Scenes of the Early Christians (1722) - Page 16

SCENES OF THE
III.

Third Scene.

A Christian soul flies from the earthly,

On wings of prayer,

The heart lifts itself heavenward,

Snow-white and unblemished;

God’s love purifies her from sins and flaws,
Thus she can speak mouth to mouth original: "mond aan mond"; a phrase suggesting intimate, direct communication with the Divine without need for intermediaries. with her Savior:

But he who lifts his hands upward,

And mumbles with his mouth

Something that the heart does not perceive,

Prays loosely and without foundation.

God knows what we lack; let each burn incense original: "reukwerk"; a common biblical metaphor where the smoke of incense represents the prayers of the faithful rising to heaven. to Him,
He demands obedience, not an empty sacrifice.

God’s chosen emissary,

His Paul, goes before us,

He kneels at Tyre on the shore, A reference to the biblical account in Acts 21:5, where the Apostle Paul and the local disciples knelt on the beach to pray together before he departed by ship.

The Savior gives ear:

For he was ignited by the fire of heaven’s spirit,
To break the stony hearts of the Heathens Heathens: From the Dutch "Heidenen," referring here to the Gentiles or non-Jewish nations to whom Paul was sent to preach..

God listens through His mercy

To a Christian voice,

That sacrifice reaches the Majesty A title for God the King.

In the new Jerusalem,

And when many are gathered there to pray,
He descends with His power and glory into their midst.