VIII.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high:
God hath ris'n, and bent His bow,
Lo, before His face they go,
Discontent with fretting chain,
Sin and sorrow, shame and pain,
To night's jail they troop away,
Like mists before the rising ray,
Which long hath climb'd conceal'd from sight,
Then from some mountain height
Majestically breaks upon the rear of night.
2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below:
Here there is a living cup—
Wells of water springing up
Unto life that cannot die,—
The pledge of immortality;
'Tis a fount of heavenly strength,—
A sea of love with breadth and length
Proportion'd to th'undying soul,—
The spirit of controul
Which takes the reins of thought, and urges to the goal.
3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above:
The bending Heav'ns have brought Him down
From out their heights of highest height,
The exil'd wanderer to own;
The abysses of the Infinite
Are all about Him,—seas and sky
Of glory,—ear and eye
Cannot discern, nor speak the mortal tongue,
But in the heart's deep home the Spirit hath a song.
