Great Throughts Treasury

"Wisdom consists in the ability to discriminate between the probable and improbable, and in being reconciled to the inevitable."

"Wisdom is the noblest pedigree and love the choicest tie."

"Wisdom leads to tranquillity, gold and silver to anxiety."

"Wisdom sought in old age fades like letters traced in sand, whilst that obtained in youth may endure like letters graved in stone."

"The years are a thousand Since, broken and scattered, We wander in exile, Like waterfowl lost in The depths of the desert."

"THE MESSIAH - Lord, tell me when Shall come to men Messiah blest, When shall Thy care His couch prepare To be my guest, To sleep on my golden bed, in my palace rest. Wake, dear gazelle, Shake off thy spell, Nor slumber still. Dawn like a flag Surmounts the crag Of Tabor’s hill, And its flame it unfurls o’er my Hermon, the hoar and chill. From the wild-ass brood To the grace renewed Of Thy dainty roe, O Lord, return, For behold we yearn Our love to show, And our soul with Thy soul at one as of yore to know. Thrice welcome he Who comes to me Of David’s line, My palace treasure Is at his pleasure With all that’s mine, My pomegranate, cinnamon, spice, and the jars of my old sweet wine."

"Come up to me at early dawn, Come up to me, for I am drawn, Belovèd, by my spirit’s spell, To see the sons of Israël. For thee, my darling, I will spread Within my court a golden bed, And I will set a table there And bread for thee I will prepare, For thee my goblet I will fill With juices that my vines distil: And thou shalt drink to heart’s delight, Of all my flavours day and night. The joy in thee I will evince With which a people greets its prince. O son of Jesse, holy stem, God’s servant, born of Bethlehem!"

"Three things conspire together in mine eyes To bring the remembrance of Thee ever before me, And I possess them as faithful witnesses: Thy heavens, for whose sake I recall Thy name, The earth I live on, that rouseth my thought With its expanse which recalleth the expander of my pedestal, And the musing of my heart when I look within the depths of myself. Bless the Lord, O my soul, for ever and aye!"

"In prayer prone before my King, I bend to Him my face and knee, My heart His sacrifice shall be, My tear His liquid offering. In waiting for the sun’s caress, In watching for the morning light To scatter all my godless night, My soul consumes in weariness. Though He delays, shall I not start To seek His face? Nay, of a sooth I yet shall find his word of ruth Bring comfort to my bitter heart. The promise Zechariah gave, How sweet it tastes in this our woe! My soul shall bid my heart to know I trust the living God to save."

"At the dawn I seek Thee, Rock and refuge tried, In due service speak Thee Morn and eventide. ‘Neath Thy greatness shrinking, Stand I sore afraid, All my secret thinking Bare before Thee laid. Little to Thy glory Heart or tongue can do; Small remains the story, Add we spirit too. Yet since man’s praise ringing May seem good to Thee, I will praise Thee singing While Thy breath’s in me."

"My soul shall declare to Thee Thou art her former And shall Thee as her maker, O God, testify, At Thy word 'Be, O Soul' did she take on existence, And from naught didst Thou draw her as light from the eye. Of Thee she shall own and affirm, hand uplifted, ’Twas Thou that didst breathe her in me, and as due For that work she shall pour out her thanks and bear witness That to me she was given Thy bidding to do. She serves Thee as handmaid while yet in the body, And the day she returns to the land whence she came, In Thee will she dwell, for in Thee is her being, Doth she rise, doth she sit, Thou art with her the same. She was Thine when unborn ere the day of her breathing, With wisdom and knowledge by Thee she was fed, And to Thee for her ordinance looks, and subsistence, Indebted to Thee for her water and bread. Her gaze is to Thee, and in Thee is her hoping When like novice in child-birth she cries in affright. O take her torn heart as a sacrifice offered, And her ribs lacerated for fiery rite. To Thee let her pour out her tears as drink-off’ring, Let the breath of her sighing as incense-cloud be, At her gate and her doorway she watches with prayer, She is burning like flame with her passion for Thee. She must ever approach Thee as servant his master, Or as handmaiden looks to her mistress’s eye, She must spread out her palms in request and petition And turn herself humbly to Thee in her cry. For call Thee she must, nor endure to be silent, Like a bird in the net her one hope is in flight, In the depth of the night she must rise and keep vigil, For her work is Thy works to declare and recite. For Thee she must pine and of Thee make entreaty, Her hand must be clean and as stainless her thought. Her breach do Thou heal, be her hope and her helper, When she draws nigh redeem her, her sin count as naught. Behold her affliction, and hark to her weeping, In the sphere of the soul she with Thee is alone, Repay and restore her, attend to her anguish, When her sobs and her tears her backslidings bemoan. Bemock, O Almighty, the foes that bemock her, Avenge with due vengeance her insults and shame, In her stress be a rock of support ‘gainst her foeman, Nor yield up the child Thou to manhood didst frame. No enemy came, whose reproach could be borne with, No cruel one hunted her down in her track, ’Twas the friends of her household betrayed her—her passions— ’Twas her comrade who bloodily stabbed in the back. I ever am seeking my body’s best welfare, Yet it in return would my spirit undo. Ah, truly the fruit of the tree in its root is, The proverb "Like mother, like daughter" is true."

