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THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE CHUECH, 
 
 COMPOSED FOK THE USE OF 
 
 BIBLE- CLASSES, SCHOOLS, AND FAMILIES, 
 
 PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
 
 IN THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 JOHN HENRY HOPKINS, D.D., LL.D., 
 u 
 
 BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF VEEMOXT. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 W. I. P O O L E Y, PUBLIS HE R, 
 
 Harper <fc Brothers' Building. 
 
 1867. 
 

 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 18GC, 
 
 By JOHN HENRY UOBKIXS, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of 
 
 Kew York. 
 
 Stereotyped by C. J. Peters <fc Sox, 
 13, Washington Street, Boston. 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The youth of either sex, whose ardent mind 
 Its care on education would bestow, 
 Must in the page of History seek to find 
 The course of all things in our world below : 
 
 The rise of powerful nations, — how they sprung 
 From small beginnings to their destined height ; 
 The poets who their dawning glory sung ; 
 Their forms of government, and deeds of might ; 
 
 Their systems of philosophy ; their arts ; 
 Their men of learning, and their men of skill ; 
 Their sages, warriors, kings, who played their 
 
 parts 
 With lofty aim and energetic will. 
 
 3 
 
4 IXTR OB UCTION. 
 
 But, in this History, certain topics claim 
 Especial interest. All the nations known 
 Cherished some form in which religious flame, 
 With more or less of active influence, shone. 
 
 The demon-gods adored on Grecian plains, 
 Embalmed so well in Homer's magic lay, 
 Still live in history, though their idol fanes 
 Have, for so many ages, passed away. 
 
 The same false deities appear again 
 When ancient Rome's proud annals we review ; 
 And classic learning would be sought in vain, 
 Unless this knowledge be accepted too. 
 
 And shall the scholars of our Christian land, 
 In which the only true religion reigns, 
 Neglect to take its history in their hand, 
 Though that alone their future hope sustains? 
 
 Is it not shameful that those heathen lays 
 Should in the memory of youth be stored, 
 While Christian history attracts no praise, — 
 The false well studied, and the true ignored ? 
 
 Yet have I seen full many a learned man, 
 Whose pagan knowledge all superior shone, 
 Quite ignorant of the course the Gospel ran ; 
 Nor did he blush his ignorance to own. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 "With humble hope some little aid to bring 
 
 To remedy this evil of our time, 
 
 I give my reader here a novel thing, — 
 
 A History of the Church, composed in rhyme. 
 
 The form, I trust, its use will recommend, 
 Although it wears an unaccustomed dress : 
 The verse some small attractiveness may lend, 
 And help the memory better to impress. 
 
 To high poetic power I lay no claim, 
 Nor would my subject favor its display: 
 To write a useful book was all my aim ; 
 How far successful, 'tis not mine to say. 
 
 But I can promise that the leading facts, 
 From the beginning, shall with truth appear, 
 In just accordance with the words and acts 
 Of Him whose worship claims our love and fear, 
 
 The great Redeemer : Whose celestial might 
 Restrains the nations by its strong control ; 
 Whose doctrine leads us to the realm of lio'ht, 
 And gives true glory to the faithful soul. 
 
 His Church is heaven's own kingdom upon earth ; 
 No subject with its history can compare : 
 With the first man it had its gracious birth, 
 And the last man -must find his safety there! 
 
b INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The world's proud enrpires all shall fade away ; 
 The Church alone from ruin is secure ! 
 The world's best treasures in the grave decay ; 
 The Church shall to eternity endure ! 
 
 Then let the Church's history have its place — 
 An honored place — with every thinking man, 
 That so his mind may better learn to trace 
 The wondrous mercy of Redemption's plan. 
 
 'Tis true, my simple verse may often seem 
 Too weak its noble subject to sustain ; 
 But, to do justice to so high a theme, 
 An angel's talents might aspire in vain. 
 
 I ask indulgence for an old man's zeal, 
 Whose life is hastening to the closing hour, 
 Claiming no merit, though his heart may feel 
 The wish to do the little in his power. 
 
 That little at the Saviour's feet I lay ; 
 And may His grace the humble gift approve, 
 When He shall come, at the appointed day, 
 To rule His Church in heavenly light and love ! 
 
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 
 
 PART I. 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 You know, dear Reader, that the Word, 
 Revealed by our Almighty Lord 
 In Holy Scripture, gives us all 
 That we can truly knowledge call 
 Of things removed from mortal sight or sense 
 To go beyond it is a vain pretence. 
 
 In the beginning there, it shows 
 How all by God's commandment rose : 
 The fruitful plain, the mountains high, 
 The sun and moon, the starry sky, 
 The seas, the rivers, every plant and tree, 
 Birds, beasts, and fish, were formed by His de- 
 cree. 
 
 1 
 
PARADISE. 
 
 Five days were thus in wonders passed; 
 
 Then came the greatest and the last : • 
 
 For God created Adam's frame 
 
 Out of the dust; the purer flame 
 Of soul was breathed into the human shrine, 
 And formed an image of the Power divine ! 
 
 4. 
 
 The seventh day was a solemn rest : 
 Creation's work was done and blessed. 
 But soon a want was well supplied, 
 And Eve was formed from Adam's side ; 
 For God designed it to be clearly shown, 
 That 'twas not good for man to be alone. 
 
 And now, to prove the happy pair, 
 The Lord prepared a garden fair, 
 Where trees of fruit delicious grew, 
 And odorous flowers of brightest hue ; 
 But in the midst another tree was placed, 
 Which His command forbade them both to taste. 
 
 This tree of knowledge, good and ill, 
 
 If eaten with rebellious will, 
 
 Should bring upon their broken faith 
 
 The awful penalty of death ! 
 Thus God forewarned them of the fatal spell ; 
 And, for a while, they kept his law full well. 
 
THE TEMPTATION* 
 
 7. 
 But it appears that, ere the birth 
 Of all those wonders upon earth, 
 Some of the angels sinned in heaven, 
 And from their place of light were driven 
 
 Down to the hell of chaos dark and drear; 
 
 To devils changed, by envy, hate, and fear. 
 
 8 - 
 Their chief and leader bore the name 
 Of Satan : he to Eden came, 
 And in the serpent's form assailed 
 The faith of Eve, who then prevailed 
 
 On Adam, till, alas ! the fatal tree 
 
 Was plucked by both, in spite of God's decree ! 
 
 9. 
 
 O 'twas a dreadful sin to prove 
 Ungrateful to His marvellous love 
 Who had created them, and given 
 A paradise to be their heaven ; 
 Where all around was beauty, peace and joy, 
 Without one care to trouble or annoy ! 
 
 10. 
 
 A dreadful sin, to take the word 
 
 Of Satan, and despise the Lord ! 
 
 Against His precept to rebel, 
 
 And trust the treacherous prince of hell ! 
 With God's almighty arm to dare the strife, 
 And thus defy the Power that gave them life ! 
 
10 THE FALL. 
 
 11. 
 The awful sentence came with all 
 Its sad infliction on the fall : 
 The youthful world was stained by sin, 
 And Death should thence his work begin ! 
 
 Expelled from Eden, Adam now must toil ; 
 
 While thorns and thistles should deform the soil. 
 
 12. 
 
 ISText on the Tempter came the word 
 Of condemnation from the Lord : 
 The serpent's movement, base and low, 
 Should force him on his breast to go ; 
 
 And Eve's great Son should bruise his head, yet 
 feel 
 
 The enmity of Satan in His heel. 
 
 13. 
 
 Before the close of that sad day, 
 The guilty pair were driven away 
 From Eden's bowqrs ; but, ere they went, 
 The Lord, with gracious, kind intent, 
 The fig-leaves took, with which they hid their 
 
 shame, 
 And gave them coats of skins to clothe their 
 frame. 
 
 14. 
 
 This was the time, as 'tis maintained, 
 When sacrifices were ordained. 
 The lambs from which the skins were ta'en, 
 By God's command, were duly slain ; 
 
THE PROMISED SEED. 11 
 
 And Adam learned, in that, to see the sign 
 Of Christ's great Sacrifice by law divine. 
 
 15. 
 
 Here we behold the faith begun. 
 
 The woman's Seed, the promised Son, 
 
 Was the Redeemer : dimly known, 
 
 But in due season to be shown, 
 The world's sole Hope and Refuge given to prove, 
 In all the saving mercy of His love ! 
 
 16. 
 
 "With this the Church begins her strife ; 
 
 For faith in Christ is still her life. 
 
 Adam, before he sinned, could plead 
 
 That justice answered all his need ; 
 But now on mercy only he could call 
 To raise him from the terrors of the fall ! 
 
 CANTO n. 
 
 1. - " 
 
 Expelled from paradise, the toil 
 Of man commenced upon the soil : 
 No more the tree of life he knew ; 
 No luscious fruits around him grew ; 
 But the wild grain in fair abundance stood, 
 And that was gathered for his daily food. 
 
12 SACRIFICE. 
 
 2. 
 In little time, the race began 
 To multiply. The first-born man 
 Was Cain ; and soon his brother came, — 
 Abel, a bright and honored name, — 
 Followed by sons and daughters, till around 
 A host appeared to cultivate the ground. 
 
 The age allotted then appears 
 To reach almost a thousand years ; 
 And hence 'tis plain the useful arts 
 Would soon assume their various parts ; 
 For each discoverer's course might onward run 
 Through centuries, to complete what he'd begun. 
 
 4. 
 
 The Scriptures next our notice call 
 To the sad workings of the fall : 
 A brother's murder shows too well 
 The force of passions, dark and fell, 
 Which lurk in all our natures since that hour, 
 Though not brought out save by temptation's 
 power. 
 
 * 5. 
 
 The rite of sacrifice was given 
 
 To be a sacrament of heaven ; 
 
 The sign of the believer's faith 
 
 In Him who conquers woe and death, 
 Decreed to come at the appointed day, — 
 The Lamb of God, who takes our sins away. 
 
DEATH OF ABEL. 13 
 
 Hence 'twas by sacrifice alone 
 The humble sinner's faith was shown ; 
 And every man of age mature 
 Was bound to make the promise sure, 
 On Sabbath days his altar to prepare, 
 And offer up his lamb with praise and prayer. 
 
 7. 
 
 Now Cain with scornful pride despised 
 
 The truth which faithful Abel prized. 
 
 He took his offering from the ground ; 
 
 And soon, with high resentment, found 
 That God would not accept it ; while from heaven 
 The sign of grace to Abel's faith was given. 
 
 8. 
 
 But though the Lord vouchsafed this sign, 
 
 It had no influence to incline 
 
 The heart of Cain. With angry wrath, 
 
 He took his sullen, vengeful path ; 
 And, as together in the field they stood, 
 With murderous hand he shed his brother's 
 blood ! 
 
 9. 
 
 Called to a strict and stern account, 
 
 He does but add to the amount 
 
 Of his atrocious, dreadful sin 
 
 By a bold lie, his crime to screen ; 
 But he's condemned in banishment to mourn, 
 And marked, lest others shed his blood in turn. 
 
14 THE SONS OF GOD. 
 
 10. 
 
 From this we might full well relate 
 
 The patriarchal Church's state. 
 
 Like pious Abel, some believed ; 
 
 Others, like Cain> were self-deceived ; 
 While sacrifice was the established road 
 For all who trusted in the word of God. 
 
 11. 
 Brief is the Scripture list which lies 
 Before the thoughtful reader's eyes, 
 Of those who held a filial claim 
 To the great patriarch Adam's name ; 
 But Seth is mentioned as a favorite son, 
 Born after faithful Abel's course was run. 
 
 12. 
 
 And then we see the Book record 
 That men " began upon the Lord 
 To call ; " from which we may conclude 
 That now the faithful thought it good 
 To form some public union, to the end 
 That they might better against sin contend. 
 
 13. 
 
 For next "the sons of God" we find, 
 
 As by a special name designed 
 
 To mark the character impressed 
 
 Upon the Church above the rest : 
 "Daughters of men," in contrast, here we view; 
 And this would seem to make our inference true. 
 
THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN. 15 
 
 14. 
 
 Seduced by these, the sons of God 
 
 The path of sad temptation trod. 
 
 Cain and his bold associates reared 
 
 The first great city ; then appeared. 
 A large advancement in the various arts, 
 And men to wealth and pleasure gave their 
 hearts. 
 
 15. 
 
 But one great patriarch, strong in faith, 
 Translated, without seeing death, 
 Was Enoch, who had still maintained 
 His walk with God, and so had gained 
 
 The power to hold with sin a constant strife, 
 
 And keep a holy purity through life. 
 
 16. 
 
 Yet guilt increased with rapid stride, 
 
 And men the truth of Heaven denied ; 
 
 The Church grew less and less, till none 
 
 "Were left but Noah's house alone : 
 Then God pronounced the world's tremendous 
 
 doom, — 
 Another century, and the Flood should come! 
 
 17. 
 
 Now, to preserve a faithful seed, 
 
 And to provide for Noah's need, 
 
 The Lord commanded him to mark 
 
 His strict directions for an Ark 
 Of vast extent, made of the gopher-tree, 
 Where he and his might still in safety be. 
 
16 THE ABE. 
 
 18. 
 
 One hundred twenty years were given, 
 In warning, by command, of Heaven ; 
 And Noah preached and prophesied, 
 While men the threatened doom defied : 
 They laughed at words so gloomy and so sad, — 
 The Ark was folly, and its builder mad ! 
 
 19. 
 
 At length, on the appointed day, 
 
 A year's supplies were stowed away ; 
 
 And birds and beasts and reptiles came 
 
 Within the Ark's capacious frame: 
 The wild appeared by two, the tame by seven, 
 As God's supreme commandment had been given. 
 
 20. 
 
 Then Noah and his sons, with all 
 Their wives, obeyed the heavenly call : 
 Eight souls were in that Ark contained, — 
 The whole that of the Church remained ; 
 And, when they were securely housed within, 
 The hand of the Almighty shut them in. 
 
 21. 
 
 A curious multitude around 
 Had gathered : far and wide renowned 
 The prophet's word and work had been ; 
 And as they gazed upon the scene, 
 And saw the birds and beasts his call obey, 
 They thought it strange, and jesting went their 
 way. 
 
THE FLOOD. 17 
 
 22. 
 But, hark ! a peal of thunder rends 
 The sky; the rain in sheets descends; 
 Crash after crash, — the deafening roar 
 Is heard at once on every shore ! 
 The heavens one moment blaze with scathing 
 
 light; 
 The next, they're shouded in the pall of night ! 
 
 23. 
 
 The fountains of the deep profound 
 
 Burst forth, as with an earthquake's sound ; 
 
 The central fires, by God's decree, 
 
 Heave up the bottom of the sea ; 
 The splendid cities sink, in ruin hurled ; 
 And awful tempests rage throughout the world ! 
 
 24. 
 
 Through forty nights and forty days 
 The storm its furious might displays : 
 Down, down from heaven the torrents pour ! 
 On, on, wild waves the land devour ! ' 
 Higher, and higher still, the Flood ascends, 
 Till one vast ocean o'er the globe extends ! 
 
 25. 
 
 O how the impious race of men 
 Struggled for life! but all in vain. 
 
 While o'er their necks the waters swell 
 How did they rave and shriek and yell, 
 
 2 
 
18 , NOAH AND HIS SONS. 
 
 And envy Noah's lot, and curse the day 
 When they refused to listen and obey ! 
 
 26. 
 
 But o'er the dark, tempestuous tides 
 
 The noble Ark in safety rides. 
 
 No fear is there of judgment's rod ; 
 
 For it contains the Church of God : 
 His hand will guard it till the peril 's past, 
 And bring it to its resting-place at last ! 
 
 27. 
 
 And so it was, that when the Lord 
 
 Fulfilled the threatening of His Word, 
 
 And all had perished, save the few 
 
 Designed to stock the earth anew, 
 The deluge ceased; the sun beamed forth on 
 
 high; 
 And, in due time, the ground again was dry. 
 
 28. 
 
 One year had passed, upon the day 
 
 When Noah left the Ark to stay 
 
 On Ararat's high mount, and then 
 
 Descended on the fruitful plain, 
 With all his precious company of seven, 
 Beasts, birds, and reptiles, by command of 
 Heaven. 
 
 29. 
 
 And here his piety we see 
 
 In the first act when thus set free : 
 
THE EARTH REPEOPLED. 19 
 
 His great deliverance to record, 
 
 He built an altar to the Lord ; 
 Offered his sacrifice, with hands outspread ; 
 And God pronounced a blessing on his head. 
 
 CANTO m. 
 
 1. 
 Noah his new career began 
 Upon the patriarchal plan, — 
 A chosen saint, to whom was given 
 The word revealed direct from Heaven ; 
 A preacher and a prophet, skilled to join 
 The power of earthly rule with faith divine. 
 
 2. 
 
 His sons — Shem, Ham, and Japhet — saw 
 
 How God could vindicate His law 
 
 In that tremendous Flood which hurled 
 
 To ruin a rebellious world ; 
 And, while they lived, the Church might safely keep 
 The faith thus rescued from the stormy deep. 
 
 Hence, as the race, on every side, 
 From Noah's stock the earth supplied, 
 The truth went with them ; in each land 
 The patriarch's doctrine took its stand ; 
 And some strong traces of it yet remain, 
 Even where the heathen idols hold their reign. 
 
20 BABEL. 
 
 And so, some centuries from the Flood, 
 The Church continued sound and good ; 
 And all mankind agreed to teach 
 One faith, one worship, and one speech ; 
 Until, through Satan's fraud, in evil hour, 
 It was resolved to build old Babel's tower. 
 
 5. 
 
 That wild design, as it should seem, 
 Grew from an impious, daring scheme 
 To have some sure abiding home 
 If e'er another Flood should come ; 
 And thus it was a monument of pride, 
 Which God's almighty word and power defied. 
 
 6. 
 
 But vain the work of human hand 
 
 'Gainst His resistless will to stand ! 
 
 Their language was confounded there ! 
 
 Their hosts were scattered in despair, 
 No longer able to unite their art, 
 And forced, by different tongues, to live apart. 
 
 The subtle scheme of Satan's guile 
 
 Was thus defeated for a while ; 
 
 For now no portion of mankind 
 
 To rule the rest the means could find : 
 Wrapped in itself, no nation's proud control 
 Could hope to govern and corrupt the whole. 
 
SUPERSTITION. 21 
 
 Another change produced we see, 
 
 Which modified man's destiny. 
 
 Though once to near a thousand years 
 
 His life on earth stretched out appears, 
 Yet now the Lord cut short his former span, 
 And Death arrested high Ambition's plan. 
 
 But Satan still, with subtle art, 
 Contrived to lead the human heart : 
 Mankind no longer dared defy 
 The awful power of the Most High ; 
 
 And so the subtle Enemy brought in 
 
 A different yet a no less fatal sin. 
 
 10. 
 
 To superstition he inclined 
 
 The weakness of the common mind. 
 
 The sun and moon were first adored 
 
 As symbols of the living Lord ; 
 And then the powers of Nature, false and true, 
 Were all personified, and worshipped too. 
 
 11. 
 
 Next, the dead hero and the sage 
 
 Began their homage to engage : 
 
 And here the fallen angels strove 
 
 To reap the fruits of faith and love ; 
 Erected statues to some mortal's name, 
 And for themselves secured the idol's fame. 
 
22 CALL OF ABEAM. 
 
 12. 
 
 The course of Superstition's sway 
 
 Was thus advancing clay by day, 
 
 When God, in mercy, gave a call 
 
 To Abram, to abandon all 
 His friends and kindred in his native place, 
 And be the father of a chosen race. 
 
 13. 
 
 Obedient to his Lord's command, 
 The patriarch came to Canaan's land ; 
 And there he led a pastoral life, 
 Preserved from hostile fear and strife : 
 The path of genuine faith with zeal he trod, 
 And had the constant favor of his God. 
 
 14. 
 
 A prince in wealth and power was he, 
 
 And yet from pride and passion free, 
 
 Devoted to the will of Heaven : 
 
 To him the covenant was given, 
 That Canaan by his race should be possessed, 
 And all mankind should in his Seed be blessed. 
 
 15. 
 
 With Abram, then, the Church began 
 
 A new career, upon a plan 
 
 Which future ages should revere 
 
 In fervent love and holy fear ; 
 And hence, that men the power of faith might feel, 
 The Lord gave circumcision as its seal. 
 
BIRTH OF ISAAC. *o 
 
 16. 
 
 And now, to mark the patriarch's claim, 
 
 A change was passed upon his name. 
 
 Father of nations he must be ; 
 
 For such was the divine decree : 
 And, by the term of Abraham, his place 
 Should be confessed by every future race. 
 
 The name of Sarai, whom through life 
 
 The patriarch honored as his wife, 
 
 Was changed to Sarah, that her share 
 
 In his high honor she might bear ; 
 And Isaac soon, their promised son, was given, 
 In their old age, by special grace of Heaven. 
 
 18. 
 
 Some years passed o'er, when Abraham's faith 
 
 Received a trial worse than death : 
 
 For God commanded him take 
 
 His son, a sacrifice to make ; 
 Upon the altar Isaac's head to lay, 
 And there, with his own hand, the youth to slay ! 
 
 19. 
 
 The patriarch rose his task to prove, 
 
 In spite of his paternal love. 
 
 The Lord's design he could not see ; 
 
 'Twas wrapped in deepest mystery : 
 But he would walk by faith, and not by sight ; 
 For God's command must still be just and right. 
 
24 SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. 
 
 20. 
 
 Three days he journeyed, till he came 
 
 To Mount Moriah, — 'twas the same 
 
 On which, in after-ages, stood 
 
 The Saviour's Cross, all stained with blood ! 
 For this was the appointed spot, and there 
 He was enjoined his offering to prepare. 
 
 21. 
 
 The wood was all in order laid ; 
 
 For strength and grace with zeal he prayed ; 
 
 To Isaac one embrace was given ; 
 
 And then he heard the will of Heaven : 
 Trained to obedience by his father's faith, 
 The youth consented, and prepared for death. 
 
 22. 
 
 And now the sacrificial knife 
 Was raised to take his precious life ; 
 "When, lo ! the voice of God, aloud, 
 Calls, "Abraham, Abraham!" from the cloud 
 "Lord, here I am! " the patriarch humbly said, 
 And, with new hope inspired, lifts up his head ! 
 
 23. 
 
 The Voice went on to give command : 
 " Lay not upon the youth thy hand ; 
 Thy perfect faith is proved full well, 
 And all mankind its power shall tell ; 
 Blessings on blessings shall attend thee still, 
 And thy posterity the earth shall fill ! " 
 
ISAAC AND REBECCA. 25 
 
 24. 
 
 In this sublime event, we trace 
 The mercy destined for our race : 
 For God the Father deigns to give 
 His Son to die, that we might live ; 
 And Isaac is a type of Christ, who lay 
 On Calvary's cross to take our sins away. 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 1. 
 
 The pious Abraham could not bear 
 
 To see his cherished son and heir 
 
 Select the partner of his life 
 
 From Canaan's daughters : hence the wife 
 Of Isaac from a purer lineage came, 
 With faith and prayer. Rebecca was her name. 
 
 No taste or fancy here took part, 
 !N~or was there place for courtship's art : 
 The whole with care arranged had been 
 Before each otheuis face was seen. 
 Yet constant love their happy union sped, 
 For God His blessing on their hearts had shed, 
 
26 JACOB AND JOSEPH. 
 
 And thus their marriage still was deemed 
 
 A model, reverenced and esteemed ; 
 
 And, even to the present day, 
 
 For every wedded pair we pray, 
 That they, with faithful love in each true breast, 
 Like Isaac and Rebecca may be blessed. 
 
 Jacob, their younger, chosen son, 
 With whom great Israel's name begun, 
 Deceived, two sisters took to wife, — 
 Sad source of jealousies and strife; 
 And to his offspring the Twelve Tribes could trace 
 The famed divisions of their favored race. 
 
 Of faithful temper, just and mild, 
 
 Young Joseph was his favorite child ; 
 
 Ordained a type of Christ to be, 
 
 In suffering love and purity : 
 Into a pit by his own brethren cast, 
 And yet their Saviour and their friend at last. 
 
 For he, when raised to high command, 
 In Egypt's rich and prosperous land, 
 While famine, sent by Heaven, was found 
 In Canaan and the countries round, 
 Caused all his father's house with joy to come, 
 And in the fruitful Goshen fixed their home. 
 
BONDAGE IN EGYPT. 27 
 
 There they remained until they died. 
 
 Their children grew and multiplied; 
 
 And, in the course of centuries three, 
 
 A mighty host they came to be : 
 But then a king of Pharaoh's line arose, 
 Who doomed them to a course of bitter woes. 
 
 8. 
 
 He forced them still like slaves to toil 
 In hardest labors on the soil, — 
 In making brick, and building all 
 For which his lordly pride might call ; 
 And next he gave commandment to destroy, 
 Even in the hour of birth, each Hebrew boy ! 
 
 Hard for the body such control, 
 
 And yet more dangerous to the soul! 
 
 For Satan, with his idol train, 
 
 Had spread his foul, debasing reign 
 
 Throughout the earth, and Egypt owned his sway; 
 
 And Israel's faith was sinking fast away ! 
 
 i 
 
 10. 
 
 But still they honored Abraham's name, 
 
 And knew the stock from whence they came ; 
 
 And still they worshipped and adored 
 
 The only true Almighty Lord : 
 Hence, when in cruel bondage forced to sigh, 
 They lifted up to God their suppliant cry. 
 
28 MOSES AND AARON. 
 
 11. 
 
 And He in mercy heard their prayer, 
 
 And sent a great deliverer there, — 
 
 Moses, who had in youth acquired 
 
 Old Egypt's learning, so admired ; 
 Brought up in Pharaoh's court with princely art, 
 And yet a faithful Israelite in heart. 
 
 12. 
 For now the promised time had come 
 When Canaan should be Israel's home : 
 Its flagrant wickedness the cup 
 Of righteous judgment had filled up; 
 And Egypt's idols, too, must be o'erthrown; 
 While God's great power should through the 
 world be known. 
 
 13. 
 
 Such was the grand and glorious plan 
 
 On which the Lord's new work began : 
 
 Upheld by His Almighty hand, 
 
 Moses should issue his command, 
 And Pharaoh should be hardened to rebel, 
 That so mankind might mark the contest well. 
 
 14. 
 
 Armed with a slender shepherd's rod, 
 
 Behold ! the lowly man of God, 
 
 With faithful Aaron at his side, 
 
 Stands forth before the monarch's pride, 
 And, in the Lord of Israel's mighty name, 
 Their right to worship straight proceeds to claim. 
 
TEE PASSOVER. 29 
 
 15. 
 
 The king refuses. Wonders rise 
 
 Before his unbelieving eyes ; 
 
 Stupendous miracles are wrought, 
 
 Surpassing every human thought ! 
 The idol priesthood in submission yield; 
 And Satan, wholly vanquished, quits the field ! 
 
 16. 
 
 But still the Lord makes hard the heart 
 Of Pharaoh. Israel cannot yet depart, 
 Until the great Jehovah's might 
 Has fixed the wondering nation's sight ; 
 And all the kingdoms round, both far and near, 
 Are forced His power and majesty to fear. 
 
 17. 
 
 At length, the promised hour drew nigh : 
 
 The Paschal Lamb was now to die. 
 
 Its blood, upon the door-post cast 
 
 Ere the destroying angel passed, 
 Should guard the Israelites, at Moses' word, 
 While Egypt's first-born fell beneath his sword. 
 
 18. 
 
 A type of Christ's great sacrifice 
 
 This Jewish Passover supplies ; 
 
 And hence 'twas kept, a yearly feast, — 
 
 Each father acting as the priest, — 
 In constant memory of the Lord's decree, 
 Which burst His people's bonds, and set them free. 
 
30 THE EXODUS. 
 
 19. 
 
 Forewarned by Moses, in the night 
 
 Israel stood ready for their flight ; 
 
 For, when the angel's deadly brand 
 
 Struck down the first-born through the land, 
 The king, in terror, could not brook delay, 
 But ordered them to go, before the day. 
 
 20. 
 
 Nor went they empty. Roused by fear, 
 
 Their old oppressors now appear 
 
 Eager to give what they desired; 
 
 And vast the treasure they acquired. 
 For Egypt they had spent long years of toil, 
 And God commanded them to take the spoil. 
 
 21. 
 
 We read that Israel numbered then 
 
 Six hundred thousand able men 
 
 Fit to bear arms; yet not a word 
 
 Of insurrection had been heard : 
 By Pharaoh's self their liberty was given, 
 Constrained by the controlling power of Heaven. 
 
 22. 
 
 Some hours before the rising sun, 
 
 The mighty host their march begun : 
 
 God, by a fiery pillar, showed 
 
 To Moses their appointed road ; 
 And when they travelled in the heat of day, 
 That pillar, changed to cloud, still led the way. 
 
CROSSING THE RED SEA. 31 
 
 23. 
 
 But Egypt's judgments were not past : 
 
 The most destructive was the last. 
 
 For Pharaoh, in his impious pride, 
 
 Again his plighted faith denied, 
 Collected all his army, and the path 
 Of Israel followed, with revengeful wrath. 
 
 24. 
 
 And now the host of God was seen, 
 
 In sad perplexity, between 
 
 The surges of the dark Red Sea 
 
 And Pharaoh's veteran soldiery ! 
 Moses lay prostrate in the act of prayer; 
 And all around was terror and despair. 
 
 25. 
 
 Then, strengthened by the Lord's command, 
 He raised the rod in his right hand, 
 And, lo ! a mighty east wind blew ; 
 And straight the billows back withdrew, 
 Opening amidst the waves a wondrous road, 
 To prove the power and mercy of their God. 
 
 26. 
 
 Through walls of water, piled on high, 
 The host went on, with footsteps dry : 
 Led by the fiery pillar's light, 
 They travelled safely all the night ; 
 While darkness baffled Pharaoh's tyrant will, 
 And kept his army far from Israel still. 
 
32 ISRAEL'S TRIUMPH. 
 
 27. 
 
 At length, the people had passed o'er 
 Their marvellous pathway to the shore : 
 But the Egyptians, when too late, 
 Perceived their just though awful fate; 
 For they had followed at their monarch's word, 
 Doomed to endure the vengeance of the Lord ! 
 
 28. 
 
 The rod, raised up o'er Moses' head, 
 
 Restored the waters to their bed : 
 
 Down came the waves with thundering sound, 
 
 While shrieks of terror yelled around ! 
 The raging billows swallowed all the host, 
 And in the deep abyss the whole were lost ! 
 
 29. 
 
 O with what transport and amaze 
 Did Israel lift the hymn of praise ! — 
 " Sing to the Lord, whose glorious arm 
 Protects His chosen still from harm : 
 His is the triumph, by whose high decree 
 Our foes lie weltering in the dark Red Sea ! " 
 
IN THE WILDERNESS. 33 
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 Four hundred twenty years had passed 
 Since Jacob's sons their lot had cast 
 On Egypt's soil, until the day 
 When God vouchsafed to lead their way 
 From bondage, to assume their destined place 
 As the Queen nation of the human race. 
 
 But, ere that rank they could attain, 
 A system, pure from heathen stain, 
 Must be established by the word 
 And mighty power of Israel's Lord ; 
 The Church and Nation must united be, 
 And ruled in all things by divine decree. 
 
 3. 
 
 For this great end, their course was led 
 By Moses, their appointed head, 
 Through desert lands for forty years; 
 And here their history appears 
 The grace and majesty of God to prove 
 By wondrous acts of judgment and of love. 
 
 3 
 
34 GIVING OF THE LAW. 
 
 4. 
 
 From Sinai's mount He gave His law ; 
 While all the people heard and saw 
 The thunders roll, the lightnings blaze, 
 And, struck with terror, feared to gaze 
 On the dark cloud from which the thrilling sound 
 Of the archangel's trumpet shook the ground ! 
 
 5. 
 
 The favored Moses, all alone, 
 Held with the High and Holy One 
 Familiar converse for the space 
 Of forty days and nights : with grace 
 
 Especial and divine he was endued ; 
 
 Nor did he feel the need of other food. 
 
 Engraved on stone, the Ten Commands 
 Were then delivered to his hands : 
 The sacred Tabernacle's plan 
 He learned with zealous care to scan ; 
 And Israel's wondrous code to him was given 
 By the direct authority of Heaven. 
 
 7. 
 
 The mystic shrine, with gorgeous art, 
 
 Was now prepared in every part ; 
 
 The Covenant Ark of grace was there ; 
 
 The Cherubim, of sculpture rare ; 
 The mercy-seat whose glory none could tell, 
 For God had promised here in light to dwell. 
 
THE TABERNACLE. 35 
 
 Holy of Holies was its name ; 
 And next, within the sacred frame, 
 
 A larger room was duly placed, 
 With solemn symbols fitly graced, 
 Where stood the incense-altar, fair in sight, 
 The show-bread table, and the sevenfold light. 
 
 Into thopfirst, but once a year, 
 The high priest might with awe appear; 
 Into the other, twice a day 
 The priests might enter, there to pray : 
 Yet still alone ; each ordered, in his turn, 
 To trim the lamp, and incense pure to burn. 
 
 10. 
 
 With marvellous skill, divinely wise, 
 
 'Twas all arranged to symbolize 
 
 The glory of the Gospel plan, 
 
 When God, in Christ, should dwell with man : 
 The outward room to mark the Church was given ; 
 The inward was a standing type of Heaven. 
 
 11. 
 For once a year, with contrite breast, 
 The sins of Israel were confessed 
 Upon the destined scape-goat's head, 
 Which straight was to the desert led, 
 That lie the nation's guilt might bear away, 
 While the slain victim on the altar lay. 
 
36 WITHIN THE VEIL. 
 
 12. 
 And then the high priest took the blood 
 Within the veil, and humbly stood 
 Before the mercy-seat, and there 
 Bowed prostrate down, in fervent prayer 
 That God the sacrifice would now receive, 
 And all His people's crimes with grace forgive ! 
 
 13. 
 
 Here was the type which, to the faith 
 Of Israel, shadowed forth the death • 
 Of Christ, our victim, on whose head 
 The world's transgressions should be laid; 
 While He, our great High Priest, in heaven 
 
 should own 
 And plead His blood - stained Cross before the 
 Throne. 
 
 14. 
 
 Aaron was now, by God's decree, 
 Ordained the first high priest to be : 
 His sons were priests ; and, for their aid, 
 The Levites were by law arrayed. 
 Henceforth, as teachers in the Church's school, 
 A threefold ministry was called to rule, 
 
 15. 
 
 And then was fixed a noble code 
 Of other laws, proclaimed by God 
 Through faithful Moses, to whose hand 
 The Lord still gave supreme command; 
 While miracles in rich abundance came 
 To vindicate his truth, and raise his fame. 
 
MERCIES AND JUDGMENTS. 37 
 
 16. 
 For forty years they had no home, 
 Doomed through the wilderness to roam ; 
 And sore they taxed their leader's skill 
 By their rebellious, wayward will : 
 Though forced the constant power of Heaven to 
 
 prove 
 In awful judgments, and in tender love. 
 
 17. 
 
