TO WHOM, WILL YE FLEE FOR HELP?
By Editor
"And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help, and where will ye leave your glory?" Isa. x, 3. SAFE in your fancied strength,
Proud in a worldly name,
Dream ye not there will come, at length,
An end of all earthly fame?
Have ye no thoughts for the future dim—
The future that filleth to the brim
Your cup of woe and shame?
From the gathering storm a voice is heard,
As from Jehovah a warning word:
"What will ye do in the day of war,
In the desolation that comes from far?" A day all dark with wrath,
Comes swiftly on its sullen gloom;
It seeketh the sinner's path,
With portents of fearful doom.
And where will ye flee for aid?
On whom will your trust be laid
For help and succor then?
Think ye to hide from harm,
'Neath the puny and feeble arm,
Of mortal men?
When the Lord shall arise in his might and power,
Where is your help in that fearful hour? And your glory too! the ephemeral fame
That gilds for a season a mortal name!
And the phantom honors that round you glide
Through which the vain heart swells with pride!
Where will ye leave it all;
For the towers of pride must fall,
Which man has reared;
And the Lord alone shall stand,
Monarch of sea and land,
Adored and feared. The haughty shall bow, the stubborn break,
The proud be humbled, the mighty quake,
And the Lord alone shall exalted be,
As becometh his might and majesty,
And when with sword and flame
He vindicates his name.
Where will ye leave, 'mid the sons of men,
The faded wreaths of your glory then? Ah! better far
To cease the unequal war,
While pardon, hope and peace may yet be found;
Nor longer rush upon the embossed shield
Of the Almighty; but repentant yield,
And all your weapons of rebellion ground.
Better pray now in love, than pray ere long in fear:
Call ye upon him while he waits to hear;
So in the coming end,
When down the parted sky,
The angelic hosts attend
The Lord of heaven, Most High.
Before whose face the solid earth is rent,
You may behold in him a Friend Omnipotent;
And safely rest beneath his sheltering wings,
Amid the ruin of all earthly things.—Ed.