The guileless followers of the guiltless Lamb,
Of Israel ere Earth knew Abraham[6];
Sealed in the forehead with the sacred Name,
Bearing the Ark of God, the Sword of Flame[7];
Behold them coming, coming, as they came 2060
Whene'er was kindled here the beacon blaze
By each Elias of the olden days!
Truth, error, shine and shadow[8], alternate,
As oft as mankind proves degenerate.
But ever, as the day-beam sinks and dies,
The stars reset their lanterns in the skies;
And unto Moses in the wilderness
Comes greater light, succeeded by the less[9].
Till truth the fulness of its ray restores,
And heaven o'er earth the holy unction pours, 2070
By ministers upon each hemisphere,[10]
Sent to proclaim what every soul must hear.
The promise past, fulfillment now is seen,
The Perfect Church[11], resplendent in the sheen
Of risen Righteousness, whose arm once more
Puts forth in power to rescue and restore.
Gray grows to crimson, crimson melts to gold,
And dawns the day by starry night foretold,
Whose lamps prophetic pale their silvery rays,
Lost in the golden light of Latter Days. 2080
A twofold Church, a dual Bride he sees;
Time's the full reflex of Eternity's.
Visioned the Dispensation of the End,
Where Zions meet, where dispensations blend,
And time's sad rivers cease their mighty moan
In sobbing requiem o'er his sunken throne,
Till death departs, and joy, from zone to zone,
Welcomes the rightful Heir unto his own.
Visioned the Council of the Ancient One[12],
Where stars make ready for the rising Sun; 2090
Where Adam yields the mortal world he won,
Unto the Sabbath Lord, till sabbath done,
And Sire receives the Kingdom from the Son.
Ere when, award of fulness is there none;
Though great ones gain the far celestial shore,
Shining and perfect as they shone before.
'Lumed by the Lamp that giveth endless view,
Discerns he spirits false and spirits true;
Unmasking Satan with the keys of light[13],
That blind may see and deaf may hear aright, 2100
A message marvelous to eyes and ears,
The rhythmic message of the songful spheres.
"Truth is eternal!"—Thus the solemn voice—
"'Twas not her birth made morning stars rejoice,
Nay, but her mission to a new-born sphere,
Whither, as oft, her shining bark would steer
With spirit crew, kin to the kingly race
Peopling the burning orbs of bourneless space.
"Truth is eternal, endless as its God,
Author and framer of the changeless code, 2110
Ever-returning, oft-repeating plan,
Redeeming from all worlds the race of man.
Life-saving line, far flung from heaven to earth,
To rescue souls—God's wealth, supremest worth—
Rescue the fallen and the penitent,
Who else must bide in hopeless banishment.
Unending were their mortal prisonment,
Did ne'er truth's sunlight gild the gloomy sod,
Gospel of mercy, gift of the gracious God,
Who gave up life to bridge the dark gulf o'er, 2120
And close its cruel jaws forevermore;
Love, striving with belief and unbelief,
Gleaning life's harvest to the latest sheaf.
"A God whose glory is intelligence,
A God whose knowledge gives omnipotence,
Who makes, maintains, redeems, and glorifies,
Bending to lift the lowliest to the skies,
By triple lever, by the mystic birth,
By Three in heaven, the typed of three on earth:
Water, that signifies obedience, 2130
Sure test of faith, true sign of penitence;
Spirit whereby the flesh is justified,
And blood, whereby the soul is sanctified;—
Lifting by these, but not by these alone,
By every word from Him upon the Throne,
Spirit 'mid spirits, most intelligent[14],
Wherefore their Sovereign Sire benevolent,
Giver of life and light whereby the rest
Press on and on till all things are possessed.
"Intelligence, eternal[15], uncreate, 2140
Though God-begotten in the spirit state,
Where all creations see maturity,
Ere launched as souls upon the mortal sea,
To prove their worth, make choice 'twixt wrong and right,
And walk by faith as erst they walked by sight;
As free to sound the gulf as soar the height.