Classic Poem

Oh kindle up thine altar! see the brands
Lie scattered here and there that lit the pile;
Thy priests to other service turn their hands,
And with unhallowed works their souls defile;
No victims bleed, no fire is blazing high,
They leave thy shrine to serve another god;
Who will not hear them when to him they cry,
But be to them thine own avenging rod;
The people wait in vain to hear thy voice,
With none to lead them right, with none to feed;
No more within thy courts their hearts rejoice,
But at each word the Christ must in them bleed;
Oh kindle up the heart's expiring flame!
Come quickly Lord, and magnify thy name.