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Shout! Pharaoh is fallen

To rise again never.

Sing! The Lord he shall reign

Forever and ever."

E. DUDLEY JACKSON.

Exodus x: 21-23

WHEN Israel dwelt in Egypt's land,

And groan'd beneath the tyrant's pow'r, O Lord, 'twas Thine Almighty hand Sustain'd him thro' that dreary hour. When all the air at noon of day

Was filled with gloom "which might be felt," Thy smile was still a cheerful ray

In every tent where Israel dwelt.

And thus, O Lord, the faithful heart
Believes that it will ever be;

Thy love, we know, will ne'er depart
From those who truly trust in Thee.
When all the world grows dark through sin,
With them Thy smile will still be found;
Diffusing joy and peace within,

While all seems dark and cheerless round!

J. W. BURGON.

Mount Sinai

'ROM Sinai's top the lightnings flashed;

FROM

The thunders rolled around-around

As if the heavenly orbs had clashed

Together with destructive bound,

And down their shattered fragments hurled
Upon a desolated world,

And on the mount there hung a cloud,
Dark as the midnight's darkest gloom;
And blew a trumpet long and loud,
Like that which shall wake the tomb.
And terror like a sudden frost
Fell on the Israelitish host.

In radiant fire the mighty God
Descended from the heavenly throne;
And on the mountains where He trod,
A pavement as of sapphire stone
Appeared like glittering stars of even
When storms have left the deep-blue heaven.

And as the wondering people turned

To see the glory of the Lord, The smoke-as if a furnace burned

Within the mountain, swelled and roared,

And all its lofty summits shook

Like sedge leaves by the summer brook.

And Moses from the trembling crowd
Went up to God's dark secret place
And heard from the surrounding cloud
His message to the Hebrew race,
Who vowed with fervor and accord
To keep the covenant of the Lord.

For they had marked the trump that blew

The fires that gleamed, the peals that roared—

In shadowed glory shine to view

The presence of the eternal Lord, Bright as His mercy chose to give, For none can see His face and live.

HORATIUS BONAR.

At Sinai

DOWN from the mist-clad mountain Moses came,
His face aglow with some strange inward flame-
Down the long slope with winged feet he trod,
And vision clear, for he had talked with God!

Before the mount he saw his people stand,
As he had bidden. Slow he raised his hand-
A solemn stillness bound them as they saw,
Their restive hearts athrill with reverent awe.

Deep was his voice and tender. E'en the birds
Poised on their moveless wings to hear his words.
From out the misty cloud that wraps the hill,
There came the voice of God, so small and still.

And thus it said: "These words to Israel bring:
As I have borne them forth on eagle's wing.
From Egypt's bonds, so will I guard them still
If they obey my voice, and do my will.

"Yea,, Israel shall a priestly people be,
A most peculiar treasure unto Me;
If they do heed the Law that I do give.
My people, say! Will ye obey and live?"

With hands uplifted stood the leader there,
His face ablaze! And on the desert air
There rose a murmur swelling loud and true,
"All that the Lord doth bid us, will we do!"

So went he once again within the mist

That hid the somber mountain, grey, cloud-kissed;
And as they watched, the waiting people saw
Him come again, and in his arms, the Law!

Thus came the Word-and thus the right to hear
The message, that the world might know and share.
Yea, theirs the gift! But theirs the promise, too.
Whate'er the Lord hath spoken, that we'll do.

Tho' there at Sinai's foot, in age long dead,
Our fathers hath the sacred covenant said,
Their blood is ours! and their promise true!
Whate'er the Lord hath bidden, shall we do!
ISABELLA R. HESS.

Divine Love

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."-Deut. vi, 5.

I

KNOW not what this world would be
(Not even by analogy)

If love were banished for a time

To other realm, or other clime;
But no, it is not bound by space,
But with illimitable grace

Glides through all worlds, and lives in all,
All hearts and souls it does enthral;
Some, where the spirit seldom dwelt
'Tis not quite banished or forgot;
It were indeed a dreary spot
Without one single ray of love,
That heavenly blessing from above,
For what were virtue, goodness, truth,
Without the light of love? in sooth
They would not be they could not last
Without this heavenly antepast;

This foretaste of celestial love
Vicegerent here, but crowned above.
Oh! love, thou pure and holy thing,

What are the blessings thou dost bring?

Nay, rather, what is happiness

But love in some new guise or dress?

Even from birth 'tis love that fills
Each avenue of soul-instils

Its spiritual influence

And makes us all love excellence,
Whatever bears the noble stamp

Of great and good; 'tis this pure lamp
Which lights our path and gives us hope,
Extends our views to higher scope.
We love to read, to hear, to earn,
And why? because our spirits burn.

ANONYMOUS.

"Moses as Lamp-Bearer"

A CURIOUS fancy seized on Moses' soul,

To know if God, the Lord, slept like a man: So Allah sent an angel from on high,

Who to the Holy Prophet this wise spake-
"Take, Moses, in thy hands two burning lamps,
Then take thy stand and hold thyself upright,
With both arms stretched full length, and keep them

so;

And watch then the whole night through and through."

Then Moses took the lamps and placed himself
And held them fast on high a long, long time.
But at the last such weariness came on him,
That the lamps fell to earth from out his hands.
"Thus," cried the angel, "thus, O simple man,
Thus would the sun and moon and starry host,
Thus would the joined fabric of the world
In waste and ruin fall, did Allah sleep!"

WILLIAM STIGAND.

Aaron's Breastplate

Aaron

"Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breast-plate of judgment upon his heart, for a me

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