The ark of God has hidden strength;
Who reverence or profane,
They, or their seed, shall find at length
The penalty or gain.
While as a sojourner it sought
Of old its destined place,
A blessing on the home it brought
Of one who did it grace.
But there was one, outstripping all
The holy-vestured band,
Who laid on it, to save its fall,
A rude corrective hand.
Read, who the Church would cleanse, and mark
How stern the warning runs;
There are two ways to aid her ark—
As patrons, and as sons.
At Sea. June 24, 1833.