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The Word

By John Greenleaf Whittier

Topics: classic

Voice of the Holy Spirit, making known     Man to himself, a witness swift and sure,     Warning, approving, true and wise and pure,     Counsel and guidance that misleadeth none!     By thee the mystery of life is read;     The picture-writing of the world's gray seers,     The myths and parables of the primal years,     Whose letter kills, by thee interpreted     Take healthful meanings fitted to our needs,     And in the soul's vernacular express     The common law of simple righteousness.     Hatred of cant and doubt of human creeds     May well be felt: the unpardonable sin     Is to deny the Word of God within

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"Voice of the Holy Spirit, making known..."

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Author:John Greenleaf Whittier

"Voice of the Holy Spirit, making known..." by John Greenleaf Whittier

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

John Greenleaf Whittier

About John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) was an American Quaker poet and abolitionist whose poems—including "Snow-Bound" and "Barbara Frietchie"—celebrate New England life and moral courage. He was one of the Fireside Poets and a leading voice against slavery.

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"Gallery of sacred pictures manifold,     A minster..."

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