Blackwood's Magazine/Volume 10/Issue 58/The Mount of Olives

by Mary Diana Dods

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.

“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.”
Matt. xxvi. 30.⁠

1.
Messias.
   Now is the Father glorified,
   And I in him and he in me;
   Now will he glorify his Son,
   And seat him at his side.
 A little while, and ye no more shall see,
   Nor follow me where I am gone:
  Our toil is well nigh finish’d now,
  And heaven and earth, and sea and sky,
  Before the Son of Man shall bow,
    When he is lifted high!
  A crown shall be around his brow—
  And death and hell shall sink and die!
  Peace be to him that giveth peace,
  And woe to him that worketh woe,
  The captived man shall find release,
  The proud oppressor fallen low,
Shall feel his own sharp scourge, and all his tortures know.

2.
Semichorus Apostolorum.
  The King the prophets prophecied,
   The Lord of earth and heaven—
   Now to his chosen race is given!
Now hath the bridegroom sought the bride!
   Rejoice ye lands! Shiloh is come,
And seeks in glory his long lost home.
  Now bid the trumpet’s echoes swell,
  Bear him in triumph to David’s throne!
  There shall our Lord for ever dwell,
And bless the land he call’d his own!

3.
Chorus Apostolorum.
    The lamp is lighted now,
No hand shall quench its beam again;
  Yea, wide and wider shall it glow,
 And lighten on the sons of men,
  And every heart shall fear and bow,
      In silence then!
  When Moses stood before the Lord
  On Sinai, and heard his word—
 Thunders roll’d, and lightnings shone,
And clouds were round Jehovah’s throne;
  The sky was rent, the mountains reel’d,
  And high the mandates there reveal’d.
  But oh! what mortal tongue may say
   The wonders of the second day—
  When bands of seraphim shall bring
   Emanuel in all his power;
  And cherubim shall hail their king
    Enthroned in Salem’s tower!

4.
Messias.
  Go on your way in peace,
  And walk before your God,
 In fear, in love, in righteousness.
 Let every earth-born jarring cease,
 And tread the path that I have trod;
Through pain, and danger, and distress,
 A little while, and I shall sleep,
 And it is yours to mourn and weep
   Your lord and master gone.
 But fear ye not, you are my sheep—
 Still shall your Shepherd lead you on;
 The Comforter from heaven descends,
 And wonders, power, and mighty deeds
 Shall mark his way even to the ends
 Of all the earth, and where he leads
 The stubborn proudest spirit bends.
When I have burst the fetters of the tomb,
 And at my Father’s own right hand,
 With thousand saints in glory stand,
  Then shall the Holy Spirit come!

5.
Semi-chorus.
 Mourn, Israel, mourn!
   Thy Lord is torn
With hate’s sharp knife, and envy’s thorn,
   Oh woe! oh woe!

 That none may feel, and none can know!
  Thy God is made a mock and scorn;
 Weep for the misery that cometh on thee,
  Yea, more dreadful will it be,
 Than when the fierce Assyrian won thee,
And thy proud streets flow’d with a bloody sea!

6.
Chorus.
  Now, Sion, art thou cast away!
   Thy name is sunk for ever!
  Gone is thy pride and gone thy stay,
   Yea, thou art cast away!
  Thy vine shall blossom never;—
 Thou art overthrown in other lands,
  No friend shall weep over thee;—
  Cruel and hostile hands
   Wait to uncover thee!
 Thy glory is darken’d, and turn’d into shame;
Oh where are thy ancient deeds, where is thy fame?
  How shall the Gentile glory now,
  That she the Empress lieth low;
Rejected of her Lord, and spoil’d her former name!

7.
Messias.
  Yea from the fix’d foundation-stone,
   Yon Temple’s towers must fall!
  The shrine where God had fix’d his throne—
   The seat the Father call’d his own—
    Shall vanish all!
  And dark and long the night shall be,
   Where desolation hovers o’er
    Thy sons and thee!
  Then shall be signs ne’er seen before,
  Yea signs in heaven and signs on earth;
  Then shall the dreadful word go forth!
  Thou art my chosen race no more;
  While the proud eagle wings his flight,
  Amid the darkness of the night,
  And claps his wings in joy to hear
  The groan that tells him death is near;
Then shalt thou darkness dread—but more the coming light!

8.
Semi-chorus.
  Oh, who shall pray to God! Oh woe!
  Who shall avert the destined blow?
    What be the holy sacrifice?
  When altars smoke and perfumes rise,
      Go, Israel, go!
  And weep and pray—Oh no! Oh no!
      Thy end is near.
  Thou shalt not tempt thy God again;
  Now be thy portion wail, and fear,
      Contempt and pain!
As thou received thy Lord—so be thy fate with men.

9.
Chorus.
  What glorious vision meets our eyes,
  A new Jerusalem in the skies!
  For earth and sea have passed away,
  And hark! eternal spirits say—
 “Now hath God fix’d his throne with men,
   They shall his people be—
  No weeping shall be heard again,
   And death thou shalt not see,—
  For all that were have passed away.”
   No temple riseth there—
  God is himself their holy shrine,
   The Lamb their temple fair!
  They have no sun, no day, no night,
  But God is their eternal light!
  And thousand saints in glory there,
  Raise high their golden harps in air,
   And echo back the strain,
 “Worthy the Lamb who died to save,
 Who broke the bondage of the grave;
   Who died and lives again!
His be the conqueror’s meed, for Death himself was slain!”

---