VAPOUR.
Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth.—Psalm cxxxv. 6, 7.
What is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.—James, iv. 14.
Great is the Lord, exalted high,
Above all pow’rs and ev’ry throne;
Whate’er He please in earth and sea,
Or heav’n, or hell, His hand hath done.
At His command the vapours rise,
The lightnings flash, the thunders roar;
He pours the rain, He brings the wind
And tempests from His airy store.
Watts.
Life is a span, a fleeting hour!
How soon the vapour flies!
Man is a tender transient flower,
That e’en in blooming dies.
Steele.
How gloriously ’neath yon cerulean arch,
The vapoury legions hold their stately march;
Onward they press, with banners all unroll’d,
Like gleaming cohorts, clad in steel and gold;
The space they cover is of vast extent,
And afar off rise tower and battlement,
As of some city bright, with jasper walls,
Enclosing, as we deem, wide stately halls,
And spacious streets, and temples all inlaid
With precious stones, and fit for worship made.
’T is but a dream! behold, comes on the night;
The heavens grow black, and blotted from the sight
Are those fair shapes, and such the airy schemes
Of human pride, all unsubstantial dreams.
Vapour and mist enwrap our senses here,
Only about God’s throne is all serene and clear.
Egone.