Fugitive Poetry. 1600–1878/Omnipresence of God

Omnipresence of God.

Above—below—where'er I gaze, Thy guiding finger, Lord, I view,Traced in the midnight planets' blaze, Or glistening in the morning dew;Whate'er is beautiful or fair,Is but Thine own reflection there.

I hear Thee in the stormy wind, That turns the ocean wave to foam;Nor less Thy wondrous power I find, When summer airs around me roam;The tempest and the calm declareThyself, for Thou art everywhere.

I find Thee in the depth of night, And read Thy Name in every star

That drinks its splendour from the light That flows from mercy's beaming car;Thy footstool, Lord, each starry gemComposes—not Thy diadem.

And when the radiant orb of light Hath tipped the mountain-tops with gold;Smote with the blaze, my weary sight Shrinks from the wonders I behold;That ray of glory, bright and fair,Is but Thy living shadow there.

Thine is the silent gloom of night, The twilight eve—the dewy mom;Whate'er is beautiful and bright, Thine hands have fashioned to adorn.Thy glory walks in every sphere,And all things whisper, "God is here!"