I judge among the Mighty, who refuse
Justice unto the needy; I preside
Over the Gods, the nations who abuse;
And they shall mine inheritance abide—
Behold, they do my work-prepare my way-
But they shall perish-Man be justified.
For ever, since Creation's primal day,
My Spirit hath been present every where,
Brooding o'er Chaos with Omnifick Sway-
Educing Order, luculent and clear,
From the imperfect growth of human Mind,
Whose manhood shall like deity appear,
Image of God, and righteously defined-
Then shall my head its golden Crown assume,
Then shall I reap the Harvest of Mankind-
Earth shall be fully ripe, her Vineyard bloom
Maturely beautiful. But He shall thrust
His Sickle in her Vine, and gather from
Its clusters the dissolving grapes; which must
Be trodden in the Winepress, and with blood
Appease the Wrath of the divinely Just.
Then shall by you my Voice be understood, Prisoners, go forth!-and ye shall reign with me, (Earth rebaptized, but with a fiery flood,)
In Judgement o'er the angels.-Verily,
The Grave shall throughly, heave like to a womb,
And, from her Chambers, hasten to set free
Her captive Spirits, when her hour be come!"
-Thus spake Messiah, seated royally
Between the Cherubim, who now assume
His praise in Song, resounding like the Sea,
Saying, "Holy-holy-holy-Omnipotent,
Worthy, who wast, and art, and art to be !"-
-And now, upon their wings, that Firmament
Is lifted up, and, with the mighty motion,
Is heard a noise of musical concent,
As of great waters in the myriad ocean,
As of the winds that strive upon the wave-
The voice of speech, in praise and in devotion,
Majestick as his Word-a choral stave ;
Hymned to the Lord of Hosts upon his throne,
From universal Being, solemn, grave.
-The Son of Man, they sing who sought his own, The King..whose throne is Heaven, whose footstool Earth,
The Priest.. who shed the blood that shall atone,
The God.. that was made flesh-the blessed birth,
The happy bridal of the earth and sky!
-And, ever as they sang their holy mirth,
Their wings were spread for flight, and now on high
They bear the enthroned One, and, as they go,
Behold, the fourfold wheels which stood thereby,
Orb within orb, in harmony alsō,
By the same Mind inspired, remove forth right
Rapt on a whirlwind's wing. The Temple,-lo!
Expands in its dimensions, as the sight
Conceives its majesty, increasing still,
Interminably opened. Sheeted Light
Reveals Infinitude, and Thunders fill
The space, with Voices multitudinous,
Proceeding from that Throne ineffable,
Which now, from off the Seat of Mercy thus,
Borne on the wings of hymning Cherubim,
Afar, into the Void diaphanous,
Careers, o'ercanopied with Seraphim,
Charioting their Creator, who forth goes
With thousands and ten thousands tending him,
Numberless numbers,.. sainted ones.
There flows
Still inward-inward still-that following Tide
Of peoples, where Messiah leads,.. and glows
With hallelujahs and with multiplied
Hosannas :-Inward, in the distance, they
Host after and around the Deified,
Afar..afar..until they stretch away
Beyond my ken; for to the Precipice.
Do they arrive, in orderly array,
Which hangs o'er Hell. Down, down, into the Abyss,
Sustained by power supernal, they descend,
The Co-Assessors, and the Witnesses,
Of Judgement whereon Angel-dooms suspend.
I. 1. He rides upon the Cherubim, among
The Gods, supreme; in orbs concentrick roll
The Worlds beneath his feet, not without song.
One Law, one Spirit, one pervading Soul,
Guides, rules, and animates, in each and all,
And the same God is present to the whole,
Infinite and Eternal. He shall call,
And Time shall answer, and the unflying hours
Rest, like the stars in their ethereal hall,
In fellowship together; and all Powers,
All Energies, of Nature and of Man,
To him yield their dominion.. heavenly dowers.
I. 2. Sun of all Souls! of whom reflection wan,
Thy universal Church shines like the Moon,
Irradiate with thy Glory. Whence began
Truth but in thee? And thou shalt clothe her soon,
She who in the beginning of thy way
Thou didst possess, with everlasting noon
She who rejoiced before thee, ere the day
Of thy Earth's founding, and took after-joy
Within its habitable parts to play
Delightedly with Men-Oh! Wisdom coy,
Whose Tree of Life the Cherubim ensphered
From touch profane, commissioned to destroy.
Thou wert the Daughter of his Voice, prepared
Before the depths, or ere the fountains flowed;
Thou wert his Sister, and his pleasures shared,
When he the heavens gloriously endowed,
And set a compass on the darkling face
Of the Profound, and its due limits showed;
Thou wert his Bride, enthroned in pride of place,
On Earth; Thou art his mother, seated high
Above the Moon, star-crowned, in virgin grace;
Oh, Wisdom-one in all, unchangeably,
And one with him, whose glory covers thee,
As with a garment, sun-clad, in the sky.
II. 1. Hosanna! Sun of Righteousness!.. for she
Is radiant with thy glory, in all ages,
Among all people. Mutability
Rolls underneath her feet; to Seers and Sages,
Hast thou appeared in vision and in dream,
Whereof bear record their prophetick pages,
Who in all Forms and Symbols told the theme,
To those whose hearts within them, like their own,
Glowed and expanded, with the truth supreme.
Truth dwells sublime, immutable, alone ;-
One .. manifold.. entire: but Souls embrute
Bow to the Image meant to make her known.
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