The Man Of Uz Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHIJKKLM NOPKQRSTUVWXWHSWKYZL PUWWA2WB2C2D2WE2WF2G 2WH2I2SJ2K2T PWL2WM2N2AWD2O2P2D2Q 2WWJ2WR2S2D2D2T2WKWD 2EWU2V2W2X2WKY2SK G2Z2A3B3WWK KD2L2C3C3D3D2WC3E3HK KF3WE3WD2KC3C3SC3E3 WF2S HWG3SBC3D2SC3C3C3WC3 WC3C3SC3G3H3I3C3J3K3 C3WC3C3L3M3KSC3SWC3W WN3D2WC3WHB2SC3K WC3WC3WWD2C3KKWSC3C3 C3O3WC3P3D2WC3C3C3C3 Q3O3C3D2WC3C3A3D2WD2 C3C3N2KC3WA2C3D2ZC3C 3C3C3C3WWC3C3D2C3 C3C3C3C3WK3D2C3M2K3C 3R3WC3K3C3C3HKC3C3WK K3WS C3D2SWS3C3C3KD2WC3K3 C3C3C3C3WSC3C3Q3KC3W C3M3WT3D2C3WWWS B2WP2WC3C3U3KSWV3SC3 C3C3C3C3WXWKW3C3K3 WWJ3WK3C3D3C3D2N3C3W WWC3C3KC3C3C3C3C3WKX KK3WD2Q3HB2WWC3 X3WD2C3D2C3C3X2D2K3W D2Y3C3C3WSD2Z3D2C3KD 2 WX3KC3WC3WZ3C3A4WD2C 3WWX3B4KC3A4KWK3X2D2 C3C3D2C3KWD2X3D2C3S3 WD2B3C3WWC3C3C3Q3HSM 2WWWC3D2C3KC3C3D2D2C 3C3C3WKC3H3KR3HC3C3C 3C3C3C3C3C3C3C4C3WC3 C3C3X2C3KWD2C3WK3D2W C3C3D2C3D2SWSKD2D2KC 3KKC3HD4WKC3C3WK3D2W WC3D2HC3C3KWWC3HC3KK WC3KC3C4C3SWKC3SHSKW WC3C3HWWD2C3B2KKWR3C 3C3Q3K3WKC3C3C3C3C3C 3E4WWD2WD2SD2WX3WC3X C3D2X3WC3K3KK3C3Z3C3 WWWC3C3SWF4SD2C3C3S C3KK3WSC3HWKP3C3C3C3 C3WWC3WK3C3HC3K3HWWC 3C3WC3 Q3C3S3F4C3 T3KG4KC3WMC3C3K3B2KC 3C3C3WC3C3KC3C3WQ3WC 3C3 ZR3KC3Q3WHD2WC3KL3F3 N3HWWC3S B2SC3C3D3C3WWC3 C3WQ3M2K3ZWKR3B4C3S C3C3SSC3C3WC3D2H4WC3 C3K3SWWD2C3C3KD2C3WW WWP2C3C3D2C3C3C3WD2W SC3WD2 W B4C3SHSD2C3K3WHWD2WC 3WC3C3WC3CYWD2L3C3WQ 3C3WWC3HKC3C3C3I4HD2 B2K3C3C3C3KW M2 WQ3SC3KD2KC3SD2WKJ4S WP3WK3S3XWC3C3WWC3D2 WKC3WK3D2K4WS3D2N3C3 C3C3C3KX3KC3WWHWKC3C 3HWSP3WSHKWWWKC3WWC3 WKWC3SWA3D2C3WD2C3WW WWX2K3XX2WWB2C3C3SL4 M4C3K3WWWWQ3WHC3WSC3 WC3WKD2D2C3X3KX2K3D2 C3C3C3D2C3K3C3WWN3D2 D2KC3WT2P2C3KP2SC3F3 N3SWC3WWC3HC3D2WWK3K C3WX2SC3KWC3D2C3C3C3 D2D2WL3C3P2C3C3KC3C3 C3C3C3WC3C3C3C3C3C3K K C3C3C3X3C3K3C3C3C3C3 C3C3C3 X2C3KZWC3K3N4Q3S3C3W C3C3C3F3A3W WP3C3WC3WK3HWKC3B2C3 WWWC3C3C3WKWC3D2C3WC 3WD2WWK3C3 C3M2C3K3KKWC3SC3O4C3 C3C3WC3C3C3D2C3C3SHW P4WC3C3C3WWWWWWWK3C3 H3WB2KSQ4WK3WK3WWD2W C3KR4KMC3C3C3X2C3C3W KC3WC3KC3K3C3A3KC3L3 C3WC3WKC3ZWC3K3B2C3S 3WC3WK3KQ3C3WWC3WC3B XWC3S4D2WC3C3D2Q3C3C 3C3WC3WC3D2WC3C3C3WW C3SWT4WD2C3Y3C3WC3C3 B3C3C3WKWHR3SK3 KC3K3C3M2D2 X2C3D2HD2KKD3Q3C3WKK WD2HU4C3WV4WZ3C3D2D2 D3YW4WD2KC3WWP2SWD2K C3 D2C3WK3WHC3WKKC3HWC3 KWW C3KHC3C3K3WKWWWWC3C3 D2C3WKWMC3C3WKWC3C3Q 3 KWD2KC3WWC3ZWD2C3MKC 3WWKC3W

A JOYOUS FESTIVAL	A
The gathering back	B
Of scattered flowrets to the household wreath	C
Brothers and sisters from their sever'd homes	D
Meeting with ardent smile to renovate	E
The love that sprang from cradle memories	F
And childhood's sports and whose perennial stream	G
Still threw fresh crystals o'er the sands of life	H
Each bore some treasured picture of the past	I
Some graphic incident by mellowing time	J
Made beautiful while ever and anon	K
Timbrel and harp broke forth each pause between	K
Banquet and wine cup and the dance gave speed	L
To youthful spirits and prolong'd the joy	M
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The patriarch father with a chasten'd heart	N
Partook his children's mirth having God's fear	O
Ever before him Earnestly he brought	P
His offerings and his prayers for every one	K
Of that beloved group lest in the swell	Q
And surging superflux of happiness	R
They might forget the Hand from whence it came	S
Perchance displease the Almighty	T
Many a care	U
Had he that wealth creates Not such as lurks	V
In heaps metallic which the rust corrodes	W
But wealth that fructifies within the earth	X
Whence cometh bread or o'er its surface roves	W
In peaceful forms of quadrupedal life	H
That thronging round the world's first father came	S
To take their names 'mid Eden's tranquil shades	W
Ere sin was born	K
Obedient to the yoke	Y
Five hundred oxen turn'd the furrow'd glebe	Z
Where agriculture hides his buried seed	L
Waiting the harvest hope while patient wrought	P
An equal number of that race who share	U
The labor of the steed without his praise	W
Three thousand camels with their arching necks	W
Ships of the desert knelt to do his will	A2
And bear his surplus wealth to distant climes	W
While more than twice three thousand snowy sheep	B2
Whitened the hills Troops of retainers fed	C2
These flocks and herds and their subsistence drew	D2
From the same lord so that this man of Uz	W
Greater than all the magnates of the east	E2
Dwelt in old time before us	W
True he gave	F2
And faithfully the hireling his reward	G2
Counting such justice 'mid the happier forms	W
Of Charity which with a liberal hand	H2
He to the sad and suffering poor dispensed	I2
Eyes was he to the blind and to the lame	S
Feet while the stranger and the traveller found	J2
Beneath the welcome shelter of his roof	K2
The blessed boon of hospitality	T
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To him the fatherless and widow sought	P
For aid and counsel Fearlessly he rose	W
For those who had no helper His just mind	L2
Brought stifled truth to light disarm'd the wiles	W
Of power and gave deliverance to the weak	M2
He pluck'd the victim from the oppressor's grasp	N2
And made the tyrant tremble	A
To his words	W
Men listened as to lore oracular	D2
And when beside the gate he took his seat	O2
The young kept silence and the old rose up	P2
To do him honor After his decree	D2
None spake again for as a prince he dwelt	Q2
Wearing the diadem of righteousness	W
And robed in that respect which greatness wins	W
When leagued with goodness and by wisdom crown'd	J2
The grateful prayers and blessings of the souls	W
Ready to perish silently distill'd	R2
Upon him as he slept	S2
So as a tree	D2
Whose root is by the river's brink he grew	D2
And flourish'd while the dews like balm drops hung	T2
All night upon his branches	W
Yet let none	K
Of woman born presume to build his hopes	W
On the worn cliff of brief prosperity	D2
Or from the present promise predicate	E
The future joy The exulting bird that sings	W
Mid the green curtains of its leafy nest	U2
His tuneful trust untroubled there to live	V2
And there to die may meet the archer's shaft	W2
When next it spreads the wing	X2
The tempest folds	W
O'er the smooth forehead of the summer noon	K
Its undiscover'd purpose to emerge	Y2
Resistless from its armory and whelm	S
In floods of ruin ere the day decline	K
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Lightning and sword	G2
Swift messengers and sharp	Z2
Reapers that leave no gleanings In their path	A3
Silence and desolation fiercely stalk	B3
O'er trampled hills and on the blood stain'd plains	W
There is no low of kine or bleat of flocks	W
The fields are rifled and the shepherds slain	K
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The Man of Uz who stood but yestermorn	K
Above all compeers clothed with wealth and power	D2
To day is poorer than his humblest hind	L2
A whirlwind from the desert	C3
All unwarn'd	C3
Its fury came Earth like a vassal shook	D3
Majestic trees flew hurtling through the air	D2
Like rootless reeds	W
