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| II. |
 | Poems on several subjects |  |
On the BOOK.
King Solomon here, in this book, doth shew
What by experience he fully knew:
Well might he say, That all was vanity;
He found it so in truth and verity.
What by experience he fully knew:
Well might he say, That all was vanity;
He found it so in truth and verity.
For having riches, pow'r and wisdom too,
T'accomplish what he had a mind to do,
He gave free scope to all his appetites,
And try'd all manner of this world's delights;
Till drown'd in pleasures, he forgot his God,
Who with his bounty did him so much load,
That none more rich, and none more wise, than he,
Yet all employ'd pursuing vanity.
T'accomplish what he had a mind to do,
He gave free scope to all his appetites,
And try'd all manner of this world's delights;
Till drown'd in pleasures, he forgot his God,
Who with his bounty did him so much load,
That none more rich, and none more wise, than he,
Yet all employ'd pursuing vanity.
But God by grace at last did let him see,
That all he sought was empty vanity;
That all amusements, pleasures, and each thing
Could here be found, behind them leave a sting;
And but short liv'd at longest he did find,
And as uncertain as the fleeting wind;
And that, for these short vanities, he must
In a short time return again to dust,
His soul to God, to get a sentence due,
And lasting doom for all he did pursue.
That all he sought was empty vanity;
That all amusements, pleasures, and each thing
Could here be found, behind them leave a sting;
315
And as uncertain as the fleeting wind;
And that, for these short vanities, he must
In a short time return again to dust,
His soul to God, to get a sentence due,
And lasting doom for all he did pursue.
Reflecting thus, he did repent and grieve,
And pray'd that God would his sad state relieve,
Renounc'd each carnal and each vain delight,
And set himself this little book to write,
That others might escape these rocks whereon
He split himself, when he was dead and gone.
And pray'd that God would his sad state relieve,
Renounc'd each carnal and each vain delight,
And set himself this little book to write,
That others might escape these rocks whereon
He split himself, when he was dead and gone.
ALEX. NICOL. Collace, March 6th 1749.
| Poems on several subjects | |