"Open the gate, my love, Arise and open the gate, For my soul is dismayed And sorely afraid And Hagar’s brood mocks my estate. The heart of the hand-maid’s sons Is hateful and haughty grown, And all because of the cry Of Ishmael piercing the sky, Ascending and reaching the Throne. I stumble ’twixt beast and beast, The wild ass swift to slay Has followed my flight From the courts of Night Where crushed of the boar I lay. Alas! for my thick-sealed fate, Ah woe for the days to come! It helps but to pain me That none can explain me, And I, myself, I am dumb."

"Pour out thy heart to the Rock, Pour out thy inmost soul To the stronghold naught can shock, As the mornings and evenings roll. To Him who around and before Is, whether thou rest or roam, To Him let thy thoughts upsoar, Be thou on the road or at home. Thus tested by praise and belief, Thou favour divine shalt gain, He will turn His ear to thy grief, He will bend His eye on thy pain. Behold, He will pay thy reward, Thou shalt share the abode of the blest, For the day thou return to the Lord, He will draw thee close to His breast."

"Six years were decreed for a slave to wait When his freedom he sought at his master’s hand, But the years of my bondage lack term or date, It is hard, O my Master, to understand. Why, Sire, should a hand-maid’s son bear sway, And me with affliction and anguish task? There cometh no answer, howe’er I pray, In despite that each day for reply I ask. What word at the last wilt Thou say, my King? An Thou findest no ransom, O Lord, take me! Take me for Thy people as offering, I will serve Thee for ever and ne’er go free."

"’Tis joy to me to dwell in Thee, At thought of Thee all grief retreats, Thy mercies call for thanks, but all I have to pay are tongue’s conceits. Not heaven’s height can bound Thy might, How then shall thought due praise assign? Teach me, and bless with righteousness, And let my will but further Thine. The praise I bring as offering Accept in lieu of sacrifice, My service call memorial, Pleased with Thy worshipper’s device. Let Thy clear eye, O Lord, descry How wretched are my fears and hopes, And send Thy light to chase the night In which my blinded spirit gropes. In kindness great, compassionate, O guard for me Thy tenderness, Within its wideness let me hide The vastness of my trespasses. And as Thy name to me became A treasure in my heart to stand, So let to Thee my spirit be A treasure held within Thy hand."

"I have made Thee my refuge, my terror and trembling, And when straitly besieged I have made Thee my tower, When to left and to right I have sought for a helper, I could look for dear life to no aid but Thy power. More than all earthly treasure I have made Thee my portion, Through all cares the delight and desire of my days, In the flood of Thy love I have rapture eternal And prayer is but an occasion for praise."

"My thoughts astounded asked me why Towards the whirling wheels on high In ecstasy I rush and fly. The living God is my desire, It carries me on wings of fire, Body and soul to Him aspire. God is at once my joy and fate, This yearning me He did create, At thought of Him I palpitate. Shall song with all its loveliness Submerge my soul with happiness Before the God of Gods it bless?"

"I have sought Thee daily at dawn and twilight, I have stretched my hands to Thee, turned my face, Now the cry of a heart athirst I will utter, Like the beggar who cries at my door for grace. The infinite heights are too small to contain Thee, Yet perchance Thou canst niche in the clefts of me. Shall my heart not treasure the hope to gain Thee, Or my yearning fail till my tongue’s last plea? Nay, surely Thy name I will worship, while breath in my nostrils be."

"Humble of spirit, lowly of knee and stature, But in fear and awe abounding, I come before Thee. And in Thy presence to myself appear As a little earth-worm. O Thou, who fillest the earth and whose greatness is endless, Shall one like me laud Thee, And how shall he honour Thee? The angels of heaven do not suffice, How then one like me? Thou hast wrought good and hast magnified mercies, Wherefore the soul shall magnify praise of Thee."

"FOR A MARRIAGE - Send to the prince’s daughter Her ruddy, fair-eyed king, Like a fruitful branch he blossoms, Transplanted to a spring. Thy Torah has his worship, He runs, to taste its charms, Before Thee like a warrior, Accoutred in his arms. I day by day am waiting Salvation’s promised day, Enquiring how and whence it Will come to be my stay. Restore the tortured People To the friend of her youth divine, And bring the two together To the house of joy and wine."

"Like a bridegroom the sun Dons his robe that is spun Of light, Which from Thee emanated Yet in no wise abated Thy light. Taught to go westward round With obeisance profound To his Lord, He by service so loyal To a master so royal Is a lord. While his homage each day Serves to mark and display Thy glory, ’Tis Thy hand that investeth The robe on which resteth His glory."

