By the Sea, and Other Verses

<h2><SPAN name="VISIONS" id="VISIONS">VISIONS</SPAN></h2> <div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">I saw when Israel toiled and groaned beneath the Pharoah's rod,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And in his hopeless bondage moaned his helpless prayer to God.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">I saw when from the river's brink the infant leader rose,<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</SPAN></span> <span class="i0">Who, reared in Egypt's royal court, still felt his brothers' woes.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">I heard him at the burning bush his swift excuses bring:<br/></span> <span class="i0">"Who, who am I, that I should stand before the Egyptian king?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"And who am I that I should lead the people of thy choice?<br/></span> <span class="i0">My warning word they will not heed, nor hearken to my voice.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"And who am I that I should move a monarch to relent?<br/></span> <span class="i0">I, but a man, and slow of speech, nor wise, nor eloquent."<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">I marked the answer: "Plead no more thy vain excuse to me;<br/></span> <span class="i0">I am the Lord; my servant thou; my glory thou shalt see.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"I am the Lord; the power is mine; 'tis thine to hear and do;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The Lord almighty is to save, by many or by few."<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The man of doubt exchanged his fears for faith in God and right,<br/></span> <span class="i0">While meek obedience on his brow sat like a crown of light.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The slow of speech grew eloquent, till Israel gladly heard;<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</SPAN></span> <span class="i0">And bolder waxed the Leader, till the king's hard heart was stirred,<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And he in fierce displeasure drove the captives from his land;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Not knowing their deliverance was all divinely planned.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Down the long line of two-score years I looked and saw at last,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The blissful view from Pisgah's height; the Jordan safely passed;<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And heard&mdash;as Memnon's harp had caught the sweet enchanting strain,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And sent adown the waves of time brave Miriam's glad refrain&mdash;<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"Sing, for the Lord hath triumphed; sing, great wonders can he do;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The Lord is mighty and can save by many or by few."<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">I saw again, when sin-enslaved, by Jabin's hand oppressed,<br/></span> <span class="i0">A people's cry went up to God for rescue and for rest.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Then up rose Deborah, judge and seer, with all her valiant band,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And drove the oppressor from her gates, his chariots from her land.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And Jael, wife of Heber, slew his captain with the sword;<br/></span> <span class="i0">So woman's hand achieved that day the victory for the Lord.<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And woman's voice extolled in song the great Deliverer's name:&mdash;<br/></span> <span class="i0">"Praise God! He hath avenged His own, for willingly they came.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"The mountains melt before His face, the tribes their strength renew;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The Lord is mighty and doth save by many or by few."<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">I saw when Gideon led his band down to the water's bank<br/></span> <span class="i0">To prove and set them in array, as man by man they drank,<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And with the handful chosen thus went forth against the foe,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And vanquished all the Midian host, and laid their princes low.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Not with the thousands called from far, who pitched by Harod's well;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Nor yet the undismayed who stood when the faint-hearted fell;<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">But "Now, with these three hundred men, go forward," said the Lord;<br/></span> <span class="i0">"Do thou thy part, let them do theirs, trust, and obey my word."<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Their torches flashed like dancing flames, their trumpets loudly blew;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Strange warfare! but the Lord can save by many or by few.<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Once more I saw when Israel quailed before Philistia's pride;<br/></span> <span class="i0">While great Goliath, day by day, Jehovah's power defied.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The weak and timid fled away, the valiant shrank with fear;&mdash;<br/></span> <span class="i0">'Twas threatened death or dire defeat, and life and fame are dear.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Even Saul, their chosen king, forgot (admiring Israel's boast!)<br/></span> <span class="i0">That he stood head and shoulders high above his martial host.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"And are there none," he cried, "who dare to meet this vaunting foe?<br/></span> <span class="i0">And must the banner of our God trail in dishonor low?"<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Then forth there came a ruddy youth: "That banner I'll defend;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Be it not said our God hath none on whom He may depend.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"Let no heart fail to-day because of this Philistine's boast;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The battle is the Lord's and He will vanquish this proud host."<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Then spake he to the giant foe: "A loyal servant I<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of Israel's God, whose holy name thou darest to defy.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"In that dread name I charge thee stand, and shield thee as thou may;<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</SPAN></span> <span class="i0">The fowls of air, the beasts of earth shall feast on thee to-day."<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">'Twas but a pebble from the brook, sent by a loyal will;<br/></span> <span class="i0">But sword and spear not mightier were God's purpose to fulfil.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">For one may chase a thousand, and ten thousand flee from two;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The God of right is strong to save by many or by few.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i10">*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Years, ages pass and now I see a land beloved and fair;<br/></span> <span class="i0">And lo! a cruel enemy hath gained possession there.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The riches of this goodly land into his coffers pour;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Insatiate and unscrupulous, his constant cry is "More!"<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">"More money clinking in my till, more men&mdash;my licensed prey;<br/></span> <span class="i0">More <i>boys</i> to feed my traffic when these men have passed away."<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Thus man is robbed of purse and soul, home of its peace and joy;<br/></span> <span class="i0">The wife of husband is bereft, the mother of her boy.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The land doth mourn. On every side the spoiler hath his way;<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</SPAN></span> <span class="i0">No past oppression hath surpassed this vision of to-day.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And who, like Moses, will exchange his self-distrust and fear<br/></span> <span class="i0">For faith to meet the encroaching foe and check his bold career?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And who, like Deborah, will arise and lead a valiant band<br/></span> <span class="i0">To drive the Tyrant from her gates, the Traffic from her land?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Who will, like Gideon and his men, the light of truth dare throw<br/></span> <span class="i0">On darkest evil, and the trump of coming victory blow?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Or who, like David, will come forth in God's great name, alone,<br/></span> <span class="i0">And lay the boastful giant low, as once with sling and stone?<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">When Avarice and unholy Pride against the good contend,<br/></span> <span class="i0">The battle is the Lord's and He His people will defend.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">The great Red Sea of wrong, while He doth pass, shall stand aside;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Mountains shall bow before Him, and proud Jordan's waves divide.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Each epoch hath its burning bush, and each its palm-tree shade;<br/></span><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</SPAN></span> <span class="i0">And each its oak of Ophrah, where the pledge of peace is made.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And each its fold, where kingly soul in shepherd guise is found;<br/></span> <span class="i0">And when the Master calleth there the place is "holy ground."<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Holy the place; but whose the hour? perchance He calleth <i>thee</i>,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Or <i>thee</i>; who, who will answer now, "Lord, here am I; send me?"<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">O, for the love of land and home, make answer brave and true;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Our God is mighty still to save, by many or by few.<br/></span></div> </div> <hr class="chap" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />