He may have been chained as a galley slave [1]
With no hope it seems, but beyond the grave
But his mind was free, yes free to soar
Above the splash and pull of the oar.
She may have had to grind the king’s flour
Be thus employed hour upon slave hour
But it was not so with her good mind
It sailed in realms above the low grind.
The gracious God of all time and of space
Has so created His scattered “man race”
That though enslaved, the lowest of men
The body’s all that cannot ascend
Two parts of man, the greater, greater by far
Have boundless spheres, ah, past the nearest star
And can delve and travel and explore
Beyond ceiling, walls, or swaying floor
The mind (should we also call it soul?)
Can’t be bound by fetter, chain, nor by pole
If this soul/mind is redeemed by God
It has a home far removed from sod
Only sin can the mind of man enslave
Sin can make a coward from a brave
Sins habits, and thoughts, and words, embind
But only sin can fetter man’s mind
Oh, what a Salvation, oh, Godly gift
Freeing the mind allowing daily “lift”
Above grinds and galleys of man’s strife
Salvation un-slaves the mind’s life.
-eab, 11/1/06
[1] Had recently re-read about John Knox being a galley slave.
Separate-Holy 
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