The poem
(Revelations, iii. 1-6)
"Write to Sardis," saith the Lord, "And write what He declares, He whose Spirit, and whose word, Upholds the seven stars: All thy works and ways I search, Find thy zeal and love decay'd; Thou art call'd a living church, But thou art cold and dead.
"Watch, remember, seek, and strive, Exert thy former pains; Let thy timely care revive, And strengthen what remains; Cleanse thine heart, thy works amend, Former times to mind recall, Lest my sudden stroke descend, And smite thee once for all.
"Yet I number now in thee A few that are upright; These my Father's face shall see, And walk with me in white. When in judgment I appear, They for mine shall be confess'd; Let my faithful servants hear, -- And woe be to the rest!"