Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.
By II. Gather us in, Thou Love that fillest allGeorge Matheson (18421906)
G
Gather our rival faiths within Thy fold,
Rend each man’s temple’s veil and bid it fall,
That we may know that Thou hast been of old;
Gather us in.
In varied names we stretch a common hand;
In diverse forms a common soul we see;
In many ships we seek one spirit-land;
Gather us in.
Each looks upon one tint and calls it heaven;
Thou art the fulness of our partial sight;
We are not perfect till we find the seven;
Gather us in.
Thine is the Parsee’s sin-destroying beam,
Thine is the Buddhist’s rest from tossing waves,
Thine is the empire of vast China’s dream;
Gather us in.
Thine is the Greek’s glad world without its graves,
Thine is Judæa’s law with love beside,
The truth that censures and the grace that saves;
Gather us in.
Some ask a human image to adore,
Some crave a spirit vast as life and love:
Within Thy mansions we have all and more;
Gather us in.