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Must reach its grand fruition, and Israel'sGreat deliverance dawn. It happened thus:One day, as Moses led his flocks, he sawA fertile spot skirted by desert sands,—A pleasant place for flocks and herds to nipThe tender grass and rest within its shady nooks;And as he paused and turned, he saw a bush with fireAglow; from root to stem a lambent flameSent up its jets and sprays of purest light,And yet the bush, with leaves uncrisped, uncurled,Was just as green and fresh as if the breathOf early spring were kissing every leaf.Then Moses said I'll turn aside to seeThis sight, and as he turned he heard a voiceBidding him lay his sandals by, for Lo! heStood on holy ground. Then Moses bowed his headUpon his staff and spread his mantle o'erHis face, lest he should see the dreadful majestyOf God; and there, upon that lonely spot,By Horeb's mount, his shrinking hands receivedThe burden of his God, which bade him goTo Egypt's guilty king, and bid him letThe oppressed go free. Commissioned thusHe gathered up his flocks and herds and soughtThe tents of Jethro, and said "I pray theeLet me go and see if yet my kindred live;And Jethro bade him go in peace, nor soughtTo throw himself across the purpose of his soul.