"THE REDEMPTION - The despoiled and dispersed Thou shalt gather to Zion, Restoring the slaves who were sold without fee, And the priests to their ritual robes, while the scion Of families ruling shall once more be free To carol, high God, his thanksgiving to Thee. To the heathen a banner to raise Thou wilt hasten, Thou shalt strengthen and gird up the loins that we trust, And the suppliants whom Thy dispersal did chasten Thou wilt raise as of yore from captivity’s dust, The breastplate of righteousness clothing the just. My impudent foe seeks my life-faith to sever, To my face he enquires how long yet wilt thou wait, But I am afflicted, not cast off for ever, For my God is the help of the low in estate, Protecting the poor as He humbles the great. His heritage shall to the exile be given, And a strong hand the sick and the punished replace, The abased and abandoned, by every fang riven, Shall their freshness renew by the patriarchs’ grace And the strangers be scorched like a tropical place."

"GOD AND ISRAEL - God: Though bereaved and in mourning, why sit thus in tears? Shall thy spirit surrender its hopes to its fears? Though the end has been long and no light yet appears, Hope on, hapless one, a while longer. I will send thee an angel My path to prepare, On the brow of Mount Zion thy King to declare, The Lord ever regnant shall reign again there, Thy King, O proclaim, comes to Zion. Israel: How long, O my God, shall I wait Thee in vain? How long shall Thy people in exile remain? Shall the sheep ever shorn never utter their pain But dumbly through all go on waiting? p. 23 God: Have faith, hapless one, I will pardon and free, Not always shalt thou be abhorrent to Me, But be Mine e’en as I shall return unto thee, ’Tis yet but a little space longer. Israel: How long till the turn of my fate shall draw near, How long ere the sealed and the closed be made clear, And the palace of strangers a roof shall appear? God: Hope on for a shelter and refuge. With healing shall yet thy entreaties be graced, As when Caphtor was crushed shalt thou triumph re-taste, And the flowers cast off shall re-bloom in the waste, Hope on but a little space longer. Israel: My people of yore ’neath one people was drowned, But from Egypt or Babel deliverance found, But now we are hopelessly compassed around By four birds of prey grim and speckled. They have eaten my flesh, yet to leave me are loath. p. 24 God: The Rock you must trust to remember His oath, Your lover that went shall return to His troth, Hope on, hapless one, a whit longer."

"REASSURANCE: A TRIALOGUE - Cantor to God: "What profits it to see Thy people wallow, A prostrate lily whelmed in floods of water? She twitters like a caged and frightened swallow, When Thou art girt with weapons for her slaughter. Be over her, O Rock, a shield erected, And make Thy corner-stone of that rejected!" Congregation: "Before my foe I am humiliated, He sits in fatted ease while I must wander, Before his flouts and roars and blows prostrated, Yet I endure and fix my vision yonder, And wait for healing, with my crying stifled, Like Hannah’s, and a heart subdued and rifled." Cantor to Congregation: "What ails thee that soul-sick and bitter-hearted, Thou faintest, face and hands with teardrops streaming? Sow charity, and kindness shall be carted, Who trusts in force is ignorantly dreaming. Oppression passes, trampled by oppression, And violence breeds violent succession." Congregation to Cantor: "My years have gone in sorrow and in sighing, I hoped for respite but instead comes wailing, Before the balm arrives behold me dying." Cantor to Congregation: "Ah wait, faint heart, that sighest, sick and failing, Thyself against God’s mercy do not harden, Thou, eased of foes, shalt flower like a garden." Congregation to God: "Mine eyes are sick and faint from hope’s depression, Dumb like a sheep I bear Thy storm of fury, Perchance my pain shall cancel my transgression, Crush not the plagued and stricken son of Jewry, The broken-hearted, crouching ’neath Thy rod, He waits Thee, night and day, O jealous God. Gripped like a bird within its captor’s fingers, And crushed to dust, I groan beyond all bearing." God: "Hearken, afflicted one, for hope yet lingers, And look to Me, whose angel is preparing My path, for though at night be tears and sadness Yet in the morning come delight and gladness.""

"DUOLOGUE - God: "Daughter of Zion, tried in Sorrow’s furnace, E’en as I swore thy fathers, be at rest. I swore it for My sake, and now thy crying Hath mounted to My habitation blest, And I have heard, for gracious is My breast." Israel: "Obeisance low I made, for I am feeble, Thy kindliness responds to all who yearn. Come back, dear Lord, whose name is linked with pardon, No other saviour Israel can discern, Unto his myriad families return!" God: "Where’er thy origin, whosoe’er thy master, A man shall come—nay, I—thy cause to plead, Whoever holds the bill of thy divorcement. Like wall or tower of fire I guard thy seed, Then wherefore weep or heart affrighted heed?" p. 29 Israel: "Why do I weep? Because Thou keepest silence, Though violence rages and, all uncontrolled, The mob destroys, and we as slaves to strangers, Master and man together, have been sold, And no Redeemer do our eyes behold." God: "Who art thou thus to shrink from man in terror And be dismayed because of mankind’s scorn? My angel I will send, as wrote the prophet, And gather Israel winnowed and new-born: This miracle shall be to-morrow morn." Israel: "To gather me my chieftains Thou didst promise, The day comes not and miracle is none, Nor see I Temple built nor any herald Of Peace arrive to be my Holy One— Ah, wherefore lingers Jesse’s promised son?" God: "Behold, I keep the oath I swore to gather My captives—kings shall bring their gifts to thee; Created for a witness to the nations, My holy ones shall testify to Me— Yea, Jesse’s son Mine eyes already see.""