There was no time for flight	C3
Buried in household wrecks all helpless lay	E3
Masses of quivering life	H
Job's eldest son	K
That day held banquet for their numerous line	K
At his own house With revelry and song	F3
One moment in the glow of kindred hearts	W
The lordly mansion rang the next they lay	E3
Crush'd neath its ruins	W
He the childless sire	D2
Last of his race and lonely as the pine	K
That crisps and blackens 'neath the lightning shaft	C3
Upon the cliff with such a rushing tide	C3
The mountain billows of his misery came	S
Drove they not Reason from her beacon hold	C3
Swept they not his strong trust in Heaven away	E3
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List list the sufferer speaks	W
The Lord who gave	F2
Hath taken away and blessed be His name	S
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Oh Patriarch teach us mid this changeful life	H
Not to mistake the ownership of joys	W
Entrusted to us for a little while	G3
But when the Great Dispenser shall reclaim	S
His loans to render them with praises back	B
As best befits the indebted	C3
Should a tear	D2
Moisten the offering He who knows our frame	S
And well remembereth that we are but dust	C3
Is full of pity	C3
It was said of old	C3
Time conquer'd Grief But unto me it seems	W
That Grief overmastereth Time It shows how wide	C3
The chasm between us and our smitten joys	W
And saps the strength wherewith at first we went	C3
Into life's battle We perchance have dream'd	C3
That the sweet smile the sunbeam of our home	S
The prattle of the babe the Spoiler seiz'd	C3
Had but gone from us for a little while	G3
And listen'd in our fallacy of hope	H3
At hush of eve for the returning step	I3
That wake the inmost pulses of the heart	C3
To extasy till iron handed Grief	J3
Press'd down the nevermore into our soul	K3
Deadening us with its weight	C3
The man of Uz	W
As the slow lapse of days and nights reveal'd	C3
The desolation of his poverty	C3
Felt every nerve that at the first great shock	L3
Was paralyzed grow sensitive and shrink	M3
As from a fresh cut wound There was no son	K
To come in beauty of his manly prime	S
With words of counsel and with vigorous hand	C3
To aid him in his need no daughter's arm	S
To twine around him in his weariness	W
Nor kiss of grandchild at the even tide	C3
Going to rest with prayer upon its lips	W
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Still a new trial waits	W
The blessed health	N3
Heaven's boon thro' which with unbow'd form we bear	D2
Burdens and ills forsook him Maladies	W
Of fierce and festering virulence attack'd	C3
His swollen limbs Incessant grinding pains	W
Laid his strength prostrate till he counted life	H
A loathed thing Dire visions frighted sleep	B2
That sweet restorer of the wasted frame	S
And mid his tossings to and fro he moan'd	C3
Oh when shall I arise and Night be gone	K
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Despondence seized him To the lowliest place	W
Alone he stole and sadly took his seat	C3
In dust and ashes	W
She his bosom friend	C3
The sharer of his lot for many years	W
Sought out his dark retreat Shuddering she saw	W
His kingly form like living sepulchre	D2
And in the maddening haste of sorrow said	C3
God hath forgotten	K
She with him had borne	K
Unuttered woe o'er the untimely graves	W
Of all whom she had nourished shared with him	S
The silence of a home that hath no child	C3
The plunge from wealth to want the base contempt	C3
Of menial and of ingrate but to see	C3
The dearest object of adoring love	O3
Her next to God a prey to vile disease	W
Hideous and loathsome all the beauty marred	C3
That she had worshipped from her ardent youth	P3
Deeming it half divine she could not bear	D2
Her woman's strength gave way and impious words	W
In her despair she uttered	C3
But her lord	C3
To deeper anguish stung by her defect	C3
And rash advice reprovingly replied	C3
Pointing to Him who meeteth out below	Q3
Both good and evil in mysterious love	O3
And she was silenced	C3
What a sacred power	D2
Hath hallow'd Friendship o'er the nameless ills	W
That throng our pilgrimage Its sympathy	C3
Doth undergird the drooping and uphold	C3
The foot that falters in its miry path	A3
It grows more precious as the hair grows grey	D2
Time's alchymy that rendereth so much dross	W
Back for our gay entrustments shows more pure	D2
The perfect essence of its sanctity	C3
Gold unalloyed	C3
How doth the cordial grasp	N2
Of hands that twined with ours in school days now	K
Delight us as our sunbeam nears the west	C3
Soothing perchance our self esteem with proofs	W
That 'mid all faults the good have loved us still	A2
And quickening with redoubled energy	C3
To do or suffer	D2
The three friends of Job	Z
Who in the different regions where they dwelt	C3
Teman and Naamah and the Shuhite land	C3
Heard tidings of his dire calamity	C3
Moved by one impulse journey'd to impart	C3
Their sorrowing sympathy	C3
Yet when they saw	W
Him fallen so low so chang'd that scarce a trace	W
Remained to herald his identity	C3
Down by his side upon the earth they sate	C3
Uttering no language save the gushing tear	D2
Spontaneous homage to a grief so great	C3
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Oh Silence born of Wisdom we have felt	C3
Thy fitness when beside the smitten friend	C3
We took our place The voiceless sympathy	C3
The tear the tender pressure of the hand	C3
Interpreted more perfectly than words	W
The purpose of our soul	K3
We speak to err	D2
Waking to agony some broken chord	C3
Or bleeding nerve that slumbered Words are weak	M2
When God's strong discipline doth try the soul	K3
And that deep silence was more eloquent	C3
Than all the pomp of speech	R3
Yet the long pause	W
Of days and nights gave scope for troubled thought	C3
And their bewildered minds unskillfully	K3
Launching all helmless on a sea of doubt	C3
Explored the cause for which such woes were sent	C3
Forgetful that this mystery of life	H
Yields not to man's solution Passing on	K
From natural pity to philosophy	C3
That deems Heaven's judgments penal they inferr'd	C3
Some secret sin unshrived by penitence	W
That drew such awful visitations down	K
While studying thus the wherefore with vain toil	K3
Of painful cogitation lo a voice	W
Hollow and hoarse as from the mouldering tomb	S
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Perish the day in which I saw the light	C3
The day when first my mother's nursing care	D2
Sheltered my helplessness Let it not come	S
Into the number of the joyful months	W
Let blackness stain it and the shades of death	S3
Forever terrify it	C3
For it cut	C3
Not off as an untimely birth my span	K
Nor let me sleep where the poor prisoners hear	D2
No more the oppressor where the wicked cease	W
From troubling and the weary are at rest	C3
Now as the roar of waves my sorrows swell	K3
