As o'er the grandeur of unclouded heaven
Our vision travels with a free delight,
As though the boundless and the pure were made
For speculation--so the tow'ring mind,
By inward oracle inspired and taught,
The lofty and the excellent in mind adores.
Then, Saviour! what a paragon art Thou
Of all that Wisdom in her hope creates--
A model for the universe--Though God
Be round us, by the shadow of His might
For aye reflected, and with plastic hand
Prints on the earth the character of things--
Yet He Himself,--how awfully retired
Depth within depth, unutterably deep!
His glory brighter than the brightest thought
Can picture, holier than our holiest awe
Can worship,--imaged only in I AM!
But Thou--apparell'd in a robe of true
Mortality; meek sharer of our low
Estate, in all except compliant sin;
To Thee a comprehending worship pays
Perennial sacrifice of life and soul,
By love enkindled;--Thou hast lived and breathed;
Our wants and woes partaken--all that charms
Or sanctifies, to Thine unspotted truth
May plead for sanction--virtue but reflects
Thine image! wisdom is a voice attuned
To consonance with Thine--and all that yields
To thought a pureness, or to life a peace,
From Thee descends--whose spirit-ruling sway,
Invisible as thought, around us brings
A balm almighty for affliction's hour--
Once felt, in all the fullness of Thy grace
The living essence of the living soul,--
And there is faith--a firm-set, glorious faith,
Eternity cannot uproot, or change--
Oh, then the second birth of soul begins,
That purifies the base, the dark illumes,
And binds our being with a holy spell,
Whereby each function, faculty, and thought
Surrenders meekly to the central guide
Of hope and action, by a God empower'd.