THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
109
"I said, God's Ark is captive far away,
So wept I, Ichabod, for glory fled,
And mourned because the brightness of the day
Was quenched and dead.
"Yet, verily, if in a far-off land
The Ark of God in exile dwelleth still,
Yea, even so 'tis with the pure of hand
Who do His will.
"Know then, ye priests and Levites, Israel all,
Hid in its place the Ark of God doth lie,
His presence hath not gone beyond recall,
But bideth nigh.
"Haste, brethren, let the gates asunder burst;
Regain the Ark, the Covenant hold fast;
And by the glorious Second House, the First
Shall be surpassed!
