Classic Poem

CHAPTER XXIII.

 B OLD he sets his steadfast face,
  Nor fears the face of man,
 Safe within a wall of brass
  And free from every stain,
 Answering in his own defence
He makes the injured truth appear,
 Open is his countenance,
  And as his conscience clear.

 T HE persecuted man
 Who pleads his innocence,
And boldly dares his plea maintain,
 Commits a fresh offence;
 Smote by the slanderous tongue
 Unless he silent stand,
The world inflict a further wrong,
 And smite him with the hand.

 'T is thus our baffled foes
 To lawless violence fly,
And smite and stop the mouth of those
 Who contradict their lie;
 Unable to gainsay
 The words of righteousness,
They answer us a shorter way,
 And truth by blows suppress.

T RANSPORTED by prophetic zeal,
Constrain'd the judgment to foretell,
 He speaks divinely right;
The threaten'd woe belongs to all,
And God shall every whited wall
 With sure destruction smite.

B Y that prophetic impulse stirr'd
 He did not to the robes advert,
But through the Spirit of his Lord
 Discern'd the false professor's heart:
He warn'd him of the impending woe,
 That those who fight with the Most-High,
And touch His people now, may know
 They touch the apple of His eye.

Respect external but unfeign'd
 Is to the worst of rulers due,
As dignities by God ordain'd
 The heavenly hierarchy to show:
The' unworthiest of men we own
 Clothed with Divine authority,
And honouring for Thy sake alone,
 Fountain of power we honour Thee.

T HE foes of truth, by malice join'd,
 Soon into different factions run,
No lasting bonds the wicked bind;
 Truth only truth continues one,
But error leads a thousand ways
And drops them in the endless maze.

 T HE modern Sadducees
 Angels and spirits disown,
Deists no after state confess,
 No God to man made known;
 As when their only care
 This present life were o'er,
Their brutal souls would melt in air,
 And die to live no more.

 The Pharisees maintain
 With zealous fury fill'd
'Gainst all your infidels profane
 The Christian truths reveal'd:
 Yet orthodox at most
 In notions who confide
They may of fewer errors boast,
 And more abundant pride.

Z EALOIS though unregenerate men
 Will for a zealot fight:
Is he of our opinion? then
 He must be in the right:
We can in him no evil see,
 We can no longer blame;
Let the well-meaning man go free,
 He thinks with us the same.

Defenders of His witnesses
 The God of truth and power,
Out of their enemies can raise
 In the distressing hour;
But suffering saints on Christ depend,
 And rest in Christ alone;
Their sure Protector to the end,
 Who always saves His own.

 W HILE with a fleshly arm
  They furiously defend,
 To rescue him from harm
  Would they in pieces rend?
The love of Pharisees may be
As fatal as their enmity

 But vain the striving zeal
  Of friendly Pharisees ,
 The great almighty will
  Prohibits his release,
An order from above detains
And Paul a captive still remains.

 He knows his Saviour's mind
  In his captivity,
 In joyful bonds confined
  That thousands may go free
To gospel liberty restored,
He rests—the prisoner of the Lord!

N OTHING they could by tumult gain,
And legal process was but vain,
The wretch unfit to live they know,
Yet still he lives their church's foe:
When neither mob nor council kill,
Inspired with most infernal zeal,
Lo, to their last resource they fly,
And Paul shall by assassins die.

As champions for the church they stand,
An oath unites the sacred band,
The holy league is sworn, and now
They must perform their pious vow,
They cannot weakly change their mind;
The solemn covenant is sign'd,
And earth and hell have both decreed
A stubborn heretic to bleed.

E LDERS commend their catholic zeal
Devoted heretics to kill,
With joy the reverend conclave join
To' advance their laudable design
The pontiff too his help affords
To gird their consecrated swords,
Their meritorious deed to bless;
And all the saints ensure success

Some put their trust in chariots,
 And horses some rely on,
  But Christ alone
  His people own
 The help and strength of Zion ;
A man of God remembers
 In peril and temptation
  The Lord of hosts,
  And calmly trusts
 The God of his salvation.

The confessor of Jesus
 Confiding in His favour
  Perceives prepared
  Another guard
 By his almighty Saviour;
Myriads of watchful angels
 Invisibly attend him,
  The flaming band
  At Christ's command
 With outspread wings defend him.

These, these are Israel's horsemen,
 Whom in the dangerous hour
  Our Captain sends,
  To save His friends
 From every hostile power;
And still Elijah's convoy
 Is ready to deliver
  Their charge below,
  Who Jesus know,
 And trust in Him for ever.

T HE captain doth the priests defeat,
 And saves his prisoner from their snare;
More mercy from the world we meet
 Than those who fill the sacred chair;
Soldiers may mild and generous be,
 To truth and equity inclined,
But justice and humanity
 In wicked priests we never find.

C ANDID and honourable men
 Who would the injured right,
The law Divine, the world unseen,
 The things eternal slight;
As free from all religious zeal,
 And superstitious cares,
As life or death, as heaven or hell,
 Were no concern of theirs.

T O groundless lies and slanders bold
 If others credit give,
Christians should their assent withhold,
 And but on proof believe:
Yet those who bear the name in vain
 Nor Pagan justice know,
Believe against the righteous man
 His unconfronted foe.

Even you, the holy fathers, you
 The' inquisitors severe,
With blindfold enmity pursue
 The Saviour's members here:
Who tax the murderers of Rome
 The house of mercy blame,
As heretics unheard ye doom
 Your brethren to the flame.

 H APPY Paul to bonds consign'd!
  What monarch is so free?
 Thousands shall the blessing find
  Of his captivity;
 Kept, (but Christ his Keeper is,
And serves by him His own design,)
 Kept, he rests in perfect peace
  Within the arms Divine.

 Jesus, full of truth and love,
  Thy Godhead we adore,
 Thee we trust the same to prove
  Both now and evermore;
 Let what will Thy church befall,
It shall to Thy great glory tend,
 Magnify the Lord of all,
  The saints' eternal Friend