The Lifted Ensign: A Call to Israel

Elder Whitney then took the stand and read the poem, which follows: ¶

THE LIFTED'ENSIGN— A CALL TO ISRAEL ¶

"And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." — Isaiah 11:12. ¶

Characters Impersonated: elias:: ephraim:: judah elias: ¶

A voice that crieth in the Wilderness: ¶

"Make plain and straight the Highway of our God !" ¶

One Hundred Years, on Time's swift pinions flown, Since raised the Ensign for the Gathering — One hundred years, and still the standard waves, Summoning the chosen from world-wandering, Calling the covenant people from afar, To greet the coming of their God and King. ¶

Children of Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Sheep of the flock the Shepherd comes to fold ! How have ye answered to his beckoning call ? What have ye done his pathway to prepare ? ¶

Give answer, Ephraim, from thy mountain height, Where streams the signal seen and sung of yore — First-born of God in these, Earth's final days, Speak thou, and let the winds thy story tell ! ¶

ephraim: ¶

I hear thee, and with joy I answer thee:'Twas mine to welcome the return of Truth, Of old from Error's wide domain withdrawn; Mine to unshroud the buried mystery Of mighty nations, whispering from the dust; Mine to unfurl the Ensign, and to sound O'er sea and land the tidings wonderful; Flooding the world with truth and righteousness, Thrusting the sickle in the golden grain, Reaping a ripened field, and garnering The earliest sheaves of Israel's harvest home. ¶

I've toiled and wept and bled to bring once more The fulness of Christ's Message unto men; ¶

To build redemptive Temples, that the dead, ¶

Obedient to law in spirit realms, ¶

Might with the living share in joys divine. ¶

More wouldst thou hear ? — ¶

There's more I fain would tell. ¶

elias: ¶

Tell on ! — tell on ! Truth wearies not mine ear. ephraim: ¶

Expelled by tyranny from Freedom's ground, ¶

I tracked the lone untrodden wilderness. ¶

Here'neath my virile touch, once barren wilds ¶

Now sing for joy and bloom delightsomely. ¶

I've planted Zion's outposts, firm and strong, ¶

Rock-fortressed by the everlasting hills, ¶

Where Faith expectantly doth bide the hour ¶

When Zion's self from Eden's soil shall rise, ¶

Thrilled by the glad acclaim: "The Bridegroom comes ¶

Nor all my ministries on Western shores, ¶

Nor all my sympathies with next of kin. ¶

Have I not stood on ancient Olivet, ¶

And offered prayer to heaven for Judah's weal ? ¶

Have I not combed the universe and drawn The choice of nations to this favored land, ¶

Where homing tribes shall shout to trembling hills, ¶

And lift hosannas to the listening skies That light the towers of New Jerusalem? ¶

By these and kindred works my faith is shown. Thus have I answered to the Shepherd's call. ¶

elias: ¶

And answered well. And He whose day now dawn ¶

Shall crown thy valor with a recompense ¶

As boundless, endless as eternity. ¶

Now, Judah, tell thy tale !'What deeds of thine ¶

Are strewn as flowers along Messiah's way? ¶

judah: ¶

Messiah ? — Him I see not in the man ¶

Whom Christians name the Christ, their holy one. ¶

I see not in their God my fathers'God, ¶

Whose covenant abides with Abraham; ¶

Who spake to Moses in the fiery Mount, ¶

And gave the Law to govern Israel. ¶

Blind am I to what Ephraim beholds. ¶

Perchance the air is purer, view more large, ¶

On yonder height where stalwartly he stands, ¶

Than in the misty vale where I respire. ¶

Thinkst thou I err, his thought interpreting ? ¶

But I am with him in the war for right, For justice and the freedom of the world. And to this cause give I a willing hand, And pledge my friendship, faith and loyalty. ¶

elias: ¶

Thou sayest well — yet well might'st say far more For Israel's God, Jehovah, Lord of All, Who gave the Gospel as He gave the Law, And died that endless death might vanquished be. What limit to His merit or His claim? ¶

judah: ¶

Plead not with me my ancient faith to change — Older than aught by Christians deemed divine; Pure as the snowy peaks of Lebanon, That pour reviving streams o'er thirsty plains. What nobler doctrine than the Decalogue? What higher law than Justice can'st thou name ? ¶

elias: ¶

Is Justice more than Mercy — more than Love ? No need to change thy faith, but build thereon. If thou the Perfect Law wouldst comprehend, Its loftiest, purest, heavenmost height attain, Add unto justice the pure love of God — Sweet Charity, of graces all the crown. ¶

judah: ¶

Justice — not Mercy — is the Jew's demand. ¶

And tell me, when did Christian charity ¶

Mean justice for the wronged, down-trodden Jew? ¶

Mercy, forsooth ! what mercy have they shown, ¶

Who slaughter'neath the banner of the Cross? ¶

Too much we hear of love and charity, ¶

From lips of hate, from hearts of cruelty, ¶

Boasting a leader whom they follow not, ¶

Prating of love, but never practising. ¶

This Jesus, whom they laud, not emulate, ¶

Good man — e'en great perchance. But why a God ? ¶

Joseph and Mary's son, a common Jew, ¶

Who sat at feet of rabbis famed for lore, ¶

And learned from them, yet brought forth nothing new. ¶

Why should the knee of Israel bend to him ? ¶

elias: ¶

Sat He at no man's feet for power to save And lift up fallen worlds. His wisdom came From heights more distant than the unseen stars, Fresh as the morning dew upon the flower; Pure as the snow — so white on Lebanon Till tainted by the soil through which it flows — Truth by tradition's muddy stream unroiled. ¶