And sighs like tides burst forth till I forget	C3
To eat my bread That which I greatly feared	C3
Hath come upon me Not in heedless pride	C3
Nor wrapped in arrogance of full content	C3
I dwelt amid the tide of prosperous days	W
And yet this trouble came	S
With mien unmoved	C3
The Temanite reprovingly replied	C3
Who can refrain longer from words even though	Q3
To speak be grief Thou hast the instructor been	K
Of many and their model how to act	C3
When trial came upon them if their knees	W
Bow'd down thou saidst be strong and they obey'd	C3
But now it toucheth thee and thou dost shrink	M3
And murmuring faint The monitor forgets	W
The precepts he hath taught Is this thy faith	T3
Thy confidence the uprightness of thy way	D2
Whoever perish'd being innocent	C3
And when were those who walk'd in righteous ways	W
Cut off How oft I've seen that those who sow	W
The seeds of evil secretly and plow	W
Under a veil of darkness reap the same	S
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In visions of the night when deepest sleep	B2
Falls upon men fear seiz'd me all my bones	W
Trembled and every stiffening hair rose up	P2
A spirit pass'd before me but I saw	W
No form thereof I knew that there it stood	C3
Even though my straining eyes discern'd it not	C3
Then from its moveless lips a voice burst forth	U3
Is man more just than God Is mortal man	K
More pure than He who made him	S
Lo he puts	W
No trust in those who serve him and doth charge	V3
Angels with folly How much less in them	S
Dwellers in tents of clay whose pride is crush'd	C3
Before the moth From morn to eve they die	C3
And none regard it	C3
So despise thou not	C3
The chastening of the Almighty ever just	C3
For did thy spirit please him it should rise	W
More glorious from the storm cloud all the earth	X
At peace with thee new offspring like the grass	W
Cheering thy home and when thy course was done	K
Even as a shock of corn comes fully ripe	W3
Into the garner should thy burial be	C3
Beldv'd and wept of all	K3
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Mournful arose	W
The sorrowful response	W
Oh that my grief	J3
Were in the balance laid by faithful hands	W
And feeling hearts To the afflicted soul	K3
Friends should be comforters But mine have dealt	C3
Deceitfully as fails the shallow brook	D3
When summer's need is sorest	C3
Did I say	D2
Bring me a gift or from your flowing wealth	N3
Give solace to my desolate penury	C3
Or with your pitying influence neutralize	W
My cup of scorn poured out by abject hands	W
That thus ye mock me with contemptuous words	W
And futile arguments and dig a pit	C3
In which to whelm the man you call a friend	C3
Still darkly hinting at some heinous sin	K
Mysteriously concealed	C3
Writes conscious guilt	C3
No transcript on the brow Hangs it not out	C3
Its signal there altho' it seem to hide	C3
'Neath an impervious shroud	C3
Look thro' the depths	W
Of my unshrinking eye deep deep within	K
What see ye there what gives suspicion birth	X
As longs the laborer for the setting sun	K
Watching the lengthening shadows that foretell	K3
The time of rest yet day by day returns	W
To the same task again so I endure	D2
Wearisome nights and months of burdening woe	Q3
I would not alway live this loathed life	H
Whose days are vanity Soon shall I sleep	B2
Low in the dust and when the morning comes	W
And thro' its curtaining mists ye seek my face	W
I shall not be	C3
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Earnest the Shuhite spake	X3
How long shall these thy words like eddying winds	W
Fall empty on the ear	D2
Doth God pervert	C3
Justice and judgment If thy way was pure	D2
Thy supplication from an upright heart	C3
He would awake and make thy latter end	C3
More blest than thy beginning	X2
For inquire	D2
Of ancient times of History's honor'd scroll	K3
And of the grey hair'd fathers if our words	W
Seem light we who were born but yesterday	D2
Ask them and they shall teach thee as the rush	Y3
Or as the flag forsaken of the pod	C3
So shall the glory of the hypocrite	C3
Fade in its greenness	W
Tho' his house may seem	S
Awhile to flourish it shall not endure	D2
Even tho' he grasp it with despairing strength	Z3
It shall deceive his trust and pass away	D2
As fleets the spider's filmy web Behold	C3
God will not cast away the perfect man	K
Nor help the evil doer	D2
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In low tones	W
Sepulchral and with pain the sufferer spake	X3
I know that this is truth but how can man	K
Be just with God How shall he dare contend	C3
With Him who stretches out the sky and treads	W
Upon the mountain billows of the sea	C3
And sealeth up the stars	W
Array'd in strength	Z3
He passeth by me but I see Him not	C3
I hear His chariot wheels yet fear to ask	A4
Where goest Thou	W
If I indeed were pure	D2
And perfect like the model ye see fit	C3
To press upon me with your sharpest words	W
I would not in mine arrogance arise	W
And reason with Him but all humbly make	X3
Petition to my Judge	B4
If there were one	K
To shield me from His terrors and to stand	C3
As mediator I might dare to ask	A4
Why didst Thou give this unrequested boon	K
Of life to me unhappy My few days	W
Are swifter than a post As the white sail	K3
Fades in the mist as the strong eagle's wing	X2
Leaves no receding trace they flee away	D2
They see no good	C3
Hath not Thy mighty hand	C3
Fashion'd and made this curious form of clay	D2
Fenc'd round with bones and sinews and inspired	C3
By a mysterious soul Oh be not stern	K
Against Thy creature as the Lion marks	W
His destin'd prey	D2
Relent and let me take	X3
Comfort a little ere I go the way	D2
Whence I return no more to that far land	C3
Of darkness and the dreary shades of death	S3
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Scarce had he ceas'd ere Zophar's turbid thoughts	W
Made speed to answer	D2
Shall a tide of talk	B3
Wash out transgression If thou choose to set	C3
The truth at nought must others hold their peace	W
Hast thou not boasted that thy deeds and thoughts	W
Were perfect in the almighty Maker's sight	C3
Canst thou by searching find out God Behold	C3
Higher than heaven it is what canst thou do	C3
Deeper than deepest hell what canst thou know	Q3
Why wilt thou ignorantly deem thyself	H
Unblamed before Him	S
Oh that He would speak	M2
And put to shame thine arrogance	W
His glance	W
Discerns all wickedness all vain pretence	W
To sanctity and wisdom Were thine heart	C3
Rightly prepared and evil put away	D2
From that and from thy house then shouldst thou lift	C3
Thy spotless face clear as the noon day sun	K
Stedfast and fearless Yea thou shouldst forget	C3
Thy misery as waters that have past	C3
Away forever	D2
Thou shouldst be secure	D2
And dig about thee and take root and rest	C3
While those who scorn thee now with soul abased	C3
