A STRENGTH Thy service cannot tire, A faith which doubt can never dim, A heart of love, a lip of fire, O Freedom's God! be Thou to him! Speak through him words of power and fear, As through Thy prophet bards of old, And let a scornful people hear Once more Thy Sinai-thunders rolled. For lying lips Thy blessing seek, And hands of blood are raised to Thee, And on Thy children, crushed and weak, The oppressor plants his kneeling knee. Let then, O God! Thy servant dare Thy truth in all its power to tell, Unmask the priestly thieves, and tear The Bible from the grasp of hell! From hollow rite and narrow span Of law and sect by Thee released Oh, teach him that the Christian man Is holier than the Jewish priest. Chase back the shadows, gray and old, Of the dead ages from his way, And let his hopeful eyes behold The dawn of Thy millennial day; That day when fettered limb and mind Shall know the truth which maketh free, And he alone who loves his kind Shall, childlike, claim the love of Thee! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THIS LIME-TREE BOWER MY PRISON by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE TO HIS WINDING-SHEET by ROBERT HERRICK THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE GRAVE OF LOVE by THOMAS LOVE PEACOCK ARCADIA: SESTINA by PHILIP SIDNEY THE VACANT CAGE (1) by CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER |