Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, STANZAS ON THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS, by BERNARD BARTON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

STANZAS ON THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: On this labour of love may a blessing attend
Last Line: Nor turn ye from him who now speaketh from heaven!
Alternate Author Name(s): Quaker Poet
Subject(s): Conversion; Jews; Judaism


ON this labour of love may a blessing attend;
May the Shepherd of Israel his Salem befriend,
And hasten that period, by prophets foretold,
When the stragglers of Judah shall rest in his fold.

For surely the time is approaching, when He
Will set, in his love, the law's prisoners free;
And send them to feed in the ways of his grace,
And find them a pasture in every high place.

Behold, they shall come from afar at his word,
Which alike in the north and the west shall be heard;
His uplifted standard shall Sinim's land see,
And a light to the gentiles his people shall be.

Awaken, O Zion! and put on thy strength,
And array thee in beautiful garments at length;
Shake thyself from the dust, with the might of the strong,
And cast off the bands which have bound thee so long.

The sons of the strangers thy walls shall rebuild;
Thy gates shall be open, thy courts shall be fill'd:
God once smote thee in anger, but now thou shalt see
That He, in his favour, hath mercy on thee.

The Lord, in his glory, upon thee shall rise;
The gentiles shall come to thy light with surprize:
And their kings shall rejoice thy bright rising to greet,
When God shall make glorious the place of his feet.

Then shall ye, poor wanderers! no longer roam wide,
For a greater than Moses your footsteps shall guide;
Not unto the mount where the trumpet once sounded,
With blackness, and darkness, and tempests surrounded;

But unto Mount Sion, the city of God,
The courts of whose temples by angels are trod:
To the church of the first-born, recorded above,
And the spirits of just men, perfected by love.

And to HIM, whose new priesthood shall ever endure
More pow'rful than Aaron's, more holy, more pure;
Who needeth not daily oblations to make,
Having offer'd up freely himself for your sake.

If the judgments of God on your fathers went forth,
Who were deaf unto him that spake only on earth;
O refuse not the boon which would surely be given,
Nor turn ye from Him who now speaketh from heaven!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net