Should make their suit unto thee	C3
But the eyes	W
Of wicked men shall fail and as the groan	K
Of him who giveth up the ghost shall be	C3
Their frustrate hope	H3
Dejectedly as one	K
Who wearied in a race despairs to reach	R3
The destined goal nor yet consents to leave	H
His compeers masters of an unwon field	C3
Job said	C3
No doubt ye think to have attained	C3
Monopoly of knowledge and with you	C3
Wisdom shall die This modesty of creed	C3
Befits ye well Yet what have ye alledg'd	C3
Unheard before what great discoveries made	C3
Who knoweth not such things as ye have told	C3
Despised am I by those who call'd me friend	C3
In prosperous days Like a dim waning lamp	C4
About to be extinguished am I held	C3
By the dull minds of those who dwell at ease	W
Weak reasoners that ye are ye have essay'd	C3
To speak for God Suppose ye He doth need	C3
Such advocacy whose creative hand	C3
Holdeth the soul of every living thing	X2
And breath of all mankind	C3
He breaketh down	K
And who can build again Princes and kings	W
Are nothing in his sight Disrobed of power	D2
Ceaseless they wander and He heedeth not	C3
Those whom the world have worship'd seem as fools	W
He lifteth up the nations at His will	K3
Or sweeps them with his lightest breath away	D2
Like noteless atoms	W
Silence is for you	C3
The truest wisdom Creatures that ye count	C3
Inferior to yourselves who in thin air	D2
Spread the light wing or thro' the waters glide	C3
Or roam the earth might teach if ye would hear	D2
And be instructed by them	S
Hold your peace	W
Even tho' He slay me I will trust in Him	S
For He is my salvation He alone	K
At whose dread throne no hypocrite shall dare	D2
To stand or answer	D2
Man of woman born	K
Is of few days and full of misery	C3
Forth like a flower he comes and is cut down	K
He fleeth like a shadow What is man	K
That God regardeth him The forest tree	C3
Fell'd by the woodman may have hope to live	H
And sprout again and thro' the blessed touch	D4
Of waters at the root put forth new buds	W
And tender branches like a plant But man	K
Shorn of his strength doth waste away and die	C3
He giveth up the ghost and where is he	C3
As slides the mountain from its heaving base	W
Hurling its masses o'er the startled vale	K3
As the rent rock resumes its place no more	D2
As the departed waters leave no trace	W
Save the groov'd channels where they held their course	W
Among the fissur'd stones his form of dust	C3
With its chang'd countenance is sent away	D2
And all the honors that he sought to leave	H
Behind him to his sons avail him not	C3
He ceas'd and Eliphaz rejoin'd	C3
A man	K
Of wisdom dealeth not in empty words	W
That like the east wind stirs the unsettled sands	W
To profitless revolt Thou dost decry	C3
Our speech and proudly justify thyself	H
Before thy God He to whose searching eye	C3
Heavens' pure immaculate ether seems unclean	K
Ask of tradition ask the white hair'd men	K
Much older than thy father since to us	W
Thou deign'st no credence Say they not to thee	C3
All as with one consent the wicked man	K
Travaileth with fruitless pain a dreadful sound	C3
Forever in his ears the mustering tramp	C4
Of hostile legions on the distant cloud	C3
A far off echo from the woe to come	S
Such is his lot who sinfully contends	W
Against the just will of the Judging One	K
Lifting his puny arm in rebel pride	C3
And rushing like a madman on his doom	S
The wealth he may have gathered shall dissolve	H
And turn to ashes mid devouring flame	S
His branch shall not be green but as the vine	K
Casteth her unripe grapes as thro' the leaves	W
Of rich and lustrous hue the olive buds	W
Untimely strew the ground shall be his trust	C3
Who in the contumacy of his pride	C3
Would fain deceive both others and himself	H
To whom the Man of Uz	W
These occult truths	W
If such ye deem them I have heard before	D2
Oh miserable comforters I too	C3
Stood but your soul in my soul's stead could heap	B2
Vain bitter words and shake my head in scorn	K
But I would study to assuage your pain	K
And solace shed upon your stricken hearts	W
With balm drops of sweet speech	R3
Yet as for me	C3
I speak and none regard or drooping sit	C3
In mournful silence and none heed my woe	Q3
They smite me on the cheek reproachfully	K3
And slander me in secret though my cause	W
And witness rest with the clear judging Heaven	K
My record is on high	C3
Oh Thou whose hand	C3
Hath thus made desolate all my company	C3
And left me a poor childless man behold	C3
They who once felt it pride to call me friend	C3
Make of my name a by word which was erst	C3
Like harp or tabret to their venal lip	E4
Mine eye is dim with grief my wasted brow	W
Furrow'd with wrinkles	W
Soon I go the way	D2
Whence I shall not return The grave my house	W
Is ready for me In its mouldering clay	D2
My bed I make and say unto the worm	S
Thou art my sister	D2
With unpitying voice	W
Not comprehending Job the Shuhite spake	X3
How long ere thou shalt make an end of words	W
So profitless and vain Thou dost account	C3
Us vile as beasts But shall the stable earth	X
With all its rocks and mountains be removed	C3
For thy good pleasure	D2
See the light forsake	X3
The wicked man Darkness and loneliness	W
Enshroud his dwelling place His path shall be	C3
Mid snares and traps and his own counsel fail	K3
To guide him safely By the heel the gin	K
Shall seize him and the robber's hand prevail	K3
To rifle and destroy his treasure hoard	C3
Secret misgivings feed upon his strength	Z3
And terrors waste his courage He shall find	C3
In his own tabernacle no repose	W
Nor confidence His withering root shall draw	W
No nutriment and the unsparing ax	W
Cut off his branches From a loathing world	C3
He shall be chased away and leave behind	C3
No son or nephew to bear up his name	S
Among the people No kind memories	W
Shall linger round his ashes or refresh	F4
The bearts of men They who come after him	S
Shall be astonish'd at his doom as they	D2
Who went before him view'd it with affright	C3
Such is the lot of those who know not God	C3
Or wickedly renounce Him	S
	-
Earnestly	C3
Replied the suffering man	K
Ye vex my soul	K3
And break it into pieces These ten times	W
Have ye reproach'd me without sense of shame	S
Or touch of sympathy If I have err'd	C3
As without witness ye essay to prove	H
'Tis my concern not yours	W
But yet how vain	K
To speak of wrong or plead the cause of truth	P3
Before the unjust	C3
Can ye not understand	C3
God in his wisdom hath afflicted me	C3
Ilis hand hath reft away my crown and stripp'd	C3
Me of my glory Kindred blood vouchsafes	W
No aid or solace in my deep distress	W
Estrang'd and far away like statues cold	C3
Brethren and kinsfolk stand Familiar friends	W
Frown on me as a stranger They who dwell	K3
In my own house and eat my bread despise me	C3
I call'd my own tried servant but he gave	H
