Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-09-20
for The 9celaimrrs.
GODS FIRST TEMPLES.

The groves were Gods first temples.
ere man learn'd
To hew the shaft, and lay the arci-
trave,
And spread the roof above them, ere
he framed
The lofty vault, to gather and roll
back
The sound of anthems, in the darkling
wood,
Amidst the cool and silence. he knelt
down
And offer'd to the Mightiest solemn
thanks
And supplication. For his simple
heart
Might not resist the sacred influences
That, from the Silly twilight of the
place,
And from the gray old trunks, that,
high in heaven,
Mingled their mOssy bOughs, and from
the sound
OF the invisible breath. that sway'd
at once
All their green tops, stole over him.
and how'd
His spirit with the thought of bound
less Power
And inaccessible Majesty. All, why
neglect
Gods ancient Sanctuaries, and adore
Only among the crowd, and under
roofs
That our frail hands have raised?
Let me, at least,
Here, in the shadow of the ancient
wood,
Offer one hymn; thrice. happy. if it
find
in His ear.
Father Thy hand
Hath reared these venerable columns:
Thou
Didst weave this verdant roof. Thou
didSt look down
Upon the naked earth, and forthwith
rose
All these fair ranks Of trees. They
in Thy sun
Budded, and shook their green leaves
in Thy breeze,
And shot toward heaven. The CEN
tury-living crow,
Whose birth was in their tops, grew
old and died
Among their branches, till at last they
stood,
AS now they stand, massy and tall
and dark,
Fit shrine for humble worshiper to
hold
with his Maker.
Here are seen
NO traces Of mans pomp or pride;
no silks
Rustic. no jewels shine, nor envious
eyes
no fantastic carvings
show
The boast of our vain race to change
the form
OF Thy fair works But Thou art here;
Thou fill'st
The solitude. Thou art in the soft
That run along the SUBMITS Of these
In music; Thou art in the cooler
That. from the inmost darkness OF
the place,
Comes. scarcely felt; the barky trunks,
the ground,
The fresh. moist ground, are all in
stinct with Thee.
Here is continual worship; Nature
here,
In the tranquility that Thou dost love,
Enjoys Thy presence. Noiselessly
around,
From perch to perch the solitary bird
Passes: and yon clear spring, that,
midst it's herbs.
Wells softly forth, and visits the
strong roots
OF half the mighty forests, tells no
tale
OF all the good it does.
Thou hast not left
Thyself without a witness, in these
shades,
OF Thy perfections. Grandeur,
strength, and grace
Are here to speak of Thee. This
mighty oak
BY whose immovable stem / stand.
and seem
annihilated,-not a prince,
In all the proud old world beyond the
deep,
Ere wore his crown as loftily as he
Wears the green corOnal Of leaves
with which
Thy hand has graced him. Nestled
at his root
Is beauty. such as blooms not in the
glare
Of the broad sun. That delicate forest
flower
With scented breath, and looks so like
a smile,
Seems, as it issues from the shape
less mould,
An emanation of tn indwc!linc life,
A visible token of the upholding love,
That are the soul of this wide Uni
verse.
MY heart is awed within me when
I think
OF the great miracle that still goes on,
In silence, round me,-the perpetual
work
OF Thy creation, finish'd. yet renew'd
Forever. Written on Thy works /
read
The lesson of Thy own eternity
Lo! all grow old and die; but see,
again,
How. on the faltering footsteps of de-
cay,
Youth presses-ever gay and beautiful
youth
In all its beautiful forms. These lofty
Wave net less proudly than their an
ceStors
Moulder beneath them.
O. there is not lost
One of Earth's charms: upon her
bosom yet.
After the flight of untold centuries,
The freshness of her far beginning
lies.
And yet shall lie. Life mocks the
idle hate
OF his arch enemy Death; yea, seats
himself
Upon the sepulchre. and blooms and
smiles.
And of the triumphs of his ghastly
foe
Makes his own nourishment. For he
came forth
From Thine own bosom. and shall
have no end.
o, God. when Thou
Dost scare the world with tempests
set on fire
The heavens with falling thunderbolts
or fill,
With all the waters of the armament.
The swift. dark whirwind. that up
roots the woods
And browns the villages; when, at
Thy call.
Uprises the great deep. and throws
himself
Upon the continent. and OvcrWhelms
Its cities: who forgetS not. at the sight
OF these tremendous tokens of Thy
power.
JJic pri1, and Laws his Strifas and