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Exodus III. xiv. I am that I am.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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133

Exodus III. xiv. I am that I am.

Whate'er thou art, to thee, and thee alone,
The first almighty cause of all, is known;
Yet would I strive ambitiously to raise
My voice to the delightful work of praise:
But, oh! what human words those heights can reach?
What bolder thought the flight divine can stretch?
Ev'n angels, in their sweetest ecstasy,
When they behold the smiling deity,
Their want of pow'r and eloquence confess,
When they thy boundless glories would express;
In heav'n they find no metaphors for thee,
And what resemblance then can mortals see?
Yet I must talk, and talk of thee alone,
Be to my tongue all other themes unknown!
In holy songs I would my silence break,
In raptures, everlasting raptures, speak.
O, 'tis the work of heav'n, almighty king!
To love, adore, and thy high praises sing;
And this my everlasting bliss shall be,
My lips shall talk, my heart shall fix on thee.
Thy excellence, and ev'ry glorious name
To angels known, shall feed the holy flame:
I then shall see thee lovely as thou art,
And feel what boundless joys thy smiles impart;
The beatific scene, without controul,
Shall open all its splendor on my soul.