"Establish peace, for us, O Lord, In everlasting grace, Nor let us be of Thee abhorred, Who art our dwelling-place. We wander ever to and fro, Or sit in chains in exile drear, Yet still proclaim where’er we go, The splendour of Our Lord is here. Sore-tried, involved in heathen mesh, Deep-sunk as though in midmost sea, Each morn the thought is roused afresh, Who will arise to set us free? From rampart and from mountain reft, Immured in thick and pitchy gloom, Had not the Lord a remnant left, Death in the dust had been our doom. All realms behold our driven seed, Like wounded doves we fly their hate. All nations hunt us and impede And in the desert lie in wait. Gripped as a bird within a net, Ever pursued in deadly chase, With harsh devices daily met, Perchance our God will grant us grace. How many periods are past, And we in exile lingering, By enemies encompassed fast, Who jeer that now we have no King! They plot and league in lying spite God’s truth with cunning to eclipse, Our tongues, they say, shall give us might, We own no master to our lips. Shine forth, great God, in splendid flame, Bare Thy great arm of ancient days, Be jealous for Thy glorious name, Not unto us, O Lord, the praise. To dust the Arab kingdom sweep, The ravenous beasts who tear and bite, Who rend our scattered sons as sheep, Whose motto is to seize by might. Our heritage they have possessed, Exiled, devoured us at their will, Consumed and wasted and oppressed And machinate against us still. So low our nation hath been brought, So many masters override, A little more and it were naught, Had not the Lord been on its side. Beneath the feet of slaves we bend, In pit and prison we are pressed, The hunters at our necks impend, We labour still and have no rest. Where is that kindness from above Of which Thy servitors have heard, The boon of Thy peculiar love, For which we have our fathers’ word? O glorious sovran of the height, Abase, destroy their topmost tower, The final marvel bring to light, Arise and save us, show Thy power. Uplift the lowly from the mire, And make our meditation sweet, The lily gather from the brier, And our salvation, Lord, complete. With joy the lost and wounded bless, Wipe from all eyes the tears that run, Unveil the orb of righteousness, For unto us is born a son. O break the yoke, the slave release, Rebuke the arrogant again, And send Thy messenger of peace, Whose feet are welcome as the rain. Rejoice, my dear despised, the King In all His beauty thou shalt see, And this the song that men shall sing In Judah’s land, our own and free. The prayer of the meek finds grace, And God will hearken and forgive, Tread down corruption, sin erase, And in His light will let us live. My song of penitence He ranks As though an altar-sacrifice. Healed of my sins I give Him thanks, Who ’spite our deeds remits the price Delight and peace from Thee we hail, Thy hand Thy people’s sin outscored, Drew o’er iniquity a veil Nor gave wrongdoing its reward. Perpetual ascend to Thee Thy people’s and Thy servants’ cries, O let us Thy compassion see, And Thy salvation greet our eyes."

"My breast I am smiting, My own sins indicting. How then canst Thou draw me To strife and thus awe me, And bring Me to judgment? My branch hangeth ailing, My eyelid is failing, My aims to derision Are turned by the vision Of Thee bringing judgment. The creditor calleth, The dread decree falleth, The awful day breaking God’s creatures sets quaking In fear of His judgment. Through Thy attributes preaching, Almighty, and teaching, O weigh aberration In the scale of salvation, Nor bring us to judgment. In Thy merciful fashion Award us compassion, That man who but dust is May handle with justice The haters of judgment. Like a vapour evanished, Man is melted and banished, His birth is coëval With a harvest of evil, ’Tis Thou must bring judgment. We await—O behold us— Thy love to enfold us. Did Thy warning not hasten Our impulse to chasten? For the Lord loveth judgment."

"As the servant longs for the master’s hand, so craves the cantor’s soul, O extend Thy mercy upon him, rend his debt-recording scroll. "Unto Me return, then will I to thee"—were this Thy word unsaid, Like a captain humbled while at his post he now would droop his head. To Thy servant, Lord, Thou wilt surely ope the penitential way, May his fruit be sweet as he stands to lead our prayers to Thee to-day. As we watch our brother, behold, we note the grey that streaks his hair, And his heart a-swim in a sense of sin as praying stands he there. Let the fervent breath of Thy suppliant be witness for his heart, Let him but return to Thee this once, he never will depart."

"Two things have met in me, one in their ways, And stand within me, above or below, My tongue that hastes to proclaim Thy praise, My heart Thy greatness to see and know. The angels on high cannot speak of Thy glory, Then how shall contemptible man tell its story? When men bring tribute, an ox, say, or dove, The lean or the fat gives Thee equal delight, If but ’tis brought by a heart full of love. So too take my prayer as priestly rite, For my soul and spirit unite in Thy praise, Two things having met in me, one in their ways."