No answer or regard My maidens train'd	C3
For household service to perform my will	K3
Count me an alien even with my wife	H
My voice hath lost its power Young children rise	W
And push away my feet and mock my words	W
Yea the best loved most garner'd in my heart	C3
Do turn against me as a thing abhorr'd	C3
Have pity pity on me oh my friends	W
The hand of God hath smitten me	C3
	-
I know	Q3
That my Redeemer liveth and shall stand	C3
At last upon the earth and though in death	S3
Worms shall destroy this body in my flesh	F4
Shall I see God	C3
	-
	-
	-
This glorious burst of faith	T3
Springing from depths of misery and pain	K
Awed them a moment like the lightning's flash	G4
Cleaving the cloud But gathering strength again	K
They sought the conflict	C3
Thou who art so wise	W
Hast thou not learn'd how baseless is the joy	M
And boasting of the hypocrite His head	C3
Up to the heavens in excellence and pride	C3
May seem to mount yet shall he swiftly fall	K3
Leaving no trace Though still he toils to keep	B2
His sin a secret from his fellow men	K
Like a sweet stolen morsel hiding it	C3
Under his tongue yet shall the veil be rent	C3
God's fearful judgments shall make evident	C3
What he hath done in darkness Vipers' tongues	W
And the dire poison of the asp shall be	C3
His recompense Terrors shall strike him through	C3
An inward fire of sharp remorse unblown	K
By mortal hand shall on his vitals feed	C3
And all his strength consume His wealth shall fleet	C3
And they who trusted to become his heirs	W
Embrace a shadow for his goods shall flow	Q3
Away as the false brook forsakes its sands	W
This is the portion of the hypocrite	C3
The heritage appointed him by God	C3
	-
	-
	-
To Zophar answered Job	Z
Hear ye my speech	R3
And when 'tis done mock on Not unto man	K
Is my complaint For were it so my heart	C3
Would sink in darker depths of hopeless woe	Q3
Say ye that earth's 'prosperity' rewards	W
The righteous man Why do the wicked live	H
Grow old and magnify themselves in power	D2
Their offspring flourish round them their abodes	W
Are safe from fear Their cattle multiply	C3
And widely o'er the hills and pastures green	K
Wander their healthful herds Forth like a flock	L3
They send their little ones with dance and song	F3
Tabret and harp They spend their days in wealth	N3
And sink to slumber in the quiet grave	H
Yet unto God they said Depart from us	W
For we desire no knowledge of thy ways	W
Why should we serve the Almighty Who is he	C3
And what our profit if we pray to Him	S
	-
Close by these impious ones lies down to sleep	B2
One in the strength and glory of his prime	S
Whom sorrow never touch'd nor age impair'd	C3
And still another wan misfortune's child	C3
Nurtur'd in bitterness who never took	D3
His meat with pleasure Side by side they rest	C3
On Death's oblivious pillow Do ye say	W
Their varied lot below mark'd their deserts	W
In retribution just	C3
	-
	-
	-
But as for you	C3
With eyes so sharp for your own selfish ends	W
Who by the wayside ask where'er ye go	Q3
Where is the dwelling of the prince and seek	M2
Gain more than godliness I know full well	K3
Your deep contempt for one too poor to bribe	Z
Your false allegiance and the unkind device	W
Ye wrongfully imagine	K
Will ye teach	R3
Knowledge to God Doth He not wisely judge	B4
The highest and reserve the sons of guilt	C3
For the destruction that awaiteth them	S
	-
	-
	-
In quick rejoinder Eliphaz replied	C3
What is thy fancied goodness in the sight	C3
Of the Almighty Is it gain to Him	S
If thou art righteous Would it add to Him	S
Gladness or glory that thy ways should be	C3
What thou call'st perfect	C3
Rather turn thine eyes	W
Upon the record of thy sins and see	C3
Their countless number	D2
Hast thou taken a pledge	H4
From thy poor brother's hand or reft away	W
The garment from the shivering or withheld	C3
Bread from the hungry or the widow sent	C3
Empty away not given the weary soul	K3
What it implored nor bound the broken arm	S
Of the forsaken fatherless	W
For this	W
Have snares beset thee and a secret fear	D2
Dismay'd thy spirit and a rayless night	C3
Shut over thee	C3
Look to the height of heaven	K
Above the utmost star Is not God there	D2
Think'st thou that aught can intercept His sight	C3
Or bar His righteous judgment He who makes	W
The thickest clouds His footstool when He walks	W
Upon the circuit of the highest heavens	W
Acquaint thyself with Him and be at peace	W
Return to Him and He shall build thee up	P2
Take thou His precepts to thine inmost heart	C3
That thy lost blessings may revisit thee	C3
Put far away thy foster'd sins and share	D2
The swelling flood tide of prosperity	C3
Thou shalt have silver at thy will and gold	C3
The gold of Ophir in thy path shall lie	C3
As stones that pave the brooks	W
Make thou thy prayer	D2
And pay thy vows and He will hear thy voice	W
And give thee light and thy desires confirm	S
For He will save the humble and protect	C3
The innocent and still deliver those	W
Whose hands are pure	D2
	-
To whom the Man of Uz	W
	-
Oh that I knew where I might find my Judge	B4
That I might press even to His seat and plead	C3
My cause before Him Would He strike me dumb	S
With His great power Nay rather would he give	H
Strength to the weakness that would answer Him	S
Lo I go forward but He is not there	D2
And backward yet my eyes perceive Him not	C3
On the left hand His works surround me still	K3
But He is absent on the right I gaze	W
Yet doth He hide Himself	H
But well He knows	W
My way and when the time of trial's o'er	D2
And the refining fire hath purg'd the dross	W
I shall come forth as gold My feet have kept	C3
The path appointed nor from His commands	W
Unduly swerved for I have prized His word	C3
More than my needful food	C3
Yet He performs	W
What His wise counsel hath decreed for me	C3
Though sometimes sinks my soften'd heart beneath	C
The terror of His stroke	Y
There are who seize	W
With violence whate'er their eyes desire	D2
Gorging themselves upon the stolen flock	L3
And leaving desolate the rifled hut	C3
Of the defenceless Solitary ones	W
Hide from their robberies for forth they go	Q3
Into the wilderness their prey to hunt	C3
Like ravening beasts	W
There are who watch to slay	W
Rising before the dawn or wrapp'd in night	C3
Roaming with stealthy footstep as a thief	H
To smite their victims while the wounded groan	K
Struck by their fatal shaft	C3
There are who do	C3
Such deeds of utter darkness as detest	C3
The gaze of day Muffling their face they dig	I4
Their way to habitations where they leave	H
Shame and dishonor	D2
Though He seem to sleep	B2
God's eye is on their ways A little while	K3
They wrap themselves in secret infamy	C3
Or proudly flourish but as the tall tree	C3
Yields in a moment to the wrecking blast	C3
As 'neath the sickle falls the crisping corn	K
Shall they be swept away and leave no trace	W
