Poems (Davidson)/The Holy Writings
THE HOLY WRITINGS.
Through the whole of this sacred volume may be traced the finger of a God! It is overshadowed by his arm, and his spirit walks forth in the sublimity of his commandments. What are the mad revilings of the scoffer? They are like burning coals which fall back upon the head of him who hurled them, leaving the object of his rage uninjured. What are the most philosophic works of mankind when placed in comparison with it? They sink into nothing. What are the brilliant shafts of human wit when directed against it? They are as the gilded wing of the butterfly, fluttering feebly against the nervous, the resistless pinion of an eagle. What are all the immense magazines of learning beside it, but a boundless heap of chaff? Yes; the vast edifices of human knowledge reared by the restless hand of ingenuity, and bedecked with all the gaudy trappings of eloquence, crumble into dust and fall prostrate in its presence, as did the heathen idol before the ark of the living God!
Do we ask eloquence? Where can it be found more pure than from the mouth of Him whose voice of mercy is a murmur, and whose anger speaks in wrathful thunders? Do we ask sublimity? The eagle in its flight toward heaven is less sublime than the hallowed words of its Maker. Do we ask simplicity? What is more touchingly so than the language of the sacred volume? Do we ask sweetness or tenderness? The breath of summer is less sweet than the Almighty's offered mercies. The fabled bird which sheds her blood for the nourishment of her innocent offspring, is cruel in comparison with Him, who bled, who died, for those who cursed and tortured Him. Do we ask grandeur, wildness, or strength? Look there! there upon the law of Him whose very self is grandeur, whose glance is lightning, and whose arm is strength.
The hand of the impious and the envious may hurl the dust of derision upon this sacred volume: still it will shine on, brighter and brighter, while time shall be!