"The breath of the remnant of Jacob shall praise Thee, For with testimony confirmed Thou hast made him Thy witness And keepest Thy covenant with him and Thy kindness; Therefore shall he thank Thee on the day Thou hast appointed judgment. The breath of the company of Israel shall ravish Thy heart, Daily proclaiming Thy Unity. To be judged of Thee and by Thy hand inscribed In the book of life, They stand this day according to Thy ordinance, For all things are Thy servants. The breath of the nation set apart from the seventy And weighing true in the scales of righteousness, Shall hail Thee as King, A monarch of justice and righteousness, Who sits on the Throne of righteousness, A righteous judge. The breath of the congregations chosen of Thee shall thank Thee, And their bannered tribes, O Thou who stretchest Thy hand to receive the transgressors of Thy judgments, That Thou mayest be justified when Thou speakest And be in the right when Thou judgest. The breath of those conserved in Israel, Thy servants who fear Thee, Shall hail Thee as mighty. Thou art near to all that call upon Thee, Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne. The breath of the holy ones hallowing Thee, Responding in all their passion of desire, Acclaims Thee as holy. Holy God, King living forever, they cry, And would that our mouths were as full as the sea With song!"

"Almighty God, on lofty throne In wisdom Thou didst build the world, Thy might the firmament unfurled And Thou wast King ere kings were known. Sole King, who hung the earth on naught, In great assemblies I will cry, For every soul must testify, The Lord of hosts rules all He wrought. His seat is hid in mystery, Myriads of holy ones in dread, His ministers in lowlihead, Surround His awful Majesty. His praises in set order sing, Although all praise He hath outsoared, Declare the Kingdom of the Lord, Proclaiming that the Lord is King. The depths of sky His mercy planned, The waters are His footstools. He Their measures gave to stream and sea And poured them in with royal hand. The sea unto His bounds submits, Our King and God, so great and high, His glory covers all the sky When that upon His throne He sits. Sole King, He spreads for curtain Space, The sun uprises from the east To draw from earth a dainty feast, A strong man glad to run a race. O glorious Sovereign whom I sing, Be gracious unto us and kind, For Thine own sake, if but I find Grace in Thine eyes, my Lord and King."

"To the glorious one, girdled by praise, Great in deeds and tremendous in ways, Who filleth with wonders our days, Blow ye at New Moon the trumpet. To the Lord whose decrees never fail, Who spreadeth the clouds like a veil, And maketh the dust hard as mail, Blow ye at New Moon the trumpet. To the Builder whose measures none knows, By whom the high heavens arose, And beauty like lightning that glows, Blow ye at New Moon the trumpet. To the Judge who His servants will spare, For the souls of His faithful will care, And will make their inheritance fair, Blow ye at New Moon the trumpet. To the Chief on whose breast Right is borne, Who is served by the seed to Him sworn, Who gathereth lilies from thorn, Blow ye at New Moon the trumpet. To the Washer who whiteneth sin, Whose cloud blotteth evil within, Whose forgiveness repentance can win, Blow ye at New Moon the trumpet. To the Alchemist turning his gold To the diamond’s perfection, clear, cold, Like the streams that Damascus enfold, Blow ye at New Moon the trumpet. To the Lord who His scattered will keep, To whom cries of the lowly that weep Are dearer than bullocks or sheep, Blow ye at New Moon the trumpet."

"Let the numerous isles rejoice with trembling, For He is high and exalted and acknowledged as One In the height of the firmament. The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice. The clouds acclaim Thee beyond every other power, In every mouth is thy unity uttered, And by the people of God is Thy praise proclaimed. And who is like to Thy people Israel, The one nation on earth, To give thanks to Thee upstanding, O God inhabiting the heights, And to proclaim Thee as One? The Lord reigneth, let the nations quake. He sitteth among the Cherubim, let the earth tremble. The scattered shalt Thou assemble and the sighing redeem, To Thy holy house Thou shalt lead them with rejoicing, And from earth’s four corners gather the exiles."

"The seeker of good shall acceptance find From the God whose glory is boundless, If he turn unto Him with repentant mind, And sackcloth on both of his shoulders bind By way of memorial. So come and return to our God on high Who fashioned the uttermost heavens, Let your songs of praise to His footstool fly And thank Him to-night in a choral cry By way of memorial. O King of the Kingdom that hails Thy name Since first to the void Thou spakest, Evoking the light that from darkness came, Accept this plea to expunge my shame As rite of memorial. Prepare, O Israel, to meet Thy God, Let every man seek to find ransom, Remove the evil at which ye nod, Cleanse ye and wash ye or dread His rod This day of memorial."

