82.1 D64 Isa. THE PRIZE POEM ON A SACRED SUBJECT; For 1863. n|n in |kttnm BY THE REV. R. W. DIXON, PEMB. COLL., OXFORD ; Master of Carlisle Grammar School, OXFORD : T. & G. SHRIMPTON, BROAD STREET. LONDON : SMITH, ELDER; AND CO. s "3>k41s& ARGUMENT. Introduction — S. John in Patmos— State of the Churches of Asia Minor — The Apocalypse— Division of the Apocalypse into the Constant and the Changing Vision — The Constant Vision— The Changing Vision : the Seven Seals ( Apoc . iv.-viii.) ; the Seven Trumpets (ix.-xiv.) ; the Seven Vials (xy.-xxi.)— The Central Types of the Apocalypse, viz.: the two allegorical cities, Sodom and Babylon, and the two allegorical women— ^^hese identified respectively with Jerusalem and Rome, Juda- .✓ism and Paganism, the cities and powers most opposed to ■ ■' ' ^Christianity — The third Central Type, viz. : the New Jerusa- 0~lem or Christian Church, which combines the characters of ^each of the former series of types, being described by S. John ^.as if it were at once a city and a woman. fO i r. V s- O' Jft rfm in ^>aimos. <( Mon efprit de Pathmos connut le faint delire, L’effroi qui le precede, et l’effroi qui le fuit : Et mon ame etait trifle, et les chants de ma lyre Etaient comme ces voix qui pleurent dans la nuit.” VICTOR HUGO. 2JE who had leaned on Jefus* breaft, and flood By the fad Mother underneath the Rood, Stood now in Patmos ; he who lately fmiled Among his “ little children" flood exiled From thofe his children of the Churches feven ; He who had feen on earth the dawn of heaven, Was now to mount from earth ere death allowed; Not now in body entering in the cloud, 6 S. John in P atm os. But in the fpirit o’er the clouds elate, God's throne, earth's deltiny, to contemplate. Him following, as him the Spirit led, May we that vifion fee which traverfed Time and eternity, now deep in gloom, Now brightened with the glories which illume The courts of God, fublimely myftical With fates deciphered not, which ever fhall Have their accomplishment, evolving ftill Till dying Time his glafs with earth's laft dull fhall fill. In prefent darknefs and diftrefs arose That Revelation ; far was he from thofe Whom he had loved and guided and fuftained. An aged, banifhed man ; ah ! what remained Save lonelinefs and pain in Patmos' ifle ? So that from prayer he flayed his lips awhile, Or his weak hands from labour in the mine, To think of them with love almofl divine. S. John in Patmos . 7 For them had he been fpent, for them had wrought The new philofophy, divinely taught. That love is knowledge, and that God is love. For them had ftriven to defend and prove The truth ’gainft all perverfity of man. Now that the aged Metropolitan Was taken from their head, would not the foe With fiercer rage attempt to overthrow The truth of God ? Aye, well he marked the fign That the wild boar would rend the facred vine, Tempeft th" ecclefiaftic fhip befall, Floods beat, and rains defcend on the rock-founded wall. ? Twas partly that falfe teachers now did fwarm, With fophistries the fimple flock to charm ; Full of confufions were they, fwoln with pride, Skilful with wordy (how the truth to hide : And partly Twas that on the Roman height Fell Perfecution gathered all her might: 8 S. John in Patmos, Already Chrilt’s true witnefs Antipas a Had fallen, and himfelf a victim was, Deported thus ; and many more mull fink In martyrdom, while fome might haply fhrink From hideous torment, and the faith deny: Ah, bitter peril, fierce neceffity ! On this fad prefent founded, rofe complete The vifion of the Holy Paraclete : For they are ever honoured moll who lean To human wants from out that cloud ferene Of folemn thought, in which they fain would dwell. But that the world hath need of them to quell Its anarchies : they who with burning heart Come down their own llrong eflence to impart, And labour noblelt things to keep alive : True men of affion, though contemplative. * Re* v. n. 13. — “ Even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.” S . John in P atm os. 9 Many might I recount who have been blefled Amid such toil with an entrancing reft, Or vifioned fplendour ; many whom the Dove Divine, poetic, hath enfwathed above In fnowy plumes and flafhing Iris-gleams : Two I remember, who in heavenly dreams Were moft like John; and exiles both were they, Like him ; and laboured, as did he, to ftay The thoughts of men on God in ancient time : He who by Chebar faw the wheels fublime ; He who was called beloved in Babylon, Who by the river's brink beheld the throne Of judgment fet, and all the clouds of heaven Round One who came to judge, to whom was given Kingdom and ftate and everlafting power. That infpiration in thy later hour, Apoftle of the Lamb, uplifted thee To the fame tower of vifion, whence to fee so S. John in Patmos. A greater revelation ; more intenfe, As more capacious, grew thy ravifhed fenfe, Apoftle of the Lamb ; and in its fcope The depth of fear embraced, the height of hope. Great vifions gathered form, and towered, and paffed Some awful with the earthquake, fire, and blaft ; Some with the hope of peace ; fome manifeft Of calm abiding and eternal reft ; Yet moftly awful: prophet never paled With terrors like to his whofe fenfes quailed In telling out the vials of God's wrath : Sad thought, that even he who chiefly hath Love's gofpel written, faw the utmoft woes Of plague and fire and fword, and daemon foes \ Sorrow muft needs be, then, on earth the law. Tell out the Vifion which this prophet faw, The Conftant and the Changeful : let it be Divided thus; for like the Thymele S. John in Patmos. 1 1 In theatre antique, that awful fhrine From which the paffion drew a power divine, One part through all the vifion ftood unchanged. Awful, fublime, although the fpirit ranged From fcene to fcene, from a£l to a£i of dread, 5 Mid horror, anguifh, doubt, to triumph led. Take firft the Conftant Vifion; 'tis the Throne Steadfaft in heaven, 'tis Fie who fits thereon; Within its midft the Lamb eternally, Round it the rainbow and the fhining fea, Moft nigh to it the fix-fold winged Four; And next, the crowned Elders who adore, ’Mid tabernacle walls abiding evermore. There ftands the Holieft of all, complete With Prefence-cloud of glory, Mercy-feat, And cherub : there the Sanctuary dight With rainbow hues more excellently bright Than thofe old curtains purple, fcarlet, blue; Furnifhed with Incenfe Altar, as was due, DIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY I 2 S. John in Patmos. But not with Sacrificial, where did reign For evermore the Lamb that had been flain : There for the Brazen Sea the Sea of Glafs; There for the Golden Candleftick there was That branch of Angel-flars ; for Minifters Ranged in their courfes ferved the Prefbyters, Vaft fymbol of divine ftability, Of love divine not lefs true imagery ! Great angels on their millions iffue thence, As from the covert of Omnipotence ; Yet thither come, as incenfe to the altar, The fecret prayers with which the earth doth falter. The bitter wrongs with which the earth doth groan And by the vifion is this precept fhown, That juflice, mercy, peace, o'er all do reign, And lovelinefs and fan&ity maintain The throne that rules o’er all; 'tis God who bears The fovereignty fupreme ; God who prepares The final iffues ; God beneficent Who works in time and change His own intent. S. John in Patinos. *3 Take then the Changing Vifion : 'tis the earth, Corrupt, untimely, every monftrous birth Of time ftill urging through more fearful fall Unto the end foredoomed, the judgment fet for all. The ftrife of good and evil fears the ground, Thickens the air, of earth ; in fome profound Of gloom or glory hangs the central fcale That balances creation ; Virtue pale, Wifdom contemned, and Faith defpairing, lie At mercy of earth's ghaftly harlotry ; While Providence is myftery with the feals, Omnipotence is war with trumpet-peals, Juftice is wrath with vials of the law : Tell out the Changing Vifion which he faw. He faw the feals unclofed : the horfes four Rofe with their riders dread ; the Conqueror, Who bore the bow ; and War, who bore the fword ; Famine, who of the balances was lord ; S. John in Patmos . 