The First and Second Eaming.
BRIGHT beaming through the sky,
Burst in full blaze the dayspring from on high;
Earth's utmost isles exulted at the sight,
And crowded nations drank the orient light.
Lo, star-led chiefs Assyrian odors bring,
And bending Magi seek their infant King!
Marked ye, where hovering o'er His radiant head,
The dove's white wings celestial glory shed?
Daughter of Sion! virgin queen! rejoice!
Clap the glad hand, and lift th' exulting voice!
He comes, but not in regal splendor drest,
The haughty diadem, the Tyrian vest;
Not armed in flame, all-glorious from afar,
Of hosts the chieftain, and the lord of war:
Messiah comes !-let furious discord cease;
Be peace on earth before the Prince of Peace!
Disease and anguish feel his blest control,
And howling fiends release the tortured soul;
The beams of gladness hell's dark caves illume,
And Mercy broods above the distant gloom.
THE FIRST AND SECOND COMING.
Thou palsied earth, with noonday night o'erspread!
Thou sickening sun, so dark, so deep, so red!
Ye hovering ghosts, that throng the starless air,
Why shakes the earth? why fades the light? declare!
Are those His limbs, with ruthless scourges torn?
His brows, all bleeding with the twisted thorn?
His the pale form, the meek forgiving eye
Raised from the cross in patient agony?
Be dark, thou sun,-thou noonday night arise,
And hide, oh hide, the dreadful sacrifice!
Ye faithful few, by bold affection led,
Who round the Saviour's cross your sorrows shed,
Not for his sake your tearful vigils keep ;—
Weep for your country, for your children weep!
Yet shall she rise; but not by war restored;
Not built in murder,-planted by the sword;
Yes, Salem, thou shalt rise; thy Father's aid
Shall heal the wound his chastening hand has made;
Shall judge the proud oppressor's ruthless sway,
And burst his brazen bands, and cast his cords away;
Then on your tops shall deathless verdure spring,
Break forth, ye mountains, and, ye valleys sing!
No more your thirsty rocks shall frown forlorn,
The unbeliever's jest, the heathen's scorn;
The sultry sands shall tenfold harvests yield,
And a new Eden deck the thorny field.
THE FIRST AND SECOND COMING.
F'en now, perchance, wide-waving o'er the land,
That mighty Angel lifts his golden wand,
Courts the bright vision of descending power,
Tells every gate, and measures every tower;
And chides the tardy seals that yet detain
Thy Lion, Judah, from his destined reign.
And who is He? the vast, the awful form,
Girt with the whirlwind, sandal'd with the storm?
A western cloud around His limbs is spread,
His crown a rainbow, and a sun His head.
To highest Heaven He lifts his kingly hand,
And treads at once the ocean and the land;
And hark! His voice amid the thunder's roar,
His dreadful voice, that time shall be no more!
Lo! cherub hands the golden courts prepare, Lo! thrones arise, and every saint is there; Earth's utmost bounds confess the awful sway, The mountains worship, and the isles obey;
Nor sun, nor moon they need,-nor day, nor night ;— God is their temple, and the Lamb their light:
And shall not Israel's sons exulting come,
Hail the glad beam, and claim their ancient home?
On David's throne shall David's offspring reign,
And the dry bones be warm with life again.
Hark! white-robed crowds their deep hosannas raise,
And the hoarse flood repeats the sound of praise;
THE FIRST AND SECOND COMING.
Ten thousand harps attune the mystic song,
Ten thousand thousand saints the strain prolong ;
Worthy the Lamb! omnipotent to save,
Who died, who lives, triumphant o'er the grave!"
The Voice in the Wilderness.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.—ISAIAH xl. 3.
HARK! through the desert wilds, what awful voice
Swells on the gale, and bids the world rejoice?
What Prophet form, in holy raptures led,
The gray mists hov'ring o'er his sacred head,
Prepares on earth Messiah's destined way,
And hastes the mighty Messenger of Day?
Lo! echoing skies resound the gladsome strain;
"Messiah comes! ye rugged paths, be plain;
The Shiloh comes! ye towering cedars bend;
Swell forth, ye valleys; and, ye rocks, descend;
The wither'd branch, let balmy fruits adorn,
And clust'ring roses twine the leafless thorn;
Burst forth, ye vocal groves, your joy to tell-
The God of Peace redeems his Israel."
How beauteous are the feet of those who bear
Mercy to man, glad tidings to despair!
Far from the mountain's top they lovelier seem
Than moonlight dews, or morning's rosy beam;
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