"God dwelleth high above man’s dwelling-place, Ye multitudes, come praise and honour Him, Huzzah before the King whose name is God, Sound joyous flourishes upon the trumpet. His creatures fear His glory more than man When awful deeds are wrought, for dread is He. The day shall be when at the sound of trumpet Thy people to the Mount of Olives flock, And they, according to Thy word, shall go With shouting and with tumult and perceive The thunders, lightnings, and the trumpet’s sound. Regard the people nestling in Thy shadow, And trustfully proclaiming that perchance Again the Lord of hosts will gracious be And marvels once again be wrought in thunder And lightning and thick cloud upon the Mount And pealing of the Shofar. Consecrate Yourselves again to-day unto His service, And should again your glad redemption dawn, Uplift yourselves sublime above all else, And mark the banner flown upon the mountains What time the horn resounds. O Lord, whose dread Sets all the world’s inhabitants a-tremble, Be herald of good tidings to the people, So staunch beneath the adversary’s yoke. Thus when the ram’s horn poureth forth its note And ye shall hear the Shofar’s long-drawn peal, Thanksgiving offer up to God and song, And tell His mighty deeds and chant His praise According to the measure of His greatness. O praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, So shall the Merciful show graciousness To you who cry, and as of old restore Your captives, yea the Lord of hosts o’er you Shall keep His watch, with trumpet-blasts for warning."

"Send forth Thy messenger, Thy interpreter, And let him do wonders with signs and happenings, To cleanse us this night from scandal and defamation! Great God, boundless and unsearchable, Thy righteousness is like mighty mountains, Thy judgments are like the great deep. Bare to Thee and spied out is the heart’s imagination and secret, Lo, shaped in iniquity, how shall man justify the evil of his work? Can the grains of his dust justify it that were accounted vanity even while he was still in being? How then after he has perished and every element passed back to its source, When he is driven like chaff before the wind and like smoke from the lattice? Who shall stand up for Thy people, and who set them free? If for decision Thou shouldst draw nigh them, and if for judgment Thou shouldst take them, Then judge them, I pray Thee, by Thy righteousness, And reprove them not according to Thy wrath. For what is the weak that he should contend with the mighty, And how can dry stubble stand in the flame? Lo, as the flower fadeth and the wind flitteth by like a shadow, So flesh from spirit is rent asunder; If then Thou wilt stir up chastisement, There is no way of deliverance shouldst Thou press hard; For the worker is sluggish, And the day short and the work abundant."

"Lord of the world, O hear my psalm, And as sweet incense take my plea. My heart hath set its love on Thee And finds in speech its only balm. This thought forever haunts my mind, Some day to Thee I must return, From Thee I came and backward yearn My very fount and source to find. Not mine the merit that I stand Before Thee thus, since all is Thine, The glorious work of force divine, No product of my heart or hand. My soul to Thee was humbly bent Even before she had her birth, Before upon the sphere of earth Her heav’nly greatness made descent."

"Lord, what is man but flesh and blood? O weep! His days unconscious stray, like shadows sweep, His stroke comes sudden and he falls on sleep. Lord, what is man? A carcase fouled and trodden, A noxious creature brimming with deceit, A fading flow’r that shrivels in the heat. Wert Thou as stern as he with sin is sodden, How could he face Thy wrath? Ah, see him creep: His stroke comes sudden and he falls on sleep. Lord, what is man? He rolls in mud and lies, Insanely fouls the clean and spoils the fine. Did but Thy justice follow his design, Mown like the grass were he, or herb that dies. In doom’s dark hour be then Thy pity deep, His stroke comes sudden and he falls on sleep. Lord, what is man? Proud, born in sin, defiant, His drink is violence and on wrong he feeds. Sea-tossed and furnace-fierce, if judged by deeds He would be crushed like weakling fighting giant. Thy mercy therefore let his prayer reap, His stroke comes sudden and he falls on sleep. Lord, what is man? A trickster vile, abhorred. If Thou shouldst deal with him in equity, A mouldered robe, a scattered cloud were he. Therefore forgiveness is his best award. His base is dust, his form a clayey heap, His stroke comes sudden and he falls on sleep. Lord, what is man? A tree despoiled, mere stubble Its only fruit. Didst Thou his sin repay, He like a snail or wax would melt away. Therefore forgive, nor press him in his trouble. Moth-like he rots, old joys he can but weep, His stroke comes sudden and he falls on sleep. Lord, what is man? A lonely creature driven Like fallen leaf, bemocked by empty words, As full of guile as basket is of birds. His rottenness would swift as smoke be riven, Didst Thou his measure, not Thy measure keep. His stroke comes sudden and he falls on sleep."