 To feed the host, the Lord supplies 
 
 The bread of angels fi-om the skies ; 
 
 For drink, He gives them, without stint, 
 
 Pure water from the rock of flint ; 
 Their garments suffer nought from time or wear ; 
 And he protects them with a father's care. 
 
 18. 
 
 But oft their murmuring hearts repine, 
 
 And still to mutiny incline : 
 
 They bow before the calf of gold ; 
 
 The rebel Korah they uphold ; 
 Seduced by Midian's wiles, in sin they stray, 
 And worship idols in the heathen way. 
 
 19. 
 
 The Lord recalls them from each snare 
 
 By dire inflictions, hard to bear : 
 
 Forth come the pestilence and sword, 
 
 And fiery serpents, at His word ; 
 The earthquake cleaves the ground before their 
 
 sight ; 
 And Israel quails with terror and affright ! 
 
38 JOSHUA. 
 
 20. 
 At length on Jordan's banks they stand, 
 And Moses views the Promised Land : 
 With mournful though submissive heart 
 He hears the summons to depart ; 
 His spirit rises to the eternal throne, 
 His body's buried in a place unknown ! 
 
 21. 
 
 But, ere his glorious course was sped, 
 He laid his hands on Joshua's head 
 By God's command, that he might be 
 The nation's guide to victory ; 
 And conquest after conquest came to tell 
 The power divine by which old Canaan fell. 
 
 22. 
 
 Thus Israel triumphed, by the might 
 
 Of God, in all the heathen's sight. 
 
 And yet, through want of courage meet, 
 
 Their victory was not complete ; 
 And many a conflict still remained to prove 
 The Church's lack of zealous faith and love. 
 
 23. 
 
 While Joshua lived, they did not stray 
 
 Far from the sure, appointed way : 
 
 But when he died, the idol arts 
 
 Of Satan oft allured their hearts ; 
 And then the Lord chastised them, till the reign 
 Of heathen bondage forced them back again. 
 
DA VID. 39 
 
 24. 
 
 And oft as they repented still, 
 
 And sought to do His holy will, 
 
 He sent deliverance by the hand 
 
 Of Judges, and restored the land ; 
 And once a woman, Deborah, was led, 
 Strong in prophetic power, to be their head. 
 
 25. 
 
 The holy Samuel next we view, 
 • A ruler and a prophet too, 
 
 In whose old age new troubles spring ; 
 
 For Israel now demands a king ! 
 'Twas not enough to have their King in heaven : 
 A king on earth to lead them must be given ! 
 
 26. 
 
 Samuel would fain their prayer deny; 
 But God commands him to comply : 
 Though 'twas a sin in them to break 
 Their form of government, and take 
 Their system from the heathen, when the Lord 
 Had fixed another by His holy Word. 
 
 27. 
 
 Saul was the first to wear the crown. 
 
 Then David rose to great renown. • 
 
 The Psalmist of the Church was he, 
 
 Famous in war and minstrelsy ; 
 The prophet-king, endowed with heavenly art, 
 And called a monarch after God's own heart ! 
 
40 SOLOMON. 
 
 28. 
 
 And to his honor ' twas decreed, 
 . That from the royal David's seed 
 The great Messiah should be born, 
 Who should His Father's throne adorn 
 In that far-distant but most glorious day, 
 When all the world should own his righteous sway. 
 
 29. 
 
 Next Solomon appeared, to shine 
 
 In wisdom, by the gift divine ; 
 
 And, in his peaceful reign, the power 
 
 Of Israel reached its brightest hour. 
 The Queen of Sheba came his name to greet ; 
 And monarchs sat as learners at his feet. 
 
 30. 
 
 The glorious Temple rose with grace 
 
 The Tabernacle to replace ; 
 
 The king's fair palace, and his throne, 
 
 In all the pomp of splendor shone ; 
 And distant sovereigns well might stand amazed 
 As on such bright magnificence they gazed. 
 
 31. 
 
 But yet his wisdom had no part 
 
 In ruling his own sensual heart : 
 
 He multiplied his wives far more 
 
 Than any king had done before, 
 And then, their flattery or their love to gain, 
 Defiled the land with many a heathen fane. 
 
THE KINGDOM DIVIDED. 41 
 
 32. 
 
 For David's sake, the Lord allowed 
 His reign to close with scarce a cloud ; 
 
 But soou his proud successor saw 
 
 Ten tribes of Israel withdraw : 
 The nation's unity was lost ; and strife, 
 Discord, and war deformed their future life. 
 
 Two kingdoms thus were formed from one, — 
 
 Judah and Israel. But alone 
 
 In Judah was the Church's round 
 
 Of sacred truth and order found ; 
 There was the priesthood, there the Temple stood, 
 The ark of mercy, and the victim's blood. 
 
 34. 
 
 The King of Israel, Jeroboam, 
 
 To keep his subjects safe at home, 
 
 Set up his priests, by interest bought, 
 
 And in the lowest classes sought : 
 For these he formed a new religious plan, 
 And placed two calves, at Bethel and at Dan. 
 
 35. 
 
 Idolatry grew rampant soon ; 
 Their base desires were in attune 
 With all the heathen nations round, 
 And loved the pleasures which abound 
 Where sensual lusts their lawless power impart, 
 And conscience holds no rein upon the heart. 
 
42 
 
 ISRAEL LED CAPTIVE. 
 
 But yet the mercy of the Lord 
 Sent them the prophets of his word : 
 Elijah feared not to assail, 
 With single hand, the priests of Baal ; 
 By numerous miracles he gained a name, 
 And then went up to heaven in living flame. 
 
 37. 
 
 Elisha followed in his might, 
 Performing wonders in their sight ; 
 Schools of the prophets were ordained, 
 By whom the truth was well sustained : 
 The kings of Israel owned Elisha's sway, 
 And proud Assyria fled in fear away. 
 
 38. 
 
 Yet Satan o'er the faith prevailed ; 
 
 Predictions, warnings, judgments, failed ; 
 
 The time of God's indulgence passed, 
 
 And Israel was given up at last. 
 Assyria conquered : all their hope was o'er ; 
 The Tribes were scattered, and returned no more ! 
 
 Judah stood longer, by the aid 
 Of her celestial system stayed ; 
 Her forms of worship were divine, 
 And truth continued there to shine : 
 The Scriptures still were read, the Psalms were 
 
 And God's high praises through her Temple rung. 
 
JERUSALEM TAKEN. 43 
 
 40. 
 
 But yet the adversary's art 
 
 Wrought in her rebel priesthood's heart ; 
 
 Their faith was neither pure nor warm, 
 
 Their worship fell to lifeless form : 
 Until at length even Judah came to be 
 The shameless home of foul idolatry. 
 
 41. 
 
 Here, too, the Lord had kindly given 
 
 The prophet's warning voice from heaven ; 
 
 Isaiah's pages strongly state 
 
 Their guilt, their danger, and their fate ; 
 And Jeremiah follows up the strain 
 With urgent earnestness : alas, in vain ! 
 
 42. 
 
 Behold ! the King of Babylon, 
 
 With all his host, comes thundering on ! 
 
 Jerusalem's embattled wall, 
 
 Her temple, and her palace fall! 
 Her children captive exiles have become, 
 And God has left her to her mournful doom ! 
 
44 
 
 THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY. 
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 The Jews in Babylon were pressed 
 With grief which gave their hearts no rest ; 
 Zion in memory they kept, 
 And bitter were the tears they wept : 
 They hung their harps upon the willows there, 
 And had no voice to sing in their despair. 
 
 Yet God did not desert them ! Still, 
 
 Ezekiel prophesied His will : 
 
 Through Daniel's tongue, before the king, 
 
 The Lord His truth was pleased to bring ; 
 And His resistless power He deigned to show 
 In Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 
 
 Thus by the chastening hand of Heaven 
 
 The Jews to penitence were driven ; 
 
 While Babylon was taught with fear 
 
 The God of Israel to revere ; 
 And Bel's proud priests were all compelled to 
 
 own 
 How idol powers must quail before His throne ! 
 
THE SECOND TEMPLE. 45 
 
 But now the seventy years, at last, 
 Defined by Jeremiah, passed : 
 The Jews, who had not ceased to mourn 
 Their fallen land, might yet return ; 
 For Cyrus had proclaimed his high decree, 
 And to rebuild their city set them free. 
 
 5. 
 
 With joy the people and the priest, 
 From heathen Babylon released, 
 Obeyed the generous sovereign's call, 
 To raise again old Salem's wall ; 
 And Judah's sons, from their sad exile led, 
 Began once more to lift their drooping head. 
 
 Preserved by an Almighty hand, 
 
 The Church assumed a faithful stand ; 
 
 The Synagogue commenced its round 
 
 Of service, and in Ezra found 
 A holy prophet, qualified to frame 
 The form of prayer which still retains his name. 
 
 7. 
 Through Haggai's earnest zeal, at length, 
 The second Temple rose in strength; 
 Though far less costly, rich and fair, 
 Than that which once had flourished there ; 
 Yet destined to a more sublime display 
 Of love and mercy in the Saviour's day. 
 
46 
 
 PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES. 
 
 
 Five centuries yet their course must run 
 Before the birth of God's great Son, 
 Who, from His Father's throne descending, 
 Both natures in One Person blending, 
 Should come His Church to reconstruct once more, 
 With heavenly grace and power unknown before, 
 
 Meanwhile, from time to time, the Lord 
 Sent forth His high prophetic word 
 To warn the faithless, and to raise- 
 The honest hearts that sought His praise ; 
 Till Malachi poured forth his strain divine, 
 And closed, with powerful voice, the ancient line. 
 
 10. 
 The Jews, beneath the Persian rule, 
 Went forward in Religion's school, 
 And cherished all their precious store 
 Of sacred Scripture. But the lore 
 Of the Chaldeans rose to guide their way, 
 And led their commentators far astray. 
 
 11. 
 
 They grew in numbers and in wealth, 
 
 But not in truth or moral health. 
 
 The Pharisees set up their claim, 
 
 And gained a high sectarian fame 
 Amongst the crowd ; while those of nobler birth 
 Were Sadducees, who only cared for earth. 
 
PERSIA CONQUERED. 47 
 
 12. 
 
 The first maintained a lofty faith, 
 
 With bitter zeal as strong as death; 
 
 Affected, by their looks and dress, 
 
 A stern devotion to express ; 
 But still the path of superstition trod, 
 And took tradition for the Word of God. 
 
 13. 
 
 The Sadducees, with worldly pride, 
 
 The hope of future life denied. 
 
 Religion's laws they held to be 
 
 Of use in earthly polity ; 
 But all beyond they thought it wise to deem 
 The idle progeny of fancy's dream. 
 
 14. 
 
 Some steadfast souls there were, though few, 
 Who kept the mean between the two : 
 And these preserved the system, given 
 By the pure light revealed from heaven ; 
 Walked in the way of wisdom from their youth, 
 And worshipped God in spirit and in truth. 
 
 15. 
 
 Now came the period, long before 
 
 By Daniel prophesied, when o'er 
 
 The Persian empire ruin fell, 
 
 And Greece in Babylon should dwell. 
 The Macedonian prince in arms rushed on 
 To seize the power of old Darius' throne. 
 
48 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 16. 
 
 The Jews were placed in peril then, 
 Till God enabled them to gain 
 The conqueror's favor. At the head 
 Of a procession, duly led, 
 The high priest met the warrior king advancing, 
 With swords and spears in the bright sunshine 
 glancing. 
 
 ir. 
 
 But far more glorious was the sight 
 Of scarlet, blue, and dazzling white, — 
 The mitre, all with gold embossed, — 
 The breastplate, which in splendor crossed 
 The pontiff's chest, and flashed with jewels rare, 
 While solemn chants rose floating on the air. 
 
 18. 
 
 Then came the white-robed priests in line ; 
 
 Their golden censers wave and shine ; 
 
 The incense breathes its odors sweet ; 
 
 And now the pontiff stands to greet 
 The youthful victor with a gracious word : 
 " Welcome, great king, the warrior of the Lord ! " 
 
 19. 
 
 The haughty monarch bends in awe : 
 " Behold," he cries, " the form I saw 
 In the plain vision of the night, 
 Clothed in the same array of light ! 
 Speak, mighty priest ! obedient I shall hear 
 What e'er thy voice addresses to mine ear." 
 
ALEXANDER FAVORS THE JEWS. 49 
 
 20. 
 
 The pontiff hails the joyful sound ; 
 
 The path of royal grace is found : 
 
 He calls the conqueror to a feast; 
 
 And there, from all his fears released, 
 He points attention to the prophet's voice, 
 And bids the king in God's decree rejoice ! 
 
 21. 
 The youthful Alexander, fired 
 With ardor, heard the Word inspired, 
 And though he was a heathen still, 
 Yet showed a constant, generous will 
 Towards all the nation, whose high priest had 
 
 given 
 Such warrant from the oracles of heaven. 
 
 22. 
 
 The victor ran his proud career ; 
 
 Subdued all nations far and near; 
 
 Founded the city, known to fame, 
 
 Which bore his own transcendent name ; 
 And there transplanted, with a liberal hand, 
 Of old Judaea's sons, a numerous band. 
 
 23. 
 
 Full soon these zealous Jews, upheld 
 
 By his munificence, excelled 
 
 In their great Synagogue's renown ; 
 
 And when the hand of death struck down 
 Their royal patron, they retained their place 
 Of trust and honor, as a favored race. 
 
 4 
 
50 THE SEP TU AGIN T. 
 
 24. 
 
 Four generals of the warrior king 
 
 Their troops forthwith to battle bring ; 
 
 And fierce and bloody was the strife 
 
 For empire, as if 'twere for life : 
 But when the rival powers were almost spent, 
 Each with his separate crown was well content. 
 
 25. 
 
 Egypt was wealthy at that day, 
 
 And held a large and prosperous sway. 
 
 King Ptolemy set up his throne 
 
 At Alexandria, and shone 
 Above his brother monarchs by the zeal 
 Which few like him were ever known to feel. 
 
 26. 
 
 The zeal for learning and for art, 
 This claimed the generous sovereign's heart : 
 A noble library he planned, 
 Rich with the spoils of every land ; 
 And soon the enterprise, so well designed, 
 Won the warm admiration of mankind. 
 
 27. 
 
 Twas then that seventy men of skill 
 
 Were chosen, by the royal will, 
 
 To write the Word of God in Greek ; 
 
 For every one that tongue could speak : 
 While Hebrew was a language rarely known, 
 And few esteemed it save the Jews alone. 
 
PERSECUTION BY ANTIOCHUS. 51 
 
 28. 
 
 The seal of Scripture thus was broken 
 Where'er the Grecian tongue was spoken ; 
 The wise of every land could see 
 Some part of Truth's great mystery ; 
 And so another instrument was given 
 To aid the Church, by the decree of Heaven. 
 
 But war arose 'twixt Syria's power 
 
 And Egypt : 'twas a bitter hour 
 
 For poor Judaea. All in vain 
 
 She strove her freedom to regain ; 
 Subjected to a heathen throne she lay, 
 And pure religion sunk into decay. 
 
 30. 
 
 The Syrian king Seleucus sent 
 
 His venal agent, with intent 
 
 To rob the Temple ; but the shrine 
 
 Was guarded by a force divine : 
 Angelic forms appeared with scourge of flame, 
 And drove the miscreant forth in fear and shame. 
 
 31. 
 
 Again a cruel despot rose, — 
 
 Antiochus, who madly chose 
 
 To plant an idol in the place 
 
 Which God's own presence deigned to grace ; 
 While, at the penalty of death, he strove 
 To make the Jews do sacrifice to Jove. 
 
52 JUDAS MACCABEUS. 
 
 32. 
 Then came the martyr-spirit high ; 
 The faithful were content to die, 
 Spurned with contempt the king's command, 
 And brought a blessing on their land : 
 For now the Lord displayed his saving might, 
 To give them honor in the heathen's sight. 
 
 33. 
 
 Brave Judas Maccabaeus flew 
 To arms, and Israel's trumpet blew : 
 A zealous troop soon gathered round ; 
 And, as of old, the heathen found 
 How o'er their proudest hosts the victor trod, 
 Whose sword was wielded in the cause of God. 
 
 34. 
 
 The Lord in grace the Word had spoken : 
 The Syrian tyrant's rod was broken, 
 Jerusalem once more released, 
 Her Temple cleansed by the high priest, 
 The Church restored to all her ancient power, 
 And hymns of praise proclaimed the joyful hour! 
 
 35. 
 
 Thus haply freed, the nation grew 
 And prospered. Judas, good and true, 
 Resigned at death his high command 
 To Jonathan his brother's hand : 
 And then another brother, Simon, came, 
 And wore a kingly crown with honest fame. 
 
THE ROMANS. S3 
 
 But he, by earthly views misled 
 
 The ways of policy to tread, 
 
 Esteemed it wisdom to become 
 
 A firm ally of heathen Rome. 
 The Jews deplored the error in the end : 
 They gained a master where they sought a friend ! 
 
 37. 
 
 Hyrcanus next, King Simon's son, 
 By just succession held the throne. 
 His reign was happy, save that now 
 The Pharisees, with haughty brow, 
 Opposed the Sadducees in zealous strife, 
 And frequent discord vexed the monarch's life. 
 
 38. 
 
 Another of that famous line 
 
 Then swayed the kingdom. To combine 
 
 The factious force of rival sect 
 
 Was more than he could e'er effect. 
 He died. His widow ruled awhile alone, 
 And left two sons to quarrel for the throne. 
 
 39. 
 
 The Roman allies were called in : 
 
 Their work they willingly begin. 
 
 Hyrcanus — second of that name — 
 
 Established soon his royal claim 
 By Roman arms. Poor Judah's pride was o'er : 
 A tributary now, and free no more ! 
 
54 HEROD THE GREAT. 
 
 40. 
 
 This was the time when Caesar's power 
 
 Had culminated, till the hour 
 
 Which no diviner could foretell 
 
 Arrived, and the great hero fell ! 
 Pompey, Judaea's conqueror, was dead ; 
 And Rome's proud troops by hostile chiefs were led. 
 
 41. 
 
 Herod, of Idumaean race, 
 
 Had gained a Tetrarch's honored place 
 
 O'er Galilee ; and, when the blow 
 
 Of faction laid great Caesar low, 
 Brutus and Cassius seemed the safer guide, 
 And Herod deemed it best to take their side. 
 
 42. 
 
 But Brutus perished in the field : 
 
 The patriots to Octavius yield ; 
 • And he, though lately quite unknown, 
 
 Built up a proud imperial throne 
 Of modest claims, but of effective sway, 
 "Which governed, while professing to obey. 
 
 43. 
 
 His policy was to appear 
 
 The servant of the Senate. Dear 
 
 To every Roman heart and mind 
 
 Was that grand body, which combined 
 The form of a Republic with the force 
 Of royal power, through all their history's course. 
 
THE SCEPTRE GONE FROM JUDAH. 55 
 
 44. 
 
 But while the Senate governed still, 
 
 'Twas guided by his secret will : 
 
 Step after step, the whole were led 
 
 By his profound and crafty head ; 
 And thus Augustus gained imperial fame, 
 Without the odium of a tyrant's name. 
 
 45. 
 
 Herod his error quickly saw, 
 
 And labored with success to draw 
 
 A plan of deep and flattering art, 
 
 By which he won the emperor's heart ; 
 Until at length Hyrcanus was cast down, 
 And he secured the prize of Israel's crown. 
 
 46. 
 
 And now the sceptre passed away 
 
 From Judah, and the glorious day 
 
 Of God's Messiah was at hand, 
 
 Fulfilling the divine command 
 Revealed, in words of high prophetic power, 
 By pious Jacob, at his dying hour.* 
 
 47. 
 The Church retained her ancient face ; 
 Each day, at the appointed place, 
 The sacrifice was duly slain 
 Before the high and holy fane : 
 The Temple stood majestic, rich, and fair; 
 And incense breathed, and psalms were chanted 
 there. 
 
 * Gen. xlix. 10. 
 
56 HOPE OF A MESSIAH. 
 
 48. 
 
 Four hundred Synagogues were schools, 
 
 Where all Jerusalem the rules 
 
 Of pure religion's truth acquired 
 
 From Moses, whom the Lord inspired ; 
 While Scribes and Pharisees held constant sway, 
 And bore the palm of public praise away. 
 
 49. 
 
 But 'twas a vain and outward show! 
 
 In each rebellious heart, below, 
 
 Pride and ambition, lust and hate, 
 
 Bare witness to their carnal state : 
 The priests themselves were covetous of gold, 
 And even the pontiff's place was bought and sold ! 
 
 50. 
 
 With rage they saw that heathen Rome. 
 
 Their nation's master had become ; 
 
 That Rome to Judah's race could bring 
 
 A hateful Edomite for king ; 
 That in the holy city he could sport 
 With heathen customs and a heathen court. 
 
 51. 
 
 And so they longed, with anxious hope, 
 
 To give their promised vengeance scope, 
 
 To wash their footste{)s in a flood 
 
 Of heathen and ungodly blood, 
 When Shiloh, their expected Prince, should 
 
 reign, 
 And Israel's foes should be in triumph slain. 
 
CONCLUSION. 57 
 
 52. 
 
 Inflated by their pride of birth, — 
 . The chosen race of all the earth, — 
 Sure that to Abraham's seed was given 
 The only pledge of joy in heaven, 
 They put the warning words of God apart, 
 And felt no need of holiness of heart. 
 
 53. 
 
 From Rome, a Saviour they required ; 
 
 From sin, no Saviour they desired ! 
 
 Alas ! they were too blind to see 
 
 Their inward guilt and misery ! 
 And when Messiah came to give them sight, 
 They clung to darkness, and refused the Light ! 
 
 Thus far, dear Reader, we have travelled o'er 
 The history of four thousand years or more, — 
 From the Creation to the wondrous Birth 
 Which brought the Son of God to live on earth. 
 
 And here, perhaps, it may be well to say 
 That my next task includes the Saviour's day, 
 The toils of his Apostles, and the course 
 By which the Church of Christ withstood the 
 
 force 
 Of heathen rage, led on by Satan's lure, 
 Until the Gospel's triumph was secure. 
 
58 
 
 FUTURE TOPICS. 
 
 Then comes the history of the ages dark, 
 When Superstition made her fearful mark 
 Upon the Church herself, and Popery hurled 
 Her baleful curse upon the Christian world. 
 Lastly the Reformation will appear, 
 With all its band of martyrs, bold, sincere, 
 And constant to that pure and Scriptural faith 
 For which they still contended unto death. 
 
 My future topics, therefore, well may yield 
 A larger and more interesting field. 
 To which I trust that you may give some hours, 
 With wise improvement of your higher powers. 
 
 
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 PAKT II, 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 Sent by divine command, an angel came 
 From heaven to earth, and Gabriel was his name. 
 To Mary's home he took his airy flight, 
 And stood revealed in brightness to her sight. 
 " Hail, highly favored Maid ! " the seraph said : 
 " The Lord His blessing sends upon thy head ! 
 Thou shalt be Mother to the Son of God, 
 Who comes to free His people from the load 
 Of sin and sorrow, glorious in His love, 
 Ordained the Saviour of the world to prove : 
 Born of no human father He shall be, 
 Holy and pure by Heaven's supreme decree, 
 The throne of David shall to Him descend, 
 And of His kingdom there shall be no end." 
 
 The Virgin heard in trouble and surprise, 
 But meekly with submission raised her eyes : 
 
 59 
 
60 ST. JOSEPH'S VISION. 
 
 " Behold ! " she said, " the handmaid of the Lord - 
 Be it to me according to thy word." 
 And surely 'twas a trial to her faith, 
 Involving peril worse by far than death. 
 Betrothed to Joseph, what must be her doom 
 If she were thus a mother to become, 
 While none but God could tell the wondrous tale, 
 And her poor statement would with none prevail ? 
 Yet, though the thought called forth a silent tear, 
 A deep and solemn joy repressed her fear : 
 For she was blessed ! From her inmost soul, 
 She gave herself at once to Heaven's control ; 
 Sought for her chamber's privacy, and there 
 Poured out her grateful heart in praise and 
 prayer. 
 
 Joseph, her spouse according to the law 
 Of old Judasa, soon with sorrow saw, 
 In Mary's altered form and blushing face, 
 The proof, as he supposed, of her disgrace. 
 She was his second wife, so fair, so young, 
 So pure as yet from calumny's foul tongue, 
 He felt it hard to take a public course, 
 The strict Mosaic sentence to enforce ; 
 And thought the rule of duty to obey, 
 By putting her quite privately away. 
 
 But soon his sad suspicions took their flight ; 
 For, in a glorious vision of the night, 
 He sees an angel-form before him stand, 
 And hears with glad surprise the Lord's com- 
 mand: 
 
THE BIRTH AT BETHLEHEM. 61 
 
 "Fear not to take the wife whom God has given: 
 Her child is the Messiah sent from heaven ! " 
 Rejoiced he rises with the morning sun, 
 And hastes to make the welcome message known : 
 The wedding's o'er, and Mary has become 
 The honored mistress of his humble home. 
 
 The pious Joseph plied the honest trade 
 Of carpenter. The Virgin was a maid 
 Of low condition. Yet they both could claim 
 Their high descent from royal David's name. 
 This was a part of old prophetic lore, 
 Recorded full a thousand years before. 
 
 And now the time is come ! 
 
 The faithful pious pair 
 
 Leave Nazareth, their humble home, 
 
 For Bethlehem, and there 
 
 Are forced in a poor stable to abide, 
 
 As if to pour contempt on earthly pride. 
 
 But soon the infant form 
 
 Of Jesus, pure and bright, 
 
 Pressed to his mother's bosom warm, 
 
 And viewed with fond delight, 
 
 Appears. "What mortal tongue may claim the 
 
 power 
 To tell the grateful rapture of that hour ! 
 
 The night was dark and still ; 
 The shepherds on the plain 
 
62 THE SHEPHERDS AND THE MAGI. 
 
 Watched o'er their flocks with simple skill ; 
 
 When, lo ! a shining train 
 
 Of light celestial burst upon their eyes, 
 
 And filled their hearts with terror and surprise. 
 
 The angel of the Lord 
 
 Stands now revealed to sight ! 
 
 " Fear not," he said, with gracious word 
 
 Calming the shepherds' fright : 
 
 " To you in Bethlehem is born, this clay, 
 
 The Saviour, whom the powers of heaven obey." 
 
 Transfixed with awe, they hear 
 
 The sweet unearthly sound ; 
 
 And straight an angel host appear 
 
 With waving wings around : 
 
 From seraph lips pours forth the exulting strain, 
 
 " Glory to God ; peace and good will to men ! " 
 
 Across the desert wide, 
 
 The waste of barren sand, 
 
 Behold the Eastern Magi ride, 
 
 A zealous, royal band ! 
 
 Alarmed, King Herod hears the startling news, — 
 
 They seek the infant Sovereign of the Jews ! 
 
 A weary journey far 
 
 They travel from their home ; 
 
 Led by a shining meteor-star, 
 
 To worship Him they come ; 
 
 With grateful joy the Babe divine they greet, 
 
 And lay their choicest treasures at His feet. 
 
SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS. 63 
 
 Their act of pious worship o'er 
 
 To Him whom they in faith adore, 
 
 They seek their home without delay, 
 
 But travel by a different way, 
 
 Obedient to the warning given 
 
 In visions of the night from heaven. 
 
 And thus King Herod was beguiled ; 
 
 For he had meant to slay the Child, 
 
 Lest He, grown up, should seize the throne 
 
 Intended for the tyrant's son. 
 
 But now, enraged, this cruel man 
 Resolved upon a horrid plan 
 To murder all the infants found 
 In Bethlehem's prophetic ground. 
 Straight at the furious despot's word, 
 His reckless soldiers drew the sword : 
 The mothers strove with maddened brain 
 To save their precious babes, in vain ; 
 They struggled, shrieked, and tore their hair 
 In all the wildness of despair : 
 But force their feeble power subdued, 
 And nought could stay the work of blood. 
 
 And did this awful sin succeed ? 
 Did Christ amid that slaughter bleed ? 
 Could Herod's wicked heart and hand 
 Thwart the Almighty's high command ? 
 Not so. The Lord foresaw the crime, 
 And Joseph was informed in time, 
 
64 HEROD'S DEATH. 
 
 Admonished in the dead of night 
 To rise forthwith, and take his flight 
 To Egypt with the infant Child, 
 And His pure Mother undefiled, 
 There in full safety to remain 
 Till Herod's death should end his reign. 
 
 Nor was it long until the hour 
 Which swept away his pride and power. 
 His closing years were few and brief, 
 His heart was torn with rage and grief, 
 While hate and jealousy's control, 
 Fears and suspicions, racked his soul. 
 From crime to crime remorseless driven, 
 ~No hope was his in earth or heaven. 
 Though human flattery called him "Great," 
 Though throned in pomp and royal state, 
 Yet through his realm 'twere hard to see 
 A more unhappy wretch than he. 
 
 But Herod had a liberal hand 
 Towards all who bowed at his command. 
 The priests of Israel, bought and sold, 
 Shared largely in the monarch's gold : 
 Their Temple's wants were well supplied 
 As well from policy as pride, 
 And vast the sums he lavished there 
 To ornament the House of Prayer. 
 The sycophants with loud acclaim 
 Honored the generous sovereign's name, 
 Until at length a favored few 
 
RETURN TO NAZARETH. 65 
 
 Gave him the title justly due 
 To the Messiah ! Impious boast 
 Of men to truth and virtue lost ! 
 But from their false and venal tongue 
 The sect of the Herodians sprung. 
 
 The power of Rome which ruled the land 
 
 Next gave the sceptre to the hand 
 
 Of Archelaus, Herod's son ; 
 
 And, when his reign had well begun, 
 
 Joseph, directed by the word 
 
 Which came, in slumber, from the Lord, 
 
 Well pleased, from Egypt took his road, 
 
 And fixed at Nazareth his abode. 
 
 The holy Child in stature grew, 
 
 In knowledge and in wisdom too, 
 
 Endowed all mysteries to scan, 
 
 And favored both by God and man. 
 
 Bound for Jerusalem, to join 
 The yearly feast by law divine, 
 His parents took the Youth along 
 With the accustomed happy throng 
 Of friends and neighbors, called at least 
 To spend a week in solemn feast, 
 And thus with joy and gladness prove 
 The social power of kindred love. 
 
 But He, on higher thoughts intent, 
 His footsteps to the Temple bent 
 To meet His heavenly Father there 
 
 5 
 
66 m THE TEMPLE. 
 
 In His own hallowed House of Prayer. 
 His guardians missed Him when the day- 
 Arrived to take their homeward way. 
 His Mother's heart with grief was bowed ; 
 In vain they sought Him in the crowd ; 
 Until at length the Youth was found 
 Seated with Israel's Rabbies round, 
 Who heard His answers, all amazed, 
 Doubting their senses while they gazed, 
 That He, a Boy of twelve years old, 
 Could such deep mysteries unfold, 
 Surpassing all their boasted lore, 
 With wisdom never known before ! 
 
 The Virgin Mother felt that He 
 
 Had caused her much anxiety, 
 
 And straightway gave Him a rebuke, 
 
 Which He with words of warning took. 
 
 " Son," she exclaimed, " why hast Thou gone 
 
 From our society alone ? 
 
 Thy father and myself, in fear, 
 
 Have sought Thee sorrowing, far and near." 
 
 " How did ye seek Me?" thus He said : 
 
 " Did ye not know My heart and head 
 
 Must be employed, with constant mind, 
 
 About the solemn work assigned 
 
 By my true Father ? " With a sigh 
 
 The Virgin heard her Son's reply. 
 
 His meaning was not fully seen ; 
 
 But yet she felt that she had been 
 
 Unjust and hasty. Well she knew 
 
YOUTHFUL OBEDIENCE. 67 
 
 The name of father was not due 
 To Joseph. Nor had He transgressed 
 In any wise her least behest. 
 She left Him free to use His powers 
 Like others, in those festive hours. 
 Where should the Son of God be found 
 If not upon His Father's ground? 
 Instead of blame, she should have given 
 Praise that His course still led to heaven. 
 Whatever else His words might mean, 
 Thus far, at least, their drift was seen \ 
 And, though mysterious still in part, 
 She laid them up within her heart. 
 
 But though our Lord was raised so high 
 Above His friends in dignity, 
 Transcending by His heavenly birth 
 The greatest monarchs upon earth, 
 Yet He had no desire to shun 
 The labors due from Mary's son 
 To her and Joseph. At a word, 
 He followed them with full accord ; 
 Promptly obedient to their will, 
 And subject to their bidding still, 
 Up to the period when, as man, 
 His wondrous work of grace began, 
 A ruined world from sin to save, 
 And give them victory o'er the grave. 
 
68 THE VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 CANTO II. 
 
 The ancient prophets plainly had foretold 
 
 The great forerunner of the Son of God. 
 
 The course of time through centuries onward 
 
 o 
 
 rolled, 
 
 And John the Baptist sent his voice abroad. 
 
 Like old Elijah, clothed in camel's hair, 
 With the same fearless energy endued, 
 With locks unshorn, and feet and ankles bare, — 
 Locusts and honey wild his only food, — 
 
 In the vast wilderness he raised his cry, 
 " Repent, repent, heaven's kingdom is at hand ! " 
 He spake with piercing voice and flashing eye, 
 And multitudes obeyed his stern command. 
 
 Crowds upon crowds came forth to see and hear 
 This fervent herald of Messiah's reign ; 
 And, lo ! the Scribes and Pharisees appear, 
 The preacher's wondrous influence to restrain. 
 
 But vain their hope ! In accents bold and true, 
 He drives his fearful accusation home : 
 " Ye race of vipers ! who hath warned you 
 To flee the terrors of the wrath to come ? 
 
 
BAPTISM IN JORDAN. 69 
 
 "Now to the root the axe at last is laid ; 
 Down to the ground is hewn each worthless tree, 
 Doomed to the fire ! and though in pride arrayed, 
 That awful end your destiny may be. 
 
 " Repent and be baptized ; with earnest care 
 Confess aloud the guilt in which you fall : 
 It will not purge your sins, but will prepare 
 The way for Him who can forgive them all. 
 
 " He is the gracious, blessed Lamb of God, 
 Ordained the world's transgressions to remove : 
 With water I baptize, but He with blood, 
 The Spirit, and the Fire, bestowed in love. 
 
 " He standeth now among you, born of heaven : 
 I am of earth. No miracles I do : 
 To Him, the Son of God, all power is given ; 
 I am not worthy to unloose His shoe." 
 
 Thus spake the great forerunner of the Lord, 
 And all Judaea heard the glorious theme : 
 The Scribes and Pharisees refused his word ; 
 The rest were all baptized in Jordan's stream. 
 
 At last the Saviour came, and sought to be 
 Baptized like others ; but St. John forbade : 
 " My duty is to be baptized by Thee ; 
 And comest Thou to me?". the Baptist said. 
 
70 THE TEMPTATION. 
 
 " Even so ," replied our Lord : " 'tis just and good 
 That I all righteousness should well fulfil." 
 St. John submitted, and the mystic flood 
 Was poured upon Him at His sacred will. 
 
