The Voice of God [poem by Grant Hervey]

[Editor: This poem by Grant Hervey was published in Australians Yet and Other Verses, 1913.]

The Voice of God

There is a Master Voice I hear
Upon the everlasting hills ;
A thunder-cry which rocks the sphere,
And shakes the stars on Heaven’s sills !
It is the voice of mighty God,
Commanding Space and ruling Time ;
Reverberating from the sod
In stellar tones and chords sublime.

Whene’er I falter in my tread,
I hear a mighty battle-hymn ;
God’s guiding Voice rings overhead
Like some war-trumpet rolling grim !
It is His Voice which strengthens me,
As with the strength of rampart-hills ;
And I march on to victory
With twice ten thousand Caesar-wills.

God’s Master Voice commands my soul —
It bids me lift the standard high,
That men may seek a nobler goal,
And spurn the pleasures of the sty.
It bids me grip Australia’s sword,
And be Her champion for aye ;
That she perchance may call me Lord —
And lift Her mouth to mine One Day !

As when the circling, satrap stars
Revolve about their central sun,
So I would be a blazing Mars,
Round whom the lesser souls should run.
Not from the source of vain desire
I draw that ever-burning thought ;
But that my flood of quenchless fire
Should bid them blaze as planets ought !

The Master Voice proceeds from One
Who is the solar archetype ;
From those strong Hands the worlds are spun —
He sears the gloom with lightning-stripe !
And round that Spirit meteors roll —
The matchless stars of History ;
The vassals of the Over-Soul
Which rules for all Eternity !

The central soul of God illumes
The mysteries of life and death ;
The process of the marching dooms
Is but the deep, throne-stirring breath
Of that unguessed Infinitude
Which stretches through unchartered space,
Toward that sphere-set latitude
Where God reveals His shining face !

And I proclaim the Over-God,
Who bids the world march bravely on ;
Who notes the way the Christs have trod
Beyond the priests’ vain horizon !
I hear His Voice — I know ’tis He
Who grips the universe, and steers
This cargo of humanity
Across the trackless sea of years !

I am His Prophet — sent before
To bid mankind replace their trust
In Him who wages endless war
Against the ranks of the Unjust !
It is His Master Voice I hear
Upon these everlasting hills ;
Hear ye God’s cry of faith and cheer —
And March Ye On with steadfast Wills !

Source:
Grant Hervey. Australians Yet and Other Verses, Thomas C. Lothian, Melbourne, 1913, pages 159-161