"THE DAY OF JUDGMENT - Propound a mystery, O my tongue, and give praise to God, For He hath delivered me and exalted my horn. Awake, my heart, and turn to the Almighty, And in awe of His anger let my hand be lifted to Him. Set the Most High before thee, and know that every thought And every hidden imagining are to Him not hidden. Dread the day of His wrath, and the dreadful position Wherein is help or refuge for no creature. On the day He shall judge the peoples and destroy beings And wither all His adversaries as with the fiery blast of his nostrils And decree the fate of all potentates, officers and rulers, Nor pay regard to mighty princes. And destroy tyrants and cut off the scornful, The proud and presumptuous who rely on the preciousness of their palanquin; Who have forgotten their Creator and put their trust in their riches And prided themselves above high God, Who humbleth and uplifteth, And have rebelled against their Master, With their host and their multitude, And the silver they have acquired, and the fine gold and sapphires, And have built structures, and carved out windows, And erected palaces, and battlements and chambers, Nor remember the Almighty, But wax fat in the abundance of power, And speak arrogantly to Him And roar like young lions. But He is great and fearful, And girded about with might; He calleth the generations And from Him are the hill-tops. Doth He not regard the lowly, And abase every one that is proud? He will raise up the broken pauper And lift him from the dunghill. Woe to them for this, When their Creator shall sit in judgment, To take vengeance on them, their grown and their little ones, And they shall fall into the net, weeping bitterly, And when quaffing the cup of foaming wine Shall drain only dregs, And shall be consumed in their iniquity, And their riches shall not profit them, And all they build shall be upset As though overthrown by strangers. And the God of the ages will abhor the man of blood And will break the haughty Like a potter’s vessel, And will bring low their pride And silence their psaltery And make their voice sound Like a ghost from the dust, And demolish their battlements And their houses of pleasure, And make over their inheritance To strangers and aliens, And the gadfly shall sting them To determined destruction, And they shall be trodden of passers-by Like a ground or a street. Therefore turn ye from them and their counsels, Nor vie with them Lest your fate be as that of these arrogant."

"Strayed in mid-youth, rouse up, nor sleep, for lo! The days of youth like clouds of smoke will pass. Ere evening falls, thou shalt be withered grass, Though morning saw thee like a lily blow. Why waste on ancestors a heated breath, Or note which progeny was Abraham’s? Whether his food be herbs or Bashan rams, Man, wretched wight, is on his way to death."

"THE DWELLERS IN CLAY - O habitants of homes of clay, Why lift ye such a swelling eye, Ye are but as the beasts that die, What do ye boast of more than they? It is for us the wiser part To know ourselves for worms whose doom Is in the clay to find a tomb, Nor, falsely proud, exalt our heart. What shall aught profit mortal man Whose latter end adjoins the grave? Here were no change, though Nature gave A thousand years to be his span. Should he as rebel walk, behold Earth opens hot to swallow up His ashes in her flaming cup And vain is all his might of gold. Unhappy man, with chastened soul, And opened eyes, true vision win, To see thy lowly origin And thy inevitable goal. To what may be compared thy lot? Thou art, O weak and wretched wight, The gourd that shot up in the night And in the morning it was not. To be unborn were better worth Than thus to reap distress and pain, For how essay great things to gain When struggling in this snare of earth? A fallen creature from the womb, Thou sinnest for a slice of bread, And in a moment’s wildered dread, Can live through every plague and gloom While spirit with thy body links, With living light shall glow thy flesh, But should the soul desert its mesh, To mire and sliminess it sinks. Behold no jot with thee will stay Of all the glory now so great, Strangers shall seize thy loved estate, And empty thou shalt go away. Thy soul thou gavest o’er to lust, Nor pondered on this bitter truth. But if thou sinnest in thy youth, What wilt thou do when thou art dust? O let the wicked turn aside, And take, O King, the path to Thee. Perchance the Rock will heed the plea, And from His wrath the sinner hide. O haughty-souled, come gather all, Remember and stand fast and raise Your heart and hands in common praise And thus to God in heaven call: "Woe to our souls, and wellaway For all the sins that we have sinned, Alas, we have pursued the wind And like to sheep have gone astray. "What favour can we ask or grace? The wave of sin has overflowed Our heads, and heavy is our load Of guilt, how dare we lift our face? "Draw up Thy people from the pit, Thou Ruler of the depth and height, Stiff-necked were we in Thy despite, Yet of Thy mercies bate no whit "But shed Thy sweet compassion o’er The people knocking at Thy gate, Thou art the Master of our fate, And unto Thee our eyes upsoar.""

"Almighty God, who sufferest Thyself To be entreated, and who payest heed Unto the poor, how long wilt Thou from me Be far and hidden? Night and day I turn And with a steadfast heart I call to Thee, And pour incessant gratitude for Thy Excelling goodness. O my King, with pain For Thee my heart is torn, in Thee it trusts. Dreaming this shut-in dream, it looks to Thee For life’s interpretation. This I ask, This is the plea to which I beg assent, My sole petition, neither more nor less."

"The seven heavens cannot Thee enfold, Sustained by Thee, they do not Thee sustain. They hymn Thee since Thou madest them of old, And when they perish, Thou shalt still remain, O mighty God! The messengers of heaven Thee revere. They stand to praise Thee in Thine inmost shrine, Yet from beholding Thee they shrink in fear, For how behold the dazzling dread Divine? O Lord, my God! What voice is this that singeth without cease And spends in song to Thee its nights and days? But Thou, omnipotence beyond increase, Art high—I know—uplifted over praise, O Lord, my God! So great Thy majesty and manifold, How canst Thou lodge in tabernacle’s span? Such glory no circumference can hold, For Thou art vastly mightier than man, O Lord, my God! He at whose feet celestial creatures creep A day of liberation will proclaim, And from all corners call his scattered sheep, However sorry-looking they or lame, The Lord, my God!"

