Matthew, the Gospel of the Publican! -- The man that made his notes, and kept accounts, And balanced proofs of ancient prophecy; The officer of cold, rapacious Rome That found a better kingdom and its laws, And heard its charter published on the Mount Or by the sea or in the city streets, And wrote it down in orderly array, -- Matthew, the Gospel of the Mouth of Christ! And Mark, the eager Gospel of the Youth! -- Fresh from old Peter's ready, salty lips, And leaping lightly through a rapid course; The startled record of the miracles, Of opened eyes, and dead restored to life, And ears unstopped, and water walked upon, And lepers cleansed, and cripples made to run, And frantic maniacs calmed to sanity, -- Swift Mark, the Gospel of the Hand of Christ! Luke, the Physician's Gospel! -- comforting, Gracious, and tender; laying gentle touch Upon the festering anguish of the world, Our poverty and misery and sin, It binds the gaping wounds of wretched men, Pouring in oil and wine; its ministries Halt at no bounds of nation or of race, But offer healing to a world diseased, -- Kind Luke, the Gospel of the Heart of Christ! And John, the Gospel of the Best Beloved! -- Of him who leaned upon the breast of Christ, And heard His whisperings and knew His thoughts; The Gospel of the Vision, piercing far To time's beginning with the Son of God, And deep into the blackness of the world, And high into the mysteries of heaven, And finding everywhere the Father's love, -- Ah, John, the Gospel of the Soul of Christ! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EASTER by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES SIGNS OF THE TIMES by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR SONNET: 144 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE UPON MY LADY CARLISLE'S WALKING IN HAMPTON COURT GARDEN by JOHN SUCKLING AN IMITATION OF SPENCER by JOHN ARMSTRONG |