	-
	-
	-
Bildad the Shuhite rose in act to speak	M2
	-
Dominion is with God and fear He makes	W
Peace in his own high places Dost thou know	Q3
The number of His armies Or on whom	S
His light ariseth not	C3
How then can man	K
Be justified with God or he be pure	D2
Born of a woman Lo the cloudless Moon	K
And yon unsullied stars are in His sight	C3
Dim and impure Can man who is a worm	S
Be spotless with his Maker	D2
Hark the voice	W
Of the afflicted man	K
How dost thou help	J4
Him that is powerless how sustain the arm	S
That fails in strength how counsel him who needs	W
Wisdom and how declare the righteous truth	P3
Just as it is	W
To Him who reads the soul	K3
Hades is naked and the realms of Death	S3
Have naught to cover them This pendent Earth	X
Hangs on his word in gathering clouds he binds	W
The ponderous waters till at his command	C3
They rend their filmy prison Day and night	C3
Await his nod to run their measured course	W
Heaven's pillars and its everlasting gates	W
Tremble at his reproof The cleaving sea	C3
And man's defeated pride confess his power	D2
Yet the same Hand that garnisheth the skies	W
Disdaineth not to fashion and sustain	K
The crooked serpent But how small a part	C3
Of all its works are understood by us	W
Dim dwellers in this lowly vestibule	K3
And by the thunders of mysterious power	D2
Still held in awe	K4
As the Eternal lives	W
Who hath bow'd down my soul as long as breath	S3
Inspires this mortal frame these lips shall ne'er	D2
Utter deceit nor cast away the wealth	N3
Of a good conscience While I live I'll hold	C3
Fast mine integrity nor justify	C3
The slanderous charges of a secret guilt	C3
Ye bring against me	C3
For what is the gain	K
Of the base hypocrite when God shall take	X3
Away his perjured soul Yourselves have seen	K
How often in this life the wicked taste	C3
Of retribution The oppressor bears	W
Sway for a while but look the downfall comes	W
His offspring shall not flourish nor his grave	H
Be wet with widow's tears	W
The unjust rich man	K
Heapeth up silver for a stranger's hand	C3
He hoardeth raiment with a miser's greed	C3
To robe he knows not who though he himself	H
Had grudg'd to wear it Boastfully he builds	W
A costly mansion to preserve his name	S
Among the people But like the slight booth	P3
Brief lodge of summer shall it pass away	W
Terrors without a cause disable him	S
And drown his courage Like a driven leaf	H
Before the whirlwind shall he hasten down	K
To a dishonor'd tomb Men shall rejoice	W
And clap their hands and hiss him from his place	W
When he departs	W
Surely there is a vein	K
For silver and a secret bed for gold	C3
Which man discovers Where the iron sleeps	W
In darkest chambers of the mine he knows	W
And how the brass is molten But a Mind	C3
Deeper than his close hidden things explores	W
Searching out all perfection	K
Earth unveils	W
The mystic treasures of her matron breast	C3
Bread for her children gems like living flame	S
Sapphires whose azure emulates the skies	W
And dust of gold Yet there's a curtain'd path	A3
Which the unfettered denizens of air	D2
Have not descried nor even the piercing eye	C3
Of the black vulture seen The lion's whelps	W
In their wide roaming nor their fiercer sire	D2
Have never trod it	C3
There's a Hand that bares	W
The roots of mountains at its will and cuts	W
Through rifted rocks a channel where the streams	W
And rivers freely flow an Eye that scans	W
Each precious thing	X2
But where doth Wisdom dwell	K3
And in what curtain'd chamber was the birth	X
Of Understanding	X2
The great Sea uplifts	W
Its hand in adjuration and declares	W
'Tis not with me and its unfathom'd deep	B2
In subterranean thunders echoing cry	C3
No not with me	C3
Offer ye not for them	S
Silver or Ophir's gold nor think to exchange	L4
Onyx or sapphire or the coral branch	M4
Or crystal gem where hides imprison'd light	C3
Nor make ye mention of the precious pearl	K3
Or Ethiopian topaz for their price	W
Transcendeth rubies or the dazzling ray	W
Of concentrated jewels	W
In what place	W
Are found these wondrous treasures Who will show	Q3
Their habitation which alike defies	W
The ken of those who soar or those who delve	H
In cells profound	C3
Death and destruction say	W
From their hoarse caverns We have heard their fame	S
But know them not	C3
Lo He who weighs the winds	W
Measures the floods controls the surging sea	C3
And points the forked lightnings where to play	W
He unto whom all mysteries are plain	K
All secrets open all disguises clear	D2
Saith unto man the questioner	D2
Behold	C3
The fear of God is wisdom and to break	X3
The sway of evil and depart from sin	K
Is understanding	X2
Anguish wrings my soul	K3
As in my hours of musing I restore	D2
The picture of my lost prosperity	C3
When round my side my loving children drew	C3
And from my happy home my steps were hail'd	C3
Where'er I went The fatherless and poor	D2
And he who had no helper welcomed me	C3
As one to right their wrongs and pluck the spoil	K3
From the oppressor's teeth Pale widows raised	C3
The glistening eye of gratitude and they	W
Whose sight was quench'd at my remembered tones	W
Pour'd blessings on me Overflowing wealth	N3
Brought me no titles that I held so dear	D2
As father of the poor and comforter	D2
Of all who mourn	K
When in the gate I sate	C3
The nobles did me honor and the wise	W
Sought counsel of me To my words the young	T2
Gave earnest heed the white hair'd men stood up	P2
And princes waited for my speech as wait	C3
The fields in summer for the latter rain	K
But now the children of base men spring up	P2
And push away my feet and make my name	S
A bye word and a mockery which was erst	C3
Set to the harp in song	F3
Because my wealth	N3
God hath resumed they who ne'er dared to claim	S
Equality with even the lowest ones	W
Who watch'd my flock they whom my menials scorned	C3
Dwellers in hovels feeding like the brutes	W
On roots and bushes of the wilderness	W
Despise me and in mean derision cast	C3
Marks of abhorrence at the fallen chief	H
Whom erst they fear'd	C3
Unpitied I endure	D2
Sickness and pain that ope the narrow house	W
Where all the living go My soul dissolves	W
And flows away as water like the owl	K3
In lone forgotten cavern I complain	K
For all my instruments of music yield	C3
But mournful sounds and from my organ comes	W
A sob of weeping	X2
I appeal to Him	S
Who sees my ways and all my steps doth count	C3
If I have walk'd with vanity or worn	K
The veil of falsehood or despised to obey	W
The law of duty if I basely prowl'd	C3
With evil purpose round my neighbor's door	D2
Or scorn'd my humblest menial's cause to right	C3
When he contended with me and complain'd	C3
Framed as he was of the same clay with me	C3
By the same Hand Divine or shunn'd to share	D2
Even my last morsel with the hungry poor	D2
Or shield the uncovered suppliant with the fleece	W
