 | Wood-notes and Church-bells |  |
69
THE MIDDLE LIFE OF MOSES.
Ere Moses could the prison-doors unlockWhere Israel long in iron bondage lay,
On the green slopes beneath old Horeb grey
A lonely shepherd he must feed his flock;
There sitting in the shade of some great rock
Mark the swift eagle darting on its prey,
Or watch the forkèd lightnings fiercely play,
And listen to the awful thunder-shock.
Thus 'mid the peaceful scenes of pastoral life,
Or sterner sights of mountain solitude,
He spent long years in holy contemplation;
To brace his spirit for that arduous strife
With Israel's foes, and provocations rude
Of God's own ransomed but rebellious nation.
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