 | Deity |  |
IV. OMNIPRESENCE.
Thro' the unmeasurable tracts of space,
Go, Muse divine! and present Godhead trace!
See where by place, uncircumscrib'd as time,
He reigns extended, and he shines sublime!
Should'st thou above the heav'n of heav'ns ascend,
Could'st thou below the depth of depths descend;
Could thy fond flight beyond the starry sphere,
The radiant Morning's lucid pinions bear!
There should his brighter presence shine confess'd,
There his almighty arm thy course arrest!
Could'st thou the thickest veil of Night assume,
Or think to hide thee in the central gloom;
Yet there, all patent to his piercing sight,
Darkness itself would kindle into light:
Not the black mansions of the silent grave,
Nor darker hell from her perception save;
What pow'r, alas! thy Footsteps can convey
Beyond the reach of omnipresent day!
Go, Muse divine! and present Godhead trace!
See where by place, uncircumscrib'd as time,
He reigns extended, and he shines sublime!
Should'st thou above the heav'n of heav'ns ascend,
Could'st thou below the depth of depths descend;
Could thy fond flight beyond the starry sphere,
The radiant Morning's lucid pinions bear!
There should his brighter presence shine confess'd,
There his almighty arm thy course arrest!
Could'st thou the thickest veil of Night assume,
Or think to hide thee in the central gloom;
Yet there, all patent to his piercing sight,
Darkness itself would kindle into light:
Not the black mansions of the silent grave,
Nor darker hell from her perception save;
What pow'r, alas! thy Footsteps can convey
Beyond the reach of omnipresent day!
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In his wide grasp, and comprehensive eye,
Immediate, worlds on worlds unnumber'd lie:
Systems inclos'd in his perception roll,
Whose all-informing mind directs the whole:
Lodg'd in his grasp, their certain ways they know;
Plac'd in that sight from whence can nothing go.
On earth his footstool fix'd, in heav'n his seat;
Inthron'd he dictates—and his word is Fate.
Immediate, worlds on worlds unnumber'd lie:
Systems inclos'd in his perception roll,
Whose all-informing mind directs the whole:
Lodg'd in his grasp, their certain ways they know;
Plac'd in that sight from whence can nothing go.
On earth his footstool fix'd, in heav'n his seat;
Inthron'd he dictates—and his word is Fate.
Nor want his shining images below,
In streams that murmur, or in winds that blow;
His spirit broods along the boundless flood,
Smiles in the plain, and whispers in the wood;
Warms in the genial sun's enliv'ning ray,
Breathes in the air, and beautifies the day!
In streams that murmur, or in winds that blow;
His spirit broods along the boundless flood,
Smiles in the plain, and whispers in the wood;
Warms in the genial sun's enliv'ning ray,
Breathes in the air, and beautifies the day!
Should man his great immensity deny,
Man might as well usurp the vacant sky:
For were he limited in date, or view,
Thence were his Attributes imperfect too;
His Knowledge, Pow'r, his Goodness all confin'd,
And lost th'idea of a ruling Mind!
Feeble the trust, and comfortless the sense,
Of a defective partial Providence!
Boldly might then his arm injustice brave,
Or innocence in vain his mercy crave;
Dejected virtue lift its hopeless eye!
And heavy sorrow vent the heartless sigh!
An absent God no abler to defend,
Protect, or punish, than an absent friend;
Distant alike, our wants or griefs to know,
To ease the anguish, or prevent the blow!
If he, supreme Director, were not near,
Vain were our hope, and empty were our fear;
Unpunish'd Vice would o'er the world prevail,
And unrewarded virtue toil—to fail!
The moral world a second chaos lie,
And nature sicken to the thoughtful eye!
Man might as well usurp the vacant sky:
For were he limited in date, or view,
Thence were his Attributes imperfect too;
His Knowledge, Pow'r, his Goodness all confin'd,
And lost th'idea of a ruling Mind!
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Of a defective partial Providence!
Boldly might then his arm injustice brave,
Or innocence in vain his mercy crave;
Dejected virtue lift its hopeless eye!
And heavy sorrow vent the heartless sigh!
An absent God no abler to defend,
Protect, or punish, than an absent friend;
Distant alike, our wants or griefs to know,
To ease the anguish, or prevent the blow!
If he, supreme Director, were not near,
Vain were our hope, and empty were our fear;
Unpunish'd Vice would o'er the world prevail,
And unrewarded virtue toil—to fail!
The moral world a second chaos lie,
And nature sicken to the thoughtful eye!
Even the weak embryo, ere to life it breaks,
From his high pow'r its slender texture takes;
While in his book the various parts inroll'd,
Increasing, own eternal Wisdom's mold.
From his high pow'r its slender texture takes;
While in his book the various parts inroll'd,
Increasing, own eternal Wisdom's mold.
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Nor views he only the material whole,
But pierces thought, and penetrates the soul!
Ere from the lips the vocal accents part,
Or the faint purpose dawns within the heart!
His steady eye the mental birth perceives,
Ere yet to us the new idea lives!
Knows what we say—ere yet the words proceed,
And ere we form th'intention, marks the deed!
But pierces thought, and penetrates the soul!
Ere from the lips the vocal accents part,
Or the faint purpose dawns within the heart!
His steady eye the mental birth perceives,
Ere yet to us the new idea lives!
Knows what we say—ere yet the words proceed,
And ere we form th'intention, marks the deed!
But Conscience, fair vicegerent-light within,
Asserts its Author, and restores the scene!
Points out the beauty of the govern'd plan,
“And vindicates the ways of God to man.”
Asserts its Author, and restores the scene!
Points out the beauty of the govern'd plan,
“And vindicates the ways of God to man.”
Then sacred Muse, by the vast prospect fir'd,
From heav'n descended, as by heav'n inspir'd;
His all-enlight'ning Omnipresence own,
Whence first thou feels thy dwindling presence known;
His wide Omniscience, justly grateful sing,
Whence thy weak science prunes its callow wing!
And bless th'eternal—all-informing soul,
Whose sight pervades, whose knowledge fills the whole!
From heav'n descended, as by heav'n inspir'd;
His all-enlight'ning Omnipresence own,
Whence first thou feels thy dwindling presence known;
His wide Omniscience, justly grateful sing,
Whence thy weak science prunes its callow wing!
And bless th'eternal—all-informing soul,
Whose sight pervades, whose knowledge fills the whole!
| Deity | |