The Poetical Works of The Rev. Samuel Bishop :: :: University of Virginia Library

Hail! Parent! God! Creator! hail!
Rich fount of life, of sense, of joy!
Thy praise, 'till this weak tongue shall fail,
For ever shall this tongue employ.

When morn dispels the shades of night,
I trace thee thro' the livelong day;
When eve succeeds retiring light,
Thy Name still animates my lay.

While taught by thy unerring skill,
Successive seasons intervene,
Earth all-obedient hears thy will,
And spreads the vegetable scene.

Thy sun, the herald of thy praise,
Fills with new life the pregnant plains,
Pours on each spot the vital rays;
Bids each be born; and born, sustains.

The brood, that crowds the wat'ry space,
The rapid streams, and trickling rills,
The insect troops, the reptile race,
The cattle on a thousand hills,

All, all confess thy tender care,
And thine Almighty Power proclaim;
Thro' earth and sea, and trackless air,
The voice of Nature is the same.

The bright assembled worlds on high,
Roll constant thro' the liquid space,
With sparkling glories gild the sky,
Where thy great hand describes their race.

The dew-bent clouds, for Thee, their Lord,
Distill the gentle kindly show'r;
Or, ready to fulfil thy word,
The fierce impetuous torrent pour.

Restrain'd by thee, the fanning gales
The thick wood's waving surface sweep,
Or, loos'd, rush head-long thro' the vales,
And plow the hoarse-resounding deep.

At thy command, in silent flakes
Congeal'd descends the fleecy snow;
Vast ice incrusts the stagnate lakes;
And streams arrested, cease to flow.

By thy Almighty Nod enlarg'd,
The awful thunder shakes the skies;
And thro' the cleft expanse discharg'd,
Sudden the forked lightning flies.

“See this, thou madly stubborn mind,
“Whom wilful error leads astray;
“Whose eye to fair experience blind,
“Amidst the circling blaze of day,

“Can see no Providence Divine,
“The wise, the wond'rous plan advance;
“No Pow'r supreme thro' Nature shine;
“No world but this; no God but chance.

“Put off the mean, the fatal pride,
“Which turns thy foot from truth's plain road,
“And own a God alone supplied
“The very pow'r to doubt a God.

“From Him, th' exhaustless source of good,
“Thy parts, thine active spirits flow;
“Thro' His kind aid is understood
“All art can teach, all man can know.

“And art thou still perversely wrong?
“Thy rash resolves can nothing move?
“Not all th' amazing proofs that throng,
“Within, around thee, and above!

“Persist! but know the day will come,
“(Besure 'twill come;—perhaps 'tis near!)
“When thou, beneath conviction dumb,
“Confus'd and conscious shalt appear:

“When thou with shame, remorse, and tears,
“Shalt open thine unwilling eyes;
“Shalt feel the truth, thy folly sneers;
“Shalt try the Pow'r, thy pride denies!”

Exalted then to perfect bliss,
O'er worlds of joy the good shall rove;
Who sought those happier worlds in this,
Thro' faith, integrity, and love.

Transporting thought!—“O God! thy grace,
“As onward dazzled reason goes,
“Bright and more bright it's beam displays;
“More glorious scenes of wonder shows!”

In vain, my Muse, thy hand essays
To tune the faintly-sounding shell;
Leave to Eternity the praise,
Which scarce Eternity can tell.