"When the thunder lies cradled within its dark cloud,
And earth and her tribes crouch in silence and dread,
Thy voice shakes the forest, the tall oak is bowed,
That for ages had shook at the tempest its head.
"When the Lord bowed the heavens, and came down in his might,
Sublimely around were the elements cast;
At his feet lay the dense rolling shadows of night,
But the power of Omnipotence rode on the blast.
"From the whirlwind he spake, when man wrung with pain,
In the strength of his anguish dare challenge his God;