Poems, Sacred and Moral/The Sun
For works with similar titles, see The Sun.
THE SUN.
Prime lustre, bright emblem of Bounty Supreme,
Who crownedst the glow of Creation's gay dawn;
King of Planets, that sparkle adorn'd by thy beam,
Or fade into gloom from thy presence withdrawn!
While millions of eyes on thy Majesty gaze,
From worlds beyond worlds amid ether that roll:
O, shake not the fires on thy forehead that blaze,
And ascribe to thyself what was made for the whole.
Who crownedst the glow of Creation's gay dawn;
King of Planets, that sparkle adorn'd by thy beam,
Or fade into gloom from thy presence withdrawn!
While millions of eyes on thy Majesty gaze,
From worlds beyond worlds amid ether that roll:
O, shake not the fires on thy forehead that blaze,
And ascribe to thyself what was made for the whole.
From the throne whence thou guidest obedient spheres,
O, scorn not the frail generations of man.
What if threescore and ten be the term of his years?
Lo! thousands, or myriads, number thy span.
Why exult o'er yon orbs that in ether's wide sea
Around thee for ages their circuit have trod?
"They shine but with radiance borrow'd from Me!"
And thou but with radiance borrow'd from God!
O, scorn not the frail generations of man.
What if threescore and ten be the term of his years?
Lo! thousands, or myriads, number thy span.
Why exult o'er yon orbs that in ether's wide sea
Around thee for ages their circuit have trod?
"They shine but with radiance borrow'd from Me!"
And thou but with radiance borrow'd from God!
Exult then, O Sun, in the pride of thy sway,
As from sleep springs a Giant elate in his might:
With power undisguised awe the regions of Day;
By the Moon, thy fair delegate, govern the Night.
Yet here, in this bosom, an inmate resides,
An ethereal spark, of flame purer than thine;
Illumined by Him, who o'er Nature presides,
Who bade me adore, and ordain'd thee to shine.
As from sleep springs a Giant elate in his might:
With power undisguised awe the regions of Day;
By the Moon, thy fair delegate, govern the Night.
Yet here, in this bosom, an inmate resides,
An ethereal spark, of flame purer than thine;
Illumined by Him, who o'er Nature presides,
Who bade me adore, and ordain'd thee to shine.
When the Soul, all extinct her ethereal fire,
In Guilt's murky labyrinth lay down to die;
The Saviour beheld her, and, quenching his ire
In Mercy's bright fountain, He stoop'd from the sky.
On Golgotha bleeding,———thou sawst it aghast,—
Thou sawst it, and horror o'erclouded thy face,———
On Golgotha bleeding, He pardon'd the past;
And shower'd on her darkness the splendours of Grace.
In Guilt's murky labyrinth lay down to die;
The Saviour beheld her, and, quenching his ire
In Mercy's bright fountain, He stoop'd from the sky.
On Golgotha bleeding,———thou sawst it aghast,—
Thou sawst it, and horror o'erclouded thy face,———
On Golgotha bleeding, He pardon'd the past;
And shower'd on her darkness the splendours of Grace.
Alas! If, absorb'd in pollutions of clay,
Beams of love shed from Heaven profanely she spurn;
How blest, could she fade with thy perishing ray,
And with thy sinking orb into Nothing return!
But how blest if, my Saviour, renew'd by Thy light,
She springs at Thy call from defilement below,
With Seraphs for ever, while suns set in night,
For ever, for ever and ever, to glow!
Beams of love shed from Heaven profanely she spurn;
How blest, could she fade with thy perishing ray,
And with thy sinking orb into Nothing return!
But how blest if, my Saviour, renew'd by Thy light,
She springs at Thy call from defilement below,
With Seraphs for ever, while suns set in night,
For ever, for ever and ever, to glow!