SACRED EXTRACTS IN VERSE.
ERE Time began his circling race,
Or light adorn'd the waste of space,
Dwelt the first, great, eternal One,
In unimparted bliss alone.
Wrapt in himself, he view'd serene
Each aspect of the future scene;
Then bade at length that scene unfold,-
And Nature's volume stood unroll'd.
He said, “Be Light!"—and light upsprung:
Be Worlds!"-and worlds on nothing hung:
More swift than thought the mandate runs,
And forms ten thousand kindling suns.
When all the wondrous scene was plann'd,
Inimitably fair and grand;
In emanations unconfined,
Forth flow'd the life-diffusing mind.
From the rapt seraph, down to man,-
To beasts-to worms-the spirit ran;
And all in heaven, and all on earth,
'Midst shouts of joy, received their birth.
The tribes that walk, or swim, or fly,
In various movements, spake their joy;
While man, in hymns, his raptures told,
And cherubs struck their harps of gold.
The morning stars together sung,
The heavens with acclamations rung;
And earth, and air, and sea, and skies,
Heard the loud choral anthem rise.
"All glory to the Eternal give,
From whom we spring, in whom we live;
Be his almighty power adored,
The sovereign, universal Lord!”
God is Every Where.
OH! show me where is He,
The high and holy One,
To whom thou bend'st the knee,
And pray'st," Thy will be done!"
I hear thy voice of praise,
And lo! no form is near;
Thine eyes I see thee raise,
But where doth God appear?
Oh! teach me who is God, and where his glories shine, That I may kneel and pray, and call thy Father mine.
Gaze on that arch above
The glittering vault admire!
Who taught those orbs to move?
Who lit their ceaseless fire?
Who guides the moon, to run
In silence through the skies?
Who bids that dawning sun
In strength and beauty rise?
There view immensity!-behold, my God is there-
The sun, the moon, the stars, his majesty declare!
See, where the mountains rise;
Where thundering torrents foam;
Where, veil'd in lowering skies,
The eagle makes his home!
Where savage nature dwells,
My God is present too—
Through all her wildest dells
His footsteps I pursue:
He rear'd those giant cliffs-supplies that dashing stream-
Provides the daily food, which stills the wild bird's scream
Look on that world of waves,
Where finny nations glide;
Within whose deep, dark caves,
The ocean-monsters hide!
His power is sovereign there,
To raise to quell the storm;
The depths his bounty share,
Where sport the scaly swarm:
Tempests and calms obey the same almighty voice, Which rules the earth and skies, and bids the world rejoice
Nor eye nor thought can soar
Where moves not he in might;-
He swells the thunder's roar,
He spreads the wings of night.
Oh! praise the works divine!
Bow down thy soul in prayer;
Nor ask for other sign,
That God is every where
The viewless Spirit he-immortal, holy, bless'd-
Oh! worship him in faith, and find eternal rest!
The Destruction of Sennacherib.
THE Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.
Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen;
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,
That host, on the morrow, lay wither'd and strown.
For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed on the face of the foe, as he pass'd;
And the eyes of the sleepers wax'd deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still.
And there lay the steed, with his nostril all wide,
But through it there roll'd not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.
And there lay the rider, distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.
And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail;
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted, like snow, in the glance of the Lord.
What shall separate us from the Love of Christ?
WHO is the foe, my spirit tell,
Or what the power of earth or hell,
That shall my steadfast bosom move
To quit my dear Redeemer's love?
Shall tribulation's gloomy train,
Or sad distress, or griding pain,
Or persecution breathing blood,
Or peril by the land or flood,
Or famine howling at my board,
Or tyrant arm'd with fire and sword?-
Not these, nor worse, my soul appal;
Through Christ, I triumph o'er them all.
And in my secret soul I feel,
Not danger, want, nor fire, nor steel;
Not all the torments death arrays,
Not all the glories life displays;
Not empires, diadems, and thrones;
Nor angel's joys, nor hell's deep groans;
Not all the present hour reveals,
Not all futurity conceals;
Nor height sublime, nor depth profound,
Nor aught in all creation's round,
Shall e'er my steadfast bosom move
To quit my dear Redeemer's love.
Wisdom sought from God.
SUPREME and universal Light!
Fountain of reason! Judge of right!
Parent of good! whose blessings flow
On all above, and all below;
Without whose kind, directing ray,
In everlasting night we stray,
From passion still to passion toss'd,
And in a maze of error lost;
Assist me, Lord, to act, to be,
What nature and thy laws decree!
Worthy that intellectual flame
Which from thy breathing spirit came.
My mental freedom to maintain,
Bid passion serve, and reason reign,
Self-poised, and independent still
On this world's varying good or ill.
No slave to profit, shame, or fear,
Oh may my steadfast bosom bear
The stamp of heaven, an honest heart,
Above the mean disguise of art!
May my expanded soul disclaim
The narrow view, the selfish aim;
But, with a Christian zeal, embrace
Whate'er is friendly to my race.
O Father! grace and virtue grant;
No more I wish, no more I want:
To know, to serve thee, and to love,
Is peace below, is bliss above.
The Dying Christian to his Soul.
VITAL spark of heavenly flame!
Quit, oh quit this mortal frame:
Trembling, hoping, lingering, flying,
Oh the pain, the bliss of dying!
Cease, fond Nature, cease. thy strife,
And let me languish into life!
Hark! they whisper-angels say,
Sister spirit, come away!".
What is this absorbs me quite?
Steals my senses, shuts my sight,
Drowns my spirits, draws my breath?
Tell me, my soul, can this be-death?
The world recedes! it disappears!
Heaven opens to my eyes!-my ears
With sounds seraphic ring!
Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly!
O Grave! where is thy victory?
O Death! where is thy sting?
|