"Ask of Me, beautiful mouth, What dost thou ask of Me? For thy suppliant cry Hath ascended on high Inclining My ear to thy plea. First with the lion we met, Next came the leopard’s leap, We were fain to take flight From our garden’s delight And into a hiding-place creep. Hardly these creatures had passed, Sated with Judah’s spoil, Than the wild ass we feared Out of midnight appeared To trample and dwell on our soil. Ishmael’s offspring command Back to his Arab land, As his mother of old To her mistress was told To return and submit to her hand. "

"Forget thy affliction, and cease supplication, Recall thy release from Egyptian rod, The hand is not short that hath laid earth’s foundation, Who stretched out the heavens remaineth thy God. And at thy due season the glory that dwelleth In Zion shall rest on thy head that great day, When moonlight as sunlight in radiance welleth And sunlight shall glow with a sevenfold ray."

"TO MY SOUL - Be wise, my precious soul, and haste To bow to God in reverence. Let vanities no more be chased, Bethink thee ere this world lies waste, The world that waits thee going hence. Thy life to God’s life is akin, Concealed like His beneath a veil, Since He is free of flaw or sin, Like purity thou too canst win, To reach perfection wherefore fail? And as His arm upholds the sky, Do thou thy dumb brute body lift, Thou, soul, to which we can descry No like on earth—O magnify The God of whom thou art the gift. Greet then, my soul, thy Rock with praise, Hail him, my inmost heart, with song Unceasingly throughout my days, And let all souls their voices raise My benediction to prolong."

"Look up to thy Maker, O soul of mine, Thy Creator remember whilst thou art young; Cry morning and night to His grace divine, And in all thy songs let His name be sung. On earth the Lord is thy portion and cup, And when from thy body thou goest lone, A place for thy rest He hath builded up And made thee a nest underneath His throne. Wherefore morning and night I will bless my Lord, And from all that hath breath let His praise be poured."

"Root of our saviour, The scion of Jesse, Till when wilt thou linger, Invisible, buried? Bring forth a flower, For winter is over! Why should a slave rule The lineage of princes, A hairy barbarian Replace our young sovran? The years are a thousand Since, broken and scattered, We wander in exile, Like waterfowl lost in The depths of the desert. No man in white linen Reveals at our asking The end of our Exile. God sealed up the matter, And closed up the knowledge."

"Let earth and sea and the Temple’s throng And every highway become exalted, The world and all who therein do dwell, And every creature of fen and fell, In a melody nevermore halted, With forest and meadow and all their yield, Fruit of the woodland and fruit of the field, Unite in an ecstasy deep and strong In a rapturous endeavour, With a single mouth in a single song, Their spheral symphony to prolong, And bless the Lord who is blessed forever. The pundits vainly enquire His source, His secret, the wonder of His foundation. Where is His throne, or His light, or His force, And who in His council dares take a station? Sublime and hidden beyond our quest, His essence unfathomed and unexpressed, Even in sacred song and story, This to declare is our sole resource, That all the earth in its daily course Overflows with its Maker’s glory. This is the reach of our poor endeavour, Then who beside shall by man be blest? For He is One on His throne above, And His lonely sway shall be shaken never. Then let all creatures in awe and love, Man or insect, or serpent or dove, Now bless the Lord who is blessed forever. His bands of ministers gleam and flash Like living coals or with flames for features, Squadrons of four-winged cherubim dash, By the steps of His throne are the mystic creatures With their chariot-wheels, and at His behest, They run in His service with holy zest, All united together run, One in song and in service one, Every being of all the blest In a loyalty naught can sever. Wherefore sing to Him every breast, Tranced in His adoration rest, And bless the Lord who is blessed forever. His domain is established, His Peace secure, On the beams of the earth and the clouds He rides, The homesick exile he vows to cure, Who now amid thistle and thorn resides, And the day of redemption in trust abides. Yea, the remnant shall yet as a people endure, Regathered, forgiven, when He decides, And live as a nation unique and pure, For when it was chosen and glorified, Its mission it knew and its task descried, That the love of God be its high endeavour, And its purpose His reverence to assure, The world to His worship by faith allure, And bless the Lord who is blessed forever."

"My heart craves to praise Thee, But I am unable. Would my understanding Were as spacious as Solomon’s. Without it my wisdom As yet ill suffices For expounding Thy wonders And Thy deeds of beneficence Wrought for me and all mankind. Without Thee all’s hopeless, And where is the rock Sustaining, suspending The weight of the world? I am as one orphaned; Nay, on Thee I am cast. What then can I do But look to Thee, wait on Thee, In whose hand is the spirit Of all that is living, In whose hand is the breath Of all the creation?"