“Where is the way to the dwelling of light, And as for darkness, where is the place thereof?... “Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail?... By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth? Who hath cleft a channel for the water-flood, Or a way for the lightning of the thunder; To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man; To satisfy the waste and desolate ground; And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?” “Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?”[251] [Sidenote: _From “Song of Songs”_] For beauty of expression read also the description of spring-time, from the “Song of Songs”:— “Lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come, And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs, And the vines are in blossom, They give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”[252] And not inferior in beauty is Balaam’s unwilling prophecy of blessing to Israel:— “From Aram hath Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East; Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel. [Sidenote: _An Ancient Prophecy_] How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; Lo, it is a people that dwell alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations.... “Behold, I have received commandment to bless; And He hath blessed, and I can not reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, Neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel; The Lord his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them.... Surely there is no enchantment against[253] Jacob, Neither is there any divination against[253] Israel; Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!” “He saith, which heareth the words of God, [Sidenote: “_The Vision of the Almighty_”] Which seeth the vision of the Almighty: ... How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel! As valleys are they spread forth, As gardens by the riverside, As lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, As cedar-trees beside the waters.” “He hath said, which heard the words of God, And knew the knowledge of the Most High: ... I shall see Him, but not now; I shall behold Him, but not nigh; There shall come a Star out of Jacob, And a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.... Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion.”[254] * * * * * [Sidenote: _Sacred Song_]