6 February 1855

Song of Praise.

I will praise Thee, O, my God.

In the midst of the daughters of Zion—in the presence of the honorable Judges in Israel, I will exalt Thy name,

The first fruits of all the nations of the earth, are here—Thou hast associated me with choice spirits, even those who have done nobly from the beginning.

Thou hast cast my lot with those whose faith is more precious than all the glitt’ring treasures which our mother Earth is now folding in her bosom; and whose integrity is a brighter ornament than the most brilliant diadem that ever decorated the head of an earthly monarch.

Thou hast imparted to me a portion of the pure oil of gladness, even thy spirit, which creates in my bosom, a perpetual fountain of joy; and which constitutes both the law of affinity and the power of attraction, to lift my heart upwards, and give me faith and confidence, to trust in Thee.

Thou hast committed to thy servants, the key of knowledge with which they have unlock’d the treasures of wisdom & understanding, and have opened the fountains of light to this generation.

Thou hast delivered thy people—Thou hast led them forth from under the hand of oppression; and although they sacrificed their rightful possessions in the lands of their nativity; they know that the cattle upon the thousand western hills—the earth and the fulness thereof, are Thine; and they rejoice in the deliverance which Thou hast wrought out for them.

Thou didst sustain Thy Saints in the midst of the ordeal of affliction—Thou hast brought them forth from the fiery furnace,

As Thy Son Ahman stood by the three Hebrews who anciently were cast into the flames according to the edict of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; so Thou Ahman wast in the midst of Thy people, the Latterday Saints¹—they have come forth unhurt, and the smell of fire was <is> not on their garments,

Those who have turned their backs on their brethren, have perished; and those that have halted by the way, thro’ fear, have been enticed to revel at the waters of Lethe until the dark shadows of Oblivion [n.p.] have swallowed them up forever!

But those that adhered to Thy statutes and have maintained their steadfastness in the sacred covenants of the Holy Priesthood; have been led forth from the foaming vortex of mobocracy and from the contaminating corruptions of the nations—they have landed safely on the terra-firma of peace—their feet are established on the mountains of Israel, the chambers of the West; in the strong holds which Thou Ahman, had prepared for them with the strength of the everlasting hills—the munition of rocks for their bulwark and defence.

Thou hast placed the sceptre of Government in the hand of Thine anointed, even Thy servant Brigham [Young], on whom has fallen the mantle of Joseph [Smith]—Thou hast endowed him with knowledge & understanding—His councillors are men of wisdom— his administration is that of justice and equity; and Thy people dwell safely, and rejoice in the multitude of blessings of the reign of peace.

Well may Thy praises resound throughout all the rich vallies of Ephraim; and let the lofty snow-crown'd mountains reverberate with shouts of hosanna to Thy name.

I rejoice in Thy statues and in the holy ordinances of Thy House—my lips shall praise Thee in the social assemblies of Thy Saints.

In the silent meditations of the night, when my thoughts reach after Thee, and when the vision of my mind seems to penetrate the dark curtain of mortality; I am swallowed up in the contemplations of thy greatness & majesty, and the condescensions of Thy love for Thy degenerate children.

Then I feel to say in my heart; although it might be through the furnace of affliction—though it should be by draining the cup of bitterness to the dregs, if that, in Thy wisdom, is deemed necessary, to purify and prepare me; let me be prepared, that I may behold Thy face—that I may come up and dwell in Thy presence.

Then, and not till then will my soul be fully satisfied, O my God, Ahman, the King, the Lord of Hosts. [n.p.]