"And what is truth?" asked Pilate, sober.
Immersed in deep perplexity,
And trembled while in judgment over
The One his final judge must be.
He asked, but waited not the answer;
For in his majesty there stood
The Truth himself at his tribunal--
Yea, the incarnate Truth of God.
Shine on with all thy constellation,
The precious attributes of God,
Love, mercy, justice, and compassion;
For second in thy magnitude
Thou only art in love's effulgence.
"I am the truth." and "God is love";
From both in one omnific fulness
Proceed the streams of truth above.
High honored and from everlasting
Thou art, O Truth, a pillar strong,
Upholding justice, faith, and virtue.
Before the stars together sang
Our ill-doomed planet's new creation,
Thy hand didst hold, on heaven's throne,
The balance weighing every nation,
Upon the worlds that round thee shone.
Thou art the firm and deep foundation
Of hope and universal good,
And on thy broad eternal bosom
Is based the awful throne of God.
The myriad stars that gem the ocean
Of boundless space, at thy command
Pursue their even-tenored motion,
And are supported by thy hand.
* * * * *