rites cannot change the heart

rites cannot change the heart,
undo the evil done,
or with the uttered name impart
the nature of thy son.

to meet our desperate want,
there gushed a crimson flood;
o from his heart’s o’erflowing font
baptize this soul with blood!

be grace from christ our lord,
and love from god supreme,
by the communing spirit poured
in a perpetual stream!