Unsheathed, in the eternal armory;
And up the living chariot of God
Ascended, signifying all complete.

"And now the Trump of wondrous melody,
By man or angel never heard before,
Sounded with thunder, and the march began—
Not swift, as cavalcade on battle bent,
But, as became procession of a judge,
Solemn, magnificent, majestic, slow-
Moving sublime with glory infinite,
And numbers infinite, and awful song.

They passed the gate of heaven, which many a league

Opened either way, to let the glory forth

Of this great march. And now the sons of men
Beheld their coming, which, before, they heard:
Beheld the glorious countenance of God!
All light was swallowed up; all objects seen,
Faded; and the Incarnate, visible

Alone, held every eye upon Him fixed!

The wicked saw his majesty severe;

And those who pierced Him, saw his face with clouds

Of glory circled round, essential bright!

And to the rocks and mountains called in vain, To hide them from the fierceness of his wrath: Almighty power their flight restrained, and held Them bound immovable before the bar.

"The righteous, undismayed and bold-best proof

This day of fortitude sincere-sustained

By inward faith, with acclamations loud, Received the coming of the Son of Man; And, drawn by love, inclined to his approach, Moving to meet the brightness of his face. "Meantime, 'tween good and bad, the Judge his wheels

Stayed, and, ascending, sat upon the great
White Throne, that morning founded there by
power

Omnipotent, and built on righteousness
And truth. Behind, before, on every side,
In native and reflected blaze of bright,
Celestial equipage, the myriads stood,

That with his marching came; rank above rank,
Rank above rank, with shield and flaming sword.

""Twas silence all; and quick, on right and left, A mighty angel spread the book of God's Remembrance; and, with conscience now sincere, All men compared the record written there, By finger of Omniscience, and received Their sentence, in themselves, of joy or wo; Condemned or justified, while yet the Judge Waited, as if to let them prove themselves. The righteous, in the book of life displayed, Rejoicing, read their names; rejoicing, read Their faith for righteousness received, and deeds Of holiness, as proof of faith complete. The wicked, in the book of endless death, Spread out to left, bewailing, read their names; And read beneath them, Unbelief, and fruit Of unbelief, vile, unrepented deeds,

Now unrepentable for evermore;

And gave approval of the wo affixed."

THE WICKED SENTENCED.

"This done, the Omnipotent, Omniscient Judge, Rose infinite, the sentence to pronounce, The sentence of eternal wo or bliss! All glory heretofore seen or conceived; All majesty, annihilated, dropped

That moment from remembrance, and was lost;
And silence, deepest hitherto esteemed,
Seemed noisy to the stillness of this hour.
Comparisons I seek not, nor should find

If sought that silence, which all being held,
When God's Almighty Son, from off the walls
Of heaven the rebel angels threw, accursed-
So still, that all creation heard their fall
Distinctly, in the lake of burning fire-
Was now forgotten, and every silence else.
All being rational, created then,

Around the judgment-seat, intensely listened;
No creature breathed; man, angel, devil, stood,
And listened; the spheres stood still, and every

star

Stood still, and listened; and every particle
Remotest in the womb of matter, stood,
Bending to hear, devotional and still.

And thus upon the wicked, first, the Judge

Pronounced the sentence, written before of old: Depart from me, ye cursed, into the fire

Prepared eternal in the Gulf of Hell,

Where shall weep

ye

and wail for evermore,

Reaping the harvest which your sins have sown.""

THE GROANS OF HELL.

"So saying, God grew dark with utter wrath; And drawing now the sword, undrawn before, Which through the range of infinite, all around, A gleam of fiery indignation threw,

He lifted up his hand omnipotent,

And down among the damned the burning edge
Plunged; and from forth his arrowy quiver sent,
Emptied, the seven last thunders ruinous,
Which, entering, withered all their souls with fire.
Then first was vengeance, first was ruin seen!
Red, unrestrained, vindictive, final, fierce!
They, howling, fled to west among the dark;
But fled not these the terrors of the Lord:
Pursued, and driven beyond the Gulf, which frowns
Impassable between the good and bad,

And downward far remote to left-oppressed
And scorched with the avenging fires, begun
Burning within them-they upon the verge
Of Erebus, a moment, pausing stood,
And saw, below, the unfathomable lake,
Tossing with tides of dark, tempestuous wrath;
And would have looked behind; but greater wrath
Behind forbade, which now no respite gave
To final misery. God, in the grasp

Of his almighty strength, took them upraised,
And threw them down, into the yawning pit
Of bottomless perdition, ruined, damned,

Fast bound in chains of darkness evermore;
And Second Death, and the Undying Worm,
Opening their horrid jaws, with hideous yell,
Falling, received their everlasting prey.

A groan returned, as down they sunk, and sunk,
And ever sunk, among the utter dark!

groan;

A groan returned: the righteous heard the
The groan of all the reprobate, when first
They felt damnation sure, and heard hell close!
And heard Jehovah and his love retire!

A groan returned! the righteous heard the groan;
As if all misery, all sorrow, grief-

All pain, all anguish, all despair, which all
Have suffered, or shall feel, from first to last
Eternity-had gathered to one pang,

And issued in one groan of boundless wo!"

HELL CLOSED FOR EVER.

"And now the wall of hell, the outer wall, First gateless then, closed round them; that which thou

Hast seen, of fiery adamant, emblazed
With hideous imagery, above all hope,
Above all flight of fancy, burning high;
And guarded evermore by Justice, turned
To Wrath, that hears, unmoved, the endless groan
Of those wasting within; and sees, unmoved,
The endless tear of vain repentance fall.

"Nor ask if these shall ever be redeemed.

They never shall: not God, but their own sin,