Of my own cherish'd flock	L3
If ere I made	C3
Fine gold my confidence or lifted up	P2
My heart in pride because my wealth was great	C3
Or when I saw the glorious King of Day	C3
Gladdening all nations and the queenly Moon	K
Walking in brightness was enticed to pay	C3
A secret homage 'twere idolatry	C3
Unpardonably great	C3
If I rejoiced	C3
In the affliction of mine enemy	C3
Or for his hatred breathed a vengeful vow	W
When trouble came upon him if I closed	C3
The inhospitable door against the foot	C3
Of stranger or of traveller or withheld	C3
Full nutriment from any who abode	C3
Within my tabernacle or refused	C3
Due justice even to my own furrow'd field	C3
Then let my harvest unto thistles turn	K
And rootless weeds o'ertop the beardless grain	K
	-
	-
	-
Then ceased the Man of Uz like one o'erspent	C3
Feeling the fallacy of argument	C3
With auditors like these his thoughts withdrew	C3
Into the shroud of silence and he spake	X3
No more unto them standing fix'd and mute	C3
Like statued marble	K3
Then as none replied	C3
A youthful stranger rose and while he stretch'd	C3
His hand in act to speak and heavenward raised	C3
His clear unshrinking brow he worthy seem'd	C3
To hold the balance of that high debate	C3
Still an indignant warmth with energy	C3
Of fervid eloquence his lips inspired	C3
	-
I said that multitude of days should bring	X2
Wisdom to man and so gave earnest heed	C3
To every argument And lo not one	K
Of all your speeches have convicted Job	Z
Or proved your theory that woes like his	W
Denote a secret guilt	C3
I listened still	K3
With that respect which youth doth owe to age	N4
And till ye ceased to speak refrain'd to show	Q3
Mine own opinion But there is a breath	S3
From the Almighty that gives life to thought	C3
And in my soul imprison'd utterance burns	W
Like torturing flame So will I give it vent	C3
Though I am young in years and ye are old	C3
And should be wise I will not shun to uphold	C3
The righteous cause nor will I gloze the wrong	F3
With flattering titles lest the kindling wrath	A3
Of an offended Maker sweep me hence	W
	-
Hearken O Job I pray thee to my words	W
For they are words of truth	P3
Thou hast assumed	C3
More perfect innocence than appertains	W
To erring man and eager to refute	C3
False accusation hast contemn'd the course	W
Of the All Merciful	K3
Why shouldst thou strive	H
With Him whose might of wisdom ne'er unveils	W
Its mysteries to man Yet doth He deign	K
Such hints and precepts as the docile heart	C3
May comprehend Sometimes in vision'd sleep	B2
His Spirit hovereth o'er the plastic mind	C3
Sealing instruction Or a different voice	W
Its sterner teaching tries His vigor droops	W
Strong pain amid the multitude of bones	W
Doth revel till his soul abhorreth meat	C3
His fair flesh wastes and downward to the pit	C3
He hourly hastens Holy Sympathy	C3
May aid to uphold him in its blessed arms	W
Kindly interpreting the Will Divine	K
With angel tenderness	W
But if the God	C3
Whose gracious ear doth hear the sigh of prayer	D2
Baptized with dropping tears perceives the cry	C3
Of humbled self abasing penitence	W
He casts away the scourge the end is gained	C3
Fresh as a child's the wither'd flesh returns	W
And life and health and joy are his once more	D2
With discipline like this He often tries	W
The creatures He hath made to crush the seeds	W
Of pride and teach that lowliness of soul	K3
Befitting them and pleasing in His sight	C3
	-
	-
	-
Oh Man of Uz if thou hast aught to add	C3
Unto thy argument I pray thee speak	M2
Fain would I justify thee	C3
Is it well	K3
To combat Him who hath the right to reign	K
Or even to those who fill an earthly throne	K
And wear a princely diadem to say	W
Ye are unjust	C3
But how much less to Him	S
The fountain of all power who heedeth not	C3
Earth's vain distinctions nor regards the rich	O4
More than the poor for all alike are dust	C3
And ashes in His sight	C3
Is it not meet	C3
For those who bear His discipline to say	W
I bow submissive to the chastening Hand	C3
That smites my inmost soul Oh teach me that	C3
Which through my blindness I have failed to see	C3
For I have sinn'd but will offend no more	D2
Say is it right Oh Job for thee to hold	C3
Thyself superior to the All Perfect Mind	C3
If thou art righteous what giv'st thou to Him	S
Who sits above the heavens Can He receive	H
Favor from mortals	W
Open not thy mouth	P4
To multiply vain words but rather bow	W
Unto the teaching of His works that spread	C3
So silently around His snows descend	C3
And make the green Earth hoary Chains of frost	C3
Straighten her breadth of waters Dropping rains	W
Refresh her summer thirst or rending clouds	W
Roll in wild deluge o'er her Roaming beasts	W
Cower in their dens affrighted while she quakes	W
Convuls'd with inward agony or reels	W
Dizzied with flashing fires	W
Again she smiles	W
In her recovered beauty at His will	K3
Maker of all things So He rules the world	C3
With wrath commingling mercy Who may hope	H3
With finite mind to understand His ways	W
So excellent in power in wisdom deep	B2
In justice terrible respecting none	K
Who pride themselves in fancied wisdom	S
Hark	Q4
On the discursive speech a whirlwind breaks	W
Tornadoes shake the desert thunders roll	K3
And from the lightning's startled shrine a voice	W
The voice of the Eternal	K3
Who is this	W
That darkeneth knowledge by unmeaning words	W
Gird up thy loins and answer	D2
Where wert thou	W
When the foundations of the earth were laid	C3
Who stretch'd the line and fix'd the corner stone	K
When the bright morning stars together sang	R4
And all the hosts that circle round the Throne	K
Shouted for joy	M
Whose hand controll'd the sea	C3
When it brake forth to whelm the new fram'd world	C3
Who made dark night its cradle and the cloud	C3
Its swaddling band commanding	X2
Hitherto	C3
Come but no further At this line of sand	C3
Stay thy proud waves	W
Hast thou call'd forth the morn	K
From the empurpled chambers of the east	C3
Or bade the trembling day spring know its place	W
Have Orion's depths been open'd to thy view	C3
And hast thou trod his secret floor or seen	K
The gates of Death's dark shade	C3
Where doth light dwell	K3
And ancient Darkness that with Chaos reign'd	C3
Before Creation Dost thou know the path	A3
Unto their house because thou then wert born	K
And is the number of thy days so great	C3
Show me the treasure house of snows Unlock	L3
The mighty magazines of hail that wait	C3
The war of elements	W
Who hath decreed	C3
A water course for embryo fountain springs	W
Mark'd out the lightning's path and bade the rain	K
O'erlook not in its ministries the waste	C3
And desolate plain but wake the tender herb	Z
To cheer the bosom of the wilderness	W
Tell me the father of the drops of dew	C3
The curdling ice and hoary frost that seal	K3
