The heavens declare thy glory! Father, God,
With reverent heart I stand and look toward
The starry heights where Thou hast written wide
Thy name. And though conception faint, and fail
To grasp the boundless meaning of the view,
Mine ear, with earthly discords less assailed,
Catches the soft, still music, to whose rhythm
Those stars like myriad censers swing; from whose
Eternal fires ascends incense of praise.
And, as adoring, I look up to Thee,
This thought, exultant, all my being thrills, —
I am a part of this resplendent whole,
Which is by Thee, and evermore is Thine,
And I, too, hear, like him of old, thy call,
Come FORTH! And, at the sound, the tomb yields up
Its victim; falls the shroud of earthy thought
Away, and. I stand forth before Thee, free.
