“Ye sons of the mighty, a sacrifice bring
To the footstool of power, and your thanksgivings raise;
For the Lord is your strength, your Creator, and King,
Who demands from his children the tribute of praise.
“Yea, the voice of our God, in its fury, controls
And stills the wild waves of the tempest-swoll’n deep;
When borne on the thunder as slowly it rolls,
We hear midst its terrors Omnipotence speak.
“The voice of our God is a glorious sound:
When it moves on the waters, or speaks through the storm,
The cedars of Lebanus bend to the ground,
And the mountains and hills from their fabric are torn.
“The voice of the Lord, in his wrath, can divide
The red rushing flames, and their fury awake;
When forth on the wings of destruction they ride,
And beneath them the powers of the wilderness shake.
“Yea, the voice of our God is mighty in power
On his bounty the wild tribes of nature depend:
The hind rears her young in the green forest bower;
From his altars the prayers of his children ascend.
“The voice of the Lord, in his glory, shall bring
To his people the fulness and blessings of peace;
The Lord o’er the water-flood reigneth a King,
And his portion, eternity, never shall cease.”
Josiah had scarcely concluded the psalm, when Mrs. Shirley came to fetch the young people from staying out longer in the night air; and Henry, bidding Josiah good night, and shaking George heartily by the hand, hoping to see him in better health and spirits the next day, took his leave.
The sun was scarcely up the following morning, when George tapped at Shirley’s door, and proposed a long walk into the country before breakfast.
The young Quaker was already dressed, and he accepted the invitation with pleasure, hoping, by the way, to induce his friend to reveal the cause of his grief. In the parlour they were joined by little Rachel, who begged so earnestly to accompany them, that George insisted on her request being granted.
The morning was delightful, the dews sparkled on the grass, and the blackbird poured his merry lay from among the high hawthorn hedges that rose on either side of them.