John Greenleaf Whittier: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Lines from a Letter to a Young Clerical Friend

John Greenleaf Whittier

“Lines from a Letter to a Young Clerical Friend” as printed in The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895).

John Greenleaf Whittier: Collected Lyrics Text 75 1895 · historical text
Public domainBalladAmerican song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

A strength Thy service cannot tire,

A faith which doubt can never dim,

A heart of love, a lip of fire,

O Freedom’s God! be Thou to him!

Speak through him words of power and fear,

As through Thy prophet bards of old,

And let a scornful people hear

Once more Thy Sinai-thunders rolled.

For lying lips Thy blessing seek,

And hands of blood are raised to Thee,

And on Thy children, crushed and weak,

The oppressor plants his kneeling knee.

Let then, O God! Thy servant dare

Thy truth in all its power to tell,

Unmask the priestly thieves, and tear

The Bible from the grasp of hell!

From hollow rite and narrow span

Of law and sect by Thee released,

Oh, teach him that the Christian man

Is holier than the Jewish priest.

Chase back the shadows, gray and old,

Of the dead ages from his way,

And let his hopeful eyes behold

The dawn of Thy millennial day;

That day when fettered limb and mind

Shall know the truth which maketh free,

And he alone who loves his kind

Shall, childlike, claim the love of Thee!

Credits

Written by John Greenleaf Whittier

Words by John Greenleaf Whittier. Historical text published in The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier (1895), “Lines from a Letter to a Young Clerical Friend”

Every text in this 1895 collected edition is by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), who died more than 133 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide; the edition carries a Wikisource PD-old determination.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-27. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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