The waters like a stone and change the deep	B2
To adamant	C3
Bind if thou canst the breath	S3
And balmy influence of the Pleiades	W
Bring forth Mazzaroth in his time or guide	C3
Arcturus with his sons	W
Canst thou annul	K3
The fix'd decree that in their spheres detain	K
The constellations Will the lightnings go	Q3
Forth on thine errands and report to thee	C3
As loyal vassals	W
Who in dying clay	W
Infused the immortal principle of mind	C3
And made them fellow workers	W
If thou canst	C3
Number the flying clouds and gather back	B
Their falling showers when parch'd and cleaving earth	X
Implores their charity Wilt hunt the prey	W
With the stern forest king or dare invade	C3
The darkened lair where his young lions couch	S4
Ravenous with hunger	D2
Who the ravens feeds	W
When from the parent's nest hurl'd out they cry	C3
And all forsaken ask their meat from God	C3
Know'st thou the time when the wild goats endure	D2
The mother sorrow how their offspring grow	Q3
Healthful and strong uncared for and unstall'd	C3
Who made the wild ass like the desert free	C3
Scorning the rein and from the city's bound	C3
Turning triumphant to the wilderness	W
Lead to thy crib the unicorn and bind	C3
His unbow'd sinews to the furrowing plough	W
And trust him if thou canst to bring thy seed	C3
Home to the garner	D2
Who the radiant plumes	W
Gave to the peacock or the winged speed	C3
That bears the headlong ostrich far beyond	C3
The baffled steed and rider not withheld	C3
By the instinctive tenderness that chains	W
The brooding bird she scatters on the sands	W
Her unborn hopes regardless though the foot	C3
May trampling crush them	S
Hast thou given the Horse	W
His glorious strength and clothed his arching neck	T4
With thunder At the armed host he mocks	W
The rattling quiver and the glittering spear	D2
Prancing and proud he swalloweth the ground	C3
With rage and passionate desire to rush	Y3
Into the battle At the trumpet's sound	C3
And shouting of the captains he exults	W
Drawing the stormy terror with delight	C3
Into his fearless spirit	C3
Doth the Hawk	B3
In her migrations counsel ask of Thee	C3
Mounts the swift Eagle up at thy command	C3
Making her nest among the star girt cliffs	W
And thence undazzled by the vertic sun	K
Scanning the molehills of the earth or motes	W
That o'er her bosom move	H
Say wilt thou teach	R3
Creative Wisdom or contend with Him	S
The Almighty ordering all things at His will	K3
	-
	-
	-
Then there was silence till the chastened One	K
Murmured as from the dust	C3
Lo I am vile	K3
What shall I answer thee I lay my hand	C3
Upon my mouth Once have I dared to speak	M2
But would be silent now forevermore	D2
	-
Yet still in thunder from the whirlwind's wing	X2
Jehovah's voice demanded	C3
Wilt thou dare	D2
To disannul my judgments and above	H
Unerring wisdom and unbounded power	D2
Exalt thine own	K
Hast thou an arm like mine	K
Array thyself in majesty and look	D3
On all the proud in heart and bring them low	Q3
Yea deck thyself with glory cast abroad	C3
The arrows of thine anger and abase	W
The arrogant and send the wicked down	K
To his own place sealing his face like stone	K
Deep in the dust for then will I confess	W
Thy might and that thine own right hand hath power	D2
To save thyself	H
Hast seen my Behemoth	U4
Who on the grassy mountains finds his food	C3
And 'neath the willow boughs and reeds disports	W
His monstrous bulk	V4
His bones like brazen bars	W
His iron sinews cased in fearful strength	Z3
Resist attack Lo when he slakes his thirst	C3
The rivers dwindle and he thinks to draw	D2
The depths of Jordan dry	D2
Wilt cast thy hook	D3
And take Leviathan Wilt bind thy yoke	Y
Upon him as a vassal Will he cringe	W4
Unto thy maidens	W
See the barbed spear	D2
The dart and the habergeon are his scorn	K
Sling stones are stubble keenest arrows foil'd	C3
And from the plaited armor of his scales	W
The glittering sword recoils Where he reclines	W
Who is so daring as to rouse him up	P2
With his cold stony heart and breath of flame	S
Or to the cavern of his gaping jaws	W
Thick set with teeth draw near	D2
The Hand alone	K
That made him can subdue his baleful might	C3
	-
	-
	-
Jehovah ceas'd for the Omniscient Eye	D2
That scans the inmost thought of man discern'd	C3
Its work completed in that lowliness	W
Of deep humility which fits the soul	K3
For heavenly intercourse and renovates	W
The blessed image of obedient love	H
That Eden forfeited	C3
Out of the depths	W
Of true contrition sigh'd a trembling tone	K
In utter abnegation	K
I repent	C3
In dust and ashes I abhor myself	H
Thus the returning prodigal who cries	W
Unclothed and empty Father I have sinn'd	C3
And am not worthy to be called thy son	K
Finds full forgiveness and a free embrace	W
While the best robe his shrinking form enfolds	W
	-
But with this self abasement toward his God	C3
Job mingled tenderest regard for man	K
No longer with indignant warmth he strove	H
Against his false accusers or retained	C3
Rankling remembrance of the enmity	C3
That vexed his wounded soul	K3
With earnest prayers	W
And offerings he implored offended Heaven	K
To grant forgiveness to those erring friends	W
Paying with love the alienated course	W
Of their misguided minds	W
Heaven heard his voice	W
And with that intercession sweet return'd	C3
The sunbeams of his lost prosperity	C3
Back came his buried joys They had no power	D2
To harm a soul subdued The refluent tide	C3
Of wealth swept o'er him On his many hills	W
Gathered the herds and o'er his pastures green	K
Sported the playful lambs The tuneful voice	W
Of children fill'd his desolate home with joy	M
And round his household board their beauty gleam'd	C3
Making his spirit glad	C3
So full of days	W
While twice our span of threescore years and ten	K
Mark'd out its silvery chronicle of moons	W
Still to his knee his children's children climb'd	C3
To hear the wisdom he had learned of God	C3
Through the strong teaching both of joy and woe	Q3
	-
	-
	-
Nor had this sublunary scene alone	K
Witness'd his trial Doubt ye not that forms	W
To earth invisible were hovering near	D2
With the sublime solicitude of Heaven	K
For he the bold bad Spirit in his vaunting pride	C3
Of impious revolt had dared to say	W
Unto the King of Kings	W
Stretch forth thy hand	C3
And take away all that he hath and Job	Z
Will curse Thee to Thy face	W
Methinks we hear	D2
An echo of angelic harmony	C3
From that blest choir who struck their harps with joy	M
That from the Tempter's ordeal he had risen	K
An unhurt victor Round the Throne they pour'd	C3
Their gratulations that the born of clay	W
Tho' by that mystery bow'd which ever veils	W
The inscrutable counsels of the All Perfect One	K
Might with the chieftain of the Rebel Host	C3
Cope unsubdued and heavenward hold his way	W

Lydia Howard Sigourney

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