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John Hay: served in government alongside Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley
He started his career in public life as Abraham Lincoln’s private secretary
John Hay
There are two mountains hallowed
By majesty sublime,
Which rear their crests unconquered
Above the floods of Time.
Uncounted generations
Have gazed on them with awe,--
The mountain of the Gospel,
The mountain of the Law.
From Sinai’s cloud of darkness
The vivid lightnings play;
They serve the God of vengeance,
The Lord who shall repay.
Each fault must bring its penance,
Each sin the avenging blade,
For God upholds in justice
The laws that He hath made.
But Calvary stands to ransom
The earth from utter loss,
In shade than light more glorious,
The shadow of the Cross.
To heal a sick world’s trouble,
To soothe its woe and pain,
On Calvary’s sacred summit
The Paschal Lamb was slain.
The boundless might of Heaven
Its law in mercy furled,
As once the bow of promise
O’erarched a drowning world.
The Law said, As you keep me,
It shall be done to you;
But Calvary prays, Forgive them;
They know not what they do.
Almighty God! direct us
To keep Thy perfect Law!
O blessed Saviour, help us
Nearer to Thee to draw!
Let Sinai’s thunders aid us
To guard our feet from sin;
And Calvary’s light inspire us
The love of God to win.
– “Sinai and Calvary” by John Hay
John Hay (1838-1905) was an American statesman who played a prominent role in the political life of the nation for most of the latter half of the 19th century. Hay attended Brown University in Providence, RI, and was named Class Poet upon graduation with a Master of Arts degree in 1857. He started his career in public life as Abraham Lincoln’s private secretary and eventually became U.S. Secretary of State for Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. So long did Hay serve in the upper echelons of the government that he was present at the burial of three assassinated presidents – Lincoln (1864), James Garfield (1881) and McKinley (1901).