Their wings were spread for flight, and now on high
They bear the enthroned One, and, as they go,
Behold, the fourfold wheels which stood thereby,
Orb within orb, in harmony alsō,
By the same Mind inspired, remove forth right
Rapt on a whirlwind's wing. The Temple,-lo!
Expands in its dimensions, as the sight
Conceives its majesty, increasing still,
Interminably opened. Sheeted Light
Reveals Infinitude, and Thunders fill
The space, with Voices multitudinous,
Proceeding from that Throne ineffable,
Which now, from off the Seat of Mercy thus,
Borne on the wings of hymning Cherubim,
Afar, into the Void diaphanous,
Careers, o'ercanopied with Seraphim,
Charioting their Creator, who forth goes
With thousands and ten thousands tending him,
Numberless numbers,..sainted ones.
Still inward-inward still--that following Tide
Of peoples, where Messiah leads,..and glows
With hallelujahs and with multiplied
Hosannas: -Inward, in the distance, they
Host after and around the Deified,
Afar..afar..until they stretch away
Beyond my ken; for to the Precipice
Do they arrive, in orderly array,
Which hangs o'er Hell. Down, down, into the Abyss,
Sustained by power supernal, they descend,
The Co-Assessors, and the Witnesses,
Of Judgement whereon Angel-dooms suspend.
He rides upon the Cherubim, among
The Gods supreme; in orbs concentric roll
The Worlds beneath his feet, not without song.
One Law, one Spirit, one pervading Soul,
Guides, rules, and animates, in each and all,
And the same God is present to the whole,
Infinite and Eternal. He shall call,
And Time shall answer, and the unflying hours
Rest, like the stars in their ethereal hall,
In fellowship together; and all Powers,
All Energies, of Nature and of Man,
To him yield their dominion..heavenly dowers.
Sun of all Souls! of whom reflexion wan,
Thy universal Church shines like the Moon,
Irradiate with thy Glory. Whence began
Truth but in thee? And thou shalt clothe her soon,
She who in the beginning of thy way
Thou didst possess, with everlasting noon-
She who rejoiced before thee, ere the day
Of thy Earth's founding, and took after-joy
Within its habitable parts to play
Delightedly with Men-Oh! Wisdom coy,
Whose Tree of Life the Cherubim ensphered
From touch profane, commissioned to destroy.
Thou wert the Daughter of his Voice, prepared
Before the depths, or ere the fountains flowed;
Thou wert his Sister, and his pleasures shared,
When he the heavens gloriously endowed,
And set a compass on the darkling face
Of the Profound, and its due limits showed;
Thou wert his Bride, enthroned in pride of place,
On Earth; Thou art his Mother, seated high
Above the Moon, star-crowned, in virgin grace;
Oh, Wisdom-one in all, unchangeably,
And one with him, whose glory covers thee,
As with a garment, sun-clad, in the sky.
Hosanna! Sun of Righteousness!..for she
Is radiant with thy glory, in all ages,
Among all people. Mutability
Rolls underneath her feet; to Seers and Sages,
Hast thou appeared in vision and in dream,
Whereof bear record their prophetic pages,
Who in all Forms and Symbols told the theme,
To those whose hearts within them, like their own,
Glowed and expanded, with the truth supreme.
Truth dwells sublime, immutable, alone;-
One..manifold.. entire: but Souls embrute
Bow to the Image meant to make her known.
Earth hath of thee had glimpses, shaped to suit
The contemplative Spirit, suffering
From occultation of the Absolute,
The shadow of the spiritual thing
That, passing, veils the Truth. Let it pass on!
Shine forth, O Sun! the universal King,
Intelligible God. Thy stedfast Throne
For ever is, immovable, and Earth
Light from thine aspect borrows, and, anon,
In constant revolution, giveth birth
To darkness, not forsaken; for the Moon
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