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"Therefore," said Peter, addressing the crowd,
"This necessity bears upon us now:
To appoint in this place one of the men
Who was with Christ from beginning to end,
Who has walked with us from the Jordan's shore,
From when the Baptizer baptized the Lord,
To the day when Jesus was taken up
To ascend and reign in glory and love--
Yes, one such man should assume Judas' seat,
And with us apostles, a witness be:
Giving word of what we've gazed upon--
The resurrection of the Son of God."
So two candidates were presented then,
Faithful among Christ's followers and friends:
Joseph Barsabbas (called Justus, too),
And then Matthias--these were the two.
Then the company prayed and said, "O Lord,
You from whom the Holy Spirit comes forth--
You know the hearts of all people on earth,
So show us the one whom you've called to serve
In this vacant place of ministry,
The apostleship which Judas received
And then left empty by turning aside
To go to his own due place when he died."
And then they cast lots, the choice to make known,
That thus the will of God might be shown;
And there to Matthias' place fell the lot,
Thence numbered among the apostles of God.