 And now behold a wonder ! From the sky- 
 Descends the Holy Spirit like a dove, 
 And rests upon Him ; while a voice on high 
 Proclaims His heavenly Father's grace and love. 
 
 'Twas thus, appointed by supreme command, 
 Our great High Priest commenced His task divine, 
 The powers of Sin and Satan to withstand, 
 And with them all in mortal strife to join. 
 
 For the fallen angel who rebelled in heaven, 
 And gathered round him an apostate crew, 
 Had down to earth in punishment been driven, 
 In hoj>eless woe his wanton guilt to rue. 
 
 And there, by subtle and demoniac art, 
 He gained o'er human minds a vast control, 
 Defiled the nature of each mortal's heart, 
 And taught his own foul worship to the soul. 
 
 To our weak thought, it might at first appear 
 That all this evil had prevented been, 
 If the decree which brought those devils here 
 Had cut them off in vengeance for their sin. 
 
SATAN'S FALL. 71 
 
 But God, who knoweth all things, doubtless saw 
 That His vast universe would better learn 
 The blessings of obedience to His law, 
 When the results of sin they could discern. 
 
 For who can question that the countless host 
 Of worlds on worlds, created by His power, 
 Are all informed how happiness was lost, 
 By rebel treason, to the present hour ? 
 
 The holy angels came full oft from heaven 
 To show mankind the only way to bliss : 
 Why should we doubt their ministry is given 
 To all the other worlds as well as this ? 
 
 Satan's rebellion, therefore, must be known, 
 And man's, by his temptation, through the range 
 Of the whole universe ; though this alone 
 Could not suffice the sinner's doom to change. 
 
 Yet the dark history of the angel's fall 
 Has thus become a warning plain and clear 
 For myriads ; since his awful fate to all 
 A constant lesson reads of holy fear. 
 
 Expelled from heaven, his life with misery fraught, 
 The fruits of guilt they cannot fail to see ; 
 And hence, by his experience, they are taught 
 How sin and woe must still companions be. 
 
72 FORTY DAYS' FAST. 
 
 He and his foul associates were the first 
 Who rose rebellious 'gainst their glorious King: 
 They sinned without temptation; thrice accursed, 
 No hope to their despair could mercy bring. 
 
 But man was tempted by Satanic art ; 
 And this might well a ground of difference prove 
 Through which divine compassion could impart 
 The light of pardon by the Saviour's love. 
 
 For, by His merits and His death, the reign 
 Of Sin and Satan, in the end, shall fall, 
 The tempter's dark delusions prove in vain, 
 And God's rich mercy triumph o'er them all. 
 
 But the first act in the celestial plan 
 Required a conflict with the rebel's might ; 
 And hence our Lord, the heaven-descended Man, 
 Must meet and put our enemy to flight. 
 
 For this the Spirit led the Son of God 
 In the wild desert forty days to stay ; 
 Fasting from meat and drink, while all abroad 
 The savage beasts were roaming for their prey. 
 
 Then Satan came his subtle skill to try, 
 And move to sin that pure and holy heart : 
 Calmly our Lord returned His prompt reply, 
 While words of Scripture foiled the tempter's art. 
 
THE TEMPTER PUT TO FLIGHT. 73 
 
 At length the fiend was suffered to convey 
 The Saviour to a lofty mountain's height, 
 And there exhibited, with proud display, 
 The kingdoms of the world in all their might. 
 
 " These are mine own," the vaunting rebel said; 
 " To whom I will, their wealth I can resign : 
 To worship me but once bow down thy head, 
 And all their pomp and glory shall be thine." 
 
 " Get thee behind me, Satan ! " saith our Lord, 
 " Thou foe to all that is divine and true : 
 The God of heaven alone must be adored; 
 Worship and service both to Him are due." 
 
 The tempter's arts were all exhausted now ; 
 Conquered, he fled in shame and sore amaze ; 
 And angels came, before their King to bow, 
 His frame to nourish, and His work to praise. 
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 Victorious by the Spirit's sword, 
 Provided in the written Word, 
 The Saviour next proceeds to choose 
 Amongst the humblest of the Jews 
 His Twelve Apostles. Earthly aid, 
 In learning, wealth, or power arrayed, 
 
74 APOSTLES CHOSEN. 
 
 He would not have to mar the plan 
 Designed for every rank of man. 
 For this He took His lowly place 
 Amongst the poorer of the race ; 
 For this His chosen band should be 
 The fishermen of Galilee, — 
 Born on the most degraded soil 
 Of all Judaea, sons of toil, 
 Uncouth, unlettered. Only so 
 Could all mankind His mission know 
 To be divine, when such as these, 
 By the sole force of heaven's decrees, 
 Should plant His Church in full despite 
 Of earthly policy and might ; 
 Thus proving that the path they trod 
 Was opened by the hand of God. 
 
 The prophets had foretold the hour, 
 
 When, by the great Messiah's power, 
 
 Amazing wonders should be wrought, 
 
 Surpassing every human thought. 
 
 And now our Lord's almighty will 
 
 Began the promise to fulfil. 
 
 He made each fell disease to flee, 
 
 The deaf to hear, the blind to see, 
 
 The lame to walk, and the insane 
 
 Were brought to their right mind again. 
 
 The palsied wretch His word could raise; 
 
 The dumb were taught His power to praise ; 
 
 The lepers hastened, at His voice, 
 
 In health and vigor to rejoice ; 
 
MIRACLES. 75 
 
 While the possessed, within whose frame 
 The devils dwelt, where'er He came 
 Were forced His mandate to obey, 
 And, smote with terror, fled away. 
 
 Nor were these miracles the whole : 
 All Nature owned His high control. 
 He hushed the tempest at His will 
 By only saying, " Peace, be still ! " 
 He walked upon the waves, His feet 
 Sustained as by the solid street. 
 Five loaves and two small fish, increased 
 By His command, produced a feast 
 For many thousands. Even the grave 
 Proved His almighty power to save ; 
 And Lazarus' corpse, when it had lain 
 Four days beneath corruption's reign, 
 Rose, at His word, to life again. 
 
 Such marvellous works had never been 
 Amongst the chosen Israel seen. 
 'Twas true that acts of wondrous praise 
 Were likewise wrought in Moses' days, — 
 True that the prophets, on,e by one, 
 Some glorious miracles had done ; 
 But yet these facts Ave may recall 
 To prove how Christ excelled them all. 
 
 For, first, to them 'twas only given 
 
 To act as ministers of heaven. 
 
 " Thus saith the Lord," they all proclaim ; 
 
76 MIRACLES. 
 
 Their works were in Jehovah's Name ; 
 But Christ was Lord, in Him alone 
 The "fulness of the Godhead" shone. 
 And hence He does not use the phrase 
 Employed in the old prophets' days : 
 "I say," "I will," is still the mode 
 Which proved that He was One with God. 
 
 Next we behold our Lord pursue — 
 What saints and prophets never knew — 
 A track of comprehensive power, 
 Relieving woe in every hour ; 
 Prompt at the humblest suppliant's call, 
 Extending precious gifts to all, 
 And ever ready to impart 
 A blessing to the suffering heart. 
 We might as well compare the light 
 Shed by the starry host at night 
 With the effulgence of the sun, 
 As weigh the wonders He has done 
 Against the deeds of all who came 
 To Israel in a prophet's name. 
 
 Could they, however well inclined, 
 Restore the crazed, the lame, the blind, 
 The deaf, the dumb, the tempest still, 
 And cast out Satan at their will ? 
 Bright in their several orbs they shine : 
 But they were human \ He, divine. 
 
DIVINE POWER. 77 
 
 Thirdly, in Christ alone we trace 
 The right, so needed by our race, 
 To pardon sin. On no mere man 
 Was this bestowed since time began. 
 'Twas for His Deity to say, 
 " Thy guilt's forgiven and washed away." 
 'Twas God in Christ who gave release, 
 And filled the soul with joy and peace. 
 
 And, lastly, we behold our Lord 
 Pronouncing a transcendent word, 
 When His apostles, from His hand, 
 Received the power, by His command, 
 To heal the sick where'er they came, 
 And cast out devils in His name : 
 Thus proving, that in Him abode 
 The might and majesty of God. 
 
 St. John the Baptist was renowned; 
 His fame had filled the country round : 
 But yet against him soon arose 
 An active band of bitter foes. 
 The Pharisees' malignant crew, 
 The learned Jewish doctors too, 
 Whom he denounced in terms so plain, 
 In turn denounced him back again 
 As a fanatic fool, possessed 
 With a foul spirit. Still the rest 
 Refused such calumny to deal, 
 And praised his fearless, honest zeal ; 
 While his disciples on his side 
 Contended, and his foes defied. 
 
/o ST. JOHN BAPTIST IN PRISON. 
 
 At length the royal Herod came, 
 Attracted by the preacher's fame, 
 And heard him gladly for a time, 
 Till he rebuked the monarch's crime 
 In leading an adulterous life 
 With his own brother Philip's wife, — 
 The vile Herodias. She, enraged, 
 Her artful influence engaged 
 To have the weak, subservient king 
 Imprison John, with threats to bring 
 Destruction on his guiltless head 
 For words of treason, foully said, 
 His sovereign's virtue to disown, 
 And bring reproach against the throne. 
 
 The holy man in durance lay ; 
 When Herod fixed his natal day 
 To be distinguished by a feast, 
 Where every lord should be a guest. 
 Large was the company which poured 
 With joy around the royal board. 
 The daintiest meats were served with care, 
 The wine was quaffed in goblets rare ; 
 When, lo ! the daughter of the queen 
 Enters the hall with graceful mien, 
 Sent by her artful mother there, 
 The monarch's weakness to insnare. 
 The music sounds, her steps advance 
 With the gay movements of the dance, 
 In all her Eastern beauty's pride ; 
 And plaudits ring from every side. 
 
HERODIAS A2fD HER DAUGHTER. 
 
 The king, delighted, claps his hands ; 
 And now the maid before him stands. 
 Inflamed by wine, he swears her task 
 Deserves whatever she should ask ; 
 And she, well pleased, withdraws to find 
 Direction from her mother's mind. 
 
 Her lesson learned, she comes again. 
 The king repeats his oath. But when 
 She asked that John the Baptist's head 
 Be given her in a charger, fled 
 At once was all the monarch's glee ; 
 Sobered and sad he seemed to be ; 
 While to and the board, through every man, 
 A sudden thrill of horror ran ! 
 
 But yet they understood the case. 
 They knew the cause of John's disgrace. 
 They knew Herodias' vengeful heart. 
 They knew her deep deceitful art. 
 They knew her influence o'er the king, 
 Sooner or later sure to bring 
 Death to the object of her hate. 
 Why should they seek to stay his fate ? 
 'Twould be a risk such course to try. 
 The hapless man was doomed to die. 
 The King must act alone. 'Twas clear 
 They were not bound to interfere. 
 
 Thus did the base and selfish crew 
 Quiet their conscience, with a view 
 
80 ST. JOHN BAPTIST SLAIN. 
 
 To their own ease. The monarch bent 
 His gaze upon them, with intent 
 To find if any friendly tongue 
 Would aid him to escape the wrong : 
 But all were silent ; and though loth, 
 Entangled by his foolish oath, 
 And thinking that his court would blame 
 If he his royal faith should shame, 
 The wavering despot gave the word 
 To slay the herald of the Lord. 
 
 O Martyr to the truth of God ! 
 How glorious was the path he trod ! 
 How soon the shadowy vale was passed ! 
 How happy was his lot at last ! 
 By angels borne, his spirit came 
 Among the saints of highest name, 
 Welcomed to Paradise, with joy, 
 His powers forever to employ, 
 Where love and holiness combine 
 In bliss and pleasure all divine. 
 
 What comfort could Herodias gain ? 
 What peace the tyrant king attain ? 
 In all their pride of pomp and power, 
 Fear and remorse still marked each hour. 
 In stormy passion's dark control, 
 They lost the sunshine of the soul, 
 By sad experience doomed to know, 
 How sin must lead to pain and woe 
 Even here. But oh, hereafter ! — who 
 Can tell the miseries which ensue ? 
 
THE MESSIAH. 81 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 The wondrous works which Christ so freely 
 
 wrought, 
 His holy doctrine reaching to the heart, 
 Drew crowds, by whom the powerful aid was 
 
 sought 
 Which He alone was able to impart. 
 
 The voice of fame grew louder and more bold, 
 And stronger daily grew the hope that He 
 "Would prove the great Messiah, born to hold 
 King David's throne, and set His people free. 
 
 For heathen Rome oppressed them with her yoke ; 
 Their native kings no longer held the sway; 
 They felt the change of which the prophets spoke, 
 And saw how Zion's glory passed away. 
 
 The time had come by Zechariah set, 
 When Israel her true Monarch should proclaim ; 
 And an excited throng with zeal had met 
 To pay due honor to Messiah's name. 
 
 Bound the divine prediction to sustain, 
 Our Lord to His disciples gives command, 
 That they a colt, unbroken to the rein, 
 Should bring, and yield it to His mighty hand. 
 
82 TBIUMPHAL ENTRY. 
 
 They hold the struggling brute, alarmed and wild, 
 Placing their clothes for the Redeemer's seat ; 
 And, lo ! the colt, at once subdued and mild, 
 Moves freely on with slow and gentle feet. 
 
 The multitude a vast procession make : 
 With branches from the palm-trees waved on high, 
 And garments strewed upon the road, they take 
 Their way, and to Jerusalem draw nigh. 
 
 Shouting for joy, they enter through the gate ; 
 Blessing and praise from every lip arose ; 
 But "Who is this that coineth in such state?" 
 Exclaimed the Pharisees, His bitter foes. 
 
 Prompt was the answer, " 'Tis the mighty Son 
 Of David, ancient Israel's favorite king : 
 To His great name be highest honor done, 
 And loud hosannahs let His people sing." 
 
 The Saviour to the Temple takes His way, 
 And there beholds how, in that sacred fane, 
 Sellers of oxen and of doves display, 
 With money-changers, the foul greed of gain. 
 
 With holy indignation, He prepares 
 A whip of cords to scourge the venal band; 
 While not one conscience-stricken culprit dares 
 To raise resistance to His mighty hand. 
 
CLEANSING THE TEMPLE. 83 
 
 " Take these things hence ! " the great Redeemer 
 
 cries : 
 " This holy place was not for Mammon made ; 
 No room is here for earthly merchandise ; 
 'Twas built for piety, and not for trade. 
 
 " My Father's house should be the house of prayer, 
 Prayer which the humble soul from sin relieves ; 
 But ye have brought your love of money there, 
 And made it to become a den of thieves." 
 
 The heavenly prophecy was now fulfilled ; 
 The act of holy discipline was done : 
 Their hearts in homage deep the people yield, 
 And seek by force to place Him on the throne. 
 
 But He had come to suffer, not to reign ; 
 In worldly honor He had no delight ; 
 The crowd's applauding voice was all in vain ; 
 And He withdrew in silence from their sight. 
 
 For well He knew the kingdom they desired 
 Was one of earthly glory and renown ; 
 The conquest which their sensual minds required 
 Was but to hurl their Roman masters down. 
 
 Of Satan's empire o'er the selfish soul 
 They had no consciousness, and felt no dread ; 
 Nor dreamed they how, through Sin's corrupt con- 
 trol, 
 The wrath of God impended o'er their head. 
 
84 THE PHARISEES. 
 
 In every form of teaching He displayed 
 The truth of heaven, — by parables divine ; 
 By solemn precepts plain and pointed made, 
 That so their hearts to wisdom might incline ; 
 
 By deeds of wondrous mercy day by day, — 
 Those marvels of almighty power and love, — 
 By warnings given to guide them in the way, 
 And strong rebukes their vices to reprove. 
 
 But while the people heard Him with good will, 
 And many followed Him in grateful joy, 
 The Scribes and Pharisees, with artful skill, 
 Used every means His influence to destroy. 
 
 These men had long the highest rank attained 
 For piety, among the Jewish race ; 
 In outward forms devout, and fully trained, 
 With sanctimonious air and solemn face. 
 
 At the street-corners oft they prayed aloud, 
 And blew a trumpet when their alms were given : 
 By arts like these they gained upon the crowd, 
 Who thought they were the favorites of Heaven. 
 
 Galled by the stern reproaches of St. John, 
 And envious of the Saviour's growing fame, 
 They slandered all the wonders He had done. 
 And vilified with zeal His sacred Itfame. 
 
THEIR HATRED OF CHRIST. 85 
 
 His miracles they dared not to deny 
 (Thousands had witnessed them as well as they); 
 But none, they argued, could on these rely, 
 Since Satan's power produced the whole display. 
 
 Our great Redeemer on the Sabbath gave 
 Relief to sufferers by His mighty word ; 
 And this they called a profanation grave, 
 By every pious Jew to be abhorred ! 
 
 The Son of the Most High He claimed to be, 
 Receiving constant warship as His due ; 
 And this, they said, was open blasphemy, 
 As all who read the law of Moses knew ! 
 
 With publicans and sinners He maintained 
 A kindly converse, and was oft their guest : 
 Of this with indignation they complained, 
 And loudly censured such polluted feast. 
 
 Yet, while by low companionship disgraced, 
 He claimed the dignity of Israel's king ! 
 And " here," they cried, " rebellion may be traced, 
 Which on the land may Rome's proud vengeance 
 bring." 
 
 'Twas thus, by Satan's art, in error lost, 
 These Pharisees opposed the truth of Heaven ; 
 And thus they sinned against the Holy Ghost, 
 That only sin which cannot be forgiven. 
 
86 HYPOCRITES. 
 
 But though they held so proud and high a place, 
 And ruled the people with so strong a hand, 
 Our Lord against them firmly set His face, 
 And openly denounced the faithless band. 
 
 Before the multitude, in words of power, 
 By zeal divine and sacred justice led, 
 He warned them of the judgment's awful hour, 
 And uttered fearful woes upon their head. 
 
 Pie called them hypocrites, whose lives could tell 
 That they were like a tomb, with outside fair, 
 While dark within the damp and dreary cell 
 Lay bones and coi^ses, all corrupting there. 
 
 They closed the door of heaven by fraud and lies; 
 They entered not themselves ; and those who tried 
 To enter there could ne'er to knowledge rise 
 By heartless forms or by self-righteous pride. 
 
 The widows and the orphans they despoiled, 
 And made long prayers to cover up the sin ; 
 But the vile gain for which these robbers toiled 
 Deeper damnation from such prayers should win. 
 
 To make a proselyte was still their care ; 
 For this their labors were most freely given : 
 But the poor wretch was taken in a snare, 
 And made a child of hell instead of heaven. 
 
CHEISTS DEATH FORETOLD. 87 
 
 Pretending to revere the law of God, 
 Yet only by tradition taught to move, 
 They laid on others an oppressive load, 
 "Without regard to mercy, truth, or love. 
 
 A race of vipers, venomous and vile, 
 The sons of those who erst the prophets slew, 
 Offspring of Satan, given to blood and spoil, 
 His are the deeds which they delight to do. 
 
 Woe to the hypocrites ! their arts display 
 Nought but the road of ruin to mankind : 
 How can they 'scape the awful judgment-day, 
 Or hope acceptance from the Lord to find ? 
 
 With such denunciations clear and strong, 
 The Saviour sought to break the fatal band 
 By which the Pharisees retained so long 
 Their baneful mastery throughout the land. 
 
 Yet the result was certain to His mind : 
 His prophets, centuries before that day, 
 Described the Jewish race as deaf and blind, 
 By Sin and Satan's falsehood led astray. 
 
 And He foretold, in words distinct and plain, 
 To His Apostles, how His course would end ; — 
 The triumph which His bitter foes should gain 
 In slaying Him, their best and truest friend. 
 
88 RESURRECTION PROPHESIED. 
 
 He told them how His death the world should 
 
 save; 
 How mocked and crucified their Lord must be ; 
 How He should rise victorious o'er the grave, 
 And from their bondage set His people free. 
 
 For then His Church, — His kingdom upon 
 
 earth, — 
 By His Apostles planted in His might, 
 Thronged with believing souls of heavenly birth, 
 Should grow and flourish in the heathens' sight. 
 
 And proud Jerusalem, who oft had killed 
 The prophets, and would now condemn her Lord, 
 Should be with famine and with slaughter filled, 
 To ruin doomed by His avenging sword. 
 
 Nor would that generation disappear 
 Till these predictions should accomplished prove : 
 His foes should be cast down in woe and fear ; 
 His friends should still be blessed with peace and 
 love. 
 
 'Twas so determined by divine decree ; 
 And who should dare gainsay the Lord's com- 
 mand ? 
 The earth and e'en the heavens might cease to be ; 
 But God's great purpose should forever stand ! 
 
DISAPPOINTED AMBITION. 89 
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 Three years had now fulfilled their round, 
 
 Since, on Judaea's hostile ground, 
 
 The Lord His holy work of grace 
 
 Began in pity to our race, — 
 
 Preaching His glorious Gospel to the poor, 
 
 And ready all their griefs and woes to cure. 
 
 Alas ! what conflicts He sustained ! 
 What precious gifts those Jews disdained! 
 Help for the flesh they gladly used ; 
 Help for the spirit they refused : 
 Subdued by Sin and Satan's dark control, 
 They would not suffer Him to save their soul. 
 
 At first, astonished by His power, 
 
 They hailed the long-expected hour 
 
 When their Messiah, David's Son, 
 
 Should occupy His father's throne ; 
 
 When heathen Rome should be to ruin hurled, 
 
 And Judah's King should rule a subject world. 
 
 But when that favorite scheme was crossed, 
 And their ambition's hope was lost 
 By His rejection of the crown, 
 Their admiration soon cooled down : 
 The Pharisees their willing ear could gain, 
 And truth and mercy were proclaimed in vain. 
 
90 JUDAS ISCARIOT. 
 
 Even the Apostles were impressed 
 With expectation, like the rest : 
 Although their faith, through grace divine, 
 Their hearts to love could still incline, 
 Taught by His heavenly wisdom day by day, 
 And guarded safely from the Tempter's sway. 
 
 But one amongst that honored band 
 
 Proved recreant to his Lord's command, — 
 
 Judas Iscariot, called to be 
 
 The wretched tool of treachery, 
 
 In strict accordance with prophetic lore, 
 
 Recorded by the Psalmist long before. 
 
 'Twas not because the traitor's sin 
 Constrained by Heaven's decree had been. 
 The Saviour read his venal heart, 
 Prepared to act the awful part ; 
 And thus foresaw his willingness to do 
 The deed which the prophetic pencil drew. 
 
 The Jewish priesthood, in the main, 
 Was held by Pharisees. To gain 
 The object of their fell despite 
 Against our Lord, they deemed it right 
 To have Him. taken by commandment high, 
 Accused in form, and so condemned to die ! 
 
 Attracted by the Saviour's fame, 
 Judas rejoiced to bear the name 
 
CHRIST TO BE TAKEX. 91 
 
 Of an Apostle, in the hope 
 
 That such a service would give scope 
 
 For worldly profit through his Lord's control ; — 
 
 That was the passion which absorbed his soul. 
 
 But soon he found his hope was vain, 
 
 Since Christ looked down with scorn on gain : 
 
 His benefits were given, not sold ; 
 
 He wrought for love, and not for gold. 
 
 And so the wretch, who could not comprehend 
 
 His Master's motives, ceased to be His friend. 
 
 Thus, when he saw the favoring tide 
 
 Of public confidence subside, 
 
 While still against our Lord arose 
 
 The growing hatred of His foes, 
 
 He longed to change his course without delay, 
 
 And leave His service for a safer way. 
 
 The Pharisees, with fell intent, 
 
 The public officers had sent 
 
 To take the Saviour : but the deed 
 
 Was found too dangerous to succeed ; 
 
 For still He held high influence o'er the throng, 
 
 And crowds mio-ht rise to shield Him from the 
 
 And hence they deemed it would be best 
 To choose the night for his arrest ; 
 For then the people would be gone, 
 And He might be secured alone, 
 

 92 JUDAS SELLS HIS LORD. 
 
 If only they could know the spot where He, 
 With His small company, should chance to be. 
 
 For though He was the mighty Lord 
 
 Of heaven and earth, which by His word 
 
 Had been created, when He came 
 
 To bear our load of sin and shame, 
 
 He had no dwelling for His humble bed, 
 
 Nor home where He might rest His weary head. 
 
 The foxes to their holes could hie, 
 
 And to their nests the birds could fly ; 
 
 But He who made them by His might 
 
 Still wandered in the dews of night 
 
 From place to place, on mountain or in dell ; 
 
 And where to find Him no man could foretell. 
 
 Judas, from this, conceived the thought 
 
 That his foul treason might be bought. 
 
 Before the priests he went to lay 
 
 The plan by which he might betray 
 
 His Lord and Master at the midnight hour, 
 
 When none would question their official power. 
 
 His offer they received with joy, 
 
 And straightway hastened to employ 
 
 The sordid wretch, at whose demand 
 
 They placed their silver in his hand ; 
 
 And from that day he sought to find the mode 
 
 By which he might betray the Son of God. 
 
THE HOLY EUCHARIST. 93 
 
 And now the paschal feast drew near, — 
 
 That holiest time in all the year, — 
 
 When every faithful Jew was bound 
 
 To visit Zion's sacred ground, 
 
 And feed upon the lamb ordained by heaven, — 
 
 The type of Him by whom our sin's forgiven. 
 
 The Saviour in an upper room 
 
 To keep this holy feast had come. 
 
 His twelve Apostles, round their Lord, 
 
 "With reverence listened to His word ; 
 
 And, when He had performed the ancient rite, 
 
 He gave a new Memorial to their sight. 
 
 For, taking in his hand the bread, 
 
 Blessing and breaking it, He said, 
 
 " This is my Body, given for you : 
 
 Take it, and eat; and, as you do 
 
 This solemn action, let your spirits prove 
 
 That you remember all your Saviour's love." 
 
 And then the Cup of mingled wine 
 
 He blessed, and said, with look benign, 
 
 "Drink this, and be it understood 
 
 As the new Covenant in my Blood 
 
 Shed for you all. Of this, when you partake, 
 
 Do it in faithful memory for my sake." 
 
 O precious Sacrament ! how high ■ 
 
 The pledge of grace these words supply ! 
 
94 PETER'S BOAST. 
 
 The gift which, under faith's control, 
 Assures salvation to the soul, 
 Secures our victory in each mortal strife, 
 And makes us meet for everlasting life ! 
 
 This done, the Saviour fixed the doom 
 Of Judas. Though the time had come, 
 Predicted by the prophets, when 
 The Christ must die by wicked men, 
 Yet awful woe, by His Almighty Word, 
 Should seize the vile betrayer of his Lord. 
 
 Discovered by the power divine, 
 
 The traitor found his base design 
 
 Was fully known ; but yet his heart, 
 
 So long possessed by Satan's art, 
 
 Was still resolved to execute his plan, 
 
 And thus complete the sin which he began. 
 
 Deluded by the Tempter's sway, 
 
 The hardened rebel went his way. 
 
 And then the Saviour to the rest 
 
 The solemn prophecy addressed : 
 
 " All ye, this night, on my account shall be 
 
 Offended ; 'tis a part of Heaven's decree." 
 
 But Peter, strong in conscious love, 
 
 Presumed the saying to reprove ; 
 
 And straight exclaimed, with inward pride, 
 
 " That cannot be to me applied : 
 
 Though all should be offended, yet my faith 
 
 Shall still be firm and loyal unto death." 
 
GETHSEMANE. 95 
 
 Alas ! how weak and vain the boast ! 
 How soon his confidence was lost ! 
 " I tell thee, Peter," saith our Lord, 
 "Before the cock crow — mark My word — 
 The Tempter shall to thee his art apply, 
 And thou three times thy Master shalt deny." 
 
 But yet the rash Apostle took 
 
 No warning from this strong rebuke : 
 
 " Though I should die with thee," he cried, 
 
 "Thou ne'er by me shalt be denied." 
 
 How was he humbled when the trial came, 
 
 And filled his heart with sorrow and with shame ! 
 
 Our pitying Lord had well divined 
 The leading sin of Peter's mind : 
 Temptation's power he must endure, 
 His proud self-confidence to cure ; 
 Thus by his fall he should be forced to feel 
 That Christ alone could give him strength and 
 zeal. 
 
 The paschal moon shone clear and bright, 
 
 As the disciples, by her light, 
 
 Led by the Saviour, took their way 
 
 Where a convenient garden lay : 
 
 'Twas called Gethsemane, and to its shade 
 
 Full many a visit had their Master made. 
 
 " Here," said our Lord, " ye may remain 
 Till I shall come to you again." 
 
96 THE AGONY. 
 
 Then, taking Peter, James, and John 
 To watch while He should pray alone, 
 He felt His soul by inward grief oppressed, 
 And awful sadness weighed upon His breast. 
 
 But who His bitter woe can tell, 
 As on His face He prostrate fell, 
 And to the throne of God on high 
 Addressed His supplicating cry : 
 " O Father ! if 'tis possible, I pray 
 This cup of agony may pass away." 
 
 What did He mean ? Was it the fear 
 
 Of cruel death which now drew near ? 
 
 Absurd to think so ! All the woe 
 
 That men can suffer here below 
 
 Had been by martyrs borne with scarce a sigh ; 
 
 And was the Son of God afraid to die ? 
 
 O no ! It was the burden laid 
 
 Upon His pure and holy head, — 
 
 The crimes of all mankind ! He came 
 
 To bear our load of sin and shame : 
 
 Our surety and our substitute He stood, 
 
 That He might pay our ransom by His Blood. 
 
 And, when the hour had come to roll 
 This sea of guilt upon His soul, 
 He prayed in anguish. From each pore 
 Fell to the ground great drops of gore ; 
 And all His sinless nature writhed to be 
 From that dire cup r if possible, set free ! 
 
THE THREE ASLEEP. 97 
 
 It was not possible ! The plan 
 
 Which God in love devised for man 
 
 Required that mercy's light should shine 
 
 Along with justice all divine ! 
 
 Had Christ refused that burden to sustain, 
 
 His sacrifice would have been made in vain ! 
 
 For 'tis the rule by justice set, 
 
 That when our surety pays our debt, 
 
 It must be counted for his own 
 
 By his consent, and that alone ; 
 
 And hence, when Jesus was our Surety made, 
 
 Our debt of sin upon His head was laid. 
 
 But was His liberty constrained ? 
 
 Not so ! The glory which He gained 
 
 Was due to the obedience given 
 
 To the sublime designs of Heaven ; 
 
 Though hours of suffering wore His fainting 
 
 frame, 
 Until, to strengthen Him, an angel came. 
 
 On the cold earth, in midnight air, 
 
 Thrice had He breathed His fervent prayer, 
 
 Bleeding in agony ; yet still 
 
 He chose to do His Father's will. 
 
 O mystery of love ! beyond all power 
 
 Of human j:>raise was that transcendent hour! 
 
 The three disciples failed to keep 
 Their weary watch, and sunk to sleep : 
 
 7 
 
98 JUDAS BETRAYS WITH A KISS. 
 
 Our Lord approached, and bade them rise; 
 For Judas came to seek his prize, 
 With soldiers, torches, weapons, all arrayed, 
 That no attempt at rescue might be made. 
 
 The traitor had prepared the plan 
 
 To designate the proper man : 
 
 " The person whom I kiss," said he, 
 
 " Must on the spot arrested be, 
 
 Lest in the crowd and darkness of the night 
 
 He should attempt to save himself by flight." 
 
 And so the wretch, with brazen face, 
 
 Presumed the Saviour to embrace ; 
 
 And said, " Hail, Master ! " At the word, 
 
 The soldiers moved to seize our Lord ; 
 
 But He came forward with a stern demand, 
 
 Which checked the ardor of the martial band : — 
 
 " Whom do ye seek with such parade ? " 
 
 " Jesus of Nazareth," they said. 
 
 " I am the person," He replied, 
 
 And straight their puny force defied ; 
 
 For at His bidding, struck by sudden shock, 
 
 Prostrate they fell as by a lightning-stroke. 
 
 Thus proving that their power and skill 
 
 Could nought avail against His will, 
 
 He gave Himself to be a prey 
 
 Without remonstrance or delay : 
 
 'Twas written that His blood should thus be shed, 
 
 Even as the lamb is to the slaughter led. 
 
PETER'S FLIGHT. 99 
 
 But Peter, at his Master's word, 
 Had been provided with a sword ; 
 And rushing madly on the crowd, 
 With language passionate and loud, 
 Wounded the high-priest's servant by a blow, 
 Which cut the ear, and laid the caitiff low. 
 
 " Put up thy sword," the Saviour cried : 
 
 " If force were fit to be applied, 
 
 A troop of angels would be given 
 
 At once, by the command of Heaven ; 
 
 But how should then the Scriptures be fulfilled ? 
 
 This is their hour, and willingly I yield." 
 
 Thus saying, on the sufferer's head 
 
 Our Lord a gentle pressure laid. 
 
 That touch divine dispelled the pain : 
 
 The wounded man was whole again ! 
 
 Then meekly turning to the wondering band, 
 
 He gave Himself a prisoner to their hand. 
 
 And what of His disciples ? All, 
 Lest danger might themselves befall, 
 Forsook their Master. He full well 
 Their timid prudence could foretell. 
 Even Peter, when his fit of boldness passed, 
 Forgot his boast, and fled away at last. 
 
 The Jewish Council met in state 
 To seal the great Redeemer's fate. 
 
100 CHRIST BEFORE THE COUNCIL. 
 
 False witnesses before them stood 
 To legalize the work of blood. 
 Silent and calm, our Lord gave no reply : 
 He was not there to argue, but to die. 
 
 At length the high-priest, in the name 
 Of Him from whom creation came, 
 Adjured the Saviour to decide 
 The point to which their charge applied, 
 And say, in terms from all evasion free, 
 Whether the Son of God He claimed to be. 
 
 And He replied, with words of power, 
 
 " I am. At the appointed hour, 
 
 Ye shall behold me, placed on high 
 
 At God's right hand in majesty, 
 
 And coming in the clouds with heavenly might, 
 
 Glorious in victory, and robed in light." 
 
 " Rank blasphemy ! " the priest exclaimed, 
 
 " As e'er by wicked lips was framed ! 
 
 INTo farther witness need appear : 
 
 We have His own confession here. 
 
 What think ye ? " All, with one united breath, 
 
 Pronounced Him guilty, and deserving death. 
 
 But Peter, though, like all the rest, 
 He fled, through fear of an arrest, 
 Had followed to the palace gate 
 Where the assembled Council sate, 
 And with the servants entered to attend 
 The trial of his Lord, and see the end. 
 
REMORSE OF JUDAS. 101 
 
 And here his trial now began. 
 
 Some recognized him as the man 
 
 Who had the Saviour's follower been, 
 
 And oft was in His service seen. 
 
 Three times thus challenged, Peter boldly lied, 
 
 And thrice his Master, even with oaths, denied. 
 
 The cock crowed loud ! Alas ! the crime 
 Was all complete within the time 
 Which Christ predicted. Guilt and shame 
 With keen remorse convulsed his frame ; 
 And he went out to mourn with bitter tears 
 His base ingratitude and faithless 'fears. 
 
 And Judas ! — how did he succeed ? 
 
 The traitor had performed the deed 
 
 Of vilest perfidy against his Lord, 
 
 By eveiy honest heart abhorred ; 
 
 But soon his soul, by awful terrors torn, 
 
 Was forced to wish he never had been born. 
 
 For, when he heard the Saviour doomed, 
 
 His guilt its odious shape assumed. 
 
 Rushing where priests and elders stood, 
 
 He cried, " I have betrayed the blood 
 
 Of innocence ! " — " See thou to that," they said : 
 
 " The plan was thine, the shame be on thy head." 
 
 Down on the ground, in wild despair, 
 He threw the silver pieces there, 
 
102 NO SCEPTRE IN JUDAH. 
 
 And, urged by Satan, went alone 
 
 Into the field he hoped to own ; 
 
 Then round his neck the fatal noose he tied, 
 
 And thus the ruined wretch in horror died ! 
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 Jerusalem no longer held a king ; 
 
 But all her citizens were forced to bring 
 
 A liberal tribute, at the stated hour, 
 
 In due submission to the Roman power, 
 
 Which ruled supreme. And Pilate was the man 
 
 To whom, according to their usual plan, 
 
 The right belonged, by his decisive breath, 
 
 To give the warrant for each culprit's death. 
 
 For Jacob's prophecy, through many years, 
 Had been fulfilled amidst the nation's tears : 
 The sceptre from great Judah's race had gone ; 
 No laws were framed by Jewish will alone ; 
 No monarch's voice was heard, for tyrant Rome 
 Their earthly sovereign had in truth become. 
 The high priest's council might condemn our 
 
 Lord, 
 But Pilate's voice must speak the final word ; 
 To him, however loath, they must apply ; 
 His lips could sentence Christ to live or die. 
 
PILATE OX THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 103 
 
 They bound the Saviour, and, without delay, 
 To Pilate's judgment-hall they took the way. 
 Two charges there against our Lord they brought : 
 First, that the dignity of King He sought, 
 And thus committed treason 'gainst the State ; 
 Next, by the Jewish law, He earned the fate 
 Of a blasphemer, on the felon's tree, 
 Because the Son of God He claimed to be. 
 
 But Pilate long had known the Saviour's name ; 
 His marvellous works, His doctrine, and His fame, 
 Were all familiar topics through the land, 
 Which few could wholly fail to understand. 
 
 The heathen Governor, moreover, knew 
 How Christ denounced the sanctimonious crew 
 Of Scribes and Pharisees ; while they repaid 
 With bitter hatred all the truth He said. 
 And hence, believing that the charges rose 
 From envy of our Lord's malicious foes, 
 He wished to make their vengeful clamor cease, 
 And give their guiltless prisoner a release. 
 
 As on the seat of judgment he reclined, 
 This feeling gained new influence o'er his mind, 
 When he received a warning from his wife 
 To guard with careful heed the Saviour's life : 
 " Beware," she said, " that thou adopt no plan 
 Against that blameless, just, and righteous man ; 
 For I have suffered in a dream this day, 
 Lest He to malice should be made a prey." 
 
104 BARABBAS CHOSEN. 
 
 But Christ Himself in silent patience stood. 
 While priests and elders thirsted for His blood, 
 He gazed on them with calm and pitying eye, 
 And to their wrathful words gave no reply. 
 
 It was the custom at the Paschal feast, 
 
 That one, in prison bound, should be released. 
 
 And so it was that, at this stated time, 
 
 Barabbas lay condemned for heinous crime : 
 
 A robber and a murderer was he, 
 
 Of whose deep guilt no question there could be. 
 
 To claim their right, the people took their stand, 
 
 And Pilate asked them whom they would 
 
 demand, — 
 Whether Barabbas or our Lord should draw 
 A full and free exemption from the law. 
 
 And yet, although it seemed to him their voice 
 Could never stoop to speak so vile a choice, 
 They took the robber, in their furious hate 
 Resolved to consummate the Saviour's fate ; 
 And when the Governor, in sad surprise, 
 Inquired what doom for Christ they would advise, 
 Excited by malicious rage, they cried 
 With clamor loud, " Let Him be crucified ! " 
 
 The multitude in this demand were led 
 By the base lies which priests and elders said : 
 For they had worked, with every artful wile, 
 The people's thoughts and feelings to beguile ; 
 
PILATE'S VAIN APPEAL. 105 
 
 • 
 Persuading tlieni most falsely to believe 
 -That " Christ was Satan's agent to deceive 
 And ruin the whole nation ; that the will 
 Of evil spirits gave Him all His skill 
 In doing wonders ; while His words, in fine, 
 Were quite opposed to Moses' law divine ; 
 And hence His death was just. No other plan 
 Could foil this enemy of God and man ! " 
 
 Pilate was disappointed and perplexed : 
 
 One scheme had failed; but he would try the 
 
 next. 
 Hoping their hearts by reason might be won, 
 He asked the crowd what evil Christ had done. 
 Perhaps he meant them to recall the fact, 
 That, year by year, the Saviour's every act 
 Displayed His sjTnpathy in all the woe 
 That suffering mortals can endure below ; 
 And thus a change of feeling they might prove 
 From causeless enmity to grateful love. 
 But o'er their minds no influence he could 
 
 gain ; 
 His just appeal was wholly made in vain : 
 In wilder passion than before they cried 
 "With furious shouts, " Let Him be crucified ! " 
 
 The Governor, alarmed, surveyed the crowd. 
 Their flashing eyes and imprecations loud 
 Gave warning that a tumult was at hand, 
 Which he had not the courage to withstand. 
 
106 PILATE WASHES HIS HANDS. 
 
 • 
 But still his conscience would not let him dare 
 In such a sacrifice to take a share ; 
 And as he felt that he must please the Jews, 
 Fearing their anger if he should refuse, 
 While yet he did not mean to say a word 
 In condemnation of our guiltless Lord, 
 He thought of an expedient to unite 
 The course of interest with the sense of right. 
 
 For water to be brought he gave a call ; 
 And then he washed his hands before them all, 
 These words pronouncing : " Innocent am I 
 Of this just person's blood. On you must lie 
 The guilt of shedding it." With willing speed 
 The maddened crowd to this at once agreed : 
 "Yea, let his blood," with one consent they 
 
 cried, 
 " On us and on our children still abide ! " 
 
 Alas ! how little did those wretches know 
 That here they spake a jn'ophecy of woe ! 
 How little did they dream — by Satan led — 
 What curses they invoked upon their head ! 
 And yet the Saviour warned them years before, 
 Predicting Israel's ruin o'er and o'er; 
 But they disdained the lesson till too late, 
 And Heaven's long-threatened justice sealed their 
 fate. 
 
 The base and venal Governor, who held 
 That Christ was innocent, was yet impelled, 
 
THE SCOURGING AND MOCKING. 107 
 
 By coward fear, to treat our blessed Lord 
 As if He were condemned. For at his word 
 They scourged the Holy One, and gave release 
 That vile Barabbas might depart in peace ; 
 And then, the cup of cruelty to fill, 
 He yielded Jesus to the people's will. 
 
 The Saviour, bleeding from the scourge's blows, 
 Was now committed to His bitter foes. 
 His grievous pains with devilish glee to mock, 
 The soldiers made our Lord a laughing-stock ; 
 Compelled Him first a purple robe to wear ; 
 Next on His brows a crown of thorns to bear ; 
 Last, — that their sport might be completely 
 
 graced, — 
 A reed, for sceptre, in His hand they placed ; 
 And shouted, as they bent the suppliant knee, 
 " King of the Jews, all hail ! we bow to thee ! " 
 Nor was this odious mummery the whole ; 
 For all the powers of darkness ruled their soul. 
 They smote Him with their hands, and with a rod ; 
 They even spit upon the Son of God ! 
 And every form of malice had its sway, 
 Until they wearied of their horrid play. 
 
 O language fails, and thought cannot impart 
 The awful vileness of the human heart, 
 Displayed when faithless men rebellious prove 
 Against the gracious Lord of life and love ! 
 'Tis wonderful that mortals, who can feel 
 For home and kindred such devoted zeal, — 
 
108 BEARING THE CROSS. 
 
 Who know of warm affection all the power, 
 And weep with sympathy in sorrow's hour, — 
 Can yield themselves to hatred's dire control ; 
 When pride and passion agitate the soul, 
 Be to the claims of mercy deaf and blind ; 
 Cast pity and compassion to the wind ; 
 For light put darkness, evil take for good ; 
 Lay plans for cruelty, and thirst for blood ; 
 Praise raging vengeance, meekness brand with 
 
 shame, 
 And act like demons in fair Virtue's name ! 
 
 But pass we on. The hour at length had come 
 When Jesus must prepare to meet His doom : 
 On His weak frame the heavy cross they lay, 
 And then to Calvary's hill pursue their way. 
 Sleepless and fasting, bleeding and in pain, 
 The load was greater than He could sustain. 
 Fainting, He sunk beneath it on the ground ; 
 But soon a substitute the soldiers found, — 
 Simon, a stranger, whom they forced to bear 
 Part of a scene in which he had no share. 
 
 Vast was the crowd that followed to behold 
 The Son of God thus foully bought and sold. 
 The men derided, but the women wept ; 
 And Jesus, who till then had silence kept, 
 Addressed the mourners, whose fast-falling tears 
 Bare witness to their sorrow and their fears : 
 " Ye daughters, of Jerusalem," He said, 
 " Let not those gracious tears for Me be shed. 
 
THE MOCKERY OF THE MULTITUDE. 109 
 
 But for yourselves and for your children weep ! 
 The days are coming when, with feelings deep 
 Of grief and anguish, this proud race shall call 
 The hills and mountains on their head to fall ; 
 When Heaven no more indulgence shall extend, 
 And wrath divine in judgment shall descend!" 
 
 They reach the hill of Calvary, and there 
 The awful work of sacrifice prepare. 
 Stripped of His raiment, on the Cross they lay 
 The Lamb of God, who takes our sins away. 
 Through hands and feet the cruel spikes are 
 
 driven, 
 While He, in torture, lifts His eyes to heaven ; 
 Content to suffer all His bitter pain, 
 In loving hope a ruined world to gain ! 
 Now lifted up on the accursed tree, 
 Two thieves, His vile associates to be, 
 Are placed wilh mockery on either side ; 
 The priests and scribes His agony deride. 
 Their Victim with these taunting words they 
 
 brave : 
 " Others he saved, himself he cannot save ! 
 He deemed that he was king o'er Israel's throne : 
 From this well-ordered Cross let Him come down, 
 And then we will believe Him. Even the Name 
 Of God's own Son His pride has dared to claim ; 
 Let the blasphemer feel, in death's dark hour, 
 How the Almighty vindicates His power." 
 Hatred and insult thus inspire the voice 
 With which His frenzied enemies rejoice. 
 
110 THE SEVEN LAST WORDS. 
 
 His scared disciples and the women stand 
 Amongst the crowd, the only faithful band ; 
 Cast down, o'erwhelmed, the mournful scene they 
 
 view; 
 Their tongues are silent, but their hearts are 
 
 true. 
 The suffering Saviour, careful to fulfil 
 The prophecies dictated by His will, 
 Speaks from the cross : "I thirst;" and to His lips 
 A soldier lifts a sponge, which first he dips 
 In gall and vinegar. 'Twas in accord 
 With the plain statement of the Psalmist's word. 
 
 The thieves, who hung on crosses at His side, 
 Joined with the rest His sorrows to deride ; 
 But one repented, and with censure strong 
 Reproved his base companion for the wrong. 
 Then to our Lord he turned his suppliant eye, 
 And sought forgiveness with an humble cry ; 
 Nor sought in vain. "This day|" saith Christ, 
 
 " with me 
 Thy pardoned soul in paradise shall be." 
 How strongly do those words of mercy prove 
 The gracious pity of the Saviour's love ! 
 
 Close by the cross He saw His mother stand, 
 Held kindly by St. John's supporting hand : 
 Her feeble strength with grief was nearly spent, 
 But Jesus' thoughts were on her woe intent ; 
 And, as His filial duty now was done, 
 He gently said, " Woman, behold thy son ! " 
 
THE SEVEN LAST WORDS. Ill 
 
 Then to St. John He gave the word of power, 
 " Behold thy Mother ! " From that very hour, 
 The loved disciple all her wants supplied, 
 And she on him with fullest trust relied. 
 
 A sign portentous in the heavens appears, 
 Which strikes the crowd with awe, and moves 
 
 their fears : 
 Behold ! the sun, at his meridian height, 
 As if in sympathy, withdraws his light ! 
 A strange and lurid darkness, like a pall, 
 Descends more thick than night upon them all. 
 For three long hours it mocks their straining 
 
 eyes, 
 And sinks each heart in terror and surprise ; 
 Nor can they find relief from deep dismay 
 Until the dreadful gloom has passed away. 
 
 And now the Saviour's life was ebbing fast, 
 The end of torture drawing nigh at last ; 
 When, sadly gazing on the murderous crowd, 
 For mercy and for grace He prayed aloud. 
 " Father, forgive them ! Let not wrath pursue 
 Their grievous sin. They know not what they do." 
 O wondrous supplication ! Glorious prayer ! 
 What wealth of pity and of love was there ! 
 
 One Scripture unaccomplished yet remained. 
 Death could not come while Deity maintained 
 The union with the manhood of our Lord, 
 Which formed His right to be by all adored. 
 
112 THE DEATH. 
 
 In common mortals, nought can still the heart 
 Until the soul from its frail shrine depart. 
 But Christ possessed two Natures, One divine, 
 And hence His life He could nowise resign 
 Till Deity and Spirit both had gone, 
 And left the fleshly tenement alone. 
 
 This shows the meaning of the Saviour's cry, 
 
 "151% El% Lama Sabachthani? 
 
 Predicted by the Psalmist, and addressed 
 
 To God, before our Lord could sink to rest. 
 
 'Twas when the Deity forsook the man, 
 
 That He might die, according to the plan 
 
 Of wisdom infinite. And thus we reach 
 
 The last of our divine Redeemer's speech ; 
 
 For "It is finished!" were the words He said, 
 
 Before His spirit from the flesh had fled. 
 
 His heart its beating ceased ! He breathed no 
 
 more : 
 
 And all His bitter agony was o'er 
 
 But did no proofs of majesty and power 
 
 Attend the closing of that solemn hour? 
 
 Did He, like others, draw His parting breath 
 
 Without a prodigy to mark His death ? 
 
 Not so ! As if the guilt of men to shame, 
 
 All nature paid its tribute to His Name ; 
 
 And heaven and earth, the Temple and the 
 
 grave, 
 Proclaimed His Deity who died to save. 
 
CASTING LOTS. 113 
 
 For, first, the noonday sun withdrew his light, 
 And wrapped the awful work in shades of night. 
 Next, in the Temple's shrine the solid veil 
 So thickly wrought, its glory to conceal, 
 Was, at the moment when His life was spent, 
 By hand unseen, from top to bottom rent ; 
 Then was the ground by fearful earthquake 
 
 moved, 
 The rending rocks its force and fury proved : 
 While from the sepulchres which round them 
 
 lay, 
 The bodies of the saints, in open day, 
 After His resurrection, rose, His power to show 
 Whose death had conquered Death and all our 
 
 woe. 
 
 The Jews were seized with terror and affright, 
 For none without alarm could view the sight ; 
 And yet they were so prejudiced and blind, 
 That no conviction visited their mind. 
 Bat the centurion of the Roman band, 
 Whose duty called them round the Cross to stand, 
 Although he was a heathen, could perceive 
 The meaning of those wonders, and believe. 
 With honest heart the path of faith he trod, 
 And boldly said, " This was the Son of God ! " 
 
 The soldiers, as their perquisite, took care 
 Of all the Saviour's garments ; and the share 
 Which each should have apportioned for his own 
 Was fixed by lot, for which the dice were thrown. 
 
 8 
 
114 THE ENTOMBMENT. 
 
 And here, again, the Psalmist had full well 
 Displayed the power which taught him to foretell 
 In prophecy the facts that time should yield, 
 A thousand years before it was fulfilled. 
 
 The sacred Body of our Lord to save 
 
 From all irreverence, and provide a grave, 
 
 Joseph, a man of wealth and honest fame, 
 
 With prompt alacrity to Pilate came, 
 
 And gained the privilege, without delay, 
 
 The last sad service of the tomb to pay. 
 
 For he a costly sepulchre had made, 
 
 In which no mortal had as yet been laid ; 
 
 And well he had resolved, with faith and prayer, 
 
 To place those dear remains in safety there. 
 
 His true disciples from the Cross removed 
 The pallid corpse of Him they long had loved. 
 They washed the Blood away, with many a tear, 
 Caused by the cruel nails and soldier's spear; 
 Wrapped it with care in linen pure and white, 
 The faithful women mourning at the sight : 
 And then, with sighs of sorrow for His doom, 
 They laid His body in the silent tomb ; 
 Rolled to the door a great and ponderous stone, 
 And left the lifeless form to rest alone. 
 
 Alone ! Nay, not alone ; for angels kept 
 Their guard of honor while the Saviour slept. 
 And Mary Magdalen, whose loving heart 
 Refused from her dear Master to depart, 
 
CHRIST IN HADES. 115 
 
 Took, with the other Maries, on the ground, 
 A lowly seat. True sympathy they found, 
 In words with deep and earnest grief expressed, 
 Weeping together on each other's breast, 
 Until the watch, by Pilate set, had come, 
 And sent them sadly to their humble home. 
 
 But whither was our Lord's free spirit gone ? 
 A trooj) of angels had in triumph flown 
 "With Him to Paradise, — the happy place 
 Allotted for the righteous of our race, — 
 United to the Deity again, 
 No more to part, — o'er death and sin and pain 
 A glorious Conqueror ! What tongue can tell ? 
 What human voice the hymn of praise can swell, 
 Which filled the region with rejoicing meet, 
 While saints bowed down in transport at His feet! 
 To bliss like theirs no earthly mind can soar, 
 Though we, like them, may worship and adore. 
 
 The Saviour had full oft declared 
 
 The awful death for Him prepared, 
 
 That, through divine compassion, He 
 
 A Victim for lost man might be ; 
 
 And -He foretold, in terms precise and plain, 
 
 That on the third day He would rise again. 
 
 In strict fulfilment of His word, 
 The soul of our departed Lord 
 Returned from Paradise, and came 
 Again to animate his frame, 
 
116 THE RESURRECTION. 
 
 And in His glorious Person to combine 
 The twofold nature, human and divine. 
 
 An angel from the realms of light 
 
 Bent to the sepulchre his flight ; 
 
 The ponderous stone, without delay, 
 
 Was rolled by his strong hand away ; 
 
 While a great earthquake shook the solid ground, 
 
 And spread alarm and consternation round. 
 
 The heavenly messenger was clad 
 
 In radiant robes ; serenely glad, 
 
 He took his seat upon the stone ; 
 
 His countenance like lightning shone ; 
 
 And all the Roman soldiers watching near, 
 
 Despite their courage, swooned away with fear. 
 
 But though it was the early dawn, 
 The faithful Maries had come on 
 To see the sepulchre, and prove 
 The deep devotion of their love. 
 To them the angel words of joy addressed : 
 " Fear not ! I know the zeal which warms your 
 breast. 
 
 " You seek the Lord : but He is risen ! 
 
 All power and might to Him are given : 
 
 He is the truth, the life, the way ; 
 
 Come see the place wherein He lay, 
 
 That you to His disciples may impart 
 
 The blessed tidings which shall cheer their heart." 
 
THE SOLDIERS' STORY. _ 117 
 
 With throbbing pulse and beaming eye, 
 The women hastened to comply ; 
 But, as they went, the Saviour's voice 
 Caused them with transport to rejoice. 
 How dear the privilege His face to meet, 
 And be the first their risen Lord to greet ! 
 
 They worshipped, bowing to the ground ; 
 Embraced His feet with love profound, 
 And by His own divine command 
 Informed the Apostolic band. 
 But as they feared the women were deceived, 
 The tidings were half doubted, half believed. 
 
 Meanwhile the watchmen told their tale : 
 The priests all heard, with faces pale, 
 How- the angelic form its might 
 Displayed in their astonished sight ; 
 How they had fainted in a deadly swoon, 
 And, when recovered, found the body gone. 
 
 The priests, in sad and sore surprise, 
 
 Could think of no resource but lies. 
 
 They taught the soldiers what to say, — 
 
 That the disciples stole away 
 
 Their Master's corpse while they were fast asleep, 
 
 And gold was paid the secret well to keep. 
 
 The watchmen's word thus bought and sold, 
 The falsehood from that day was told ; 
 
118 A FOOLISH TALE. 
 
 And few were found among the Jews 
 Who would to credit it refuse ; 
 Although upon its face the weak pretence 
 Seems contradictory to common sense. 
 
 For if the guard were not awake, 
 
 And therefore could no effort make 
 
 Against the bold disciples' crime 
 
 Because unconscious at the time, 
 
 How could they know by whom the act was done, 
 
 Or tell the means by which the corpse was gone? 
 
 Again, what motive could persuade 
 
 Those scared disciples to invade 
 
 The sepulchre, at risk of strife, 
 
 With loss of liberty or life ? 
 
 If Christ by fraud had led their minds astray, 
 
 Why should they take His dead remains away ? 
 
 And then from history we learn 
 
 That martial law was strict and stern ; 
 
 Amongst the Romans he was lost 
 
 Who dared to slumber at his post ; 
 
 But here the guard all slept both sound and long, 
 
 While not a man was punished for the wrong ! 
 
 'Tis manifest, that, though this tale 
 
 Might with the Jewish race prevail, 
 
 It had no reason and no truth 
 
 Which should impose on age or youth. 
 
 Pilate's assent by priestly art was sought, 
 
 And liberal bribes the soldiers' conscience bought. 
 
THE GREAT FORTY DAYS. 119 
 
 But on the evening of the day 
 
 When the Apostles met to pray, 
 
 And while the doors were shut, in fear 
 
 That some vile foe was hovering near, 
 
 The Saviour came, by love and mercy led, 
 
 And " Peace be unto you ! " He kindly said. 
 
 Alarmed and troubled at the sight, 
 
 With pity He beheld their fright, 
 
 And full conviction soon supplied 
 
 By showing them His hands and side. 
 
 "Feel these," He said, "that you assured may be; 
 
 A spirit hath not flesh and bones like me." 
 
 With tears of joy they heard His word, 
 And touched the Person of their Lord, 
 In solemn awe and reverence meet, 
 Then fell adoring at His feet ; 
 While He into their minds His truths instilled, 
 And taught them how the Scriptures were ful- 
 filled. 
 
 Instructed thus, they clearly saw 
 
 The Psalms, the Prophets, and the Law 
 
 Were full of Christ ; for, line by line, 
 
 He traced each ray of truth divine, 
 
 And showed them that His life, in every scene, 
 
 From first to last, had all predicted been. 
 
 Through forty days our Lord remained 
 On earth, and oft His word explained 
 As need required, until the end, 
 When to the heavens He should ascend ; 
 
120 THE GIFT OF CUBIST. 
 
 And then He met them, on the appointed day, 
 And led to favored Bethany their way. 
 
 But lest repentant Peter's claim 
 To bear a true Apostle's name 
 Might be disputed by the rest, 
 His gracious Master deemed it best 
 The full forgiveness of his sin to show, 
 And a new warrant for his work bestow. 
 
 To him, accordingly, a call 
 
 Was given in presence of them all ; 
 
 Thrice questioned by our Lord, to prove 
 
 The strength and fervor of his love, 
 
 He answered thrice, and then was kindly told 
 
 To feed the sheep of the Redeemer's fold. 
 
 That the Apostles might release 
 
 From guilt, and grant the conscience peace, 
 
 The Saviour breathed upon their head 
 
 With majesty supreme, and said, 
 
 "Receive the Holy Ghost! To you 'tis given 
 
 To pardon sin, by grace derived from heaven. 
 
 " All power, both earthly and divine, 
 
 O'er the vast universe is mine ; 
 
 As I am by my Father sent, 
 
 So send I you. On duty bent, 
 
 Trust for your wisdom and your strength to Me, 
 
 And you in your great work shall prospered be. 
 
TEE ASCENSION. 121 
 
 " Go then throughout the world, and preach 
 
 My Gospel. All the nations teach 
 
 The truth which you have learned to prize, 
 
 And young and old with care baptize 
 
 Into His name who rules the heavenly host, — 
 
 The triune- Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 
 
 " My Church through you I will erect ; 
 
 No humble heart will I reject, 
 
 But every soul with faith supplied 
 
 Shall be accounted justified. 
 
 To faith which works by love with zeal attend, 
 
 And I am with you always to the end." 
 
 As thus He spake, the Saviour spread 
 
 His hands in blessing o'er their head, 
 
 And straight ascended in their sight 
 
 To the celestial realms of light, 
 
 Thenceforth the seat at God's right hand to own, 
 
 In the full glory of His Father's throne. 
 
 But while the Apostles raised their eyes 
 In awful wonder to the skies, 
 Two angels, clothed in white, addressed 
 These words to sooth their troubled breast : 
 " Ye men of Galilee, why do ye gaze 
 Into the heavens with so much sad amaze ? 
 
 " This Saviour who on high has gone, 
 Since His great work on earth is done, 
 Shall come in majesty again, 
 "With glory o'er the World to reign ; 
 
122 MATTHIAS ELECTED. 
 
 And, though His Person for a time depart, 
 His Spirit will abide within your heart." 
 
 CANTO VII. 
 
 Feom the Ascension of our Lord, 
 
 Ten days appointed by His word 
 
 Elapsed, the better to prepare 
 
 The faithful band, by constant prayer 
 
 And humble hope, for the predicted hour, 
 
 Which should endue them with celestial power. 
 
 'Twas now that the proposal came 
 
 From Peter to select some name 
 
 Worthy to occupy the place 
 
 Which Judas left in foul disgrace. 
 
 Matthias took by vote the vacant seat, 
 
 And made the number Twelve again complete. 
 
 The Jewish law had well defined 
 That fifty days should be assigned, 
 After the holy Paschal feast ; 
 The people then, from toil released, 
 Should celebrate the Pentecost with joy, 
 And one fall week in pious praise employ. 
 
 This was the Heaven-appointed time, 
 When power, transcendent and sublime, 
 On the Apostles should descend, 
 Their work to prosper and defend ; 
 
DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. 123 
 
 For now the Church her new career began, 
 With the full grace which Christ bestowed on 
 man. 
 
 Assembled in the spot designed, 
 
 A rushing, strange, and mighty Wind 
 
 Seemed with a fearful force to sound, 
 
 And spread a shuddering awe around : 
 
 When lo ! still greater wonder to inspire, 
 
 On the Apostles' heads flashed tongues of fire ! 
 
 It was the Holy Ghost who came, 
 
 In glory visible, to frame 
 
 The course which they should all pursue. 
 
 What they should think, or say, or do, 
 
 Henceforth was to be guided from above, 
 
 In truth and wisdom, holiness and love. 
 
 With light divine their minds discerned ; 
 
 They preached in tongues they never learned : 
 
 The Jews from many a foreign land 
 
 Were all amazed to understand 
 
 How to these untaught fishermen was given 
 
 The power to speak each language under heaven. 
 
 Some fools profane there were who tried 
 
 This novel wonder to deride : 
 
 But Peter from the prophets showed 
 
 That 'twas the promised work of God ; 
 
 Thus proving how the Spirit gave to each 
 
 A new-born courage with the new-born speech. 
 
124 ST. PETER'S PREACHING. 
 
 For he who had, so late, in fear 
 Fled, when his Master's foes drew near, 
 And even with oaths denied Him, now, 
 With dauntless heart and lofty brow, 
 Stood boldly forth the people's act to blame, 
 And brand it as a deed of sin and shame. 
 
 How was his soul with ardor fired ! 
 How with celestial strength inspired ! 
 Inspired with knowledge, feeling, zeal, 
 Inspired all mysteries to reveal, 
 Inspired above the dread of death to rise, 
 And the fierce wrath of mortals to despise ! 
 
 Nor was the Spirit's power confined 
 To changing the Apostles' mind ; 
 For thousands, at St. Peter's word, 
 Were pierced by sharp conviction's sword, 
 And cried aloud, with sorrow deep and true, 
 " O men and brethren ! say, what shall we do ? ' 
 
 In words dictated from on high, 
 
 The preacher gave the prompt reply : 
 
 " Repent and be baptized. To all 
 
 Who hear the gracious Saviour's call 
 
 With contrite hearts submissive, shall be given 
 
 The Holy Ghost, the Comforter from heaven ! " 
 
 What were the fruits of this appeal ? 
 Three thousand answered it with zeal, 
 And were baptized — their pardon won — 
 Before the setting of the sun. 
 
ALL THINGS COMMON. 125 
 
 And thus the Spirit made His power appear 
 To mark with grace the Church's new career. 
 
 The gifts which in the Apostles shone 
 
 Had ne'er before that time been known 
 
 To such extent. The blind, the lame, 
 
 The sick of every age and name, 
 
 Were healed ; and those by demon art possessed 
 
 Were all restored again to ease and rest. 
 
 But far more precious was the love 
 
 By which each faithful soul could prove 
 
 How prompt, to others, was his heart, 
 
 His aid and substance to impart. 
 
 Houses and lands were sold to feed the poor, 
 
 That none might poverty or want endure. 
 
 Thus did the Holy Spirit raise 
 
 The Church in honor and in praise 
 
 Within Jerusalem, so late 
 
 The agent in the Saviour's fate ; 
 
 And the Apostles, prospered more and more, 
 
 Had constant cause to wonder and adore. 
 
 Before their feet the brethren laid 
 The generous gifts so freely made, 
 To be disposed of at their word : 
 While to the Church her gracious Lord 
 Led numbers who had been by sin enslaved, 
 And added daily such as should be saved. 
 
126 THREATS AND IMPRISONMENT. 
 
 Yet still the nation of the Jews 
 Could all this evidence refuse ; 
 Blind in their stubborn unbelief, 
 They saw the work with rage and grief; 
 For Israel's hapless government was then 
 Controlled by Satan and by wicked men. 
 
 The bitter hatred which they showed 
 
 Against the holy Son of God 
 
 Was now by the Apostles shared ; 
 
 And hence the Council stood prepared 
 
 To check their prosperous and victorious course 
 
 By the strong hand of violence and force. 
 
 But first they deemed it best to try 
 
 If threats would serve to terrify ; 
 
 And when they found that measure fail, 
 
 They hoped that scourging might prevail. 
 
 Next came imprisonment, the end to gain, 
 
 And still their persecution was in vain. 
 
 For the Apostles, firm in will, 
 
 Their sacred mission to fulfil, 
 
 Continued to proclaim the Word, 
 
 And preach the Gospel, of their Lord. 
 
 Priests, lords, and Councils, all might hostile be, 
 
 But what should hinder the divine decree ? 
 
 Satan might keep his ancient sway 
 O'er rebels till the judgment-day, 
 
THE SEVEN DEACONS. 127 
 
 And faithful men might yield their breath 
 In torture by a martyr's death ; 
 But yet the Saviour, with His own right hand, 
 Should guard His Church, and make His King- 
 dom stand. 
 
 The converts multiplied, until 
 'Twas found impossible to fill 
 The daily round of toil and care, 
 Without neglecting praise and prayer ; 
 Besides the duty laid upon them all, — 
 Sinners to warn and to repentance call. 
 
 More help was needed to secure 
 
 The distribution to the poor, — 
 
 A class of ministers, designed 
 
 Their temporal wants to bear in mind : 
 
 And so, that this result might be obtained, 
 
 Seven holy men as deacons were ordained. 
 
 The work advanced with growing power ; 
 
 The Church increased from hour to hour ; 
 
 The priests themselves repenting came 
 
 To honor the Redeemer's name : 
 
 But, though a portion owned His sovereign will, 
 
 The great majority were hostile still. 
 
 Amongst the deacons, Stephen shone. 
 The miracles which he had done 
 Converted many to the faith, 
 While others longed to work his death ; 
 
128 ST. STEPHEN STONED. 
 
 But this they wished to compass by the force 
 Of Jewish law. It was their safest course. 
 
 According to their usual plan, 
 
 They brought the pure and zealous man 
 
 Before the Council, on the charge 
 
 That he talked blasj:>hemy at large ; 
 
 And, trusting thus his ruin to obtain, 
 
 They bribed false witnesses with hopes of gain. 
 
 But Stephen, strengthened and inspired, 
 
 His soul with holy ardor fired, 
 
 Rehearsed old Israel's career, 
 
 And made their rebel course appear ; 
 
 Denounced their wicked murder of the Lord, 
 
 And roused their utmost fury by his word. 
 
 They gnashed their teeth like beasts of prey, 
 
 And dragged the faithful saint away, 
 
 And stoned their victim unto death ; 
 
 While he, with his expiring breath, 
 
 Prayed, like his Master, to the King of heaven, 
 
 That their atrocious crime might be forgiven. 
 
 The first among the martyr band, 
 
 St. Stephen took his glorious stand. 
 
 And, through the slanders of his foes, 
 
 A bitter persecution rose, 
 
 That scattered the believers far and wide, 
 
 And proved the means by which they multiplied. 
 
PHILIP AT SAMARIA. 129 
 
 'Twas then the deacon Philip came 
 
 Down to Samaria to proclaim 
 
 The glorious Gospel, with the might 
 
 Of signs and wonders in their sight. 
 
 Gladly by multitudes the truth was prized, 
 
 And crowds of men and women were baptized. 
 
 Amongst the hosts of converts there 
 
 Was Simon, who, with magic rare, 
 
 Had long bewitched the people round 
 
 By arts of sorcery profound ; 
 
 But he, through faith in Philip's powers professed, 
 
 Had come to Christian baptism, like the rest. 
 
 There was a solemn rite ordained, 
 
 By which a blessing was obtained. 
 
 The Holy Spirit's power was shed 
 
 When an Apostle, on the head 
 
 Of the baptized, his hand with faith should lay, 
 
 And for that heavenly grace devoutly pray. 
 
 This sacred ordinance was the same 
 
 Which afterwards received the name 
 
 Of Confirmation. Philip knew 
 
 That it was to his converts due ; 
 
 And to the Mother Church, with joyful heart, 
 
 He hastened the glad tidings to impart. 
 
 Peter and John, without delay, 
 To do this service took their way ; 
 
 9 
 
130 SIMON MAGUS. 
 
 And Simon saw, with new surprise, 
 The Spirit's gifts of power arise 
 In every instance where the faithful soul 
 "Was brought to the Apostles' kind control. 
 
 Thinking it was some secret skill 
 Which they could barter at their will, — 
 Like earthly science, bought and sold, — 
 He made them offer of his gold, 
 Ready a liberal price to pay, if he 
 Endowed with the same faculty might be. 
 
 With holy wrath, St. Peter cried, 
 
 " Thy money perish with thee ! Pride 
 
 And false ambition move thy mind, 
 
 To selfish love of power inclined : 
 
 IsTo part nor lot hast thou in Christian light, 
 
 Still unconverted in the Saviour's sight. 
 
 " In gall and bitterness, thy breast 
 
 Has yet no real faith confessed, 
 
 Else thou couldst ne'er have formed the thought 
 
 That God's free blessing could be bought. 
 
 Repent and pray ! Perhaps the Lord of heaven 
 
 May grant that thy foul sin should be forgiven." 
 
 To this rebuke the sorcerer gave 
 
 An answer reverent and grave ; 
 
 But, though his words were smooth and fair, 
 
 He had no heart for faith or prayer : 
 
 On magic's art determined to depend, 
 
 He proved the Church's foe unto the end. 
 
SAUL. 131 
 
 But now a convert was at hand, 
 
 In whom the Apostolic band 
 
 Should gain a partner, formed to shine 
 
 Above the rest in work divine. 
 
 The youthful Saul was chosen to fill the place, 
 
 By special call of the Redeemer's grace. 
 
 Trained by the Pharisees to hate 
 The Saviour, he approved His fate, 
 And that of martyred Stephen too, 
 As both to truth and justice due : 
 While to his hand the office was assigned 
 To seize on all the Christians he could find. 
 
 A persecutor he became, 
 
 And soon acquired a noted fame 
 
 For active zeal. But 'twas decreed 
 
 That he should gain a brighter meed, — 
 
 That power from God true wisdom should impart, 
 
 His mind illuminate, and change his heart. 
 
 "While travelling on the public way, 
 
 He saw a light, in broad noonday, 
 
 Which far the blazing sun outshone, 
 
 And heard a voice, in thunder tone, 
 
 Proclaim from heaven the strange and awful 
 
 word, 
 " Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute the Lord ? " 
 
 Fallen to the ground, and blind of sight, 
 He cried, all trembling with affright, 
 
132 SAUL AN APOSTLE. 
 
 " Who art Thou, Lord ? " The answer rung 
 With power from the celestial tongue : 
 " I am thy Saviour, Jesus. Let thy soul 
 No longer strive My mercy to control. 
 
 " Now rise, and on thy journey go ; 
 
 And in due season thou shalt know 
 
 Thy path of duty." Filled with dread, 
 
 Saul, in submission, raised his head ; 
 
 But, wholly blind, was forced to make demand 
 
 That one should come and lead him by the hand. 
 
 For three long days, he took no share 
 
 Of meat or drink. In humble prayer 
 
 And bitter penitence the hours 
 
 Were passed, devoting all his powers 
 
 In faith to Christ, and longing to fulfil 
 
 Henceforth, till death, his heavenly Master's will. 
 
 The Lord, who saw his true belief, 
 
 And looked with pity on his grief, 
 
 Sent Ananias to restore 
 
 The sight which he possessed before, 
 
 And tell him that his life should be employed 
 
 To preach the Gospel which he once destroyed. 
 
 And vast was the result attained. 
 
 The heathen by his zeal were gained 
 
 In multitudes. Afflictions sore, 
 
 The prison and the scourge, he bore ; 
 
 And Saul the persecutor won the fame 
 
 Which decks St. Paul, the great Apostle's name ! 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 133 
 
 But the advance, so haply made, 
 
 Was darkened by a passing shade ; 
 
 For soon a warm dispute arose, 
 
 Fomented, by the Apostle's foes, 
 
 Whether the Gentiles, like the Jews, were bound 
 
 By all the rules in Moses' system found. 
 
 The ceremonial law was given 
 To Israel by command of Heaven ; 
 And Gentiles, as St. Paul maintained, 
 Were not designed to be constrained : 
 The moral law, 'twas true, exempted none ; 
 But all the rest was for the Jews alone. 
 
 Yet many in Jerusalem 
 
 Were prompt this doctrine to condemn. 
 
 There was no difference, in their view, 
 
 Between the Gentile and the Jew : 
 
 From faith in Christ no man his hope could 
 
 draw, 
 Till he was circumcised, and kept the law. 
 
 At length, the question to decide, 
 
 A course which could not be denied 
 
 Was taken at St. Paul's request, 
 
 Who each Apostle had addressed, 
 
 Desiring that a Council might be held, 
 
 And by their judgment every doubt dispelled. . 
 
 They came together at this call, — 
 Apostles, elders, brethren, all ; 
 
134 GROWTH OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 And, after much debate had passed, 
 Agreed harmoniously, at last, 
 That the position which St. Paul defined 
 Was in accordance with the Saviour's mind. 
 
 But yet the Council thought it good 
 
 To warn the Gentiles against blood, 
 
 And things that were by strangling slain, 
 
 Or offered at some idol fane ; 
 
 While fornication likewise they forbade, — 
 
 That favorite sin which men so oft betrayed. 
 
 Thus was this controversy closed : 
 
 But Christian truth was still opposed 
 
 By Satan's deep and subtle art, 
 
 Deluding many a simple heart ; 
 
 For schisms and heresies their work begun 
 
 Full long before the Apostles' course was run. 
 
 And yet, despite the Tempter's power, 
 The Church advanced from hour to hour. 
 The Jewish people were the root, 
 Which bore but little native fruit ; 
 While Gentiles, grafted in old Israel's place, 
 Grew rapidly in numbers and in grace. 
 
 The chosen nation had rebelled 
 Against the Son of God, and held 
 That duty bound them to disclaim 
 And execrate the Christian name. 
 
SEPARATION OF THE APOSTLES. 135 
 
 With few exceptions, this describes them all : 
 They spumed His truth, and would not hear His 
 call. 
 
 But no such obstacles were found 
 To bar the faith on heathen ground. 
 The influence of the Spirit, there, 
 Brought crowds to penitence and prayer. 
 Then idols could not keej) their ancient reign, 
 And Satan raged against the Church in vain. 
 
 The Saviour's bidding to perform, 
 With zeal sincere and feelings warm, 
 The chosen Apostles journeyed far, 
 And boldly waged their Master's war, 
 Beneath His banner, with His Spirit's sword, 
 Converting thousands by His mighty Word. 
 
 It was by early authors said, 
 
 That, ere they on their travels sped, 
 
 They felt, for order's sake, the need 
 
 Of fixing on a common creed ; 
 
 And so, with one consent, agreed to frame 
 
 The form which has for ages borne their name. 
 
 But none of all that holy band 
 
 On such high eminence could stand 
 
 As did St. Paul. Through regions vast, 
 
 With fervent faith and zeal, he passed ; 
 
 And still the glorious flag of Christ unfurled, — 
 
 The great Apostle of the Gentile world ! 
 
136 ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL. 
 
 St. Peter had an older claim, 
 
 The first in Apostolic fame, 
 
 As he had first confessed the Lord, 
 
 And gained the promise, from His word, 
 
 That he the keys of Christ's new Church should 
 
 bear, 
 And give admittance to believers there. 
 
 At Pentecost, as God had willed, 
 This gracious promise was fulfilled ; 
 For then the Church was open thrown, 
 By Peter's voice, to Jews alone : 
 And he to Israel bore a leader's sway, 
 As Paul to Gentiles pointed out the way. 
 
 The faithful pair for thirty years 
 Of joys and trials, hopes and fears, 
 At length, as martyrs, thought it good 
 To seal their mission with their blood, 
 When tyrant Nero raised the cruel flame 
 Of persecution 'gainst the Christian name. 
 
 And ten years later came the fate 
 
 Of old Jerusalem, whose state 
 
 Of former grandeur passed away 
 
 In slaughter, ruin, and decay. 
 
 The Lord foretold the rebel city's doom, 
 
 And wept in sorrow o'er the wrath to come. 
 
 The Roman troops, by Titus led, 
 When every Jewish hope had fled, 
 
JERUSALEM DESTROYED. 137 
 
 Levelled their Temple to the ground, 
 
 And desolation spread around ; 
 
 But, warned in season by their Master's word, 
 
 The Christians 'scaped in safety from the sword. 
 
 The Mother-Church, first gathered there 
 
 By Apostolic faith and prayer, 
 
 Was thus preserved until the seed 
 
 Came forth of which the world had need ; 
 
 And then the judgment came which gave their 
 
 place, 
 In Christian history, to the Gentile race. 
 
 For all the promises of Heaven 
 
 To Abraham and his seed were given. 
 
 And hence, amongst her fiercest foes, 
 
 The Church in Israel arose ; 
 
 Her Lord, as man, direct from David's line, 
 
 And His Apostles, Jews, by law divine. 
 
 In old Jerusalem, St. James 
 
 Asserted the first Bishop's claims ; 
 
 Though called the Just, by Jewish hate 
 
 He had a Christian martyr's fate : 
 
 And fourteen other names, to history known, 
 
 Succeeded, ere the city was o'erthrown. 
 
 But, from that time, the sacred sway 
 Of Jewish Bishops passed away. 
 No Church of Israel's race appears 
 Through the long range of following years ; 
 
138 THE JEWS TO BE CONVERTED. 
 
 For, when they fled, they scattered far and wide, 
 And were thenceforth with Gentiles classified. 
 
 And thus the ceremonial law 
 
 The old attention ceased to draw : 
 
 Since Jewish Christians met no more 
 
 In their own churches as before, 
 
 No zeal about the question could remain, 
 
 Which none were interested to maintain. 
 
 And now the doom, which long had been 
 By Israel's prophets all foreseen, 
 Came down. Compelled by Rome's decree, 
 The faithless Jews were forced to flee 
 Their native land, in foreign climes to roam, 
 Without a settled government or home. 
 
 The blood of Christ, so foully shed, 
 Rested in judgment on their head, 
 And on their children's ! Sore distressed, — 
 By kings and rulers still oppressed, — 
 They lived in odium, hated and disdained, 
 And so for seventeen centuries remained ! 
 
 Yet they endured, by God's command, 
 
 Upheld by His almighty hand ! 
 
 For 'tis decreed that they shall rise 
 
 When faith in Christ has oped their eyes ; 
 
 On David's throne the Saviour's face shall shine, 
 
 And Zion flourish by His power divine ! 
 
THE CHOSEN PEOPLE. 139 
 
 Do we not read the sacred word 
 
 Declared so plainly by our Lord, 
 
 That He that glorious seat shall fill, 
 
 While the Apostles, by His will, 
 
 On lower thrones their destined place shall gain, 
 
 And o'er the Tribes of Israel ever reign ? 
 
 The promises of Heaven are sure. 
 Though still dispersed, the Jews endure, — 
 God's chosen people ! Honored name ! 
 What other nation boasts their fame ? 
 Raised up to teach mankind, by their career, 
 His love to covet, and His wrath to fear ? 
 
 'Tis true that, for their grievous sin, 
 
 Cut off from Christ the Jews have been ; 
 
 True, to the Gentile Church are given 
 
 The gracious promises of Heaven : 
 
 And hence this Church, through ancient Israel's 
 
 doom, 
 The Lord's elected Israel has become. 
 
 The natural branches broken lie : 
 
 The root itself can never die ! 
 
 The faithful Gentiles fill the place 
 
 Once granted to the Jewish race ; 
 
 But the Apostle Paul, in language plain, 
 
 Predicts that God will graft them in again. 
 
 When Christ, who sits at His right hand, 
 Shall come to rule with full command 
 
140 CHURCH HISTORY. 
 
 Upon His high millennial throne, 
 
 And claim all nations as His own, 
 
 The Jews their offering of faith shall bring, 
 
 And hail Him as their Saviour and their Kinsr. 
 
 " All Israel shall be saved ! " That word 
 
 Is from the Spirit of the Lord ! 
 
 Old Canaan's soil shall yet be found 
 
 A holy, consecrated ground ; 
 
 And from Jerusalem the streams shall flow 
 
 Of peace and mercy to the world below ! 
 
 And now the history of the Church we've traced 
 So far as the materials were supplied, 
 Noting those facts which sacred Scripture placed 
 Before our eyes as an unerring guide. 
 
 Of what remains, we must proceed with care 
 From other books our knowledge to obtain. 
 'Tis true, we find no Inspiration there ; 
 But they are just and faithful in the main. 
 
 The progress of the Church through ages past ; 
 Her conquests, sufferings, zeal, and power for good ; 
 Her champions and her foes from first to last ; 
 Her holy martyrs sanctified in blood ; 
 
 Her grievous errors, wandering from the path 
 
 Of apostolic truth and doctrine pure ; 
 
 Her influence, upheld by force and wrath 
 
 Till Christ's indulgence could no more endure ; — 
 
TO THE REFORMATION. 141 
 
 All this, narrated in precise detail, 
 Would form a work too large for men to read : 
 To youth or age the task would nought avail, 
 Nor would the toil of writing it succeed. 
 
 But we shall briefly treat the leading facts, 
 The names made famous in the days of yore, 
 The persecutions and despotic acts, 
 The superstitions, growing more and more, 
 
 Until, at length, the voice of bold reform 
 
 Assailed the tyranny of papal sway, 
 
 And, armed with faith and zeal sincere and 
 
 warm, 
 Swept the false claims of priestly pride away. 
 
 This will suffice to show the Church designed 
 By Christ's command to the Apostles given, 
 Impress the heart to sacred truth inclined, 
 And aid the faithful in the way to heaven. 
 
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 The Church is Christ's own kingdom upon earth, 
 
 And in its primal form it had its birth 
 
 When sacrifice was ordered, after all 
 
 The hopes of man were lost by Adam's fall : 
 
 For God then promised, by His mercy led, 
 
 That Eve's great Son should bruise the Serpent's 
 
 head; 
 While he, the Serpent, should his power reveal 
 In bruising with vain wrath her Offspring's heel. 
 
 That Seed was Christ ; the Serpent was His foe, 
 Satan, the source of sin and all our woe. 
 The bruising of the Serpent's head implied 
 The Saviour's conquest o'er his power and pride. 
 The heel of Christ, bruised by the demon's skill, 
 Described His cruel pain on Calvary's hill : 
 
 142 
 
THE MOSAIC CHURCH. 143 
 
 For, while the thieves upon the cross were tied, 
 His feet were bruised with nails until He died. 
 Thus sacrifice, by law divine, began 
 To keep before the mind of fallen man 
 The Victim promised at the future day, — 
 The Lamb of God, who takes our sins away ! 
 
 This, doubtless, was by Abel understood ; 
 While Cain, the first who shed a brother's blood, 
 Rejected in his unbelieving heart 
 The hope which Heaven in mercy would impart. 
 For Abel brought his sacrifice in faith, — 
 The lamb which was the type of Jesus' death ; 
 And hence the favor shown, by which the Lord 
 Blessed the obedience rendered to His Word. 
 
 The Church this first and simple form retained 
 Till Abraham's zeal a new appointment gained. 
 The rite of circumcision now took place, 
 To seal the covenant of heavenly grace : 
 But the great change for Israel's Church designed, 
 Decreed by the Almighty's sovereign mind, 
 To the Redeemer's work of mercy bore 
 Far closer reference than auorht before. 
 
 '0* 
 
 'Twas in that Church the Lord of glory came 
 To mould His kingdom to a brighter frame ; 
 'Twas in that Church His twelve Apostles 
 
 wrought 
 To raise the standard of religious thought : 
 And from that Church the' world was now to prove 
 The spreading influence of the Saviour's love. 
 
144 THE JEWISH CHURCH A PATTERN. 
 
 And hence it is quite easy to conceive 
 
 What deep impress that ancient Church would 
 
 leave 
 On its successor. In the clergy's school, 
 The High-priest, Priests, and Levites formed a 
 
 rule, 
 From which, the Holy Spirit being guide, 
 The Bishop, Priests, and Deacons were supplied 
 By the inspired Apostles. Hence the mode 
 Of worship, which for ages held abode 
 In Jewish synagogues, by forms of prayer, 
 Would in the Church a due preponderance bear. 
 Hence, too, the Psalms of David were retained, 
 The lessons read from Scripture still remained ; 
 And when the Church, from persecution free, 
 Could act upon her own unforced decree, 
 Her priests in linen surplice were arrayed, 
 In likeness of the Jewish ephod made : 
 While every sacred edifice pursued 
 The Temple, which of yore so glorious stood, 
 As the best model for the Christians' art, 
 From which they would not needlessly depart. 
 And was not this the best and safest way ? 
 The Jewish Church deserved to bear the sway, 
 Because it came, in each important line, 
 From God, with power and sanctity divine : 
 And those who rashly sought to change His plan 
 Must think the Deity less wise than man. 
 
 Some difference, doubtless, every mind can see, 
 In which the old and new could not aorree : 
 
THE APOSTLES, MARTYRS. 145 
 
 And here the Acts of the Apostles show 
 All that the Christian seeker needs to know. 
 But where there was no reason for a change, 
 The bold assumption which would re-arrange 
 What once was settled by divine control 
 Should be rejected by the faithful soul. 
 
 CANTO II. 
 
 The ancient writers all relate 
 That the Apostles met the fate 
 Of martyrs, saving one alone, 
 The great Evangelist, St. John ; 
 And he, worn down by age and toil, 
 Was plunged alive in boiling oil, 
 From which he issued safe and well, 
 The miracle of grace to tell. 
 To Patmos' isle in exile sent, 
 His time in sacred labors spent 
 The Holy Spirit cleared his sight, ■ 
 Those wondrous visions, dark and bright, 
 By special favor to behold, 
 And all the great events unfold, 
 Which in his " Revelation " shine 
 With light mysterious and divine. 
 But he in time obtained release 
 From banishment, and died in peace ; 
 While his last breath was spent to prove 
 The happy fruits of Christian love. 
 10 
 
146 SS. IGNATIUS AND POLYCARP. 
 
 The first great century had run 
 
 Its marvellous course. The* next begun 
 
 With persecution's bitter strife 
 
 'Gainst Christian liberty and life. 
 
 The Bishop of old Antioch, named 
 
 Ignatius, for his virtues famed, 
 
 And for his sanctity well known, 
 
 Was now, by Trajan's edict, thrown 
 
 To raging lions. But his faith 
 
 So triumphed o'er the pains of death, 
 
 That even his foes were converts made, 
 
 When he his holy zeal displayed 
 
 In praising God that he should bear 
 
 The glory of a martyr there. 
 
 The faithful scholar of St. John, 
 The famous Polycarp, came on 
 Full soon. A Bishop too was he, 
 Of Smyrna, who rejoiced to be 
 Apj)ointed by his Master's word 
 To die a martyr for the Lord. 
 And so he perished in the flame, 
 In honor of the Saviour's name. 
 
 The ancient town of Lyons stood 
 Distinguished, in those days of blood, 
 When persecution's furious course 
 Raged through the land with cruel force. 
 There also did the Bishop die ! 
 Though many a Christian prayer on high 
 Ascended to the heavenly throne 
 
THE TEN PERSECUTIONS. 147 
 
 To stay the blow. His willing heart 
 
 Was well prepared to take its part. 
 
 The Lord His strengthening grace sent down 
 
 To fit him for the martyr's crown, 
 
 That Irenaeus' name might stand 
 
 With glory midst the sacred band. 
 
 But it were tedious to rehearse 
 Each special case in homely verse. 
 It may suffice in brief to state 
 The general features of their fate. 
 
 Throughout the first three hundred years, 
 
 The force of heathen hate appears 
 
 In ten fierce persecutions, waged 
 
 Against the Church. For Satan raged 
 
 Through human passions. Every art 
 
 Which fiendish malice could impart 
 
 To agonize the martyrs' frame, 
 
 And brand their death with scorn and shame, 
 
 Was summoned by despotic will, 
 
 And practised with demoniac skill. 
 
 Their flesh on burning coals was laid ; 
 
 Their bodies were in sacks arrayed, 
 
 All smeared with pitch, and set on fire, 
 
 And, dragged through pools of blood and mire, 
 
 To the wild beasts in circus thrown ; 
 
 Racked on the wheel in dungeon lone ; 
 
 Chained to the stake, while flames arise, 
 
 And trumpets sound to drown their cries ; 
 
148 THE LAPSED. 
 
 Torn with the red-hot pincers ; pressed 
 With weights upon their panting breast ; 
 Hung upon crosses in the way, 
 To blister in the blaze of day ; — 
 All these most devilish means were tried, 
 In hope that Christ might be denied. 
 All these the martyrs could sustain, 
 And pagan malice toiled in vain ! 
 
 But some there were among then* foes, 
 
 "Who, in a milder temper, chose 
 
 Those cruel measures to abjure, 
 
 And take another mode of cure. 
 
 By such the Christians oft were sent 
 
 As exiles into banishment, 
 
 Or doomed with felon slaves to join 
 
 In the hard labor of the mine : 
 
 While confiscation made their fate 
 
 A source of profit to the State, 
 
 And moderate scourging, plied with skill, 
 
 Was used to bend their stubborn will. 
 
 Thus forced to see from time to time 
 How faith was punished as a crime, 
 It is not strange that many proved 
 Disloyal to the truth they loved. 
 Like Peter, boastful in his pride, 
 Who yet his gracious Lord denied' 
 When danger's frowning face drew near, 
 And Satan filled his breast with fear; 
 
ANCIENT DISCIPLINE. 149 
 
 Though deep within his soul, his will 
 Was constant to his Saviour still : 
 And hence, when the temptation passed, 
 He wept in penitence at last. 
 Even so, those weak disciples failed 
 While persecution's power prevailed. 
 To save their lives, they played a part, 
 Professed a lie with trembling heart ; 
 And then, when peril's hour was o'er, 
 Were found believers as before. 
 
 But those whose weakness could not stand 
 
 The day of trial, bore the brand 
 
 Of heavy censure. None could win 
 
 Indulgence for such flagrant sin. 
 
 The Church repelled them : though, for years, 
 
 They sought, with humble prayers and tears, 
 
 Their former station to regain, 
 
 Yet prayers and tears alike were vain. 
 
 'Twas only at the end, when death 
 
 Drew near to claim their parting breath, 
 
 That the communion could be given 
 
 To cheer them with the hope of Heaven. 
 
 Yet one excepted case was found. 
 When those who bravely held their ground 
 Resolved, in spite of pain and shame, 
 To bear the holy martyr's name, 
 Pitied their weaker brethren's grief, 
 Anxious to give their woe relief, 
 
150 HONOR TO THE MARTYRS. 
 
 And so, by their own written word, 
 Requested they might be restored. 
 The martyrs' prayer possessed such sway, 
 That discipline at once gave way. 
 'Twas hard such sinners to receive ; 
 But it was harder still to grieve 
 Those self-devoted saints who stood 
 Prepared, for Christ, to shed their blood. 
 
 At first, these cases were but few ; 
 Though, in the course of time, they grew 
 So numerous, that the Church no more 
 Could tolerate them as before. 
 Yet not because the martyr's crown 
 Had lost in brightness or renown : 
 Far otherwise ! As time advanced, 
 Their praise and honor were enhanced. 
 In every year, one solemn day 
 Was given to each, in fond display 
 Of the more eminent, whose name 
 Was marked upon the roll of fame. 
 'Twas held, and commonly believed, 
 That every martyr was received 
 In the third heaven, with joy to share 
 The glory of the Saviour there. 
 And so the tide of reverence ran, 
 Till men to worship them began ! 
 
 'Twas neither wrong nor strange to raise 
 A tribute to the martyrs' praise. 
 
beginnings of superstition. 151 
 
 They were the great heroic band, 
 
 Placed, by our blest Redeemer's hand, 
 
 Full in the world's astonished sight, 
 
 To give their life for truth and right ; 
 
 Defying, to their latest breath, 
 
 The direst forms of cruel death : 
 
 While thousands in amaze looked on, 
 
 And saw the Gospel's victory won, 
 
 And felt that nought but Power on high 
 
 Could teach the faithful thus to die. 
 
 'Twas by their blood the seed was sown 
 
 From which the Saviour's Church had grown ; 
 
 The death of Christ prepared the road 
 
 To lead each contrite soul to God : 
 
 The martyrs' deaths to truth inclined 
 
 A pagan host from all mankind. 
 
 Most other miracles might be 
 
 Ascribed to Magic's agency ; 
 
 But this possessed a higher art, 
 
 To reach the feelings of the heart. 
 
 The martyrs, therefore, had a claim 
 Most worthy of their Christian fame ; 
 And their memorial on the page 
 Of history may well engage 
 Our grateful reverence. But the skill 
 Of Satan turned the good to ill, 
 "When Superstition's folly led 
 The Church to deify the dead ; 
 Ascribing to each mouldering bone 
 The power which rests in God alone ; 
 
1 52 SAINT- WORSHIP. 
 
 Supposing that their relics gave 
 A respite from the yawning grave ; 
 Adorning them in costly shrine, 
 With silver, gold, and gems to shine, 
 As if they could accomplish more 
 Than livinsr saints had done before ! 
 
 o 
 
 And next the lying spirit taught 
 
 That to the martyrs should be brought — 
 
 As subject to their high control — 
 
 The wants and wishes of the soul ; 
 
 Seeking their aid in humble prayer, 
 
 To guard from every earthly snare ; 
 
 Placing each region in their hand, 
 
 As ruling powers in every land : 
 
 St. James, protector of old Spain ; 
 
 St. Denis, over France to reign ; 
 
 St. George, defending England's throne ! 
 
 Kay, to such wide extent had grown 
 
 This strong delusion, that it ran 
 
 Through all the varied life of man. 
 
 The baptized child received its name 
 
 From some dead saint, who straight became 
 
 Its special patron and its friend 
 
 Till all its mortal cares should end ; 
 
 The lovers sought their hands to join 
 
 With prayers to kind St. Valentine ; 
 
 The English soldier in the fray 
 
 Invoked St. George to win the day ; 
 
 While power above them all was given 
 
 To Mary, called the Queen of Heaven : 
 
DEATH OF PAGANISM. 153 
 
 Her praise was heard from every tongue 
 Of male and female, old and young ; 
 And her fond worship made a part 
 Of spurious faith in every heart. 
 
 But these sad errors could not gain 
 
 The slightest force the Church to stain 
 
 Till heathen persecution ceased. 
 
 'Twas then, from fears and pains released, 
 
 That Christians saw the Saviour's name 
 
 Supreme in honor and in fame. 
 
 Three hundred years in conflict passed, 
 
 The Cross triumphant proved at last : 
 
 The Emperor Constantine was led 
 
 To bow in faith his royal head. 
 
 The idol altars smoked no more 
 
 In sacrifice with human gore : 
 
 The pagan priests, compelled to yield, 
 
 With shame and odium quit the field ; 
 
 And, through the world, the Church could raise 
 
 In grateful joy the shout of praise. 
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 The rage of Satan, foiled by Heaven's decree, 
 No longer worked through persecution's sway : 
 The Church was now from pagan hatred free, 
 And soon the martyr-spirit died away. 
 
154 WORLDLY BISHOPS. 
 
 Her subtle adversary saw his host 
 Of idol gods and goddesses cast down : 
 Their shrines in ruin to the winds were tossed, 
 And no one cared their images to crown. 
 
 And hence his policy he must arrange, 
 To dress idolatry with better art ; 
 Seduce the Church to sanctify the change, 
 And thus allure the simple Christian heart. 
 
 Imperial influence brought a motley crowd 
 To pay their hollow homage to the Lord : 
 Their new-born zeal was active, bold, and loud, 
 But governed mainly by the monarch's word. 
 
 The post of Bishop took a lordly aim, 
 That secular ambition well might crave ; 
 And worldly politicians urged a claim 
 Which Christian faith and labor never gave. 
 
 And hence the sacred office oft was filled 
 By men of mere expediency, whose mind, 
 To God's pure Spirit quite untaught to yield, 
 Was still to heathen vanities inclined. 
 
 Those Bishops multiplied as time rolled on, 
 And hosts of heathen, half converted, came 
 To boast the victory by the Gospel won, 
 And wear, for fashion's sake, the Christian name. 
 
SS. JEROME AND AUGUSTIJSf. 155 
 
 And soon the Church's ancient glory ceased ; 
 The word of Truth was mixed with pagan lore ; 
 While superstition, pomp, and show increased, 
 And simple piety was prized no more. 
 
 In the fourth century the change began, 
 But did not touch the doctrines of the Creed : 
 Three centuries more their downward courses ran 
 Ere Satan's subtle arts could quite succeed. 
 
 For still, though wealth and power and priestly 
 pride 
 
 And superstition held increasing sway, 
 
 The Lord His Church with some true hearts sup- 
 plied, 
 
 Who toiled with zeal to keep the better way. 
 
 The holy Jerome, presbyter of Rome, 
 Loathing the worldly lusts that flourished there, 
 To Bethlehem advised his friends to come, 
 Amongst the monks, for labor and for prayer. 
 
 A Bishop through the Church most widely 
 
 known, 
 The famed Augustin, left on many a page 
 His strong rebukes of the corruption grown 
 To such a height in that degenerate age. 
 
 Another Bishop, Basil, called the Great, 
 Reproving the dissensions of his day, 
 Bewailed the Church's sad declining state, 
 Which led so many from the faith to stray. 
 
156 MONASTICISM. 
 
 Chrysostom too, the eloquent and good, 
 And Salvian, Bishops both, by zeal inspired, 
 In the next age the same sad task pursued, 
 Lamenting that the times such work required. 
 
 Here was the moving cause why monkery grew 
 From the fourth century to such control : 
 The system was unnatural and new, 
 But gave a refuge to the pious soul. 
 
 For in monastic life they laid aside 
 
 The worldy lusts by which the Church was 
 
 pressed : 
 ~No room they gave to vanity and pride, 
 But in devotion sought for peace and rest. 
 
 Their food was simple, and their garments plain ; 
 Their fasts were frequent, and their feasts were 
 
 few: 
 They lived in common, and no private gain 
 To any single member could accrue. 
 
 Each labored for the whole with equal zeal, 
 While one was chosen governor and guide : 
 The faith and love which Christian hearts should 
 
 feel 
 The motives to obedience well supplied. 
 
 Seven times each day and night they met for 
 
 prayer; 
 None but religious books were ever read ; 
 And, though no wasteful luxury was there, 
 The way-worn traveller was kindly fed. 
 
THE "ANGELIC LIFE." 157 
 
 With peace and love their duty to discharge, 
 They banished discord, clamor, noise, and strife ; 
 And all their course seemed fitted to enlarge 
 The gentle virtues of the Christian life. 
 
 It was no wonder that a plan so pure 
 Was hailed by many with admiring eyes : 
 Throughout the Church its sacred aim was sure 
 To draw attention, and excite surprise. 
 
 It was so new, its object so sublime, 
 Its means so simple, and its power so vast 
 To heal the sad disorders of the time, 
 And lead the way to genuine faith at last, 
 
 All pious men their cordial welcome gave ; 
 The Bishops lent it their official sway, 
 Believing it the only mode to save 
 The Church of Christ from ruin and decay. 
 
 They praised it as the life of angels ! True, 
 In some respects their judgment was correct ; 
 But monks were men, not angels, to pursue 
 A scheme which Nature's laws would fain reject. 
 
 For God, the great Creator, had declared 
 That man in solitude should not abide ; 
 And hence, in love and wisdom, He prepared 
 The woman, formed from sleeping Adam's side. 
 
158 MABRIAGE DESPISED. 
 
 The marriage made by His Almighty hand 
 In Paradise, with power so great and high, 
 Was followed by the absolute command 
 Which bade them to increase and multiply. 
 
 But Satan in his subtlety had led 
 The Church to recommend a single life, 
 False glory round virginity to shed, 
 And shun the risk of matrimonial strife. 
 
 Well knowing that the Lord himself had made 
 Wedlock the type in which, by faith, was seen 
 His union with the Church, the Tempter said 
 With bold effrontery, " It is unclean ! " 
 
 Yet the Apostle, who alone advised 
 Virginity as best in troublous days, 
 Expressly showed how high his judgment prized 
 The state of marriage as a theme of praise. 
 
 " Marriage is honorable 'mongst all men," 
 So spake St. Paul by inspiration true : 
 " Let every man have his own wife," and then 
 " Let every woman have her husband " too. 
 
 These texts might well suffice to prove the case : 
 Yet one remains which may complete our store ; 
 Where Bishops are enjoined to fill the place 
 Of husbands and of fathers. Need we more ? 
 
NUNNERIES. 159 
 
 How grievous, then, the error should be held, 
 To which the Church was led by Satan's art, 
 When virgins, monks, and priests were thus im- 
 pelled 
 By stringent vows from marriage to depart ! 
 
 The God of nature is the God of grace : 
 The law of Paradise is Heaven's decree ; 
 And it has been the Church's foul disgrace 
 To think its breach could help her sanctity. 
 
 This was the sin of Monkery. The plan 
 Required that wedlock should be quite abjured : 
 Man only was allowed to mix with man, 
 That thus the faith might better be secured. 
 
 And in due time the weaker sex was placed 
 In like position. Then, on every side, 
 Widows and virgins zealously embraced 
 The rule which Satan's cunning had supplied ; 
 
 For he, the father of deceit and lies, 
 By this invention led the Church astray ; 
 Taught men the state of wedlock to despise, 
 And boast their plan as the far better way. 
 
 The monks and nuns were soon raised up on high 
 As " the religious." Every married priest 
 Was now regarded with an evil eye, 
 And deemed unfit to spread the Gospel feast. 
 
160 A SACRAMENT, A SIN. 
 
 The monastery was the favorite school 
 In which the Church's ministry was trained ; 
 And in due time they passe4 a stringent rule, 
 That men in wedlock should not be ordained. 
 
 The faith of Christ laid down for every soul 
 The strait and narrow path which leads to 
 
 heaven ; 
 The priest and layman owned the same control : 
 The law divine to both alike was given. 
 
 For both, the common powers of man possess, — 
 Their wants, desires, and passions are the same : 
 The Lord has promised both alike to bless, 
 And in His Book of Life to write their name. 
 
 But now two paths appeared instead of one : 
 The laity might marry at their will ; 
 But priests must bid connubial love begone, 
 And deem it fruitful, not of good, but ill. 
 
 To laymen 'twas a sacrament of grace 
 
 By which a blessing to the soul was given ; 
 
 To priests it was a shame and a disgrace, 
 
 A grievous sin which barred the way to heaven. 
 
 And monks and nuns, although they had no 
 
 claim 
 To priestly honor, yet by vow were bound 
 To lead a single life, and shun the name 
 Of parent. Thus the Tempter held his ground. 
 
DECAY OF DISCIPLINE. 161 
 
 And the result was mournful. When the road 
 "Which God had sanctioned was blocked up by- 
 man, 
 The natural passions found their vile abode 
 In vicious ways which soon to rum ran. 
 
 The records of succeeding ages prove 
 How spurious sanctity became unclean ; 
 Forbidden to indulge in wedded love, 
 They trod the foulest paths of lust and sin. 
 
 Yet several centimes were required to show 
 The dark corruption which the Church deplored ; 
 When she by sad experience learned to know 
 The guilt and woe of wandering from the Lord. 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 The next great subject of survey 
 
 Which Church historians all display 
 
 Involves the fundamental change 
 
 Of discipline. The varied range 
 
 Of innovation, authorized amiss, 
 
 Presents few faults more blamable than this. 
 
 The kingdom, or the realm, of heaven, 
 Is the high name which Christ has given 
 To be the Church's title. None 
 But Apostolic hands alone 
 Received the keys by which the sinner's soul 
 Could come or go, through their inspired control. 
 11 
 
162 PUBLIC REPROOF. 
 
 In baptism they unlocked the door 
 
 The pardoned rebel to restore ; 
 
 And if by grievous guilt again 
 
 He stooped his Christian robe to stain, 
 
 They shut him out, his load of grief to bear, 
 
 Until his penitence was proved sincere. 
 
 But by the great Apostle's will 
 This discipline was open still ; 
 No secret sentence e'er could be 
 Traced to their sacred ministry : 
 Before the faithful every act was done, 
 And thus the public confidence was won. 
 
 Hence, from St. Paul's injunction laid 
 
 On Timothy (the Bishop made 
 
 Of ancient Ephesus), we learn 
 
 This rule of duty to discern : 
 
 "Let those who sin," saith he, "their sentence 
 
 hear 
 Before the whole, that others, too, may fear." 
 
 The Church for several centuries held 
 
 The rule. The sinner was repelled 
 
 From the communion, for a time 
 
 Proportioned justly to his crime ; 
 
 And all the congregation joined to blame 
 
 The act which called for the offender's shame. 
 
 The Bishop was the judge. He bore 
 The office given by Christ before 
 
AURICULAR CONFESSION. 163 
 
 To the Apostles ; but his word 
 
 Was bound to be in full accord 
 
 With Scripture, and pronounced in public sight, 
 
 That all should bear their witness to the right. 
 
 Thus stood the matter till the day 
 
 Of persecution passed away, 
 
 And wealth, prosperity, and pride 
 
 Began to draw the Church aside, 
 
 That she the feelings of the great might spare, 
 
 And make her yoke an easy one to bear. 
 
 With this intent, the sacred rule 
 
 Laid down in the Apostle's school 
 
 Was so relaxed, that sin could be 
 
 Reproved with perfect privacy. 
 
 The priests in secret all the burden bore, 
 
 And public discipline was known no more. 
 
 Auricular confession, then, 
 
 Was a relief to guilty men. 
 
 No longer were the Bishops bound 
 
 In public their rebuke to sound ; 
 
 And the old laws of penitence became 
 
 The empty shadow of their ancient fame. 
 
 And now another change began, 
 Which soon to serious error ran. 
 The Scriptures had expressly taught 
 That every soul at death was brought 
 Into the world of spirits, there to know 
 The foretaste of the future joy or woe. 
 
164 A MONK'S DREAM. 
 
 This was the intermediate state 
 
 To which so many texts relate ; 
 
 Held, doubtless, in the ancient day 
 
 Of Noah's patriarchal sway, 
 
 And hence derived to every heathen clime 
 
 Through all the round of circumstance and time. 
 
 But Plato, the famed Grecian sage, 
 
 Had, in his philosophic page, 
 
 Maintained that each departed soul 
 
 Was placed beneath a fixed control, 
 
 Which purged it from the stains of mortal birth, 
 
 And cleansed away the passions felt on earth. 
 
 And many converts from the school 
 
 Of Plato now began to rule 
 
 The Church, with philosophic mind 
 
 To their old system still inclined. 
 
 This was the source whence Purgatory came 
 
 To wear the honor of the Christian name. 
 
 Once introduced, the notion grew 
 
 Into a dogma strange and new. 
 
 A monk, in visions of the night, 
 
 Beheld a lamentable sight, — 
 
 The souls in Purgatory plunged in grief, 
 
 Tortured with flames, and groaning for relief. 
 
 Their countenance appeared the same, 
 For some he knew, and called by name ; 
 And, as he saw them scorched with fire, 
 He felt, of course, a strong desire 
 
THE DREAM UNFOLDED. 165 
 
 To learn what could be clone to ease their pain, 
 And give them pardon, rest, and peace again. 
 
 Then he was told that every sin 
 Which had on earth committed been 
 Brought down its penalty of woe, 
 Which must be suffered here below. 
 'Twas true, believers would be saved at last, 
 But not till all this misery was past. 
 
 To saints and martyrs it was given 
 By special grace to enter heaven 
 Without this purgatorial flame ; 
 But all the rest, whatever their fame 
 For zeal and piety on earth might be, 
 Must feel the cleansing fire by God's decree. 
 
 The only way relief to gain, 
 
 And shorten their sad term of pain, 
 
 Was through the Church which held the keys 
 
 Of heaven. And hence, to give them ease, 
 
 The prayers and Masses of the priest must prove 
 
 The true resource of faithful Christian love. 
 
 In fine, the monk was strictly told 
 
 This wondrous vision to unfold. 
 
 Obedient to the high command, 
 
 He published it on every hand : 
 
 Throughout the Church, the tale like wildfire ran, 
 
 And priests to claim their novel powers began. 
 
166 PURGATORY. 
 
 But strange it seems that none were found 
 
 The evidence with care to sound : 
 
 The Scriptures might be searched in vain, 
 
 No proof of this did they contain ; 
 
 Nor did the early Church of Christ require 
 
 The slightest faith in purgatorial fire. 
 
 It was a monkish dream, — no more, — 
 
 Based on the heathen Plato's lore ; 
 
 But yet the priesthood, one and all, 
 
 Received it as a sacred call : 
 
 Though earth supplied more work than they 
 
 could do, 
 Their zeal embraced the world of spirits too. 
 
 For there were reasons of great force 
 
 In favor of this novel course : 
 
 It raised the priests' importance high, 
 
 That they had power to modify 
 
 The state of souls by sin to torment driven, 
 
 Relieve their pains, and send them safe to heaven ! 
 
 And, next, it was a work well paid ; 
 
 A daily Mass could soon be said : 
 
 And, when its object was to save 
 
 From countless woes beyond the grave, 
 
 Who could refuse their gold with joy to spend, 
 
 In order to secure that blessed end ? 
 
 But here was a peculiar fact: 
 The efficacy of the act 
 
MASSES FOR TEE DEAD. 167 
 
 Depended on the faith and zeal 
 Which relatives or friends might feel 
 Displayed in gold, — the most convincing plan 
 To prove sincerity since time began ! 
 
 The priest could win the humble poor 
 To Christ, and ope the Church's door, 
 And give the sacrament for nought, 
 Since God's free grace could not be bought. 
 But Purgatory stood on different ground : 
 Without the gold, the soul continued bound. 
 
 Another reason may appear 
 To make the dogma's merits clear ; 
 Though prayers and Masses all might fail, 
 ~No soul could come to tell the tale ; 
 And, if the suffering spirit was released, 
 It was a secret even to the priest. 
 
 From this a benefit would grow : 
 
 As no man the result could know, 
 
 The safest method to pursue 
 
 Was still the work again to do. 
 
 Some prayers and Masses might be thrown away, 
 
 And yet a hundred more might win the day ! 
 
 This argument was strong and plain. 
 
 Hence, lest their spirits should remain 
 
 Too long in fiery woe to grieve, 
 
 The men of wealth were taught to leave 
 
 A legacy by Will, to buy a store 
 
 Of Masses for a thousand years or more. 
 
168 CHRIST'S KINGDOM. 
 
 For all these reasons, 'twas decreed 
 
 That this new dogma must succeed. 
 
 The priests proclaimed it far and wide, 
 
 And none the evidence denied ; 
 
 Since, though its truth no valid proof could show, 
 
 It brought vast treasures to the Church below ! 
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 The kingdom of our Lord was planned 
 
 By the inspired and chosen band 
 
 Of His Apostles, who were led 
 
 In all things by their glorious Head, 
 
 That they might make His Gospel shine 
 
 Through form of Government divine. 
 
 Yet no one dreams that the control 
 Of Government can save the soul ! 
 That is the work of faith alone 
 In Him whose sufferings atone 
 For sin, while He by grace imparts 
 The Spirit's power to change our hearts. 
 
 This truth affords no room for strife, 
 That faiih must be the Church's life. 
 " But it is called Christ's Kingdom." True ; 
 And it is styled " His Body," too. 
 ' By either phrase, it is confessed 
 That outward form is well expressed. 
 
REBELLION AGAINST THE CHURCH. 169 
 
 If 'tis the kingdom of the Lord, 
 It must be governed by His Word 
 Through officers ordained to see 
 That all obey their King's decree. 
 If 'tis His Body, it must bear 
 The form assigned it by His care. 
 No kingdom that was ever planned, 
 "Without a government, can stand. 
 No Body from its Maker came 
 Without its due appointed frame. 
 
 On earth the law is understood : 
 
 Its breach is oft avenged in blood ! 
 
 The man who dares, with reckless pride, 
 
 To set his Government aside, 
 
 And tries, despite his threatened fate, 
 
 To revolutionize the State, 
 
 Is called a traitor, and his name 
 
 Is branded with reproach and shame. 
 
 Nay, 'tis the rule from olden time, 
 
 That death shall wait upon his crime. 
 
 And can it e'er be just or right 
 In our divine Redeemer's sight, 
 His kingdom's Government with eyes 
 Of scorn or odium to despise ? 
 Shall treason 'gainst an earthly lord 
 Incur the halter or the sword, 
 And shall the rebel 'scape the rod 
 Who rises 'gainst the Church of God ? 
 
170 SUCCESS NO TRUE TEST. 
 
 But, in the changes of our earth, 
 That which was treason at its birth 
 Assumes a grand and glorious air 
 When victory plants its laurels there. 
 The name of rebel leaves no trace : 
 The conquering hero takes its place. 
 And he who, if he failed, should have 
 His judgment in a felon's grave, 
 Crowned by success shall end his days, 
 Amidst the shouts of human praise. 
 
 And so, in what belongs to heaven, 
 
 Mankind in every age are given 
 
 To make success the only test 
 
 Of God's approval. They are blest 
 
 Who prosper ! But it is not true, 
 
 Save when the course which they pursue 
 
 Is in accordance with His word : 
 
 For, in this evil world, the Lord 
 
 Permits success full oft to wait 
 
 On plans of wrong, and deeds of hate; 
 
 Though in the end, when Christ shall come, 
 
 The wicked must receive their doom, 
 
 And, while successful in the past, 
 
 Shall fail eternally at last ! 
 
 Success alone can therefore prove 
 No sign of blessing from above ; 
 For, since the time of Adam's sin, 
 The world at large has always been 
 Ruled by the power to Satan given, 
 The spirit who rebelled in heaven ; 
 
SUCCESS NO TEST. 171 
 
 And God decreed that man should know, 
 By sad experience, all the woe 
 Which waits on sin, however great 
 Success may seem in Church or State. 
 
 And hence no mortal can rely 
 On this his acts to sanctify. 
 Success attended on the art 
 Of Satan, when, in every part 
 Of earth, idolatry held sway, 
 And triumphed in old Abram's day. 
 Success was gained by heathen might 
 When Israel, conquered in the fight, 
 Was forced to leave their native land, 
 As captives to a pagan band. 
 Success gave influence to the sword 
 Which won for false Mohammed's word 
 Throughout the East a splendid name, 
 For centuries of power and fame. 
 Success has marked, in every clime, 
 The reign of tyranny and crime. 
 Even in the Church, success could rise 
 From superstition, fraud, and lies ; 
 And still, through Satan's arts, are found 
 Three-fourths of men on heathen ground ! 
 
 Thus, as all thoughtful minds may see, 
 Success affords no valid i>lea 
 To prove the moral wrong or right 
 Of actions in the Saviour's sight ; 
 
172 TEE BEATITUDES. 
 
 Though human judgment, drawn aside 
 
 By interest, vanity, or pride, 
 
 Adopts it for a common test, 
 
 And thinks the prosperous are the blest. 
 
 How different is the sacred rule 
 Taught in our great Redeemer's school ! 
 " Blessed are those that mourn," He said ; 
 " For they to comfort shall be led." 
 " Blessed the poor : to them is given 
 The bright inheritance of heaven." 
 " Blessed are ye when men revile, 
 And make your property their spoil, 
 And of your name speak evil still, 
 And persecute you at their will. 
 My glory you shall also share, 
 If for My sake the yoke you bear ; 
 Your weary soul shall find true rest, 
 And peace and joy shall fill your breast." 
 
 These principles with force apply 
 To that dark sin which meets the eye, 
 When Satan lured the worldly heart 
 Of Rome's proud Bishops to depart 
 From the pure Government define^ 
 By the inspired Apostles' mind. 
 
 Peerless in power, in wealth, and fame, 
 The world's great mistress Rome became. 
 And hence her Bishops thought they saw 
 A just excuse to change the law 
 
EQUALITY OF BISHOPS. 173 
 
 Laid down so clearly by the word 
 
 Of Christ, the Church's heavenly Lord, 
 
 When the Apostles, to His grief, 
 
 Contended who should be the chief. 
 
 For He rebuked their carnal pride, 
 
 And all superior rank denied. 
 
 ISTo one amongst them should pretend 
 
 His power o'er others to extend. 
 
 Christ was their Master, and would grant 
 
 His Spirit to supply their want ; 
 
 While they, all equal in degree, 
 
 Content as brethren still should be. 
 
 In just pursuance of this plan, 
 
 We see the Apostles, man by man, 
 
 Led by the Holy Spirit's mind, 
 
 By no supremacy confined, 
 
 !No Master but the Lord confessed, — 
 
 No Pope elected by the rest, — 
 
 Though some, of course, more forward stand 
 
 Amongst the Heaven-directed band ; 
 
 And Peter, James, and John and Paul, 
 
 Seemed the most active of them all. 
 
 So when the Apostles passed away, 
 And Bishops exercised their sway, 
 Their rank and power were still the same. 
 Though some in influence and fame 
 Excelled the others, none were found 
 To claim, of right, a higher ground, 
 Till several centuries had fled, 
 And Rome's ambition raised its head ! 
 
174 LEGEND OF ST. PETER. 
 
 A story was got up with care, 
 
 That the Apostle Peter there 
 
 Had held for years the Bishop's seat, — 
 
 That Christ resolved, with favor meet, 
 
 On him, as on a rock, to build 
 
 The Church. That this might be fulfilled, 
 
 The promise of the Lord was given, 
 
 That he should hold the keys of heaven ; 
 
 While all the high supremacy 
 
 Bestowed by this divine decree, 
 
 To his successors should descend, 
 
 Forever, till the world should end ! 
 
 The tale was framed with subtle art, 
 Though plainly false in every part ; 
 For Irenseus — witness true — 
 A Bishop and a martyr too — 
 States that St. Peter and St. Paul 
 To faithful Linus gave the call, 
 That by their act he should become 
 First Bishop of imperial Rome. 
 The famed Eusebius, known to be 
 The father of Church history, 
 Repeats the statement, word for word. 
 And gives it his entire accord. 
 
 These early writers are the best, 
 On whom our confidence can rest. 
 No counter evidence appears 
 Until the lapse of many years, 
 When papal Rome's increasing sway 
 Made interest drive the truth away. 
 
ST. PETER NOT THE ROCK. 175 
 
 The other portions of the tale, 
 
 When fairly viewed, are seen to fail. 
 
 The Rock on which the Church must stand 
 
 Is Christ, not Peter. The whole band 
 
 Of ancient fathers prove this sense : 
 
 The other is without defence. 
 
 The meaning of the title given 
 
 To Peter by the Lord of heaven 
 
 Marked him as ^foundation-stone: 
 
 The Rock belongs to Christ alone. 
 
 But Peter was the first to claim 
 
 The faith which owned the Saviour's name, — 
 
 " Son of the living God ! " That word, 
 
 Taught by the Spirit of the Lord, 
 
 Gained him the promise first, that he 
 
 The bearer of " the keys " should be, 
 
 Opening the kingdom to a host 
 
 On the great day of Pentecost. 
 
 'Tis true, that, to the Jewish race, 
 
 St. Peter held a leader's place. 
 
 The Twelve Apostles, whom our Lord 
 
 First summoned by His gracious word, 
 
 To the Twelve Tribes of Israel bore 
 
 A special reference. And before 
 
 The wondering world, when Christ shall come 
 
 To usher in the day of doom, 
 
 We have His royal pledge, that they 
 
 Twelve thrones of judgment shall display, 
 
 And those Twelve Tribes of Israel bring 
 
 To worship their Almighty King. 
 
176 ST. PAUL AT ROME. 
 
 But the thirteenth Apostle, Paul, 
 
 Received a new and special call, — 
 
 To teach the Gentiles. O'er the ground 
 
 In which his marvellous work was found, 
 
 Rome held her high imperial sway ; 
 
 And there, we know, he bent his way 
 
 By the express command of Heaven, 
 
 On many marked occasions given. 
 
 A whole Epistle he addressed 
 
 To Rome, before his presence blest 
 
 Their longing eyes, and two full years 
 
 His energetic toil appears, 
 
 Residing in his hired abode. 
 
 Thus far the Scriptures guide our road, 
 
 Clearly establishing the claim 
 
 Of Paul, not Peter, to the name 
 
 Of Rome's Apostle. This to show, 
 
 "No evidence can farther go. 
 
 That good St. Peter may have paid 
 
 A friendly visit there, and staid 
 
 For weeks together, may be true. 
 
 In that vast city, not a few 
 
 Of Jews were living who would hear 
 
 His preaching with attentive ear ; 
 
 While toward St. Paul a bitter hate 
 
 Had planned full oft a deadly fate 
 
 In old Judaea. Those who came 
 
 From thence to Rome would spread the same, 
 
 And thus he might desire to make 
 
 St. Peter welcome for their sake. 
 
THE EAST AND THE WEST. 177 
 
 But this could never change the line 
 Of duty, fixed by voice divine ; 
 And hence the point should settled be 
 By the plain fact of Christ's decree. 
 His word to Peter gave the place 
 Of leadership to Israel's race. 
 His word to Paul assigned the round 
 Of service upon heathen ground. 
 His word directed him to come 
 And make his last abode in Rome ; 
 The sole Apostle who could prove 
 A special mission from above, 
 To give that pagan city light, 
 And plant the Gospel in their sight. 
 
 But though the tale could thus be shown 
 
 From pride and falsehood to have grown, 
 
 It gained adherence day by day, 
 
 And in the end achieved the sway 
 
 Of papal power throughout the West, 
 
 By force of law imperial pressed. 
 
 Yet still by many 'twas denied ; 
 
 The East was never satisfied ; 
 
 The prize was won at fearful cost, — 
 
 The union of the Church was lost ! 
 
 The seat of empire long had changed, 
 By novel policy arranged : 
 Constantinople held the throne, 
 And reigned in pomp as Rome had done. 
 12 
 
178 RISE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 
 
 Her Bishop deemed his See should bear 
 
 Of dignity an equal share ; 
 
 The conflict of ambition rose, 
 
 The friends of yore were turned to foes, 
 
 And when eight centuries had passed, 
 
 The threatened crisis came at last. 
 
 The Church of Christ was rent in twain, 
 
 And never moved as One again. 
 
 This mournful schism may all be traced 
 To lust of power. The j>ontiff, placed 
 In that great diocese, whose fame 
 Through Europe held the highest claim, 
 Should all his influence have given 
 To guard the Government of heaven 
 In the safe track at first designed 
 By the inspired Apostles' mind. 
 But, by the art of Satan led, 
 He sought to be the Church's head, — 
 The earthly viceroy of the Lord, 
 To rule the nations by his word, 
 And make all other Bishops still 
 Dei^endent on his sovereign will, 
 Instead of leaving the control 
 To the fair judgment of the whole. 
 
 This revolution plainly changed 
 The form of polity, arranged 
 For Christ's own kingdom, on a ground 
 Falsely pretended to be found 
 
GROWTH OF PAPAL POWER. 179 
 
 In Scripture and historic facts ; 
 While it ran counter to the acts 
 Of the Apostles, and the word 
 Through them dictated by the Lord ; 
 As likewise to the constant phrase 
 Of councils, fathers, men whose praise 
 By all the faithful was confessed 
 Pre-eminent above the rest. 
 
 Yet we may well believe the Pope 
 Was largely influenced by the hope 
 That in due time the Church would be 
 A gainer by his tyranny. 
 'Twas clear that heretics their head 
 Had raised, and numerous errors led 
 The minds of men astray. The hand 
 Of power seemed wanting to withstand 
 This danger. Liberty had grown 
 Licentious, and if let alone, 
 Through imbecility or fear, 
 The faith itself might disappear ! 
 And hence true policy required 
 The changes which his will desired. 
 He only sought supreme to be 
 For sake of Christian unity ; 
 And by this argument 'twas plain, 
 His glory was the Church's gain ! 
 
 Doubtless we may conceive that here 
 The Roman Bishop was sincere. 
 Himself deceived by Satan's art, 
 He acted his despotic part 
 
180 POPERY FORETOLD. 
 
 With good intentions on the whole, 
 Believing that his strong control 
 "Would prove a safeguard to defend 
 The Saviour's kingdom to the end ! 
 Ambition thus, as oft before, 
 The garment of religion wore ; 
 And while he ruled with tyrant rod, 
 He did it in the name of God ! 
 
 The claim unjust, — the means untrue,— 
 No good but evil could ensue. 
 The plan was built upon deceit, 
 And thousands still the fraud repeat. 
 Yet while it has successful been, 
 'Tis none the less the work of sin. 
 Its triumph could not change its aim : 
 Its character is still the same. 
 But 'twas predicted that the sway 
 Of papal power should have its day, 
 Though doomed to be to ruin hurled 
 When Christ shall come to judge the world. 
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 The prophet Daniel plainly had foretold 
 The rise of popery and its final fall ; 
 St. John its future history unrolled; 
 And 'twas predicted clearly by St. Paul. 
 
PAPAL USURPATIONS. 181 
 
 For nine long centuries it held the rod 
 
 In Europe over every subject throne ; 
 
 The Pope dispensed at will the curse of God, 
 
 And claimed the world's dominion for his own. 
 
 False documents were forged his power to aid, 
 The powers of earth fell prostrate at his feet, 
 At his dictation war and peace were made, 
 And kings bowed down his majesty to greet. 
 
 For if the greatest monarch should bring down 
 The pontiff's malediction, at his word 
 The sovereign forfeited his royal crown, 
 And only by submission was restored. 
 
 The Pope, at will, could every bond unloose 
 Of old allegiance by the subjects due : 
 The power of God, committed to his use, 
 Made treason lawful, and rebellion true. 
 
 In early times no Bishops were ordained, 
 Unless elected freely by the voice 
 Of priests and people, who of right retained, 
 Throughout the Christian world, the power of 
 choice. 
 
 But this the Pope abolished. He alone 
 Appointed Bishops by his sole decree ; 
 Bound by no human judgment save his own, 
 The Church's autocrat resolved to be. 
 
182 APPEALS TO ROME. 
 
 He drew vast revenues from every land 
 To pay his soldiers and support his sway ; 
 And gathered treasures in his grasping hand, 
 Which oft were squandered recklessly away. 
 
 A temporal sovereign with a region fair, 
 Which ought its ruler's wants to have supplied, 
 The wealth of Europe he contrived to share, 
 And spent it all on policy and pride. 
 
 Rome was his capital. No Court could vie 
 With his in luxury and splendid show ; 
 Religious forms in plenty charmed the eye, 
 But few its moral influence seemed to know. 
 
 Licentiousness, corruption, lawless lust, 
 The love of pleasure, and the greed of gold, 
 Filled every station with the same distrust, 
 And all were ready to be bought and sold. 
 
 Appeals to Rome from every quarter came ; 
 Each nation was compelled her rule to own : 
 But bribes were given and taken without shame, 
 And pure, impartial justice was unknown. 
 
 'Twixt man and man, the law small power pos- 
 sessed 
 To guard the rights of property or life ; 
 And hence each fancied injury was redressed 
 By poisoned food, or the assassin's knife. 
 
VAIN ATTEMPTS AT REFORM. 183 
 
 Against the Pope the Cardinals conspired 
 Full oft, in hopes a better sway to wield ; 
 And then another pontiff was required, 
 And Pope 'gainst Pope in warfare took the field. 
 
 And once three Popes in conflict were arrayed, 
 While Europe stood astounded at the sight ; 
 Each cursed the others, and with art essayed 
 To prove that he alone was in the right. 
 
 Sick of the shameful contest, at the last 
 A Council met by which their claims were tried ; 
 And there a just and fair decree was passed, 
 Which set the rival pontiffs all aside. 
 
 Another was elected who had vowed 
 
 To cleanse the papal court from every stain. 
 
 Full time for reformation was allowed, 
 
 But all the Council's caution proved in vain ! 
 
 The old abuses were continued still ; 
 And though the rival Popes appeared no more, 
 Yet many a pontiff, poisoned through ill will, 
 Expired as other tyrants died before. 
 
 Through growing Superstition's dark control, 
 The host of monks and nuns enlarged their sway, 
 Till, as the price of masses for the soul, 
 The half of England's soil was given away. 
 
184 THE CUP TAKEN FROM THE LAITY. 
 
 The priests watched o'er the rich man's dying 
 
 bed, 
 And warned him of the purgatorial fire ; 
 That, when his spirit from the flesh had fled, 
 His gold their venal service might require. 
 
 The sacramental types, by which our Lord 
 Had signified His Body and His Blood, 
 Were now held forth as fit to be adored, 
 When priestly power had made the wonder good. 
 
 The name of Tran substantiation, given 
 
 To this new doctrine, never had been known 
 
 Till the ninth century, when the Church was 
 
 driven, 
 By Satan's skill, a spurious faith to own. 
 
 For then 'twas held, that, by the priestly act 
 Of Consecration, both the bread and wine 
 Passed quite away, and were replaced in fact 
 By Christ's own Person, human and divine ! 
 
 And hence grew up the custom, new and strange, 
 To take the Sacramental Cup away 
 From all the laity, — an awful change, 
 Which led the Church in Europe far astray. 
 
 Thus half the Sacrament was gone, — a loss 
 To be endured, for fear it should be found 
 That the dear Blood, once shed upon the cross, 
 By some mischance had fallen upon the ground ! 
 
TRANSUBSTANTIA TI02T. 185 
 
 Here was a double error, first to make 
 The Sacrament a God to be adored, 
 And under a false reverence to take 
 The cup away, against the Saviour's word. 
 
 For " Drink ye all of this " was His command, 
 Distinct and clear. And so 'twas understood : 
 Throughout the Church, to every layman's hand 
 Was given the symbol of His sacred Blood. 
 
 Eight hundred years had run their varied range, 
 In the true order of the Gospel feast, 
 When Superstition dared to make the change, 
 Which sunk the people while it raised the priest. 
 
 Since now the grand prerogative was given 
 Which on the priest conferred such high control, 
 His power alone bestowed the Lord of heaven, 
 In form a wafer ! on each faithful soul ! 
 
 Alas ! it was a triumph for the art 
 Of Satan, when the Church was so misled 
 From Scripture and the fathers to depart, 
 And do dishonor to her glorious Head ! 
 
 They called it miracle ! a poor pretence, 
 
 Which showed how low the reasoning power can 
 
 fall; 
 For miracles appealed to human sense, 
 While this was flatly hostile to it all. 
 
186 INDULGENCES. 
 
 The sight, the touch, the smell, the taste agreed, 
 To prove the presence of the bread and wine ; 
 But Satan conquered, and the Church decreed 
 To take his falsehood for a truth divine. 
 
 The next invention started by his skill 
 Was named Indulgence. 'Twas a novel plan, 
 By which the Pope could exercise his will, 
 In pardoning sin before its guilt began. 
 
 This monstrous notion its appearance made, 
 When papal power had well attained its height, 
 To help the soldiers, in the first Crusade, 
 Against the Saracens with zeal to fight. 
 
 'Twas argued that the warrior on the field 
 Might die without the pardon of the priest ; 
 And thus his soul would be compelled to yield 
 All hope from future woe to be released. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 Hence it seemed right a warrant to afford 
 From him, the Pope who held the keys of heaven, 
 That the poor soldier, by his sovereign word, 
 Might find, beforehand, all his sins forgiven. 
 
 The doctrine with much favor was received ; 
 It suited well the spirit of the time ; 
 And hence, with few exceptions, 'twas believed, 
 And gave a new immunity to crime. 
 
CRUSADES AGAINST HERETICS. 187 
 
 For though, before, 'twas easy to obtain 
 A priestly absolution, strong and sure, 
 'Twas safer still the Pope's own writ to gain, 
 As this for all the future would endure. 
 
 At first intended for the soldiers' use, 
 The principle was soon much farther spread ; 
 And it was thought much profit to produce, 
 Not only for the living, but the dead. 
 
 But these Indulgences were always sold ; 
 If given away, they had no strength at all : 
 The papal system had an eye to gold ; 
 With that, no danger could its power befall ! 
 
 As time flowed on, the great Crusades were found 
 Of little force against Mohammed's sway ; 
 The kingdom formed on Saracenic ground 
 Was weak, and vanished in few years away. 
 
 And thus the Pope, with martial ardor fired, 
 A new Crusade to organize beoraii 
 Against the heretics, who had conspired 
 The growing flames of discontent to fan. 
 
 A Council was convened, in numbers vast, 
 By the decree of Innocent the Third ; 
 And here the most oppressive laws were passed, 
 In which, apparently, the whole concurred. 
 
188 A DUTY TO HUNT HERETICS. 
 
 'Twas made a duty, once in every year, 
 That every soul should to his priest confess : 
 And if omission could be made appear, 
 No Sacrament his dying hour should bless. 
 
 Nor should his lifeless corpse be kindly laid 
 In consecrated ground, or honored be 
 With funeral rites by common custom paid, 
 But buried with a marked indignity. 
 
 The same confession always must precede 
 The Eucharist; and in that solemn act 
 The party must be made to take good heed, 
 And tell of heretics in word or fact. 
 
 The parish-officers were all required 
 To hunt for heretics with zealous care, 
 And every lord and baron was desired 
 His full proportion of the search to bear. 
 
 And when those heretics were fairly known, 
 By judgment of the Bishop they must be 
 Deprived of all the property they own, 
 Confined or banished by his strict decree. 
 
 But if these several parties should neglect 
 This duty 'gainst the heretics to do, 
 They must for their just punishment expect 
 Imprisonment and confiscation too. 
 

 ALBIGENSES AND WALDENSES. 189 
 
 Such, in the main, were the provisions passed 
 By this great Council ; and full soon the flame 
 Of cruel persecution, long to last, 
 Arose to brand the papal Church with shame. 
 
 In time, the Pope produced a ready rush 
 Of zealous warriors by his potent word ; 
 And then the grand Crusade was formed to 
 
 crush 
 The hated heretics with fire and sword. 
 
 The Albigenses were a powerful band, 
 In doctrine dangerous, and morals low : 
 So say the papal annalists, whose hand 
 Recorded all the little that we know. 
 
 But the Waldenses, high in word and act, 
 Professed a faith acknowledged to be pure ; 
 Their only crime consisting in the fact, 
 That they could not the papal power endure. 
 
 Against the foul corruptions of the age, — 
 The Pope, the superstition, and the strife, — 
 They deemed it was their duty to engage 
 By Scriptural reproof and holy life. 
 
 The Pope, as all their zealous preachers held, 
 Was the great Antichrist so long foretold : 
 His fabled right to govern they repelled, 
 And clung to the Apostles' rule of old. " 
 
190 HORRORS OF THE WAR. 
 
 Most hostile to the pontiff's lordly sway 
 Were such sincere reformers. Jflence arose 
 The bands of the Crusade in fierce array 
 Against those heretics, — the Church's foes ! 
 
 Not foes, but friends, to what the Church had 
 
 been, 
 Not foes, but friends, to what the Church should 
 
 be, 
 They loved the Church as she at first was seen 
 In the pure ages of antiquity. 
 
 But Satan triumphed in his cruel art ; 
 For God designed that men should fully know 
 The spirit w T hich would rule the human heart 
 By blood and slaughter, misery and woe ! 
 
 Yes, Satan triumphed! For some centuries more, 
 Under the yoke of Rome's imperious will, 
 The poor Waldenses their afflictions bore, 
 Tortured, oppressed, exiled, but faithful still. 
 
 The bold Crusaders had no war to wage, 
 For small was the resistance to their course ; 
 But zeal for popery fired their pious rage, 
 And lust and pillage went in league with force. 
 
 Against a heretic they held it clear 
 That every passion might its power display : 
 The deepest, darkest sin inspired no fear ; 
 The pope's Indulgence cleansed it all away! 
 
NEW RULES FOR HERESY. 191 
 
 And still the pontiff's power advanced its claims, 
 That none against its rule should dare rebel : 
 They burned the hated heretics with flames, 
 While priestly lips consigned their souls to hell ! 
 
 But what was heresy ? St. Paul had told 
 Titus, the Bishop, how to use the rod : 
 All heretics, if obstinate and bold, 
 Must be rejected from the Church of God. 
 
 The rule of faith and practice was contained, 
 Through inspiration, in the Written Word ; 
 By that alone was heresy restrained, 
 For Scripture taught the doctrine of the Lord. 
 
 To that no man's authority could add, 
 
 From that no human power could take away ; 
 
 Yet we have seen a record, dark and sad, 
 
 Of wanton change which led the Church astray, — 
 
 New dogmas for the faithful to believe, 
 New customs for the faithful to pursue, 
 New pardoning power the faithful to deceive, 
 New government, despotic and untrue ! 
 
 Amongst these novelties, of course, we find 
 New rules for heresy ; for now the law 
 Required submission to the papal mind, 
 And popes had learned the sword of blood to 
 draw. 
 
192 BIGHT OF SANCTUARY. 
 
 Mark well the difference. Once the certain test 
 Of faith was in the Written Word alone ; 
 But now the voice of Rome the world addressed, 
 And bade them bow before the papal throne. 
 
 The pain St. Paul for heresy decreed 
 
 Was excommunication, nothing more ; 
 
 But now the wretch must be condemned to bleed, 
 
 Be burned to death, or torn with torture sore, 
 
 His goods all confiscate, his household wrecked, 
 His children robbed ; and yet his only sin 
 Might be the frauds of popery to reject, 
 And take the Bible way the prize to win! 
 
 CANTO VII. 
 
 The papal power in every land 
 
 Retained the priests in strict command, 
 
 But would not suffer them to be 
 
 Subjected to the law's decree. 
 
 Before the Courts the Laity must come, 
 
 While priests could only be condemned at Rome, 
 
 And, further to display the rate 
 
 At which the Church controlled the State, 
 
 Her consecrated houses spread 
 
 A shield to guard each felon's head ; 
 
 Within their Avails if he could only stand, 
 
 He might defy the justice of the land. 
 

 TRIAL BY ORDEAL. 193 
 
 For forty days lie could remain, 
 
 The chances of escape to gain ; 
 
 And then, if he confessed his crime, 
 
 He might in exile spend his time : 
 
 And thus this " right of Sanctuary " gave, 
 
 In spite of law, the power his life to save. 
 
 This looked like mercy ; but the course 
 Was found to have a baneful force, 
 To breed connivance and complaint, 
 When justice suffered such restraint. 
 It was a claim no kingdom should endure ; 
 For law alone makes social safety sure. 
 
 The Pope to heretics could show 
 No mercy, as the world might know. 
 Why should he, then, avert the fate 
 Of those who sinned against the State ? 
 'Twas but a demonstration of the theme, 
 That papal power in all things was supreme ! 
 
