Amid the universal darkness, see,
That Lamp is lighted which will never be
Extinguished through all ages. Wondrously
The nation taketh root, and there we see
Th' unbending reign of a Theocracy.
God reigns in Sion. There Almightily
Pent up, His wealth of Love unceasingly
Streams upon Israel; waiting patiently
Until the hour when It victoriously
The earth shall cover as the floods the sea.
Crieth the Prophet-Seer: 'Oh, verily,
Shall darkness clothe the earth: a mist shall be
Upon the eyes of peoples. Though they be
Far off and strangers, yet they turn to thee,
And in thy Light Jerusalem shall see.'
For Nature pined for God. Impatiently
Wore she the chains of infidelity.
The light of conscience never failed, yet she
Was manacled and martyred, as to be
Half strangled in her birth's captivity.
E'en in the Land of Promise, verily,
The Light was half obscured. To us who see
In the full blaze of daylight, what can be
More clear and comprehensive utterly,
Than those bright beams of ardent prophecy?
Himself, God reigns in Sion. There is He
Adored and glorified, content to be
Alone acknowledged God: while patiently
That stubborn Nature welding which shall be
United to His Own, eternally.
O Mother of the Word, That was for thee
The Light that led thee on unconsciously -
Thy Soul herself was Light: thine eye could see
Through the perfection of its purity;
And He who spake through Prophets, spake to thee.
- text taken from Mary: The Perfect Woman, by Emily Mary Shapcote