John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892). The Poetical Works in Four Volumes. 1892.
Anti-Slavery PoemsLines from a Letter to a young Clerical Friend
A
A faith which doubt can never dim,
A heart of love, a lip of fire,
O Freedom’s God! be Thou to him!
As through Thy prophet bards of old,
And let a scornful people hear
Once more Thy Sinai-thunders rolled.
And hands of blood are raised to Thee,
And on Thy children, crushed and weak,
The oppressor plants his kneeling knee.
Thy truth in all its power to tell,
Unmask the priestly thieves, and tear
The Bible from the grasp of hell!
Of law and sect by Thee released,
Oh, teach him that the Christian man
Is holier than the Jewish priest.
Of the dead ages, from his way,
And let his hopeful eyes behold
The dawn of Thy millennial day;
Shall know the truth which maketh free,
And he alone who loves his kind
Shall, childlike, claim the love of Thee!