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Title: The Country Love Feast
Author: John Castillo [
More Titles by Castillo]
(Held in an old Barn, Farndale, Yorkshire.)
Sing, O my muse, in praise of Zion sing,
In praise of those who her glad tidings bring,
In praise to Him who left the courts above,
To manifest to us his Father’s love!
Celestial powers, my heart and voice inspire,
If such a worm as I can feel your heav’nly fire;
To such a theme, to such a noble song,
Sublimer strains than I can reach belong.
Glory to God, whose mercy and free grace,
Are not confin’d to either time or place,
To bless, and save the fallen sons of men,
To cleanse believers, and to pardon sin.
O what an humble, yet exalted place,
Where Christians meet, the great I AM to praise.
A Barn!—A Temple! what a place is this!
Emblem of heav’n, and type of future bliss!
An earthen floor serves us on which to tread,
The roof is cover’d with the spider’s web:—
To such is man’s best righteousness compar’d,
By which full many a lofty head’s ensnar’d.
No crimson pews distinguish rich from poor,
No brass inscriptions glitter on the floor,
No marble monuments adorn the wall,
No polish’d altars where men prostrate fall,
No tapestry doth hang the pulpit round,
No costly vaults are in this temple found,
No pealing organ’s note delights the ear,
But what is better far,—our God is here!
Wherever two or three sincerely meet,
Who have towards Zion’s city turn’d their feet,
’Tis there our God himself vouchsafes to be,
To bind the strong, and set the prisoner free.
The world’s applause we cheerfully disdain,
And shelter here from company profane.
For as we differ, ’tis by Jesus’ grace,
And ’tis His presence dignifies the place.
Before us here the bread of life is spread,
Behind are stalls where now the ox is fed.
Like that in Bethlehem where Jesus lay,
This stable now beholds a glorious day!
Here Pilgrims meet their travels to relate,
And when, and where they enter’d mercy’s gate.
They tell us how their eyes with tears did fill,
When unbelief was wilful of its will.
They tell us how their sins did them oppress,
And fill’d their inmost souls with deep distress;
And how the Lord their burden did remove,
Pardon’d their sins, and fill’d their hearts with love.
They all rejoice to see each other’s face,
To hear each prospers in the work of grace.
With one consent their cheerful hearts aspire,
And ecstasies of joy their bosoms fire.
Such times as these we think too soon are gone,
Our happy souls cemented into one!
We pray, and part, each to his distant home,
And still we cry, “Lord, let thy kingdom come!”
Both far and near his Kingdom doth extend,
Temples are rising both by sea and land.
The Bethel flag, high waving in the air,
Calls seamen to engage in praise and prayer,
Whole streets, reform’d, the great assembly join,
Speak with new tongues, and sing in songs divine.
Poor trembling sinners wipe their watery eyes,
And lamentations pierce the bowing skies!
Blasphemers fall beneath the power of God,
And statesmen flock to hear his Holy Word;
While some of them a portion find to spare,
Waste Zion’s walls and bulwarks to repair.
See golden prospects round us rise,
See the dejected raise their downcast eyes,
The liberated captives shout applause
To Zion’s King, and his victorious cause!
[The end]
John Castillo's poem: Country Love Feast
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