SCENE V
The Court of Death
King of the wind-blown mountains,
Lord of the lakes and streams,
Death, majestic and mighty,
Dream that awakes us from dreams,
Black is the frown on thy visage,
Piercing the fire of thine eye,
Thou girdest thyself with the tempest,
Thou spreadest thy wings on the sky.
Cities, and lone habitations,
Peoples, and ships of the sea,
Cringing, and prone at thy footstool,
Offer their treasures to thee.
Monarchs, in pride of dominion,
Beggars, in rags from the street,
Bow down before thee as brothers,
Naked they crouch at thy feet
Speed us, great Death, on thine errands,
Cover with darkness the land,
Give us sweet sin for a poison,
Make us a sword in thine hand.
God and His Hosts shall be vanquished;
Love shall be cast from His throne;
Over the dark desolations,
Thou shalt be monarch alone.
All hail, undying Death!
Whose black lips suck man's breath,
Whose grip is on man's heart,
Whose sharp knife loves can part.
DEATH
Children, born of hate and gloom,
Freeders of the hungry tomb,
Ere the day-star bring the day,
Speed upon your darksome way.
Nothing pity, nothing spare,
Stab and poison everywhere,
Snare and capture, strip and bind,
Forge the fetters of the mind.
If ye mark temptation's hour,
Nothing can withstand your power;
When the soul begins to slip,
Get it quickly in your grip.
When a soul has fallen in sin,
Pour a deeper poison in.
Tell it, God withholds His care;
Blast it with a dumb despair.
Scar and scratch the face of right,
Blind the eyes that look for light,
Shackle truth, set lying free,
So shall all things come to me.
Pride, go forth to crush in doom
Hearts wherein God has no room.
DEATH
Love of Gold, go forth to slay
Souls who God's love cast away.
DEATH
Lust, go forth to poison love,
Blind men's eyes to things above.
DEATH
Envy, prick men like a thorn,
Make them curse that they were born
DEATH
Gluttony, be thou a mesh,
Snaring all the grosser flesh.
DEATH
Anger, go forth like a flood,
Drown the world in pain and blood.
DEATH
Sloth, be thou a clogging slime,
Make men lose salvation's time.
Now shall my dominions
Be the captive world
Now my outstretched pinions,
Like a flag unfurled,
Mock in exultation
God upon His throne;
And of all creation
I am lord alone.
ANGEL.
" Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men."
Vain Death, depart, thy reign is o'er.
God's Son is Man for evermore.
Through Him, temptation makes more strong
The soul that battles with the wrong.
When sheltered 'neath His loving wing,
All pain and sorrow lose their sting.
His slave art thou, to sit and wait
And ope for souls the heavenly gate.
Behold, the clouds have rolled away
And on the mountains dawns the day.
ANGEL [ uplifting his sword ]
Our God is Victor in the strife.
Behold for man the Key of Life.
O Word of God Incarnate,
O Light begot of Light,
To weakness comes all power,
To finite infinite.
We hail Thee, tender Saviour,
We hail Thee, mighty King;
All that we have, we bring Thee,
As love's own offering.
O, born of Virgin Mother,
Sweet Jesu, Prince of Peace,
Give us the strength to conquer,
Give us from sin release.
The thick night hovers o'er us,
Our foes advance for strife,
To us, O Key of David,
Throw wide the gates of life.
Amen
" Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace: according to Thy word.
For mine eyes have seen: Thy Salvation,
Which Thou hast prepared: before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of Thy people Israel
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen."
EPILOGUE
Good people, now our simple play is ended.
In halting lines the story has been told,
How great Jehovah hath our race befriended
And loved us with a love that was of old.
Go home, then, filled with deeper love and pity
For sinful souls, for all the sick and sad:
And, as about the streets of this fair city
Ye go each day, make others bright and glad.
Think not that they who knelt before the manger
Were nearer God than ye can be to-day —
That, had ye worshipped then the little Stranger,
No tempter's wiles could lure your heart away.
For, every age hath its own special vision.
At every door, the Crucified has stood.
To every soul, there comes the fierce decision —
The final choice of evil or of good.
And, day by day, unchanging through the ages,
Though ears are deaf and eyes are blind with mist,
He, who was worshipped by the Eastern Sages,
Is throned amongst us in the Eucharist.
Yea, that dear Christ, born of the spotless Maiden,
In yearning love still cries to souls distressed —
" All ye that labour and are heavy laden,
Come unto Me and I will give you rest."
