THE Sun comes forth; -- each mountain height Glows with a tinge of rosy light, And flowers, that slumbered through the night, Their dewy leaves unfold; A flood of splendour bursts on high, And ocean's breast gives back a sky All steeped in molten gold. Oh! thou art glorious, orb of day; Exulting nations hall thy ray, Creation swells a choral lay, To welcome thy return; From thee all nature draws her hues, Thy beams the insect's wing suffuse, And in the diamond burn. Yet must thou fade; -- when earth and heaven By fire and tempest shall be riven, Thou, from thy sphere of radiance driven, O Sun! must fall at last; Another heaven, another earth, New power, new glory shall have birth, When all we see is past. But He, who gave the word of might, "Let there be light" -- and there @3was@1 light, Who bade thee chase the gloom of night, And beam the world to bless; -- For ever bright, for ever pure, Alone unchanging shall endure, The Sun of Righteousness! |