FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167  
168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   >>   >|  
o the great armies of the living God, 210 Frown the Satanic host, far as the eye Can reach; and horses black as night, And spectre armies, led, in front, by Death, Appear, receding into farther depths Of blackness; while, anon, a dragon, scaled, Moves weltering onward. Michael, from the ranks Of cherubim advancing, lifts on high His mace, and full on the scaled dragon's crest Smites. At his feet the dragon lay, and, lo! The sable phantom-horsemen at the sight 220 Are vanished. Raise the victor-song to Him Who rides on the white horse, and to his God In heaven, for the great dragon is cast down Into the bottomless and burning lake! Another angel, with white waving plume, Descends; an iron chain is in his hand, And the dark key of destiny, which shuts The bottomless abyss, from whence the smoke Ascends--ascends, but not a groan is heard. The ancient dragon is cast down, and bound-- 230 Bound for a thousand years, in chains, and thrown, Howling, into that nethermost abyss; While mercy, equity, and peace, and truth, Like angel forms, visit the earth, and move, Radiant as light, among the sons of men, And only sounds are heard of harmonies, Such as in heaven are sung about the throne, O'er which, in dewy light, the rainbow bends. 238 The trump of bannered war, the sighs and groans Of miserable slaves, that rise from earth, In one deep murmur, to high heaven, are ceased; For love and mercy walk among mankind, And so shall walk, till the last trump shall sound. Now a new heaven and new earth appear; And, coming down from heaven, even as a bride Adorned to meet her husband, John beheld The City of the New Jerusalem, Glittering beyond the clouds; and then he heard A voice from a bright cloud, The Lord shall come And dwell with men, and he shall be their God; 250 And God shall wipe from every eye the tear, And death shall be no more! John spread his hands, And cried, with eyes upraised to heaven, Oh! stay, Visions of bliss! I am bowed down with age, Forlorn on earth, and I have tarried long Alone and sad. Oh! come, Lord Jesus Christ! A voice replied, Thou shalt be where he is! Hark! 'twas the billow beating on the rocks Of
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167  
168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

heaven

 
dragon
 

scaled

 

bottomless

 

armies

 

coming

 
rainbow
 
throne
 

harmonies

 

bannered


murmur

 

ceased

 

Adorned

 

groans

 

miserable

 
slaves
 

mankind

 
clouds
 

Forlorn

 

tarried


upraised

 

Visions

 

billow

 
beating
 

Christ

 

replied

 

Glittering

 

sounds

 
bright
 

Jerusalem


husband

 

beheld

 
spread
 

advancing

 

cherubim

 

weltering

 
onward
 
Michael
 

Smites

 

horsemen


phantom
 

horses

 

Satanic

 

living

 

spectre

 

farther

 

depths

 
blackness
 

receding

 
Appear