Zinzendorff and Other Poems/Prayer
PRAYER.
"Peter, therefore, was kept in prison,—but prayer was made, without ceasing, of the Church unto God for him."—Acts xii. 5.
He slept between two soldiers, bound with chains,
Waiting the hour, when wily Herod's hand
Should point his martyr-doom. Yet still, he slept,
Peaceful as the young babe. And lo! a light
Gleam'd o'er the dungeon-darkness, and a voice
Not of this earth, poured forth the high command,
"Peter,—arise."
Then the investing chains
Melted from off his limbs, and he arose
And rob'd himself, and girt his sandals on,
And follow'd where the wondering messenger
Guided, with shining track. The iron gate,
That guarded portal of the City's wall,
As if it knew Heaven's high ambassador,
Turn'd on its massy hinge. So, on they past,
Free and unquestion'd, till the seraph's wing
Outspread, in parting flight. With snowy trace
Awhile it hover'd,—then, like radiant star
From its bright orbit loos'd, went soaring up,
High o'er the arch of night.
Then Peter knew
The Angel of the Lord,—for he had deem'd
Some blessed vision held his tranced sight,
In strange illusion.
With the voice of praise,
His joyous steps a well known threshhold sought,
The home of Mary. Midnight reign'd around,
And heavy sleep hung o'er Jerusalem.
Yet here they slumber'd not. A sigh arose
Of ardent supplication, for the friend
In durance and in chains. But can ye paint
The astonish'd gaze, with which those tearful eyes
Did fasten on his features, as he stood
Sudden, amid the group?
High Heaven had heard
The prayer of faith. And heard it not the breath
Of gratitude, from every trembling lip,
Ascribing glory to the Lord of Hosts,
Whose holy angel had his servant freed
From the high-handed malice of the Jews,
And from the wrath of Herod?
Ye, who held
The key of prayer, that key which entereth Heaven,
How long will ye be doubtful? and how long
Seek from brief Earth, the help she cannot give,
Choosing her broken cisterns? Say! how long?