14 And Death the fourth, pale Death, whofe train is hell. Then cry the fouls that 'neath the altar dwell; The fun grows black, the ftars their courfes leave ; God's chofen in each tribe the feal receive; And iffue forth, while filence is in heaven, The founding Angels with their trumpets feven. He heard them found : the earth in plague and blight Plunged her black form amid the angry light From baleful meteors caft ; impetuous broke On th' upper air 'mid dim fulphureous fmoke The brood of hell, whofe king Abaddon was : There was the rufh of countlefs fteeds that pafs To fields of death ; the third of men are (lain ; Yet unrepentant they who ftill remain: Then in this drearinefs of blood and Ihade Obfcure and monftrous fhapes the world invade, The Dragon, Beaft, Falfe Prophet, curfed three, Earth's torturers, infernal trinity: S. John in Patmos. *5 So that the end is nigh ; with folemn pace The vial-bearing Angels take their place, Like facrificers clothed in fimple white : b Their vials fair upon the world of night. He faw them fall: as one by one they fell, Ulcers and blains afflict the brood of hell; The fea tormented heaves like clotted blood; In blood the rivers pour their lateft flood ; The blazing fun consumes the flefh of men ; With blafphemies they gnaw their tongues for pain ; A voice from heaven refounds that all is done, Burfts forth at once each dread phenomenon, And nature feems reverfed ; the end is come, The judgment trumpet breaks above the tomb. b It is observable that the Angels with the Vials wore the sim- ple robes which used to be worn by the High Priest in offering sacrifice on the Great Day of Atonement : they were “ clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.” — Rev. xv. 8. 1 6 $. John in Patmos. Such was the Changing Vifion that he faw, So fraught with fhapes of might, with fcenes of awe, Which, ending time, predifts eternity. Hard is it in the throng of imagery With fteady fenfe to mark the deeper thought Which harmonifes all, and how is wrought A perfect whole from parts as vaft and wild As unhewn blocks by giant builders piled To form a temple: yet no phantafies Of fragments flung by chance, be fure, are thefe : And he who fearches deeply may defcry The central meanings which do underlie The total vifion, and through all compaft, Seals, trumpets, vials, in their feven-fold act. Two cities and two women John did fee, And then a third, which feemed at once to be City and woman in one myftery. Sodom and Babylon, thofe cities twain, The den of luft, the feat of rule and gain: S. John in Patmos . n Through that were all thofe vengeful trumpets blown, Through this thofe vials upon earth were thrown : c c The Seven Trumpets are conne£ted with the punishment of the allegorical Sodom (viii,-xii.), which does not take place until the elect out of every Jewish tribe have received the seal of God. The Seven Vials are connected with the punishment of Babylon, which is resolved upon in chap. xiv. 8. (“ And there followed another angel saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen,”) immediately before the Vials begin to be poured out ; at the end of them it is declared that now Babylon had come in remembrance before God (xv.-xix.). The identity of the allegorical Sodom (called also Egypt in chap. xi. 9 : rjrig KaXeiTCu TzveypLarLKiog 2o2o/ia Kal Alyv^rog), with which so large a part of the book is concerned, with Jerusa- lem, is very plain. It was there otzov 6 Kvpiog avrtiv EaravpcjSrrj ; it was there that the holy Temple was, which John was com- manded to measure (chap, xi.), but the outer court of which was to be left to the Gentiles, in sign that foreign nations took possession of the Holy City ; and it was there that the two witnesses pro- phesied and were slain, who are mentioned (in chap, xi.) in terms of magnificent eulogy. Now S. John himself connects these two witnesses with the typical scenery in Zech. iv., which refers to Jerusalem (chap. xi. 4) : O vroi olviv 01 Svo eXalai , Kal al Svo Xvyylai al evCjttlov tov K vpiov rfjg yrjg eorrwTeg. The