God, and live!
An hour is coming when the grave will hear
And answer to a tomb-awakening trump
Which thunders o'er the icy trance of Death:
The waning universe, the earth and heaven
Shall vanish in th' immeasurable Deep;
But Thine own promise shall not pass away.
And though that hour, for resurrection doom'd,
Be hidden, shrouded from angelic mind
A secret buried in Eternal Thought,—
As certain as the blood of Christ hath flow'd,
Messiah risen, and the heavens received
And throned His Presence, He shall come again!
For judgment;—with an instantaneous frame
Of being, Dust shall look on God, and live!
An hour is coming when the grave will hear
And answer to a tomb-awakening trump
Which thunders o'er the icy trance of Death:
The waning universe, the earth and heaven
Shall vanish in th' immeasurable Deep;
But Thine own promise shall not pass away.
And though that hour, for resurrection doom'd,
Be hidden, shrouded from angelic mind
A secret buried in Eternal Thought,—
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Messiah risen, and the heavens received
And throned His Presence, He shall come again!
And then, the funeral of Creation see!
Sun, moon, and star dissolve, and wane, and die;
The earth is riven; with appalling roar
The Sea departeth, as her dead ascend;
And wing'd Archangels on the winds unroll
Their summons; not an atom but is thrill'd
With life or feeling, at that dreadful sound!
And now look up! behold, He cometh! clouds
And splendours, with seraphic armies, throng
Before Him, cleaving the prophetic sky
With vanward glory, to announce The God.
And lo! the semblance of His far-off Throne
Advances; as embodied lustre bright
The Judge of Earth, the Son Almighty, comes!
And all who have been, since creation was,
Moveless and countless, on their features wear
A solemn radiance, from His Form Divine
Reflected; every eye is fix'd and still,
To Him upraised, whose eye discerneth all!
Sun, moon, and star dissolve, and wane, and die;
The earth is riven; with appalling roar
The Sea departeth, as her dead ascend;
And wing'd Archangels on the winds unroll
Their summons; not an atom but is thrill'd
With life or feeling, at that dreadful sound!
And now look up! behold, He cometh! clouds
And splendours, with seraphic armies, throng
Before Him, cleaving the prophetic sky
With vanward glory, to announce The God.
And lo! the semblance of His far-off Throne
Advances; as embodied lustre bright
The Judge of Earth, the Son Almighty, comes!
And all who have been, since creation was,
Moveless and countless, on their features wear
A solemn radiance, from His Form Divine
Reflected; every eye is fix'd and still,
To Him upraised, whose eye discerneth all!
Again the trumpet! and this dread array,
The multitudinous and living mass
At once is sever'd; right and left they stand
Divided, as of old the fated sea.
Was cloven when the wand of Moses waved;
And in each soul there is a judgment-throne
Erected, where eternal Conscience reigns.
The multitudinous and living mass
At once is sever'd; right and left they stand
Divided, as of old the fated sea.
Was cloven when the wand of Moses waved;
And in each soul there is a judgment-throne
Erected, where eternal Conscience reigns.
But listen!—far behind this breathing host
Of mortals, myriads of colossal Shapes,
Unearthly, wild, and dim with ghastly wo,
Rise in the glare!—the ruin'd Angels come
From darkness, and a clank of chain resounds
Appallingly, above the world distinct!
But One, who, vast above the vastest there
In towering majesty the sky confronts,
As though the fabric of the heavens would shrink
From the dark light of his unfathom'd gaze,
Behold him! how magnificently dread!
From the huge mountain into embers sunk
To the last billow of expiring sea,—
O'er all the terror of his ruin frowns,
Who battled with omnipotence in heaven
And will be fearless in the fires of hell!
Of mortals, myriads of colossal Shapes,
Unearthly, wild, and dim with ghastly wo,
Rise in the glare!—the ruin'd Angels come
From darkness, and a clank of chain resounds
Appallingly, above the world distinct!
But One, who, vast above the vastest there
In towering majesty the sky confronts,
As though the fabric of the heavens would shrink
From the dark light of his unfathom'd gaze,
Behold him! how magnificently dread!
From the huge mountain into embers sunk
To the last billow of expiring sea,—
O'er all the terror of his ruin frowns,
Who battled with omnipotence in heaven
And will be fearless in the fires of hell!
Another gaze! e'er Earth and Nature die;
The Spirit of eternity descends,
Seven thunders speak, to heaven his arm He lifts,
And utters, “Time and earth shall be no more:”
Creation withers at that dread command,
And like a shade, the Universe departs!
The Spirit of eternity descends,
Seven thunders speak, to heaven his arm He lifts,
And utters, “Time and earth shall be no more:”
Creation withers at that dread command,
And like a shade, the Universe departs!
Oh! in this agony of Nature's death
May he, who dared from erring fancy's gloom
To lift his spirit to the Light of Light,
And shadow forth some lineaments divine
Of God Incarnate, by redemption seen,
Unblasted look upon the Lord he sang:
And in yon world unutterably bright
Where thought is holy as the heaven it breathes,
By Angels taught, around The Throne renew
The song eternal hymning Time began.
May he, who dared from erring fancy's gloom
To lift his spirit to the Light of Light,
And shadow forth some lineaments divine
Of God Incarnate, by redemption seen,
Unblasted look upon the Lord he sang:
And in yon world unutterably bright
Where thought is holy as the heaven it breathes,
By Angels taught, around The Throne renew
The song eternal hymning Time began.
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |