Epiphanytide
Trembling before Thee we fall down to adore Thee,
Shamefaced and trembling we lift our eyes to Thee:
O First and with the last! annul our ruined past,
Rebuild us to Thy glory, set us free
From sin and from sorrow to fall down and worship Thee.
Full of pity view us, stretch Thy secptre to us,
Bid us live that we may give ourselves to Thee:
O faithful Lord and True! stand up for us and do,
Make us lovely, make us new, set us free—
Heart and soul and spirit—to bring all and worship Thee.
-- Christina Rossetti
Jerusalem the Golden
Jerusalem the golden
With milk and honey blest!
Beneath thy contemplation
Sink heart and voice oppressed;
I know not, oh, I know not
What joys await me there;
What radiancy of glory,
What bliss beyond compare.
They stand, those halls of Zion,
All jubilant with song,
And bright with many an angel,
And all the martyr throng;
The Prince is ever in them,
The daylight is serene;
The pastures of the blessed
Are decked in glorious sheen.
There is the throne of David;
And there, from care released,
The song of them that triumph,
The shout of them that feast;
And they, who with their Leader
Have conquered in the fight,
Forever and forever
Are clad in robes of white.
O sweet and blessed country,
The home of God’s elect!
O sweet and blessed country
That eager hearts expect!
Jesus, in mercy bring us
To that dear land of rest;
Who art, with God the Father,
And Spirit, ever blest.
-- Bernard of Cluny
To the Infant Martyrs
Go smiling souls, your new built cages break,
In Heaven you’ll learn to sing ere here to speak,
Nor let the milky fonts that bathe your thirst,
Be your delay;
The place that calls you hence, is at the worst
Milk all the way.
-- Richard Crashaw
I thought this last one was really interesting. Apparently Crashaw wrote it in remembrance of the children Herod slew in his attempt to kill Christ. If Crashaw had lived today, perhaps he would have dedicated this instead to the millions of children killed by abortion?
No comments:
Post a Comment