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216

SOLILOQUY XXII.

I have thy word, thou canst not call it back,
I have thy oath, by thy own glorious name
Attested and confirm'd—Lord, 'tis enough!
My unbelieving fears are all subdu'd.
God of my pious fathers! who didst set
Thy love on them, and chuse their worthless race;
Ev'n me, of all thy family the least,
To magnify thy own peculiar grace:
For thy prerogative is absolute,
And uncontroul'd thy will; whate'er has pleas'd
Thy own unerring counsel thou hast done.
O think on all thy kind and gracious words;
And what thy mouth hath spoken let thy hand
In ev'ry point fulfil, let nothing fail!
For thou art rich in grace, though I am poor
In merit, and can nothing claim from thee.
I dare not plead a debt; yet thou hast sworn,
Sworn by the glory of thy holiness,
That thou wilt not in any wise deceive me.
Thou all things canst; ev'n my unworthiness
Can be no bar, no obstacle to thee:
It is not what I am, but what thou art,
And what thy gracious influence can effect.
Can dust and ashes plead desert before thee?
The height of holiness and majesty
Can view no merit in the clay he form'd.

217

But oh! what bounds has goodness infinite?
What limits shall almighty love confine?
Who works in all things as his counsel guides,
Mov'd by his own benignity; the spring,
The everlasting spring, from whence arise
All the bright schemes, and well-contriv'd designs
That love in its omnipotence could form.
Ye heights ineffable, ye wond'rous ways,
Ye glorious mysteries, ye trackless paths
Of the great sov'reign of the earth and skies;
Whate'er I am, whate'er I hope, thro' all
Futurity, in ev'ry blissful scene,
The fountain must be free, unbounded grace.