University of Virginia Library

But oh advent'rous Muse, restrain thy flight,
Dare not the blaze of uncreated light!
Before whose glorious throne with dread surprize,
Th'adoring seraph veils his dazzled eyes;
Whose pure effulgence, radiant to excess,
No colours can describe, or words express!
All the fair beauties, all the lucid stores,
Which o'er thy works thy hand resplendent pours;
Feeble, thy brighter glories to display,
Pale as the moon before the solar ray!

See on his throne the gaudy Persian plac'd,
In all the pomp of the luxuriant east!
While mingling gems a borrow'd day unfold,
And the rich purple waves, emboss'd with gold;
Yet mark this scene of painted grandeur yield,
To the fair lilly that adorns the field!
Obscur'd, behold that fainter lilly lies,
By the rich bird's inimitable dyes;
Yet these survey, confounded and outdone,
By the superior lustre of the sun;
That sun himself withdraws his lessen'd beam,
From Thee, the glorious author of his frame!

Transcendent pow'r! sole arbiter of fate!
How great thy glory? and thy bliss how great,
To view from thy exalted throne above,
(Eternal source of light, and life, and love!)
Unnumber'd creatures draw their smiling birth,
To bless the heav'ns, or beautify the earth;
While systems roll, obedient to thy view,
And worlds rejoice—which Newton never knew!

Then raise the song, the gen'ral anthem raise,
And swell the consort of eternal praise!
Assist ye orbs that form this boundless whole,
Which in the womb of space unnumber'd roll;
Ye planets who compose our lesser scheme,
And bend, concertive, round the folar frame;
Thou eye of nature! whose extensive ray,
With endless charms adorns the face of day;
Consenting raise th'harmonious joyful sound,
And bear his praises thro' the vast profound:
His praise, ye winds that fan the chearful air,
Swift as they pass along your pinions bear!
His praise let ocean thro' her realms display,
Far as her circling billows can convey!
His praise ye misty vapours wide diffuse,
In rains descending, or in milder dews;
His praises whisper, ye majestic trees,
As your tops rustle to the gentle breeze!
His praise around, ye flow'ry tribes, exhale,
Far as your sweets embalm the spicy gale!
His praise, ye dimpled streams, to earth reveal,
As pleas'd ye murmur thro' the flow'ry vale.
His praise ye feather'd choirs distinguish'd sing,
As to your notes the vocal forests ring!
His praise proclaim, ye monsters of the deep,
Who in the vast abyss your revels keep!
Or ye fair natives of our earthly scene,
Who range the wilds, or haunt the pasture green!
Nor thou, vain lord of earth, with careless ear,
The universal hymn of worship hear!
But ardent, in the sacred chorus join,
Thy soul transported with the task divine!
While by his works th'almighty is confess'd,
Supremely glorious, and supremely bless'd!

Great Lord of life! from whom this humble frame,
Derives the pow'r to sing thy holy name,
Forgive the lowly Muse, whose artless lay,
Has dar'd thy sacred Attributes survey!
Delighted oft thro' Nature's beauteous field,
Has she ador'd thy Wisdom bright reveal'd;
Oft have her wishes aim'd the secret song,
But awful rev'rence still with-held her tongue:
Yet as thy bounty lent the reas'ning beam,
As feels my conscious breast thy vital flame,
So, blest creator, let thy servant pay,
His mite of gratitude this feeble way,
Thy Goodness own, thy Providence adore,
And yield thee only—what was thine before!