The Court of Death
King of the wind-blown mountains,
Lord of the lakes and streams,
Death, majestic and mighty,
Dream that awakes us from dreams,
Black is the frown on thy visage,
Piercing the fire of thine eye,
Thou girdest thyself with the tempest,
Thou spreadest thy wings on the sky.
Cities, and lone habitations,
Peoples, and ships of the sea,
Cringing, and prone at thy footstool,
Offer their treasures to thee.
Monarchs, in pride of dominion,
Beggars, in rags from the street,
Bow down before thee as brothers,
Naked they crouch at thy feet
Speed us, great Death, on thine errands,
Cover with darkness the land,
Give us sweet sin for a poison,
Make us a sword in thine hand.
God and His Hosts shall be vanquished;
Love shall be cast from His throne;
Over the dark desolations,
Thou shalt be monarch alone.
All hail, undying Death!
Whose black lips suck man's breath,
Whose grip is on man's heart,
Whose sharp knife loves can part.
DEATH
Children, born of hate and gloom,
Freeders of the hungry tomb,
Ere the day-star bring the day,
Speed upon your darksome way.
Nothing pity, nothing spare,
Stab and poison everywhere,
Snare and capture, strip and bind,
Forge the fetters of the mind.
If ye mark temptation's hour,
Nothing can withstand your power;
When the soul begins to slip,
Get it quickly in your grip.
When a soul has fallen in sin,
Pour a deeper poison in.
Tell it, God withholds His care;
Blast it with a dumb despair.
Scar and scratch the face of right,
Blind the eyes that look for light,
Shackle truth, set lying free,
So shall all things come to me.
Pride, go forth to crush in doom
Hearts wherein God has no room.
DEATH
Love of Gold, go forth to slay
Souls who God's love cast away.
DEATH
Lust, go forth to poison love,
Blind men's eyes to things above.
DEATH
Envy, prick men like a thorn,
Make them curse that they were born
DEATH
Gluttony, be thou a mesh,
Snaring all the grosser flesh.
DEATH
Anger, go forth like a flood,
Drown the world in pain and blood.
DEATH
Sloth, be thou a clogging slime,
Make men lose salvation's time.
Now shall my dominions
Be the captive world
Now my outstretched pinions,
Like a flag unfurled,
Mock in exultation
God upon His throne;
And of all creation
I am lord alone.
ANGEL.
" Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men."
Vain Death, depart, thy reign is o'er.
God's Son is Man for evermore.
Through Him, temptation makes more strong
The soul that battles with the wrong.
When sheltered 'neath His loving wing,
All pain and sorrow lose their sting.
His slave art thou, to sit and wait
And ope for souls the heavenly gate.
Behold, the clouds have rolled away
And on the mountains dawns the day.
ANGEL [ uplifting his sword ]
Our God is Victor in the strife.
Behold for man the Key of Life.
O Word of God Incarnate,
O Light begot of Light,
To weakness comes all power,
To finite infinite.
We hail Thee, tender Saviour,
We hail Thee, mighty King;
All that we have, we bring Thee,
As love's own offering.
O, born of Virgin Mother,
Sweet Jesu, Prince of Peace,
Give us the strength to conquer,
Give us from sin release.
The thick night hovers o'er us,
Our foes advance for strife,
To us, O Key of David,
Throw wide the gates of life.
Amen
" Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace: according to Thy word.
For mine eyes have seen: Thy Salvation,
Which Thou hast prepared: before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of Thy people Israel
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen."
EPILOGUE
Good people, now our simple play is ended.
In halting lines the story has been told,
How great Jehovah hath our race befriended
And loved us with a love that was of old.
Go home, then, filled with deeper love and pity
For sinful souls, for all the sick and sad:
And, as about the streets of this fair city
Ye go each day, make others bright and glad.
Think not that they who knelt before the manger
Were nearer God than ye can be to-day —
That, had ye worshipped then the little Stranger,
No tempter's wiles could lure your heart away.
For, every age hath its own special vision.
At every door, the Crucified has stood.
To every soul, there comes the fierce decision —
The final choice of evil or of good.
And, day by day, unchanging through the ages,
Though ears are deaf and eyes are blind with mist,
He, who was worshipped by the Eastern Sages,
Is throned amongst us in the Eucharist.
Yea, that dear Christ, born of the spotless Maiden,
In yearning love still cries to souls distressed —
" All ye that labour and are heavy laden,
Come unto Me and I will give you rest."
Reviews
No reviews yet.