Sinking now in floods of light,The sun resigns the world to night;When a lingering glance he turns,The glowing west with glory burns,And the blushing heavens awhileLong retain his parting smile.Ere gray evening's sullen eye,Bids those tints of beauty die;Ere her tears have washed awayThe footsteps of departing day,Nature from her verdant bowersHer last long strain of rapture pours;Shrouded in her misty vest,She sings a drowsy world to rest,And tells to man, in thrilling strains,That the Lord Jehovah reigns!Lingering twilight dies away,Night resumes her ancient sway,Round her sable tresses twiningCountless hosts of stars are shining;Weaving round the brow of nightA coronet of living light:O'er the couch of nature bending,Their beauteous glances downward sending,A silent watch of glory keeping,Guard the earth whilst life is sleeping.Strains unheard by mortal ears,Echo through the starry spheres;Other worlds awake to sing,Glory to the eternal King!Till azure fields and liquid plainsEcho far, Jehovah reigns!Creation sleeps—but many a soundOf melody is floating round—Where the moon-lit sea is flingingIts snowy foam and upward springingTo meet the shore advancing nigh,Pours, in many a broken sigh,A mournful dirge o'er those who restForgotten in its stormy breast.Restless ocean, onward rave;He who trod the boisterous wave,Shall to life those forms restore,Thy tides have rolled for ages o'er;Those sleepers from thy depths shall springTo meet in air their mighty King,Whilst shrinking seas repeat their strains,Lord of all, Jehovah, reigns!This is night;—her mantle grayShe flings across the brow of dayTo hide from mortal ken awhileThe splendour of his kingly smile.But what magic beauties lieIn her dark and shadowy eye,When the moon with glory crownedCheckers o'er the distant ground;Bathing now in floods of light,Now retreating from the sight,As the heavy vapoury cloudFlings athwart its sable shroud;Onward as her course is steering,Now through broken cliffs appearing,She shows the brightness of her formAnd laughs exulting at the storm;Whilst misty hills and moon-lit plainsEcho far, Jehovah reigns!Night,—thy end is hastening fast,Eternal day will dawn at last;The Sun of righteousness shall rise,Triumphant through his native skies;And men redeemed from dust shall springTo hail the advent of their King;Till heaven's wide arch repeats their strains,Christ, our own Immanuel, reigns!
Sinking now in floods of light,The sun resigns the world to night;When a lingering glance he turns,The glowing west with glory burns,And the blushing heavens awhileLong retain his parting smile.Ere gray evening's sullen eye,Bids those tints of beauty die;Ere her tears have washed awayThe footsteps of departing day,Nature from her verdant bowersHer last long strain of rapture pours;Shrouded in her misty vest,She sings a drowsy world to rest,And tells to man, in thrilling strains,That the Lord Jehovah reigns!
Lingering twilight dies away,Night resumes her ancient sway,Round her sable tresses twiningCountless hosts of stars are shining;Weaving round the brow of nightA coronet of living light:O'er the couch of nature bending,Their beauteous glances downward sending,A silent watch of glory keeping,Guard the earth whilst life is sleeping.Strains unheard by mortal ears,Echo through the starry spheres;Other worlds awake to sing,Glory to the eternal King!Till azure fields and liquid plainsEcho far, Jehovah reigns!
Creation sleeps—but many a soundOf melody is floating round—Where the moon-lit sea is flingingIts snowy foam and upward springingTo meet the shore advancing nigh,Pours, in many a broken sigh,A mournful dirge o'er those who restForgotten in its stormy breast.Restless ocean, onward rave;He who trod the boisterous wave,Shall to life those forms restore,Thy tides have rolled for ages o'er;Those sleepers from thy depths shall springTo meet in air their mighty King,Whilst shrinking seas repeat their strains,Lord of all, Jehovah, reigns!
This is night;—her mantle grayShe flings across the brow of dayTo hide from mortal ken awhileThe splendour of his kingly smile.But what magic beauties lieIn her dark and shadowy eye,When the moon with glory crownedCheckers o'er the distant ground;Bathing now in floods of light,Now retreating from the sight,As the heavy vapoury cloudFlings athwart its sable shroud;Onward as her course is steering,Now through broken cliffs appearing,She shows the brightness of her formAnd laughs exulting at the storm;Whilst misty hills and moon-lit plainsEcho far, Jehovah reigns!
Night,—thy end is hastening fast,Eternal day will dawn at last;The Sun of righteousness shall rise,Triumphant through his native skies;And men redeemed from dust shall springTo hail the advent of their King;Till heaven's wide arch repeats their strains,Christ, our own Immanuel, reigns!
THE END.
BUNGAY: PRINTED BY J. R. AND C. CHILDS.
Spelling, hyphenation, punctuation, and indentation inconsistencies have been retained from the original book. Minor changes were made to the Table of Contents to match the poem titles.
The following typos have been corrected:
Page19: An changed to And:(An Alexander's victories, compared).Page30: ceas changed to cease:(Lost in immensity, would ceas to feel!).Page125: apostrophe added before Tis:("Tis Mary Hume!"—his comrade said—).