Lyrics of Life (1909)/The Martyr Jews
THE MARTYR JEWS
Their fathers wronged thee, Master, long ago:
Rejected thee, because they knew thee not
Whom it had been their highest peace to know,
And nobler dreams forgot,
Preferred a kingdom of this world to thee,
And saw thee sacrificed upon a tree.
Yet thou in death—even in death, didst pray:—
"Father, forgive! They know not what they do!"
But what of those, more culpable than they—
Oh, more than they, untrue,
Who, in thy name, dear Christ! have tortured men,
And crucified thee countless times since then?