And all-surpassing, than great nature hath? Yet she shall be no more!-Whilst Thou, O soul, Shall, Phoenix-like, but on sublimer wing, W. MARTIN. GOD OUR REFUGE. ETERNAL Lord of light and life; the soul Whose spirit bending o'er the wondrous whole, That make the bosom leap, the spirit glow, Till like the Patriarch's dove it rests, great Lord, on Thee. On Thee, its ark of perfect holiness, With tokens of its everlasting peace, And certainty of fadeless joy to bless It in a higher state when time shall cease. Abroad through earth and air by night and day: Fill'd with that glory would my spirit soar, And although trembling—yet, exultingly adore. For Thou art all in all-the First-the Last, Creator, Ruler, Great High Priest, and King! Thy works-how fair! thy power-the mighty blast Bears it from pole to pole upon its wing! Thy kingdom is the universe, enshrined By the ten thousand suns that gleam above; Thy temple is the all immortal mind Deliver'd from its tumults by thy love, And though thy presence beams throughout all space, Yet is the human heart not less thy dwelling place. Philosophy hath kept the patient watch Through many an age in vague uncertainty, And endless speculation, but to catch, From Thy fair works some transient glimpse of But, ah! how dim is e'en yon orb of light, And cold abstraction ponder'd long in vain ; The mighty shook, and royalty look'd wan, Millions of suns blaze proudly from yon sky, All fair, and bright, and calm, and beautiful! Than the bright blue which through the heaven extends, And more exalted than the loftiest star ; Lifting mean man beyond the proudest sphere, And whispering to the soul, that THOU art ever near. W. MARTIN. OMNISCIENCE OF GOD. LORD! Thou with an unerring beam My rising steps are watch'd by Thee, My thoughts scarce struggling into birth, To Thee the labyrinths of life In open view are clear; Nor steals a whisper from my lips Without thy list'ning ear. Behind I glance, and Thou art there, And 'tis thy strong Almighty hand Such knowledge mocks the vain essays Where from thy spirit shall I stretch Or where, through nature's spacious range, Scaled I the skies, thy blaze divine If on the morning's darting ray Thither thine hand, all present God, Should I involve myself around With clouds of tenfold night, The clouds would shine like blazing noon The beams of noon, the midnight hour, O may I ne'er provoke that power BLACKLOCK. THE DAYS OF CREATION. (FROM THE GERMAN OF KRUMMACHER.) ALL dead and silent was the earth, The ETERNAL spoke Creation's word, It stream'd from on high, all reddening and bright, GOD spake: the murmuring waters fled, Wide over-arching heaven's blue vault Now sparkles above heaven's glorious blue, GOD spake he bade the waves divide; From hill, from rock, the gushing streams The earth rested quiet, and poised in the air, GOD spake the hills and plains put on Dark forests in the valleys wave, And budding trees are seen. The word of his breath clothes the forest with leaves, The high gift of beauty the spring-tide receives. GOD spake and on the new-dress'd earth |