Jephthah

10 JEPHTHAH. A way for the soul to flee, A charm for the lips to bind; And the struggle is keen as the strife to be, And the heart is tossed by the thankless wind. ELEAZAR, Nay, for a man’s sure purpose is of God. CHORUS. The large pale limbs of the earth are tanned With the sun and the sea and the yellow sand And the face of earth is dark with love Of the lords of hell and the spirits above That move in the foggy air of night, And the spirit of God, most like a dove, Hovers, and lingers, and wings his flight, Spurned and rejected and lost to sight; But we desire him, a holy bird, And we turn eyes to the hollow hills ; For God is strong, and His iron word Mocks at the gods of the woods and rills. For .our God is as a fire That consumeth every one That is underneath the sun, And our uttermost desire Must abase, with rent attire, Souls and bodies to His throne, Where above the starry choir Stands the jasper, where alone Palest seraphim respire