identity of the other allegorical city, Babylon, with Rome is generally admitted. S. John in Patmos. That Sodom was Jerufalem, e'en fhe Who killed the prophets, and for blafphemy Condemned the Lord of fpeech ; there with his rod The prophet meafured out the houfe of God; There the two martyrs prophefied and died. That Babylon was Rome, the feat of pride, Raifed o'er the waters, in whofe ftoried heights Was lodged the eagle of a thoufand flights; Where ftill fupreme the Gentile idols ftand, And from the Capitol the world command. Two women he beheld ; the one was fair, Clothed with the fun, bedecked with ftars her hair, The moon beneath her; travailing in pain Above the earth fhe hovered, and was fain To fhun the dragon, who in wait did lie To flay her child, and forced her ftill to fly To deferts void in that laborious birth, While he his monftrous bulk upon the earth $. John in Patmos. l 9 Deploys, nor ceafes from his injury. Then lo ! another nifties o’er the fea In aid of him, a wondrous form, whofe mien Hufhed e’en the foam; it was the beaft marine. The feven-headed monfter, who became The dragon’s delegate, and in his name Had worfhip upon earth, the fcarlet beaft, Whom the Falfe Prophet ferved, a hideous prieft. This monfter bore a fair fimilitude Of woman, all in Tyrian dye imbued, A forcerefs, who did with blood entrance The kings of earth in ghoftly dalliance ; Her crimfon hands a charmed chalice bore, Of gems a fparkling diadem fhe wore, And on her brow was written Myftery : The fecond woman of the vifion fhe. As that firft woman was compelled to fly To deferts void, fo Chriftianity 20 S. John in Patmos. Of wandering Judaifm with pain was born, The child received to God, the mother left forlorn. As on the monfter fat the forcerefs, So Rome upon the feven hills did prefs Her awful domination, ftill supplied From all earth’s treafuries, ftill magnified By all the kings of earth, whom fhe enchained ; Yet doomed to perilh hated and difdained E’en by her lovers/ pitilefsly maimed, Her body burnt, ftript naked, made afhamed. And thus the prophet imaged in his day Jerufalem and Rome, the powers that lay Againft the truth ; the women reprefent That which the cities in the vifion meant, d Chap. xvn. 12 : ra Ziica tcepara dim fiamXelg elai. Chap, v. 1 6 : icat ra fieic a icipara ical to Qf]piov , ovtol fuariffovffi rrjv Tropvrjr, Ka\ YipofiwpiEvriv 'iroiri'TOvffiv avrnv kcu yvjivriv> ^at rr)Q crapKog avrfjg (j>a yovrai, tcdi avrrjv Karaicavfrovffiv kv 7r vp f l. S. John in Patmos . 2 Jerufalem and Rome : the fame great thought Breathes through the whole ; a fight is to be fought, A triumph won ; and in thefe types he viewed Far off the triumph, near the fearful feud. But now, behold, the triumph comes at laft, The ftrife is over and the woes are paft; The troubled vifion ends in glorious reft; Time by eternity is difpofleffed. Behold the third great fign from heaven glide, The New Jerufalem, adorned a Bride, City and woman both : with turrets fpread, As with a royal crown, her fhining head ; Twelve gates of gleaming pearl thofe towers adorn ? As gems upon a diadem are worn ; Defcends through all its depth her fhining wall Like royal robes that down the body fall ; Her rich foundations, like phylafteries On garments worn with names engraven rife . 6 e Chap. xxi. 14 : to te~l%oq Trjg 1 toXewq e^ov $r£fu\iovg c)wc)£/ca 3 /cat ett avrCjv 2 a> 2 e/ca orofiara twv ScjSeko, ’AtzogtvXwv tov Apviov. 22 S. John in Patmos. This is the Bride of Chrift, His Church eleft And precious, unto her efpoufals decked : The Bridegroom tarries not, the feaft is fet ; The heavenly guefls for evermore are met. He faw the joy: the angel bade him ftand Upon a mountain high ; the promifed land Of the New Heaven and Earth this Mofes faw, The happinefs, the fanftity, the awe, The adoration : he beheld the waves Of that red fea of fire and glafs that laves The fecond Salem of the great I AM : He heard the fong of Mofes and the Lamb Mixed with the Alleluias to the Three That were, that are, that evermore fhall be. H. ALDEN, PRINTER, OXFORD.