The sapient rabbis, famed for antique lore, ¶

Might well have learned from Him — but would not learn. ¶

The wisest of the scribes and pharisees, ¶

Astounded, routed were, and put to shame By One who spake as no man since or ere. ¶

Old was his doctrine — truth is ever old — ¶

Old as its parent spring, Eternity, ¶

Old upon earth, from Adam until now. ¶

Yet seemed it new to them; — and this the cause, ¶

The chief and primal cause of that great crime Which on the cross He pardoned and forgave. ¶

Man — merest man will die a friend to save. Who but a God, to save both foe and friend ? And very God was He, though human-born, Divinely-gotten Child of Deity. ¶

But why waste words upon those recreant Jews, Those pseudo Christians — false that mask as true ? The salt can lose its savor — so with them — Unworthy parts, bespeaking not the whole. Why dwell upon these human happenings? Lift thought and argument to higher planes. ¶

JUDAH : ¶

Amen ! say I And now to me make plain — To me, who am so dull — this mystery: What need had Israel of this Nazarene? Why came a Christ, great Moses having come? And why a Gospel when the Law was known ? ¶

ELIAS : ¶

What need of Christ — the Lord — since Moses came? ¶

Moses to Christ was but as part to whole, ¶

Preface to book, mere river to the sea, ¶

And all the dispensations of the past, ¶

When heaven hath gladdened earth with spirit showers, ¶

Are but as streams that to one Ocean flow. ¶

Why separate the Gospel from the Law — Greater and less — container and contained? Why part God from his prophet messengers, Sent from Above to voice and work his will, And preparation make for mightier things Than e'er were known among the sons of men; Completing what creation's morn began, When Gods in glory launched a universe? ¶

judah: ¶

But Abraham — the solemn Covenant — ¶

Jehovah's sacred promise to His own: ¶

"In thee and thine all men, all nations blest" — ¶

Spoken these words upon the idle wind, ¶

That now they be as though they ne'er had been ? ¶

elias: ¶

'Twas Christ made covenant with Abraham, Jesus, Jehovah — for the twain are one; — Then gave Himself that covenant to fulfill; And mixt His people with earth's alien tribes, That all — not Israel only — might be blest, Nor least and last of nations fail to share In blessings showered through him upon the world, Sprinkled, as rain, with his believing blood; Peopling the arid wastes of unbelief With souls responsive to the clarion call Shaking the seas and isles and continents, And gathering what was scattered ages gone. ¶

JUDAH : ¶

But Moses — what of him? Lived he for naught? Sayest thou his mighty mission was in vain? ¶

elias: ¶

Nay; but to round his glorious ministry, And link the lesser with the greater part, Making effectual all that went before, In this, the dispensation last of all, Came he the Keys of Gathering to restore; Lest Ephraim's rallying" standard wave in vain O'er Joseph's land and Zion's, known of old By seers and prophets from thy household sprung. Whose sacred words flow down the centuries To find fulfillment in this ample age, Where past and present, sire and son must join, Perfection reign, and all in Christ be one. ¶

Ephraim his part hath played, and thou no less, In God's great drama — "Marvel and Wonder" named. Wherefore, complete thy story, well begun. What hast thou done His pathway to prepare ? ¶

JUDAH : ¶

His pathway! — his, the peasant carpenter, Whose body, stolen from the tomb, long since Hath crumbled and returned to native dust? Granting, for argument, he is to come, Why should I strew with palms his earthward way? Why for his coming should my soul prepare? ¶

elias: ¶

Because He is thy Father and thy Friend, ¶

Because He is the God of Israel — ¶

Buried yet risen Savior of mankind, ¶

Author and Giver of the life divine. ¶

What hast thou done that He on earth may reign ? ¶

Silent? Then wouldst thou choose one speak for thee, ¶

Who ne'er unfriendly was to thee or thine, ¶

But sympathetic in thy sorrows all? ¶

For thou hast borne the brunt of martyrdom, ¶

Alike in Christian and in heathen lands, ¶

Enduring long and suffering patiently, ¶

While lesser breeds have trampled thee and spurned. ¶

Driven — despoiled — tortured and trodden down, ¶

Drinking the bitter cup, Captivity, ¶

Yet still, through groaning, pain-racked centuries ¶

Honoring Jehovah's name, Jehovah's law, ¶

Spreading the knowledge of the living God ¶

Amid the shrines of Baal and Ashtoreth. ¶

Why'twas thy hand the instrument became Of purpose heaven-ordained ere earth began, Whereby, through sacrifice and death, came Life, To rescue and redeem a fallen world, — No mortal knoweth. Only this men know: Christ did not cast thee off. He that forgave Is still thy Friend — as are true Christians all; For none love God who hate what God doth love. ¶

