When, deaf to every warning given,

When, deaf to every warning given,
Man braved the patient power of heaven,
Great in his anger, God arose,
Deluged the world, and drowned his foes.

Vengeance, that called for this just doom,
Retired to make sweet mercy room;
God, of his wrath repenting, swore
A flood should drown the earth no more.

That future ages this might know,
He placed in heaven his radiant bow;
The sign, till time itself shall fail,
That waters shall no more prevail.

The beauties of this bow but shine
To vulgar eyes as something fine;
Others investigate their cause
By mediums drawn from nature's laws.

But what great ends can men pursue
From schemes like these, suppose them true?
Describe the form, the cause define,
The rainbow still remains a sign.

A sign in which by faith we read
The covenant God with Noah made;
A noble end and truly great;
But something greater lies there yet.

This bow that beams with vivid light,
Presents a sign to Christian sight,
That God has sworn (who dares condemn?)
He will no more be wroth with them.

Thus the believer, when he views
The rainbow in its various hues,
May say, "Those lively colours shine
To show that heaven is surely mine.

"See in yon cloud what tinctures glow,
And gild the smiling vales below;
So smiles my cheerful soul to see
My God is reconciled to me."