Tell them I Am, Jehovah said
To Moses; while earth heard in dread,
And smitten to the heart,
At once above, beneath, around,
All nature, without voice or sound,
Replied, O Lord, Thou art.

Smart’s lines paraphrase God’s self-identification to Moses in Exodus (“I AM”), rendering it as a moment of cosmic theophany. The speaker imagines the divine name not as an abstract metaphysical claim but as an event that shakes creation: “earth heard in dread,” and all of nature—though “without voice or sound”—answers in unanimous assent, “O Lord, Thou art.” The poem thus turns biblical revelation into a universal testimony: existence itself becomes a silent chorus affirming God’s being. The contrast between speech (“Jehovah said”) and nature’s wordless reply emphasizes that the divine reality is apprehended not only through scripture but through the created order’s awe and responsiveness.