Forth in these modern days thine eager hand, ¶

To build anew the old Jerusalem, ¶

To raise once more her walls, oft leveled down; ¶

To gather in thy sons and daughters fair, ¶

And sow a sterile land with fruitfulness; ¶

Redeeming thus thine ancient heritage, ¶

That Zion's King may sit on David's throne. ¶

Not all thy sons thy wearied arms uphold, ¶

Not all are Hurs and Aarons in the strife. ¶

Summon thy worldings from the tinseled show, ¶

Where folly reigns and ruin works its will. ¶

Teach them to play a better, nobler part, ¶

And walk with thee the greater "Great White Way." ¶

Rouse all that slumber beneath sordid spells, ¶

Or unto gods of dust low homage pay; ¶

Bid them to bring their gold and jewels rare, ¶

Their heaped up stores of precious merchandise, ¶

Their wealth, like Pelion on Ossa piled, ¶

And beautify the Holy Place of Him ¶

Whose law shall yet from Zion's land go forth, ¶

Whose royal edict from Jerusalem. ¶

For Israel o'er Amalek must prevail, ¶

And repossess in full the Promised Land. ¶

Ah ! Judah, couldst thou see what Ephraim sees — Thy monarch in that lowly Nazarene, Long-symboled by the oft-slain paschal lamb, Prophetic of the Sacrifice Supreme. ¶

Would thou couldst see what ancient seers discerned, ¶

What spirit-quickened eyes may now behold — ¶

Messiah in that Prophet first-of-all, ¶

The Moses of a mightier Exodus ¶

Than e'er was dreamt of in rabbinic lore; ¶

Deliverer of a captive universe, ¶

In bondage to the powers of death and hell ! ¶

And thy Deliverer in a day to come, • When hostile legions thunder at thy gates, When half thy city hath become a spoil, As written in the scroll of prophecy. ¶

Then shalt thou see and feel His wounded hands, Then shalt thou fall and worship at His feet; And all that fight'gainst Jacob's, Judah's God, Shall be as dust and ashes whirl-wind-blown, As flying chaff before the hurricane. ¶

JUDAH : ¶

What confirmation hath this mighty claim ? How can I know if such great things be true? If I be blind, who will my sight unscale? ¶

ELIAS : ¶

He who makes blind to see and deaf to hear ! — Hearken to Him and whomso'er He sends. Bow to the sceptre of the Son of God, The Gospel of the High and Holy One, And by that Gift which maketh manifest Thou'lt clearly see and of a surety know The message Ephraim brings thee is divine, — Old and yet new, the Everlasting Truth, • Pure from the presence of our fathers'God. Fresh from the fountains of Eternity. ¶

JUDAH : ¶

Why Ephraim ? Why his proud pre-eminence, ¶

Towering amid the tents of Israel? ¶

Why should his word or thine determine all? ¶

elias: ¶

Because it is the word of Israel's God, ¶

Whose servant I, as I would fain be thine; — ¶

The God of Moses and of Abraham, ¶

The God of patriarchs and prophets all, ¶

The God of Israel free and Israel chained; ¶

God of the humble and the pure-in-heart; ¶

God of the just, in every age and clime; ¶

The Christ of Bethlehem and Calvary, ¶

The King of Kings, the crucified and crowned. ¶

Come, weary-laden, He will give thee rest, ¶

And thou shalt tread the rose-strewn path of peace. ¶

ephraim: ¶

Heed, Judah ! heed Messiah's messenger, Hearken to me, thy brother and thy friend. No more doth envy of thee sour my soul, Nor doth thine anger vex me, as of yore. Forgiven as I forgive, clean, clear I stand, And I am sent Good Tidings to proclaim. ¶

No man-made creed — no dogma vague, unsound — The Ancient Faith, pure, simple, sweet, sublime, The Gospel in its plentitude of power, The Gospel in its fulness — this I bring. ¶

elias: ¶

Judah!'tis Ephraim calls — he loves thee well, His hand extends, his heart, to welcome thee. Why stand aloof ? Why doubt and hesitate ? Jerusalem and Zion are as one. See Japheth launch his ships to people them ! The Gentile, all unknowingly doth serve The cause of Him who summons Israel To Joseph's land, to Judah's hills and vales. Behold them in their flight from Babel's doom, Borne on the shoulders of the Philistine? ¶

Be not outstript in such a glorious race. Judah, arise ! Put on thine ancient might, Expand thy soul, enlarge thy sympathy; Join hands with Ephraim, and bring to pass All that the prophets and the seers foretold ! ¶

judah: ¶

Thy speech I can believe most kindly meant, Thy motive pure and generous and just. But who can change the course of destiny? Who void what Great Jehovah hath decreed ?'Tis conscience guides me, and high Heaven alone Doth hold, of that mysterious lock, the key. ¶

Yet something tells me we shall meet again. God grant it be as friends ! And so, farewell. ¶