Classic Poem

When silence o'er the universe
Her realm extended far,
Before the raging elements
Maintain'd destructive war;
When chaos through unbounded space
Gave universal sleep,
While yet the earth was void of form,
“And darkness veil'd the deep;”

Jehovah thunder'd from his throne
And silence own'd his sway;
Dread chaos then dissolved its charm
And darkness fled away.
“Let there be light,” the Almighty said,—
Light instantly appear'd:
The lofty pillars of the sky
In majesty were rear'd.

The new-created sun arose
To gild the vault of heaven,
And all the glorious orbs of night
Were through the ether driven.
The waters parted from the earth,
The land appear'd in view,
And mountains swell'd, and rivers flow'd,
And fruits luxuriant grew.

Then teem'd the earth with living forms,
The terrible and fair;
And fishes cleft the crystal sea,
And songsters wing'd the air.
And countless beings, bright and good,
The universe contained;
Yet 'mid the brute and angel race
A chasm still remained.

Then man was form'd by skill divine,
At God's creating word,
The ruler of the peopled earth,
The image of his Lord;
And blissful choirs of angels sung
Their hymns before the throne,
As woman smiled, and God proclaim'd
Creation's labor done.