"And I heard a voice from heaven."--REV. xiv. 13.
A voice was heard; a voice was heard;
It sounded from heaven's high throne;
And the murmuring air breathed along the swift word
Till on earth its dark import was known.
Though it thrill'd not the ears that were list'ning around,
Nor was heard by the spirits bereaved,
It conducted the soul from the region of death,
To receive, through the Saviour, the conqueror's wreath,
From its sin-woven fetters relieved.
A voice was heard; a voice was heard;
The spirit its summons obeyed;
And to sorrowing Friendship still echoes the word
While she weeps o'er the mouldering dead.
Not a tear can e'er start from those eyelids again;
Not a sigh can e'er heave from that breast:--
But reposing awhile on a pillow of clay,
It will waken renew'd, and then, bounding away,
Will ascend to the realms of the blest.
A voice was heard; a voice was heard;
A whisper,--a whisper from God;
And the soul caught with rapture the welcoming word
As it enter'd its blissful abode.
That voice that awoke from the death-sleep of sin,
And whisper'd, "Thou too art forgiven,"
Stole again on the ear in the accents of love,
Reassur'd of a home with its Father above,
And then wafted the spirit to heaven.
[Greek: Thomas]