 But worse abuses still remain, 
 
 Those papal centuries to stain ; 
 
 For Superstition's active crew 
 
 Brought modes of trial, strange and new, 
 
 To break the rales by sense and reason given, 
 
 And take instead an impious call on heaven ! 
 
 Trials by ordeal began. 
 
 To end disputes they doomed the man 
 
 To plunge his arm in melted lead, 
 
 On ploughshares made red-hot to tread, 
 
 13 
 
194 TEST OF WITCHCRAFT. 
 
 Or in the wage of battle fierce to fight, 
 Deeming the victor must be in the right ! 
 
 When charged with witchcraft, he was cast 
 
 In water, while they bandaged fast 
 
 His thumbs together, thus to note 
 
 If the poor wretch would sink or float ; 
 
 For so they fancied the result would show 
 
 Whether he used Satanic power or no ! 
 
 Suppose he floated, then 'twas plain, 
 
 That Satan must his slave sustain ; 
 
 Suppose he sank, 'twas just as clear 
 
 That he should innocent appear ; 
 
 But then the sapient judges sometimes found 
 
 That the acquitted party might be drowned ! 
 
 In forms like these the priests took part, 
 
 Prepared the scene with solemn art, 
 
 And prayed aloud, with seeming zeal, 
 
 That God's decree might justice deal : 
 
 As if a miracle must still be wrought, 
 
 When law and reason both were set at nought ! 
 
 But these were times of ignorance. 
 
 Among the masses, no advance 
 
 In education had been made 
 
 Beyond the wants of war and trade. 
 
 The learned clergy might sometimes be seen ; 
 
 Yet they were only few, and far between ! 
 
IGNORANCE. 195 
 
 Through those dark ages, even the race 
 
 Of nobles thought it no disgrace 
 
 That they could neither read nor write. 
 
 If the accomplished, gallant knight 
 
 Could shine in courts and armies, he was blest : 
 
 To priests and monks he yielded all the rest ! 
 
 The clergy took no pains or care 
 To banish ignorance. Their share 
 Of learning was not large nor deep, 
 But it enabled them to keep 
 The government o'er knights and nobles too : 
 Knowledge is power, and that they found was 
 true. 
 
 They loved the ignorant to rule. 
 
 "Why should the laymen go to school 
 
 Merely to cultivate the mind ? 
 
 'Twere best to have their thoughts confined 
 
 To their appropriate walk in life, and still 
 
 Be wisely guided by the priestly will. 
 
 The slaves and serfs were born to toil, 
 The husbandmen should till the soil, 
 The low mechanics plied their trade, 
 The merchants were for commerce made, 
 The knights and nobles lived for honor's call ; 
 But pontiff, Bishops, priests, should rule them all. 
 
 The kings by Cardinals were led, 
 Who stood as statesmen at the head ; 
 
196 POWER OF THE CLERGY. 
 
 The Courts of equity were ruled 
 By Cardinals profoundly schooled ; 
 While the inferior clergy, rightly drilled, 
 The Courts of law, without discredit, filled. 
 
 The Parliaments were governed still 
 
 By Bishops, who, with tact and skill, 
 
 Controlled the laity, and used 
 
 An influence full oft abused, 
 
 Through management adroitly understood, 
 
 To pass foul laws of bigotry and blood. 
 
 And all the men of rank and wealth 
 
 Had chaplains for their spirits' health, 
 
 Who read and wrote, as need required, 
 
 Whate'er their patrons' will desired ; 
 
 The master to the writing set his seal, 
 
 And thus he managed with the world to deal. 
 
 Yet schools there were of splendid fame, 
 Where students flocked of every name, — 
 Great Universities, designed 
 To strengthen and enlarge the mind : 
 But all were under clerical control ; 
 The Church, and not the State, arranged the 
 whole. 
 
 And hence, for centuries, so few 
 
 Appear as authors to pursue 
 
 The track of learning, save the class 
 
 Who stood distinguished in the mass 
 
 Of priests and friars. But the time drew near 
 
 When this monopoly should disappear. 
 
WICKLIFF. 197 
 
 The fourteenth century beheld 
 
 A work of influence which impelled 
 
 The coming crisis. Then arose 
 
 A warning on the Church's woes, 
 
 From bold John Wickliff, in the earnest hope 
 
 Of rousing England's zeal against the Pope. 
 
 The Bible he translated well, 
 
 That so the Word of God might tell 
 
 Its saving truth to every mind 
 
 Which stood to piety inclined. 
 
 The priests and Bishops were of course enraged, 
 
 And soon to crush him all their power engaged. 
 
 But the Almighty raised a friend 
 His life and safety to defend. 
 The Pontiff cited him to Rome, 
 Where he could not be forced to come ; 
 And though his persecutors did not cease, 
 He held his ground, and died at last in peace. 
 
 The priests his followers accused 
 
 Of heresy, and so abused 
 
 Their powerful influence as to take 
 
 The good Lord Cobham to the stake. 
 
 Such death the noble martyr deemed a gain ; 
 
 Nor was the worthy sacrifice in vain ! 
 
 The work of Wickliff travelled far, 
 And in Bohemia raised the war 
 Of truth 'gainst popish error. There 
 Huss the reformer took his share 
 
198 HUSS AND JEROME. 
 
 Of risk and danger in the sacred strife, 
 And in the service yielded up his life. 
 
 A Council of the Pope had met 
 
 In Constance, partly called to set 
 
 Its seal to falsehood, known to fame 
 
 By Transubstantiation's name ; 
 
 And there brave Huss was summoned to attend, 
 
 Before them all his doctrine to defend. 
 
 The Emperor Sigismund had signed 
 
 A writ in language well defined, 
 
 His personal safety to insure, 
 
 That he might come and go secure ; 
 
 And trusting to the high imperial word, 
 
 He took his stand, — a champion of the Lord ! 
 
 But 'twas in vain ! Their fixed decree 
 
 Pronounced his doctrine heresy. 
 
 The emperor broke his plighted faith, 
 
 And basely gave him up to death : 
 
 He walked the path the holy martyrs trod, 
 
 And gladly perished for the truth of God ! 
 
 Jerome of Prague, an honored name, 
 
 A papal victim next became. 
 
 A long religious war ensued ; 
 
 The Hussites wept with tears of blood ! 
 
 The sacramental cup was all their gain ; 
 
 As for the rest, the struggle proved in vain ! 
 
FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 199 
 
 But now the Eastern empire's power 
 
 Had reached at last its fated hour : 
 
 Constantinople fell ! The work 
 
 Had been accomplished by the Turk. 
 
 The Church of Greece bowed down in shame 
 
 and loss; 
 Mohammed's Crescent triumphed o'er the Cross ! 
 
 The Greeks had long declining been, 
 
 Effeminate and sunk in sin : 
 
 Religion's forms remained alone ; 
 
 Its ancient zeal and strength had flown : 
 
 But they were well refined by learning's sway, 
 
 And classic lore had suffered no decay. 
 
 Their country conquered by the hand 
 
 Which held the cruel Turkish brand, 
 
 They scattered over Europe, there 
 
 To find some refuge from despair ; 
 
 And in due time they raised an ardent flame 
 
 For Grecian learning wheresoe'er they came. 
 
 But their success was largely due 
 
 To the invention, grand and new, 
 
 Of printing, which so well supplied 
 
 The means of knowledge far and wide : 
 
 The Providence of God through these unfurled 
 
 The flag of Reformation to the world ! 
 
 Yet first came forth an awful sight, 
 "When kingly force and papal might 
 
200 THE INQUISITION. 
 
 Concurred, from policy alone, 
 
 To raise the Inquisition's throne, 
 
 And punish heretics of various names 
 
 By racking torments and consuming flames. 
 
 Seized by this dark tribunal's power, 
 In secret at the midnight hour, 
 The hapless victim, borne away 
 To dungeons from the light of day, 
 Was driven, by torture's diabolic art, 
 To act his own accuser's dreadful part. 
 
 No friend allowed to see his face, 
 
 In gloomy cell he found his place, 
 
 So deep, that groans and shriekings there 
 
 Could never reach the upper air ; 
 
 And there they racked his frame from time to 
 
 time, 
 To force confession of a nameless crime. 
 
 'Twas heresy to breathe a word 
 Against the Pope, the Sovereign Lord ; 
 Or question if the Virgin heard 
 The countless prayers for aid preferred ; 
 Or doubt if priests by consecration could 
 Transform the Bread and Wine to Flesh and 
 Blood. 
 
 And so of all the dogmas taught, — 
 If even in his secret thought 
 The wretched man had dared to stray 
 From papal Rome's unerring way, 
 

 TEE INQUISITION. 201 
 
 He must recant, or else by sentence dire 
 He paid the penalty of death by fire ! 
 
 But this was nothing new for Rome. 
 
 The Inquisition had become 
 
 A settled principle of right. 
 
 Since that great Council saw the light 
 
 Which Innocent the Third had held before, — 
 
 Notorious for two hundred years and more. 
 
 Yet, though the Church so long had been 
 
 Accustomed to the dreadful scene 
 
 Of slaughter, dealt by sword and flame, 
 
 Most foully, in the Saviour's name, 
 
 This far exceeded all the world had known, 
 
 And stood in bloody cruelty alone. 
 
 For Ferdinand, that crafty king, 
 
 Resolved his proud grandees to bring 
 
 In due subjection to his sway, 
 
 While confiscation swept away 
 
 Their wealth into his coffers. So he planned 
 
 This pious scheme to subjugate the land. 
 
 There was no Court whose power they feared, 
 
 No royal sceptre much revered ; 
 
 The Pope alone held high control, 
 
 For he was Sovereign o'er the soul ; 
 
 And hence the Church's curb might be applied 
 
 When all restraint besides would be denied. 
 
202 SECRECY AND TORTURE. 
 
 A Court raised up to guard the faith, 
 
 Whose judgment would be sealed by death 
 
 And confiscation; on whose course 
 
 All must rely without resource ; 
 
 Whose judges chosen by the king should be, 
 
 But still commissioned by the Pope's decree ; 
 
 A Court with ample power to make 
 Its rules of trial, and to take 
 All its proceedings from the eye 
 Of public gaze and scrutiny, 
 While veneration for the Church should cast 
 A safeguard round each sentence which it 
 passed ; — 
 
 Such a tribunal, with due care 
 
 Conducted, might be made to bear 
 
 A new but most effective part 
 
 In aid of kingly power and art. 
 
 And Ferdinand had well surveyed his ground. 
 
 And took his course with subtlety profound. 
 
 The first great feature of the plan 
 Was secrecy. The hapless man 
 Who was imprisoned never knew 
 The foe with whom he had to do : 
 The name of his accuser was concealed, 
 And by no management could be revealed. 
 
 The next great rule was to compel 
 The party of himself to tell 
 Whate'er his judges chose to ask, 
 By means of torture. 'Twas a task 
 
DEFENCE OF THE INQUISITION. 203 
 
 Performed in deep and subterraneous room, 
 And language fails to paint the victim's doom. 
 
 Few men such treatment could withstand. 
 
 The judges were a heartless band, 
 
 Resolved no agony to spare 
 
 Which human strength and life could bear, 
 
 Until at length the torturing rack had wrung 
 
 Such words as suited from the prisoner's tongue. 
 
 The pope at first refused to aid 
 
 The plan which Ferdinand had laid ; 
 
 But policy prevailed in time, 
 
 And Rome approved the course of crime 
 
 Through which this hateful Court, for centuries, 
 
 stood 
 Pre-eminent in cruelty and blood. 
 
 But here the priests of Rome pretend 
 
 The whole proceeding to defend. 
 
 The Inquisition, as they say, 
 
 Took no man's life or goods away : 
 
 Their office was his heresy to try ; 
 
 Nor did their hand his punishment apply. 
 
 The Church her ancient rule preserved, 
 And from her maxim never swerved : 
 From war and blood abstaining still, 
 She shows the culprit her good will ; 
 And when her judges yield him to the State, 
 They ask that mercy may avert his fate. 
 
204 THE REQUEST FOR MERCY. 
 
 The Inquisition did no more 
 
 Than had been always done before. 
 
 When they had closed their task, they saw 
 
 The man delivered to the law 
 
 With kindly wishes. 'Twas not their desire 
 
 That the poor wretch should perish in the fire ! 
 
 But this excuse, though true in form, 
 
 Is false in substance. As the storm 
 
 Produces shipwreck, though the wave, 
 
 And not the wind, prepares the grave, 
 
 Even so the priests had made each nation frame 
 
 The laws which doomed the heretic to flame. 
 
 The Lateran Council had laid down 
 The rule which governed every throne ; 
 The Church established in each land 
 Bore everywhere the highest hand ; 
 And hence the death to heretics assigned 
 Was but the transcript of the Church's mind. 
 
 And therefore, when the culprit passed 
 
 The Inquisition's gates at last, 
 
 To be conducted to the stake, 
 
 With mercy for the Saviour's sake, 
 
 It was a shameless mockery, which well 
 
 Might move the laughter of the prince of hell. 
 
 Mercy ! the Inquisition's prayer ! 
 Who ever thought of mercy there ? 
 Mercy ! in dark and lonely cell, 
 With pain and agony to dwell ! 
 
FALL OF THE INQUISITION. 205 
 
 Mercy ! from those whose tortures caused more 
 
 woe 
 Than martyrs at the stake could ever know ! 
 
 The law of Moses had decreed 
 The worst of criminals to bleed 
 By stoning, and on witness given 
 From two at least, in sight of heaven ; 
 But these Inquisitorial judges trod, 
 Without compunction, on the law of God. 
 
 And yet, the simple to beguile, 
 
 They talked of mercy all the while ; 
 
 And dared in Christ's own name to slay 
 
 Their wretched victims day by day. 
 
 Thus papal policy and kingly art 
 
 Plunged deep in misery many a tortured heart. 
 
 Three centuries'passed beneath the reign 
 
 Of this demoniac Court in Spain ; 
 
 Three hundred thousand victims left 
 
 The record of its power, bereft 
 
 Of land and life. The pope maintained it still, 
 
 And, when it fell, 'twas by Napoleon's will. 
 
 With reverence we may well conclude 
 That the Almighty deemed it good, 
 By this convincing proof, to show 
 How far the papal Church could go, 
 To all the precepts of the Gospels blind, 
 Resolved by cruelty to rule mankind ! 
 
206 PAPAL GRANT OF IRELAND. 
 
 But now a wondrous change arose 
 
 The fifteenth century to close ; 
 
 A change which opened regions new, 
 
 And led the world with joy to view 
 
 Fresh paths in which ambition's steps might tread, 
 
 And find a wreath of honor for its head. 
 
 A great discovery was at hand. 
 
 Columbus found the glorious land 
 
 Which forms our Western Continent ; 
 
 And Spain and Portugal, intent 
 
 On gold and conquest, raised their wondering 
 
 eyes, 
 And sent their bands to seize upon the prize. 
 
 It had the settled rule become 
 
 For ages in the Church of Rome, 
 
 That he who claimed, by Christ's decree, 
 
 The world's great Sovereign to be, 
 
 Had ample power all lands to give away, 
 
 By virtue of his universal sway. 
 
 This power the popes had oft employed. 
 
 The benefit was not enjoyed 
 
 For nothing. It was bought and sold, 
 
 Like other grants, for solid gold. 
 
 And France, as well as Portugal and Spain, 
 
 Had papal license given, in hope of gain. 
 
 The case of Ireland was the same. 
 Henry the Second made his claim, 
 
THE POPE BISHOP AND KING. 207 
 
 And had it from the Pontiff's hand 
 That England should hold full command 
 O'er all the natives of that lovely isle, 
 While Peter pence should be his share of spoil. 
 
 ^'Twas thus, with not a shade of doubt, 
 
 America was parcelled out : 
 
 The priests went on, inspired with hope, 
 
 To gain new nations for the pope ; 
 
 And regions vast, by Europe's power o'ercome, 
 
 Were made submissive to the Church of Rome 
 
 CANTO VIII. 
 
 For many centuries, the general sense 
 Of Europe was against the Court of Rome : 
 War after war was waged in its defence, 
 And more and more corrupt it had become. 
 
 The cry for reformation had been raised 
 By many who were loyal to the faith, 
 Which, as it stood, with ready zeal they praised, 
 Resolved to hold its dogmas until death. 
 
 But there was a distinction, clear and strong, 
 Between the pope as Bishop and as King : 
 The Sovereign might and often did go wrong ; 
 To blame the Bishop was a different thing. 
 
208 THE CHURCH INFALLIBLE. 
 
 The Church of Rome, as they had all been 
 
 taught, 
 Was quite infallible, and could not err ; 
 The Court of Rome was oft to ruin brought, 
 And reformation was demanded there. 
 
 And hence through many years, from time to 
 
 time, 
 Councils were called to bring about the change ; 
 But all in vain. Venalty and crime 
 Continued still to run their usual range. 
 
 The reformation which the case required 
 Was in the Church, — her doctrine was impure : 
 The faith at first set forth, by Heaven inspired, 
 She had been taught no longer to endure. 
 
 For though she still retained her ancient Creed, 
 'Twas not enough the sinner to recall : 
 Of all her new inventions faith had need, 
 And he who would be saved must take them all. 
 
 The worship of the Virgin and the saints ; 
 The idol-homage to the Bread and Wine ; 
 The priestly power to pardon sin's attaints ; 
 The pope's vast empire, held to be divine ; 
 
 His high prerogative to end the pain 
 Of purgatory by his will's control, — 
 All these the Christian must accept, or gain 
 The name of heretic, and lose his soul. 
 
TETZEL SELLING INDULGENCES. 209 
 
 But now, at length, in answer to the prayer 
 Of mourning thousands, the set time drew near, 
 A thorough Reformation to prepare, 
 When the pure Gospel should again appear. 
 
 The sixteenth century saw the See of Rome 
 By Leo filled, the Tenth who bore the name ; 
 And he resolved to build St. Peter's dome, 
 And so establish an enduring fame. 
 
 To raise the money for this gorgeous pile 
 He scattered all abroad, with royal hand, 
 Indulgences, expressed in liberal style, 
 Through priestly agents named for every land. 
 
 Tetzel, appointed thus his writs to sell 
 At Wittemberg, a great sensation made ; 
 And praised these grand Indulgences so well, 
 That it was quite a profitable trade. 
 
 "Buy them," he said, "to place your friend at 
 
 rest 
 From purgatorial pains their grace is given ; 
 For, when the money tinkles in the chest, 
 The happy soul released goes straight to heaven ! " 
 
 But God raised up a champion full of zeal, 
 To check the impious boaster in his pride. 
 Luther came forth his strong rebuke to deal, 
 And Tetzel's doctrine openly denied. 
 
 14 
 
210 MARTIN LUTHER. 
 
 A public disputation soon was held, 
 In which the bold reformer gained applause 
 From many minds the error was dispelled, 
 And Luther's arguments had won the cause. 
 
 His Sovereign lord was Frederic the Wise, 
 Elector of old Saxony ; and he, 
 Beholding Luther with admiring eyes, 
 Resolved his friend and advocate to be. 
 
 The great Redeemer's Providence had now 
 Bestowed on Luther's course a high renown ; 
 Nor could his honest head be forced to bow 
 Before the wearer of the papal crown. 
 
 A monk of the Augustine order, brought 
 To knowledge in the ancient Fathers' school, 
 He saw how all the early writers taught 
 That faith from Scripture took its only rule. 
 
 Step after step he felt his cautious way 
 Through all the sad corruptions of the past, 
 Until the papal, anti-Christian sway 
 Was understood, and all exposed at last. 
 
 He preached and wrote with energy and force : 
 
 All Germany resounded with his fame, 
 
 And took, with France and Switzerland, the 
 
 course 
 Of reformation in the Saviour's name. 
 

 CARDINAL WOLSEY. t 211 
 
 Melancthon, Calvin, and Zuinglius bore 
 In the great movement a distinguished part, 
 As leaders of renown ; but thousands more 
 Aided the noble work with all their heart. 
 
 The emperor, Charles the Fifth, at first appeared 
 Inclined to place himself on neutral ground ; 
 But papal influence soon interfered, 
 And to the side of Rome his efforts bound. 
 
 A civil war ensued, which lasted long : 
 
 The truth had many evils to endure ; 
 
 But still its friends in faith and hope were strong, 
 
 And in the end their rights were made secure. 
 
 The work in England had a later date : 
 
 Henry the Eighth, when Luther's course was 
 
 known, 
 Condemned his doctrines with polemic hate, 
 And wrote a book his errors to disown. 
 
 The famous Cardinal "Wolsey held the post 
 Of his prime minister, and led the king 
 In proud magnificence to make his boast, 
 And deem economy a worthless thing. 
 
 The treasures which his father's careful hand 
 Had wisely hoarded, soon were made to fly ; 
 And Wolsey was not slow to understand 
 That some expedient must the want supply. 
 
212 SUPPRESSION OF MONASTERIES. 
 
 The convents and the monasteries held 
 The half of England's riches at the time : 
 If all the monks and nuns could be expelled, 
 The Cardinal thought it would not be a crime. 
 
 For they had long become an odious race 
 
 To king and nobles, in seclusion bred : 
 
 They scorned the courtiers in their pride of place, 
 
 And only owned the pope to be their head. 
 
 The monarch's scruples soon were overcome 
 By Wolsey's arguments ; the pope was gained 
 Through his unbounded influence at Rome, 
 And thus his subtle plan was well sustained. 
 
 It was a fatal blow to papal power 
 That all monastic wealth was swept away, 
 And aided largely to bring on the hour 
 When reformation should its light display. 
 
 But yet the mode in which the work was done 
 Seemed fair enough. No sentence was pro- 
 claimed 
 Until commissioned agents first had gone, 
 And, on inspection, the delinquents named. 
 
 A vast amount of crime was thus laid bare : 
 Lust, lying, fraud, tyrannical control, 
 And other sins which justice could not spare, 
 With few exceptions, rested on the whole. 
 

 QUEEN CATHARINE. 213 
 
 The plain alternative was now supplied 
 In a distinct and practicable shape, — 
 Their charters to surrender, or be tried, 
 With slender expectation of escape. 
 
 Of course they chose, however undesired, 
 Surrender, on such terms as they could gain. 
 Wolsey from Rome itself his powers acquired, 
 And contest with such odds would be in vain. 
 
 The subtle Cardinal with success arranged 
 The working force of his financial plan : 
 Monastic wealth its owners quickly changed, 
 And monkish credit soon to rain ran. 
 
 But far more serious was the next attack 
 Which Rome was forced to suffer from the king. 
 'Twas this that opened wide the sacred track 
 For all the blessings which reform could bring. 
 
 The queen, to whom his wedded faith was due, 
 Was Catharine, daughter of the royal pair 
 Named Ferdinand and Isabella. Few 
 Could boast a lineage nobler or more fair. 
 
 But she had been his brother Arthur's wife ; 
 And, though her husband died, the law's decree 
 Forbade the holy bond of wedded life 
 'Twixt her and Henry solemnized to be. 
 
214 DIFFICULTIES OF THE KING. 
 
 Of course this obstacle they all foresaw ; 
 But then the pope possessed a full control 
 In matters which concerned the Canon law, 
 By dispensation to relieve the soul. 
 
 This being done, they married. Twenty years 
 They lived together. Then the monarch's mind 
 Became distracted by new doubts and fears, 
 For which his counsellors no cure could find. 
 
 It was a settled doctrine at that day 
 That by the words of Scripture 'twas a sin 
 To wed a brother's widow. Who could say 
 That he was truly married to his queen ? 
 
 The papal dispensation might be good 
 In cases which the Canon laws define ; 
 But by the Church 'twas never understood 
 That popes could set aside the law divine. 
 
 These doubts and scruples gave the king no rest : 
 Divorce appeared to be the only cure. 
 With gifts and prayers the pontiff was addressed, 
 Till royal patience could no more endure. 
 
 The pope was well inclined to please the king ; 
 But Catharine was the emperor's aunt, and he 
 Could never be induced his mind to bring 
 In base approval of the wished decree. 
 
ARCHBISHOP CRANMER. 215 
 
 For Henry's project 'twas an evil hour. 
 
 The pope could not afford a foe to make 
 
 Of one so great as Charles in wealth and power, 
 
 And so he temporized for prudence' sake. 
 
 The king at last, by Cranmer's counsel moved, 
 Resolved the case before the schools to lay, 
 That thus the theologians most approved 
 Their judgment on its merits might display. 
 
 Forthwith his agents were dispersed abroad ; 
 And by the general voice his views were seen 
 To be in concord with the "Word of God, 
 Which quite condemned his marriage with th 
 queen. 
 
 Cranmer meanwhile had been Archbishop made ; 
 The pontiff's power o'er England's Church was 
 
 gone; 
 The act of Parliament his claims gainsaid, 
 And all his fancied rights were overthrown. 
 
 The Bishops, lords, and commons had espoused 
 The monarch's wishes with united voice ; 
 The spirit of reform was fully roused, 
 And all the advocates of truth rejoiced. 
 
 But no advance was made in Henry's reign 
 The Church's ancient doctrine to restore : 
 'Twas his her independence to regain ; 
 Beyond that object he would do no more. 
 
216 REFORM. 
 
 Archbishop Cranmer granted his divorce, 
 Though Catharine the authority denied : 
 Wife after wife he married, but his course 
 Was dark with gloom and sorrow till he died. 
 
 His son was the Sixth Edward, raised on high 
 While still a child ; yet he, by grace divine, 
 Was taught the truths of Scripture to apply, 
 And piety with wisdom to combine. 
 
 A youthful prodigy of fervent faith, 
 Derived from inspiration's pure control, 
 He roused the Bishops with his royal breath 
 To fix the doctrines which inform the soul. 
 
 Cranmer and Ridley, learned and pious men, 
 With Latimer and Hooper, took the lead ; 
 Their writings and their sermons, clear and plain, 
 The knowledge of the truth through England 
 spread. 
 
 The Church's Government, as first decreed 
 By Apostolic wisdom, was restored ; 
 The Liturgy, from Superstition freed, 
 Brought back the ancient worship of the Lord. 
 
 The Articles, in terms precise and fair, 
 Exposed the fearful errors of the past ; 
 The Bible was translated with due care, 
 And so the Church stood well reformed at last. 
 
BLOODY MARY. 217 
 
 The saint-like youth who occupied the throne 
 Thus filled his bright and Heaven-directed reign ; 
 But yet the victory was not wholly won, 
 For Rome fought hard her influence to sustain. 
 
 Eight years had passed in labors of reform, 
 When Edward died, and Mary took his seat. 
 Then rose the muttering of the coming storm, 
 Designed the noble movement to defeat. 
 
 Queen Catharine's daughter, she was fully bent 
 That reformation should be preached no more ; 
 Resolved her royal power- should all be spent 
 The pope's old yoke in England to restore. 
 
 Philip of Spain her husband had become, — 
 The emperor's son, bred to despotic rule, 
 Devoted to the faith of papal Rome, 
 And to the bloody Inquisition's school. 
 
 The Parliament, brought over by the arts 
 Which royal powers so easily supply, 
 Confessed their sin, and, with submissive hearts, 
 Craved pardon from the pontiff's clemency. 
 
 Of course this prayer was granted by the pope : 
 England was reconciled ! and then 'twas found 
 That many, who professed a better hope 
 In Edward's time, were prompt to change their 
 ground. 
 
218 REFORMERS BURNED. 
 
 The larger portion of the Bishops turned 
 Back to their idols with officious zeal ; ' 
 And papal vengeance 'gainst reformers burned, 
 Which every faithful soul was doomed to feel. 
 
 But yet a goodly number, who, in dread 
 
 Of persecution's rage, forsook the land, 
 
 To Germany and Switzerland had fled, 
 
 And met warm welcome at their brethren's hand. 
 
 The noble leaders who refused to leave 
 The post of danger in the fearful strife, 
 Stood strong in faith, expecting to receive 
 The crown of glory in the loss of life. 
 
 Hooper, a Bishop, zealous for the right, 
 Was called to perish in the awful flame ; 
 Ridley and Latimer, through heavenly might, 
 With words of triumph won the martyr's name. 
 
 And Cranmer, though bowed down with age and 
 
 grief, 
 And for a season seemingly o'ercome, 
 With ardent zeal proclaimed his firm belief, 
 And passed through fire to his celestial home. 
 
 Two hundred forty on the list appear, 
 As victims burned alive in Mary's reign, — 
 A host of martyrs, spite of pain and fear ; 
 Nor was the glorious sacrifice in vain. 
 
DISGUST OF THE NATION. 219 
 
 The nation grew disgusted at the scene : 
 
 The system of the pope was understood ; 
 
 " The man of sin " they thought he might have 
 
 been, 
 Since all could see he was a man of blood ! 
 
 The martyrs at the first laid down their life 
 To plant the Church, the kingdom of the Lord ; 
 And martyrs now were needed in the strife 
 Through which her ancient truth must be re- 
 stored. 
 
 And thus the Providence of God was plain. 
 Four years of popish Mary's cruel rule 
 Convinced the English, honest and humane, 
 That Rome had ceased to be the Christian's 
 school. 
 
 Compassion, sympathy, and justice moved 
 Their hearts against her dark and savage sway ; 
 And, taught by suffering, multitudes approved 
 The martyr's teaching of the better way. 
 
 For though the populace had given the name 
 Of " Bloody Mary " to the hapless queen, 
 'Twas known that she was not so much to blame 
 As those who made a merit of the sin. 
 
 The pope, the Bishops, and the priests, combined, 
 Displayed their usual policy and skill ; 
 The queen was wholly governed by their mind, — 
 The ready tool of their despotic will. 
 
220 QUEEN ELIZABETH. 
 
 But, by the merciful decree of Heaven, 
 
 Four years brought death to close that cruel 
 
 reign. 
 The needed lesson had been fully given, 
 And true Religion raised her head again ! 
 
 CANTO IX. 
 
 In - fifteen hundred fifty-eight, 
 
 It pleased the Lord to change the state 
 
 Of England's Church ; for now the land 
 
 "No longer felt the tyrant hand 
 
 Of persecution. On the throne 
 
 A virgin princess sat alone, — 
 
 The famed Elizabeth, whose mind 
 
 To reformation stood inclined ; 
 
 Although the priests indulged the hope 
 
 To win her over to the pope. 
 
 The expectation which they held 
 
 Was soon, however, quite dispelled. 
 
 Among the Bishops, none were found, 
 
 Save one, by whom she could be crowned. 
 
 The Parliament in Mary's reign 
 
 Her birth had branded with a stain 
 
 By nullifying the divorce 
 
 Of royal Catharine. This, of course, 
 
 Deprived her mother of all claim 
 
 As Henry's wife, except in name ; 
 

 ARCHBISHOP PARKER. 221 
 
 And hence the Bishops could not own 
 Her right to occupy the throne. 
 
 The queen had girt her seat around 
 With counsellors of skill profound, 
 Resolved that papal art no more 
 Should govern England as before. 
 And she possessed a spirit high, 
 Which few with safety could defy. 
 The danger at a- glance she saw ; 
 But, for the time, her word was law. 
 And so, to curb their discontent, 
 The bishops to the Tower were sent, 
 And on the royal list set down 
 As traitors, plotting 'gainst the crown. 
 
 The place which Cranmer used to fill — 
 As Primate of all England — still 
 Was vacant; and, without delay, 
 The Council fixed a fitting day 
 To set a new incumbent there, — 
 A man esteemed for faith and prayer, 
 Who held a true reformer's claim, — 
 And Matthew Parker was his name. 
 Four worthy Bishops without stain 
 Had gone abroad in Mary's reign ; 
 And these were called, with solemn state, 
 This learned priest to consecrate. 
 The new Archbishop crowned the queen 
 With public joy but rarely seen ; 
 And shouts of triumph rose to prove 
 Her hold upon the nation's love. 
 
222 ROMISH BISHOPS DISPLACED. 
 
 The Parliament commenced its course, 
 To give the whole its legal force. 
 With warm alacrity and zeal, 
 They hastened promptly to repeal 
 The shameful acts so lately passed, 
 Which at the Pontiff's feet had cast 
 Their noble kingdom, in the hour 
 When priestcraft held the sword of power. 
 The Lords and Commons with acclaim 
 Affirmed the pure and spotless fame 
 By which Elizabeth alone 
 Was proved entitled to the throne. 
 The Pope's usurped and bloody sway 
 O'er England's Church was swept away, 
 And all her rights were placed again 
 Just as they were in Edward's reign. 
 
 This work at once removed the ground 
 On which the papal Bishops found 
 A valid pretext for their act, 
 And yet they would not now retract. 
 In Henry's time, they had denied 
 The claims of Rome ; and, when he died, 
 They turned reformers at the word 
 Of Edward, as their sovereign lord. 
 Next they resumed the Pontiff's yoke 
 In Mary's days ; and thus they broke 
 Their faith so oft, no trust could be 
 Attached to their sincerity. 
 Regarded and esteemed by none, 
 They felt their influence was gone ; 
 
PHILIP'S SUIT REJECTED. 223 
 
 And, since they had no hope in store, 
 They thought it best to change no more. 
 That they were traitors now was clear, 
 And thus their Sees, within the year, 
 Were filled with honest, faithful men, 
 Who counted truth the highest gain. 
 
 The emperor Charles, with morbid mind, 
 His power to Philip had resigned ; 
 And he, since Mary now was dead, 
 Proposed Elizabeth to wed, 
 Unwilling to release his hold 
 On England's power and England's gold, 
 And sure that his ambitious hope 
 Would be most grateful to the Pope, 
 Whose dispensation would be given 
 With promptness, in the name of Heaven. 
 
 Sore was the blow to Philip's pride 
 When his proposal was denied ; 
 And great the Pontiff's wrath to see 
 That England's Church again was free. 
 But Rome had still adherents strong, 
 Of priests and lords a goodly throng, 
 Prepared his system to defend, 
 On whom he thought he might depend, 
 If he should exercise the rod 
 As vicar to the Son of God. 
 
 Ere long a hostile scheme was planned 
 By Rome and Philip 'gainst the land. 
 
224 THE SPANISH ARMADA. 
 
 A second Bull was quickly seen, 
 To excommunicate the queen, 
 And free her subjects from their vow 
 Of due allegiance ; while her brow 
 No longer should disgrace the crown 
 Which no arch-heretic might own. 
 
 The plan looked hopeful in the eyes 
 
 Qf many. Vast were the supplies 
 
 Of Spanish men and money raised ; 
 
 While priests and Bishops warmly praised 
 
 The emperor's purpose to reclaim 
 
 Fair England from the double shame 
 
 Of placing high, in royal state, 
 
 A woman excommunicate, 
 
 Who was, besides, by birth unclean, — ■ 
 
 The base-born child of Henry's sin ! 
 
 The great Armada of old Spain, 
 Provided with a gorgeous train 
 Of troops and implements of war, 
 Whose fame was sounded from afar, 
 Was now at last prepared to sail, — 
 Its master certain to prevail ; 
 For such a navy ne'er had been 
 On the wide ocean's bosom seen. 
 
 And how did this alarming plan 
 Affect the queen ? Her work began 
 In rousing the brave English heart 
 To take their favorite sovereign's part. 
 
