Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PSALM 137. THE JEWISH CAPTIVE, by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PSALM 137. THE JEWISH CAPTIVE, by                    
First Line: Oh zion! If I cease for thee
Last Line: "forgetful, lord, of thee."
Subject(s): Bible; Jews; Prayer; Judaism


OH Zion! if I cease for thee
My earliest vows to pay—
If for thy sad and ruined walls
I ever cease to pray—
If I no more thy sacred courts
With holy reverence prize,
Or Zion-ward shall cease to turn
My ever-longing eyes—
Or if the splendor round me thrown
Shall touch this Jewish heart,
And make me cease to prize thy joy
Above all other art,—
Oh, may this hand no more with skill
E'er touch this sacred string,
And may this tongue grow cold in death,
Ere I shall cease to sing
And pray for Zion's holy courts,
Or dare to bow the knee
To these poor, blind and helpless gods,
Forgetful, Lord, of thee."





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