Poems (Angier)/The Sacrifice of Elijah

by Annie Lanman Angier

THE SACRIFICE OF ELIJAH.

The daylight had faded and evening came on,
Behind the bright ocean-wave rested the sun;
Tired nature had quietly fallen asleep,
While night threw her pall o'er the land and the deep.

The prophets of Baal, grown weary and faint,
Had breathed to each other their fruitless complaint;
Now foaming in madness, wild curses they poured
On idols whose aid they had vainly implored.

In silence unbroken, night's sentinels kept
Their watch, while beneath them grove, hill, valley slept;
Bird, leaflet, and blossom had sunk to their rest,
And care was forgot in the sufferer's breast.

A sound through the stillness is borne on the air,
'Tis the voice of Elijah uplifted in prayer:
"O God of our fathers! in mercy give ear,
That Thy name may be known to the heathen, appear."

'Twas heard—and with lightning-speed down to the ground
The red flame descended, while up rose a sound
Like the wail of a nation whose honor is lost,
Whose heart's dearest wishes are suddenly crossed.

Amazed and confounded the false prophets stood,
The fire was consuming their altar and wood,
While echoes, resounding from mountain and sod
Were loudly proclaiming, "The Lord, He is God!"