TEE ARMADA DESTROYED. 225 
 
 The Pope's bright project proved in vain ; 
 His Bull was treated with disdain ! 
 The people armed on every hand 
 The proud invader to withstand. 
 The fleet was put in due array," 
 And scoured the channel night and day. 
 Not one disloyal movement rose 
 To give support to England's foes ; 
 While earnest prayer and faith sincere 
 O'ermastered every sense of fear, 
 And made each pious soul abide 
 In trust that God was on their side. 
 
 And so it proved. The hosts of Spain 
 In boastful triumph ploughed the main, 
 With false assurance, strong and high, 
 Their banners flaunting to the sky. 
 But, as near Albion's cliffs they drew, 
 Behold ! a mighty tempest blew ; 
 The waves, as if to fury lashed, 
 O'er all the hapless navy dashed ; 
 By lightning bolts their masts were riven ; 
 The thunders shook the vault of heaven ; 
 Clouds piled on clouds obscured the light, 
 And wrapj^ed them in the gloom of night; 
 The mass of waters swept each deck, 
 Till every ship became a wreck. 
 The Virgin and the saints in vain 
 Were all invoked with cries of pain ! 
 Like Pharaoh's army doomed to be, 
 Which perished in the dark Red Sea, 
 
 15 
 
226 DISCORD. 
 
 Down, down they sunk ! The glorious host 
 Were in the raging ocean lost ! 
 No prayers nor struggles could avail, 
 And few escaped to tell the tale. 
 
 O what a hymn of praise arose, 
 When thus, against His Church's foes, 
 The Lord of heaven displayed His might 
 Before the world's astonished sight ! 
 Praise from the voice of age and youth ; 
 Praise for His mercy and His truth ; 
 Praise for His judgment in the hour 
 When human pride proclaimed its power ; 
 And praise for the protecting arm 
 Which saved His faithful flock from harm ! 
 
 CANTO X. 
 
 The Church of England now was wholly free 
 From papal influence ; but, ere many years, 
 Discordant sentiments were found to be 
 A fruitful source of troubles and of fears. 
 
 The Reformation which had beea attained 
 In other countries took a varied shape ; 
 No union in their labors could be gained, 
 Nor did the best from error quite escape. 
 
DISLIKE OF BISHOPS. 227 
 
 The Lutherans came nearest to the mark ; 
 The Calvinists were next in power and fame ; 
 While the Socinians wandered in the dark, 
 And lost the glory of the Saviour's name. 
 
 The Anabaptists at their outset tried 
 A bold career of carnal strife and death ; 
 But their fanatic claims were laid aside, 
 And then they prospered in the Baptist faith. 
 
 Of these, the followers of Calvin took 
 The name of Presbyterians, and professed 
 A correspondence with the Sacred Book, 
 More primitive and perfect than the rest. 
 
 Their discipline and doctrine were embraced 
 In Scotland by a preacher much revered ; 
 And to their work in England may be traced 
 The spirit of dissent which soon appeared. 
 
 The English Church some zealous men contained, 
 Whose hate of popery led them to disclaim 
 The only form of government sustained 
 By warrant of the great Apostles' name. 
 
 The Pontiff was a Bishop ; and they held 
 
 That hence no Church of Christ reformed could 
 
 be, 
 Till Bishops from their office were expelled, 
 And power was vested in the laity. 
 
228 BISHOPS SCRIPTURAL. 
 
 They closed their eyes to the celestial Word 
 Laid down in Scripture, on the honor due 
 To rulers in the kingdom of the Lord, 
 So long as they were faithful, just, and true. 
 
 And they forgot how the Apostles' mind 
 Was guided by the Spirit to arrange 
 The government of Bishops. Who shall find 
 A warrant which can authorize a change ? 
 
 That Popes were Bishops, every man must own ; 
 But Rome had Bishops for six hundred years 
 Before the claims of popery were known, 
 As from the Church's history appears. 
 
 'Twas not as Bishop that the Pope could reign 
 O'er the whole world with absolute control, 
 And scatter curses linked with grief and pain, 
 And force submission from each Christian soul. 
 
 'Twas not as Bishop that he could precede 
 The kings who came his majesty to greet, 
 Or add new dogmas to the Church's creed, 
 Or bring all other Bishops to his feet. 
 
 The rightful power of Bishops is a trust, 
 By Holy Scripture still with care restrained, 
 Averse to strife, by prayer and kindness nursed, 
 For order and for unity ordained. 
 
THE SURPLICE. 229 
 
 The Bishop's jurisdiction is confined 
 Within a moderate circle, there to see 
 That all the duties for the Church designed 
 Administered with faith and zeal may be. 
 
 He has no power the law to change or slight : 
 In discipline he must pursue the road 
 As 'tis laid down, nor can he claim the right 
 To lord it o'er the heritage of God. 
 
 The argument of those misguided men, 
 
 Which sought the Pope with Bishops to confound, 
 
 Was therefore an absurdity so plain, 
 
 That one more manifest can scarce be found. 
 
 But they had still another charge to make 
 Against the garment ordered for the priest : 
 A grave exception here they strove to take, 
 And from their bondage longed to be released. 
 
 The surplice, in the Church's service worn, 
 Was but a rag of popery in their mind ! 
 And yet in this they only showed their scorn 
 Towards that which God for Israel designed. 
 
 For pure white linen was the dress required 
 Of all the priests in Aaron's sacred line : 
 By Rome the preacher was in black attired ; 
 But white was ordered by the Word divine. 
 
230 BLACK POPISH. 
 
 Why should the minister of Christ employ 
 The hue which speaks of mourning and of grief? 
 The herald of the "tidings of great joy" 
 Is sent from all our woes to give relief. 
 
 The messenger of light and life and love 
 Should wear the garb which suits the Gospel's 
 
 aim; 
 And hence it was gross folly to reprove 
 What reason joins with Scripture to proclaim. 
 
 It was an innovation on the track 
 Of sacred usage, when the Pontiff's will 
 Conferred upon the friars, clothed in black, 
 A right the office of the priest to fill. 
 
 The change began long centuries before 
 The time of Reformation. Then arose 
 The angry strife, increasing more and more, 
 Which made the priests and monks such bitter 
 foes. 
 
 These preaching friars were a favored class, 
 By papal license everywhere allowed 
 To enter any Church, and after Mass 
 Ascend the pulpit, and address the crowd. 
 
 'Twas thus that popery introduced the mode 
 Of making black the preacher's proper hue. 
 White has the sanction of the Word of God ; 
 Black to the Pontiff's power is wholly due. 
 
RISE OF THE PURITANS. 231 
 
 The question, in itself, involved no breach 
 Of doctrine appertaining to the soul ; 
 But it was urged by those who love to teach 
 How much the Church still followed Rome's con- 
 trol. 
 
 And sad it is to see how Christian men, 
 Led by false zeal, to such excesses ran, 
 Condemning what the Jewish laws contain, 
 And praising what the Pope himself began ! 
 
 On such poor grounds arose a novel sect, 
 Under the reign of England's famous queen, 
 Resolved the Church's system to reject, 
 As still remaining popish and unclean. 
 
 These were the Puritans, who cast aside 
 Her government and worship in disdain ; 
 With Korah, Dathan, and Abiram's pride, 
 The people's sole dominion to sustain. 
 
 The other sects, who opened up the way 
 Through Luther's zeal and Calvin's earnest voice, 
 "Were organized without a Bishop's sway, 
 From pure necessity, and not from choice. 
 
 The Puritans took quite a different view : 
 Seceders without any valid plea, 
 They chose a novel system to pursue, 
 And called rebellion Christian liberty ! 
 
232 COLONIAL RELIGION. 
 
 Luther and Calvin framed a form of prayer, 
 And old John Knox in Scotland did the same ; 
 But Puritans made each his own prepare, 
 As the true way to feed devotion's flame. 
 
 And this new plan became the favorite mode 
 With all the sects. The tyranny of Rome 
 Once broken, e^pry leader chose the road 
 That pleased his fancy, towards his heavenly 
 home. 
 
 And hence arose the evils of dissent : 
 No union amongst Protestants was found ; 
 The Church of England only was intent 
 On holding fast the Apostolic ground. 
 
 Ere long the colonists, who crossed the sea 
 To plant religion on our Western soil, 
 Brought ministers of every class to be 
 Their safeguard through the work of blood and 
 spoil. 
 
 Virginia, named in honor of the queen, 
 The Nation's Church her chosen teacher made ; 
 While fair New England was the favored scene 
 In which the Puritans their power displayed. 
 
 In Maryland, Lord Baltimore had gained 
 For Roman Catholics a strong control ; 
 Yet, strange to say, 'twas he who first sustained 
 The law of toleration for the whole. 
 
FREEDOM AND EQUALITY. 233 
 
 In Pennsylvania, the peculiar sect 
 
 Of Friends, or Quakers, took their peaceful rule : 
 
 A worthy band, if they did not reject 
 
 So much enjoined in the Apostles' school. 
 
 "New York at first was settled by a force 
 Of Presbyterians from old Holland's shore : 
 But soon the English came ; and then, of course, 
 The Church commenced, and prospered more and 
 more. 
 
 As time rolled on, the rising wealth and fame 
 
 Of all the colonies drew large supplies 
 
 From foreign nations, while the crowds who 
 
 came 
 Surveyed the prospect with admiring eyes. 
 
 With land so cheap. and plenty, taxes small; 
 With industry and labor richly paid; 
 With social privilege alike for all, 
 And every human hope in light arrayed ; 
 
 With no aristocratic class to shine 
 Above the rest, in rank and wealth secure ; 
 With no oppressive laws to draw the line 
 In favor of the rich against the poor: — 
 
 No wonder that advantages like these 
 
 A constant influx from old Europe won. 
 
 All sects were welcome ; all could hope to please ; 
 
 And total failure need be feared by none. 
 
234 NO BISHOP W AMERICA. 
 
 'Twas true, in Massachusetts, for a while, 
 The Pilgrim Fathers held a stringent reign. 
 Lest doctrine false the people should beguile, 
 They tried to keep it out by law, in vain. 
 
 The Romish priest, the Baptist, and the Friend 
 Were all subjected by their stern decree 
 To whipping, fines, and exile ; and the end, 
 If they returned, was on the gallows-tree. 
 
 As tolerance of error was a sin, 
 They banished "Williams, and four Quakers hung ; 
 Deeming these hapless victims moved within 
 By the foul spirit from which popery sprang. 
 
 But this soon vanished. Men of different mind 
 Arose to wield a more indulgent sway : 
 The puritanic zeal ere long declined, 
 And liberal toleration won the day. 
 
 Meanwhile the Church, in those colonial days, 
 Had gained some settlement throughout the land, 
 Although the British powers refused to raise 
 A Bishop's See among the sects to stand. 
 
 But, when the storm of Revolution came, 
 The little strength she had was soon destroyed : 
 Her clergy, for the most part, could not claim 
 A right to be by patriot force employed. 
 
PATRIOTIC CLERGY. 235 
 
 Their prayers for King and Council to omit, 
 Seemed, in their mind, to be almost a crime; 
 And hence it was impossible to fit 
 Their service to the changes of the time. 
 
 The people closed the Church against the priest ; 
 The patriot preachers had the public ear ; 
 And England's ministers their efforts ceased, 
 And crossed the seas with many a bitter tear. 
 
 Sad was the hostile spirit that ensued 
 Against the altars of the Church arrayed : 
 The work of sacrilege to men seemed good, 
 And horses drank from Fonts for Baptism made. 
 
 But there were still a few, by wisdom led, 
 Among the clergy, who were on the side 
 Of independence ; and, when others fled, 
 Their constant labors to the Church supplied. 
 
 Of these good men, the best distinguished name 
 Was that of William White. He took his stand 
 As Chaplain to the Congress, and his fame 
 Is linked with those most honored in the land. 
 
 And when their course, though destined to suc- 
 ceed, 
 
 Through seven long years of arduous conflict 
 passed, 
 
 'Twas his to hail the grand result decreed, 
 
 Which crowned the cause of Liberty at last. 
 
236 SEABURY. 
 
 Thirteen United Commonwealths appeared 
 Amongst the nations now to claim their state ; 
 But, while for this his patriot heart was cheered, 
 He felt most anxious for the Church's fate. 
 
 And so, with zeal and energy combined, 
 He called her scattered members to convene, 
 And led the views of their collected mind 
 With tact and prudent judgment rarely seen. 
 
 To organize the Church with due regard 
 To Apostolic rule, which was her boast, 
 Demanded Bishops. If from these debarred, 
 Her character for order would be lost. 
 
 The clergy of Connecticut began, 
 Electing Seabury their chief to be ; 
 And he — a faithful, learned, and zealous man 
 In search of Consecration crossed the sea. 
 
 The English Bishops were, of course, the first 
 To whose kind feeling his appeal was made ; 
 But in the way 'twas found the law had thrust 
 An obstacle which could not be gainsaid. 
 
 For every Bishop consecrated there 
 Mast swear allegiance in a subject's name ; 
 And Parliament, they said, must first prepare 
 A special Act to suit the novel claim. 
 
WHITE AND PROVOOST. 237 
 
 This process was too doubtful and too slow 
 To meet the object which he sought to gain ; 
 And so to Scotland he resolved to go, 
 Where no such law the Bishops could restrain. 
 
 Those Bishops had succeeded to the band 
 Of the ISTon-jurors, by that title known, 
 Because they would not swear to take their stand 
 As subjects when King William held the throne. 
 
 A noble band ! Although we deem them wrong, 
 On such an argument to leave their place, 
 Yet are they praised by every faithful tongue 
 For lofty principle and Christian grace. 
 
 From their successors Seabury obtained 
 His Consecration, and, without delay, 
 Returned to execute the office gained, 
 In the mild spirit of paternal sway. 
 
 Ere long, the British Parliament fulfilled 
 
 The plan so many anxious hearts desired : 
 
 A law was passed by which the Church could 
 
 yield 
 The boon that our necessities required. 
 
 Three worthy priests were chosen for the rite 
 Of Consecration. All were men of note : 
 The Pennsylvanians named their favorite White ; 
 And, in New York, Provoost obtained the vote. 
 
238 MADISON. 
 
 The third was Madison, — a name revered 
 Amongst Virginians ; and, with order due, 
 A Bishop's office was on each conferred, 
 Henceforth through life its duties to pursue. 
 
 The good Archbishop and his colleagues gave 
 Their kind adieus with words of love sincere ; 
 And soon they crossed the broad Atlantic's wave 
 To enter on their new official sphere. 
 
 Thus from the Mother Church has ours received 
 
 The order of the Apostolic line ; 
 
 No longer of its native rights bereaved, 
 
 But armed with power of government divine. 
 
 And it has prospered far beyond the hope 
 Of those who saw it at that early day ; 
 Nor can we estimate its future scope, 
 Or count the blessings of its onward way ! 
 
 And now the task proposed is done : 
 The promised goal is fairly won. 
 The Church's history, frankly traced, 
 Before the reader's eyes is placed 
 In humble verse ; but, ere I end, 
 Some useful thoughts I would commend 
 To those who wish to contemplate, 
 With hopeful hearts, our present state. 
 
EVILS OF DIVISION. 239 
 
 The gracious Gospel of the Lord, 
 Set forth so clearly in His Word, 
 The blessed Bible, stands professed 
 Amidst division and unrest. 
 A hundred jarring sects and more 
 Have shown the folly, o'er and o'er, 
 Of aiming to improve the plan 
 Devised by Heaven for sinful man. 
 
 No peace or unity is found 
 
 In Christendom. The holy ground 
 
 Has been invaded by the art 
 
 Of Satan's power, in every part. 
 
 " Divide and conquer " still has been 
 
 His maxim. The results are seen 
 
 In all the discord, pain, and strife 
 
 Which sore annoy the Church's life ; 
 
 In infidelity, whose sway 
 
 Controls the science of our day ; 
 
 In reckless violence and fraud, 
 
 Regardless of the. law of God; 
 
 In proud rebellion 'gainst the rule 
 
 Of discipline in home and school ; 
 
 In Mammon-worship, — young and old 
 
 Devoted to the lust for gold ; 
 
 In Pleasure's all-engrossing rage, 
 
 Whose charms such multitudes engage : 
 
 While Christian Sabbaths are profaned, 
 
 The Gospel's influence disdained, 
 
 And few appear its power to feel 
 
 With grateful trust or ardent zeal ! 
 
240 HERESY AND SCHISM. 
 
 With all these evils, hour by hour 
 
 Increasing in their baneful power, 
 
 A call for Union has gone forth 
 
 From East to West, from South to North ; 
 
 Union amongst the hosts who claim 
 
 Of Protestants the boasted name ; 
 
 Union against the Church of Rome ; 
 
 Through which each sect may soon become 
 
 A portion of the mighty whole, 
 
 With firm and undivided soul, 
 
 And fervent zeal and faithful word, 
 
 To wage the warfare of the Lord ; 
 
 While yet this Union shall respect 
 
 The present state of every sect, 
 
 And leave it free to keep the way 
 
 Which led it from the truth to stray ! 
 
 Strange Union, where men disagree ! 
 Strange concord, without harmony ! 
 The Church in this can take no part : 
 She asks the Union of the heart. 
 For Christian Union springs from faith, — 
 The power that conquers sin and death ; 
 And heresy and schism can find 
 No favor in the Church's mind. 
 
 'Tis true we are encompassed round 
 With evil ; true that few are found 
 Consistent with the holy rule 
 Prescribed in the Apostles' school ; 
 
LOYALTY TO THE CHURCH. 241 
 
 True that divisions, war, and strife 
 Are hostile to the Church's life. 
 Our lot is cast in those last days 
 When piety has little praise ; 
 When times are perilous and dark, 
 And men prefer to make their mark 
 In worldly honor, wealth, and pride, 
 With hopes and aims unsanctified, 
 As if they had no souls to save, 
 ISTor heaven to win beyond the grave ! 
 
 But is the Church to blame for this ? 
 
 Or can her system be amiss, 
 
 When all its course directly flowed 
 
 From the recorded Word of God ? 
 
 Is it for us to change His plan 
 
 To please the weak caprice of man ? 
 
 The Constitution of the State 
 
 Is sacred, and a traitor's fate 
 
 May doom the leaders of the band, 
 
 Who, to subvert it, lift their hand. 
 
 And shall the government assigned 
 
 To Christ's own Kingdom, by His mind, 
 
 Be deemed unworthy of the love 
 
 Which should our loyalty approve ? 
 
 The old Reformers cast away 
 
 The yoke of Rome's corrupted sway 
 
 In duty to the higher law 
 
 Which in the Word of God they saw ; 
 
 16 
 
242 HERETICS AND SCHISMATICS. 
 
 But all the later sects, which rose 
 In England, were the Church's foes. 
 Without excuse or valid cause, 
 They broke the Apostolic laws, 
 And chose her rule to set aside 
 In wilful, independent pride. 
 
 But such secession ne'er can be 
 
 Allowed with Union to agree. 
 
 The Church of Christ must still be found 
 
 To guard her Apostolic ground. 
 
 And while, for her dear Master's sake, 
 
 She tries allowance kind to make 
 
 For human error, leaving all 
 
 Before the Lord to stand or fall, 
 
 She may not use a flattering tongue 
 
 To blend the lines of right and wrong ; 
 
 Nor compromise her sacred law 
 
 The praise of heretics to draw ; 
 
 Nor treat schismatics as her friends ; 
 
 Nor advocate a course which tends 
 
 The strife of discord to increase, 
 
 And thwart her work of love and peace. 
 
 The want of Christian Unity 
 
 Is a sore evil. All agree 
 
 That, if our labors would obtain 
 
 The ancient brotherhood again, 
 
 It would be welcomed with acclaim 
 
 By all that bear the Saviour's name. 
 

 THE APOSTOLIC STANDARD. 243 
 
 We know our great Redeemer prayed, 
 The night in which He was betrayed, 
 That all His followers might be One, 
 With love the race of faith to run. 
 And when divisions first arose 
 At Corinth, every reader knows 
 What care the chosen Apostle took 
 To mark them with a sharp rebuke. 
 But the result seems plain and clear, 
 That never can the Church appear 
 United, save by going back 
 To that authoritative track, 
 Which, by the Holy Spirit's light, 
 Is made the only rule of right, 
 And in the Sacred Scriptures given, 
 To guide us in the way to heaven. 
 
 There is the only standard set. 
 
 By this each question may be met 
 
 With an authority divine 
 
 From which the Church should ne'er decline. 
 
 So far as any sect retains 
 
 The Apostolic plan, it gains 
 
 A right, with reason just, to claim 
 
 The honor of a Church's name : 
 
 So far, no farther. Since that plan, 
 
 Through grace, is God's free gift to man, 
 
 A Church complete conformed must be 
 
 In all things to His wise decree. 
 
 We hold our system as the best, 
 Because it well endures the test. 
 
244 THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 Church of the Bible ! always read, 
 
 And thus before the people spread 
 
 From first to last, that every ear 
 
 Its pure and saving truths may hear ; 
 
 Church of the Martyrs ! one in faith 
 
 With those whose grand and glorious death 
 
 Bore witness to the Saviour's power 
 
 In persecution's darkest hour ; 
 
 Church Holy, Catholic, and One ! 
 
 Before division's course begun 
 
 The Arch-deceiver's fraud to prove, 
 
 And mar the unity of love : 
 
 What other union do we need 
 
 Than that in which the Apostles' Creed 
 
 Reminds us still, with grateful heart 
 
 And constant zeal, to bear our part ? 
 
 But while the system we applaud, 
 
 Because it is the work of God, 
 
 We know that no mere system can 
 
 Reform the rebel soul of man. 
 
 The Holy Spirit must be given 
 
 To change the heart with power from Heaven. 
 
 For though the Church is still the place 
 
 In which to seek the means of grace, 
 
 Yet none the benefit can find 
 
 Till Christ bestows a willing mind. 
 
 What beauty can the blinded eye, 
 
 In color, form, or light, descry ? 
 
 What charm can music use to cheer 
 
 The dulness of the deafened ear ? 
 
THE CHURCH SYSTEM DIVINE. 245 
 
 Even so the Church has no control 
 Upon the feelings of the soul, 
 Until the sinner's ears and eyes 
 Are opened to perceive the prize. 
 Did not the traitor Judas stand 
 Amongst the Apostolic band ? 
 Did not the sorcerer Simon prove 
 His Baptism without faith or love ? 
 Nay, did not thousands of the Jews 
 The call of Christ Himself refuse, 
 Because their carnal hearts were still 
 Rebellious 'gainst His sacred will? 
 
 By nature all are disinclined, 
 By nature all are deaf and blind, 
 Regardless of their heavenly home, 
 And thoughtless of the life to come. 
 For man is fallen through sin. To rise, 
 He needs the strength which grace supplies ; 
 And that the Lord, with loving care, 
 Bestows on humble faith and prayer. 
 
 Thus, then, the evidence we show, 
 To all who are concerned to know, 
 That in the Church of Christ, restored 
 In due accordance with His Word, 
 We have the holy system given 
 On the authority of Heaven. 
 To this with grateful heart we cling, 
 In duty to our glorious King. 
 
246 HOPE, NOT CERTAINTY. 
 
 If others choose a different way, 
 Resolved in modern paths to stray, 
 We may not in their error share ; 
 Although we plead for them in prayer, 
 And look with sorrow, not with hate, 
 Upon their sad divided state. 
 We do not, like the Church of Rome, 
 Curse those who leave their proper home ; 
 Nor, in the effort to prevail, 
 Confine salvation to our pale. 
 Judgment on men is not assigned 
 By Christ to any mortal mind. 
 " Curse not, but bless," is His command ; 
 And on this gracious word we stand, 
 Trusting that He who reads the heart 
 Sees some true faith in every part 
 Of these divisions, and will make 
 Allowance for His mercy's sake ; 
 That so the humble and sincere, 
 Who worship Him in love and fear, 
 Though led in many points astray 
 From the more pure and perfect way, 
 May gain His pardon for the past, 
 And find their souls redeemed at last. • 
 
 But hope like this should ne'er be pressed 
 
 Too far upon a Christian breast: 
 
 'Tis always safer to abide 
 
 Within the rule from Heaven supplied. 
 
 Union with error cannot be 
 
 From doubt and danger wholly free. 
 
FAITH AND FORM. 247 
 
 Though all who wander from the light 
 Are taught to think the wrong is right, 
 And sins of ignorance may find 
 Indulgence from the Saviour's mind, 
 Yet those who know the better way- 
 Can claim no license when they stray. 
 
 5 Tis true, an argument we meet, 
 Which most sectarians deem complete : 
 They say, that, if the faith be found 
 Substantially correct and sound, 
 It is enough, since all the rest 
 Is nothing more than Form at best ; 
 And Forms are left at large and free, 
 As human judgments may agree ; 
 And every Form, if Faith be right, 
 Is equal in the Saviour's sight. 
 
 This sophistry in many minds 
 
 A ready acquiescence finds ; 
 
 And yet its weakness will appear, 
 
 On due reflection, plain and clear. 
 
 We grant that Form stands far below 
 
 The Faith, as all true Christians know. 
 
 It is not Form, but Faith alone, 
 
 By which the prize of life is won. 
 
 The victory over sin and death 
 
 Is promised to a holy Faith ; 
 
 And, where the heart is trained for Heaven, 
 
 The name of Church may well be given. 
 
248 SOUL AND BODY. 
 
 But when we view the gracious plan 
 On which the Lord created man, 
 We see that, in His wise control, 
 He gave His image to the soul ; 
 While the fair body was designed 
 To be the servant of the mind. 
 The man complete must both embrace : 
 Both mark the nature of the race, 
 Both are the work of His own hand, 
 Both subject to His high command. 
 Although the soul so far excels 
 The goodly frame in which it dwells, — 
 Although the Spirit's presence gives 
 The power by which the body lives, — 
 Although, without the soul, no art 
 Can vigor to the flesh impart ; 
 Yet who the body would disdain ? 
 What mortal judgment would refrain 
 From all the kind and watchful care 
 Which for its safety should prepare ? 
 Or who refuse to praise the grace 
 Allotted to the form and face ? 
 
 So in the Church — the heavenly Bride 
 Of Christ — the rule should be applied. 
 Faith is the spirit, Form the frame : 
 Both from His will united came ; 
 And both should still united be 
 According to His wise decree. 
 
 But when the soul departs at death, 
 Gone is the body's vital breath. 
 
A DEFORMED BODY. 249 
 
 No thinking head, no beating heart, — 
 Corruption seizes every part. 
 No love the pallid corpse can save : 
 'Tis given in sorrow to the grave ! 
 
 So in the Church. When Faith has fled, 
 The Form is, like the body, dead. 
 Its life depends on Faith alone ; 
 When that is lost, its power is gone : 
 Decay asserts its dark control, 
 And hope forsakes the sinner's soul ! 
 
 And yet another point may be 
 Drawn forth from this analogy ; 
 A clearer view of truth to gain, 
 And make the just conclusion plain. 
 
 The soul of man is sometimes seen 
 With all its powers enlarged and keen ; 
 While his poor body crippled lies, 
 Deformed and maimed, before our eyes. 
 Who would not give a pitying word, 
 And wish his frame could be restored ? 
 
 Nay, though he might possess a mind 
 In strength and learning more refined 
 Than that of half his friends, who boast 
 The members which his frame had lost, 
 Yet who his case with praise would scan, 
 Or say he was a perfect man ? 
 
250 FORM DIVINE. 
 
 So in the Church. A sect may shine 
 With faith that seems almost divine ; 
 But if its government be marred, 
 Its worship with disorders scarred, 
 Its sacraments passed lightly by 
 As needless modes of piety, 
 While new inventions take the place 
 Of all the Scriptural means of grace, 
 Though its triumphant course may claim 
 From zealous crowds an honored name, 
 Yet the fair Form which Christ designed 
 Through the inspired Apostles' mind 
 Is so disfigured, maimed, and crossed, 
 That all its loveliness is lost. 
 The soul of faith may still remain, 
 Salvation's mercy to attain ; 
 But we no longer see displayed 
 The body for its dwelling made. 
 
 The notion which has gone abroad, 
 That Forms are nothing before God, 
 Is therefore, as we deem, absurd, 
 Opposed to reason and His Word. 
 For when has He created aught 
 Without a Form with wisdom fraught ? 
 And why has He, since time began, 
 Given Order to the mind of man, 
 Reducing all our work below 
 To Form and System ? Thus we know 
 That government proceeds by rule ; 
 That every business, trade, and school, — 
 
SECTARIAN FORMS. 251 
 
 The halls of justice and of law, 
 Armies and navies, — all must draw 
 From Form their whole potential force : 
 By that they still direct their course. 
 In pleasure's joy and sorrow's pain 
 The rules of Form are seen again. 
 Nor is it possible to find 
 A social circle where the mind 
 Is not compelled regard to pay 
 To Forms and Fashions of the day. 
 Form in the dress, Form in the feast, 
 Form from the greatest to the least : 
 Nay, even the Christian sects who rave 
 'Gainst Forms which the Apostles gave, 
 Forced by necessity, are known 
 By other customs, all their own ; 
 And, if their Form is not upheld, 
 The bold intruder is expelled, 
 Without inquiring if his soul 
 May not be under Faith's control ! 
 
 The question, therefore, would appear 
 To make an issue plain and clear. 
 Form is a thing essential still 
 In every act of human will. 
 The Church on earth could ne'er exist, 
 Unless it might in Form subsist ; 
 And hence the Lord Himself decreed 
 The Form for Israel's Church and Creed ; 
 And when the time foretold drew nigh, 
 To raise the Church of Christ on high, 
 
252 SECTARIAN CHANGES. 
 
 His Spirit gave it Form again, 
 To mark the order of His reign. 
 His chosen Apostles were inspired 
 To do the work which He required ; 
 \nd no authority can shine 
 With power more gracious and divine. 
 
 Shall Christian sects, without pretence 
 To inspiration, set their sense 
 Against the Forms established, then, 
 By these, the Heaven-directed men ? 
 
 We know sectarians cannot do 
 
 Without their Forms, which they pursue 
 
 With zealous care. But on what ground 
 
 Can their authority be found ? 
 
 On none whatever, save their will. 
 
 The faithful toil and learned skill 
 
 With which the English Bishops sought 
 
 The ancient Liturgies, and brought 
 
 The Forms of Christian Prayer and Praise 
 
 To emulate the Martyrs' days, — 
 
 All this received no kind respect 
 
 From any leader of a sect. 
 
 They raised a standard strange and new 
 
 In government and worship too ; 
 
 As if a warrant had been given 
 
 By the Almighty King of heaven 
 
 To change His system for a plan 
 
 Invented by the wit of man. 
 
THE CHURCH CATHOLIC. 253 
 
 It was a sad and sore mistake 
 The ancient Church's Form to break ! 
 That Church was Catholic, and spread 
 Where'er the Gospel raised its head, 
 For centuries ere the pope unfurled 
 The flag which claims to rule the world. 
 Thus, in the Apostles' Creed, we find 
 The Church of Christ is well defined 
 Holy and Catholic to be : 
 Such is the voice of Heaven's decree. 
 Not Roman Catholic, — a phrase 
 Which came long afterwards, in days 
 When superstition, force, and fraud 
 Were mingled with the truth of God. 
 
 O yes ! it was a sore mistake 
 
 The ancient Church's rule to break ; 
 
 For that brought in the mournful train 
 
 Of those divisions which maintain 
 
 The constant war of Christian strife, 
 
 So hostile to a holy life. 
 
 Men talk of union against Rome ; 
 
 But what result from this can come, 
 
 Save the dissensions to increase 
 
 Which now oppose all hope of peace ? 
 
 The spirit of the age is still 
 
 In little concord with good will. 
 
 Moved by excitement and display, 
 
 Inclined to every novel way, 
 
 In strong self-confidence arrayed, 
 
 Proud of the fancied progress made, 
 
254 EVILS OF THE LAST DAYS. 
 
 Feeling no reverence for the past, 
 What union can be formed to last ? 
 Have we not seen, throughout the land, 
 Divisions grow on every hand, 
 While, in the lapse of eighty years, 
 No case of peace restored appears ? 
 New sects have started by the score ; 
 Old sects have wrangled more and more ; 
 And never did the Christian mind 
 Seem less to Unity inclined. 
 
 This is the natural effect 
 
 Which follows from the war of sect, 
 
 Fomented doubtless by the art 
 
 Which Satan plies to sway the heart. 
 
 To real Union we can see 
 
 No way, till Christian men agree 
 
 To learn in the Apostles' school, 
 
 And take from that their only rule. 
 
 Of such reform, no human eye 
 
 Can any hopeful sign descry. 
 
 Our lot in those " last days" is found, 
 
 When unbelief and sin abound ; 
 
 And prophecy, in language strong, 
 
 Describes the growth of crime and wrong. 
 
 Irreverence towards the Word of God 
 
 Seems fast increasing all abroad ; 
 
 Self-will, self-interest, and self-love 
 
 Are the chief motives men approve ; 
 
 Domestic government no more 
 
 Expects obedience as of yore ; 
 
CHRIST'S SECOND COMING. 255 
 
 Regard for law is rarely seen 
 If personal feeling stands between ; 
 And patriot ardor soon grows cold, 
 Unless kept warm by lust of gold. 
 
 Against the flood of sins and woes, 
 The Church united might oppose 
 A barrier strong ; for God would bless 
 His own sure plan of holiness. 
 And this we hope for — not in vain — 
 When Christ returns on earth to reign ; 
 But not before. Till then we bear 
 In all those grievous ills our share, 
 Thankful that we can have a place 
 Where every ancient means of grace, 
 In its own order, still may shine 
 With an authority divine. 
 
 We speak of system, not of men: 
 
 It is not for a Christian's pen 
 
 To boast of any high degree 
 
 Of personal zeal or piety. 
 
 Comparisons in that respect 
 
 We would not make with any sect. 
 
 For aught we know, their prayers may rise 
 
 With more devotion to the skies, 
 
 Their hearts may be more sanctified, 
 
 Their field of charity more wide, 
 
 Their life from folly more secure, 
 
 Their mutual love more warm and pure, 
 
 Their hope more steadfast, and their fear 
 
 More reverential and sincere. 
 
256 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Of this we speak not. None can say, 
 But God alone, who best obey 
 The precepts by the Saviour given, 
 To guide His servants' way to heaven. 
 
 Yet this we know : that we can see 
 And honor worth, where'er it be ; 
 While we confess and sorely feel 
 Our own defects in Christian zeal. 
 The system of the Church we praise, 
 As nearest to the Apostles' days ; 
 But for ourselves we lay no claim 
 To any but the humblest name. 
 
 The Church of England, and our own, 
 
 On that safe system stand alone : 
 
 Yet not alone, while we are led 
 
 In all things by our glorious Head. 
 
 'Tis true that Popery may boast 
 
 A far more proud and numerous host ; 
 
 'Tis true that Eastern Christians claim 
 
 With some a more imposing name ; 
 
 While prosperous sects, in constant strife, 
 
 Proclaim a wide-spread, growing life : 
 
 But yet our place must still be found 
 
 Upon the Apostolic ground, 
 
 Whose worship, government, and faith 
 
 Shall be our heritage till death, 
 
 And guide us, through the Saviour's love, 
 
 In mercy, to the Church above !