Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Do they converse of Heaven's ethereal halls ? The gorgeous grandeur of its golden pave, Its pearly battlements and jasper walls, Its sea of glass unruffled by a wave, Its flashing light that mocks the unclouded .sun, And all the bliss of that high temple dome ? Speak they of harps attuned to sweetest strains, And crowns that glitter on immortal brows ? Of white-robed choirs that tread the eternal plains, And crystal streams that glide through amaranth bowers? Of thrones that sparkle with intensest blaze, Almost o'erpowering an archangel's gaze ? Ah no! far other themes their thoughts employ: Proud Salem's haughty and indignant scorn, The insulting mob, the infuriate rabble-cry, His sufferings sad, by nails and scourges torn, And dread decease on the accursed tree, Midst shame and pain and untold agony ! Oh strange! that in that hour of wondrous bliss, When Tabor glowed with strong celestial light, They then should speak of the foul traitor's kiss, And Calvary's horrors veiled in blackest night, That while his garments so pellucid shone, They'd talk of robes of mockery and scorn ! Strange that while glory circled round his brow, Andbeamed in dazzling splendour from his face, They'd tell of thorns that should those temples crown, While soldiers spit and buffet and disgrace ; That that bright triumph soon should end in woe, While from the cross his life-blood down would flow! Nay, let our wonder cease ; it was not strange, No theme more fitting could their tongues employ, These were the weapons that should break sin's chains, And Satan's kingdom finally destroy. The Cross, the Cross should win him blest re- nown, Bruise Satan's head and raise us to a crown! By this the eternal portals should unfold, And Heaven ...