177. -- Nature's Evening Hymn.
1 The heavenly spheres, to thee, O God,
Attune their evening hymn;
All wise, all holy, thou art praised,
In song of seraphim!
Unnumbered systems, suns and worlds,
Unite to worship thee,
While thy majestic greatness fills
Space, time, eternity.
2 Nature, -- a temple worthy thee,
That beams with light and love;
Whose flowers so sweetly bloom below,
Whose stars rejoice above,
Whose altars are the mountain cliffs
That rise along the shore;
Whose anthems, the sublime accord
Of storm and ocean roar;
3 Her song of gratitude is sung
By spring's awakening hours;
Her summer offers at thy shrine
Its earliest, loveliest flowers;
Her autumn brings its ripened fruits,
In glorious luxury given;
While winter's silver heights reflect
Thy brightness back to heaven.
4 On all thou smil'st; and what is man
Before thy presence, God;
A breath, but yesterday inspired,
To-morrow but a clod.
That clod shall mingle in the vale,
But, kindled, Lord, by thee,
The spirit to thy arms shall spring,
To life, to liberty.