A thousand thoughts awoke that slept,
Past days return'd,—and Gideon wept.
No longer storms on Gideon lower;
Behold the crown within his power,
The sceptre at his feet!
How will he bear this tempting hour,
How this last trial meet?
When Israel's elders kneel before him,
In grateful homage, and implore him,
That Gideon,―aye, and Gideon's seed
Should rule the land that Gideon freed",
He felt no joy at the request;
His arms he folded on his breast,
And sternly thus he spake;
"Ask me not, brethren, 'tis in vain,
I will not over Israel reign,
Nor shall my son; and ne'er, I trust,
Shall Jacob's seed a son of dust
To be their ruler take!
The King of Kings shall be your King;
Oh may He keep you 'neath his wing
For your forefathers' sake!
7 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you. Judges viii. 22, 23.
But if your bosoms own a debt
To my poor arm uncancell'd yet,
And fain would ease the load,
Give me the ear-rings of your prey3,
I own I'd gladly bear away
Some relic of the fight, that may
E'en to my children's children say,
'Your father triumph'd in the day
That broke oppression's rod;'
That to some holy use assign'd,
May help to sanctify the mind,
And raise it up to God."
So gradual are the steps that lead
Down to the depths of sin,
We deem no watchfulness we need,
While ev'ry step that we proceed
Plunges us deeper in.
How oft by virtue's lovely name
The tempter hides the bait;
Nor wake we to our guilt and shame,
Or only wake too late!
8 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the ear-rings of his prey. (For they had golden ear-rings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them, &c. Judges viii. 24, 25.
How prone, alas, are mortals blind
From simple faith to part,
And in their pride to make or find
An idol in the heart!
So Gideon found! For even then
When faith so brightly burn'd,
When the most tempting gifts of men
Indignantly he spurn'd;
The germs of sin were lurking there,
Which strength'ning in their growth,
Prov'd to his careless feet a snare,
His and his people's both".
Alas, he fell!but let us scan
Gently the faults of such a man,
And hope he was forgiven;
He fell, it may be but to show,
That the most perfect here below
Is far remov'd from heaven;
To teach us all to watch and pray,
That in temptation's evil day
We may have strength to stand,
May sink untroubled in the tomb,
And, when we meet the day of doom,
Be plac'd at God's right hand.
9 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah; and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. Judges viii. 27.
Cease we our song; nor linger o'er
The saddened theme that charms no more;
Here close the sacred page,
Lov'd record of eternal truth,
Darling of childhood, friend of youth,
And comforter of age!
Blest book, where e'en the worldly mind
More sage, more stirring tales can find
Of wisdom and of glory,
Than all the boasted marvels told
In modern tomes, or annals old
Of Greek or Roman story.
Well may the youthful bosom glow
O'er the proud lines that tell,
How Sparta's monarch midst the foe,
With his three hundred fell;
Bought for himself eternal fame,
And made Thermopylæ a name,
Sacred beyond the reach of time,
The household word of every clime.
Well may the patriot love the page
That tells how Rome's unbending sage,
When danger's call was o'er,
When Rome no longer asked his arm,
Resigned the fasces for the farm,
And dreamt of power no more.
But Grecian valour, Roman pride,
That borrow virtue's name,
What are they all, when weighed beside
The purer, holier flame,
That fired the servant of the Lord,
Taught him to scorn an earthly sword,
To look on death with stedfast eye,
Not from hot mood, or anger high,
But faith and humble love;
Taught him to trample, with disdain,
On earthly crowns, that he might gain
A heavenly one above!
My task is o'er; may heaven bestow
Its blessing on the work, and though
It win not earthly glory,
Oh, may its lessons touch my heart,
Nor profitless the hours depart
I gave to Gideon's story!
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