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By Mrs. R. Hyneman
The Jews, the legitimate Masters of
Judea, are as slaves and strangers in their own land; yet still awaiting,
under this most cruel and despotic government, a king who is to work their
deliverance.
And while the Persians, the Greeks,
and the Romans have disappeared horn the face of the earth, this small
people, whose origin is much more ancient than that of these mighty
nations, still survive amidst the ruins of their country, with no
alteration of manners, and no mixture of foreign blood.—Scripture
Geography.
Ay! turn your anxious ardent gaze,
Ye hapless ones, to that lone spot,
Where, Heav’n-inspired, your prophets dwelt—
Still be their memories unforgot,
Still cherish ye the holy deeds
That God performed for Israel then,
And uncontaminated bear
The faith your fathers cherished, when
Pollution rank, and conquering foes
Sought to defile their holy trust,
And failed. Oh, ye who hear their name,
Sons of the faithful and the just,
Let not your strength of soul depart,
Yours be the firm and dauntless heart
That spurns control of earthly bands,
That asks no aid from haughty foes,
But strong in God's own promise stands.
Poor remnant! by thy mighty woes,
By all the memories of the past,
Oh, fail thou not in thy dark hour;
Thy fiery ordeal cannot last,
And when the fierce and bigot power,
That chains thee thus, shall palsied die,
And thou! enfranchised, Heav’n redeemed,
Shalt see, “like meteors of the sky,”
Those false and erring lights that beamed
To lure thee from thy onward way,
Pass from the earth, and leave no trace
No vestige of their dwelling-place,
While thou! oh glorious and beloved,
Awakening from thy dreary night,
Shalt see thy children, long removed,*
Hastening to greet, to glad thy sight;
And that most pure and holy shrine,
O’er which thy prostrate sons now mourn,
Again in radiance all divine,
Shall hail the fugitive’s return;
Again th’ Eternal’s blessing rest upon that ruined spot,
Be thou but true, oh Israel! be firm and falter not.
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