The history of The Old Testament In verse With One Hundred and Eighty sculptures: In Two Volumes. Vol. I. From the Creation to the Revolt of the Ten Tribes from the House of David. Vol. II. From that Revolt to the End of the Prophets. Written by Samuel Wesley ... The Cuts done by J. Sturt |
I, II. | [Volumes I, II.] |
The history of The Old Testament In verse | ||
I, II. [Volumes I, II.]
TO THE QUEEN.
(Long may the Royal Martyr's Race remain!)
Equal to fill our Great Eliza's Place,
And Empires pond'rous Orb unmov'd sustain,
Which at the Footstool of Your Throne I lay:
'Tis all a grateful Loyal Heart can give,
'Tis all that I for more than Life can pay.
Are Treasures for the greatest Prince's Breast:
The Gems are right, tho' I their Lustre stain,
The Gold, tho' rudely stamp'd, will bear the Test.
While Paradise their smiling Hours employ'd;
Remov'd from Want, remov'd from jealous Care,
A State the Vertuous-Few have since enjoy'd.
What Worlds of Water wash'd their Crimes away;
While righteous NOAH, whom they once despis'd,
Secure within his floating Castle lay.
How Israel trac'd the sandy Desarts o're;
What Laws their Saviour fix'd, when them he led
To promis'd Seats, and Canaan's happy Shore.
What Angels on their side embattel'd stood:
While hov'ring Death did for its Quarry wait,
And ancient Kishon drew a purple Flood.
The Great in Arms, Abinoam's God-like Son!
Tho' Great in Arms he thought it no Disgrace,
At Deb'rah's Feet to throw the Spoils he won.
From neighb'ring Tabor's verdant Tops resound!
Tabor, which higher seem'd its Head to raise,
With native Garlands, and with Laurels crown'd.
I see your happy rising Years shall meet;
Till every haughty Sisera is slain,
And Jabin's self shall tumble at your Feet.
By those thy injur'd Goodness dare withstand;
While Israel's with thy strong Salvation bless'd,
And Peace, and Plenty crown thy Fav'rite Land.
THE HISTORY OF THE Holy Bible,
In Verse, with Sculptures.
I. Genesis, Chap. I. to Ver. 14.
The CREATION.
The Heav'n and Earth, He spake and made it Fate:
Arose the Embryo-Earth, unform'd and Wast,
By old coëval darkness round embrac'd:
Let there be Light, said GOD; The Light obey'd,
And blaz'd with cheerful Beams amid the Shade;
Thence rolling round produc'd the First bright Day,
While gloomy Night her own sad Realms obey.
The restless Seas, and solid Earth were made:
Earth, in her various-colour'd Mantle dress'd,
Each Tree, each Herb, creating Pow'r confess'd.
The Moon, which shines serene with borrow'd Ray,
High in Mid-Heav'n, and with her Starry-Train
O'r solemn Night renews her peaceful Reign.
And scaly Fish cut the low liquid Sky!
Th'Almighty call'd, and various Creatures come
At his Command from Earth's prolific Womb:
Then Man in his own Image made and bless'd,
And pleas'd with all his Works, from all his Works did rest.
II. Genesis, Chap. II. from Ver. 4. to Ver. 22.
PARADISE, the Creatures nam'd, the Woman form'd.
Of all the various Tribes of Heav'n and Earth:
Nor Herb nor Plant that voluntary grew,
Sweet Rain as yet was none, nor kindly Dew.
From whence they come, and whither doom'd to go?
Or can they ought that's mean, when God has set
A Jewel in their earthly Cabinet?
A Soul, of heavenly Seed, of Angel-kind,
And marry'd Matter with Immortal Mind?
Homag'd their Lord, and each receiv'd its Name:
To Man alone no Like or Second found
Of all that swim in Air, or graze the Ground:
Nor must his Life run wast, by Heav'n design'd
To plant the World, and propagate his Kind:
Thence, from his Side, what can't th'Almighty doe?
He moulds a Female-Man, of Heavn'ly hew:
The Strokes, than His, less bold, but far more fine,
Softer each Touch, and gentler every Line,
Tho both, confess'd, the Work of Hands divine.
Nor left to range, a lovely Garden made,
The Bride and Bridegroom thither He convey'd:
The Makers Hands adorn'd that happy Place,
With Colonies of all th'Arborcal Race;
And thence in Four capacious Streams divides.
Till Eve, and the curs'd Serpent him destroy'd.
—Yet still we haunt the Streams, and silent Grove,
And our dear Native-Gardens still we love;
And still we hope, nor hope perhaps in vain,
At length those Happy Mansions to regain.
—“O when!—It now grows near-Life's Tempest or'e,
“With what loud joyful Shouts I'd hail the welcome Shore!
III. Genesis, Chap. III. to Ver. 14.
The Serpents Temptation, the Fall of our First Parents.
How soon the Foe has enter'd Paradise!
A crested Serpents speckled Form he wears,
In Mischief skill'd his Guileful Arts he shares:
Where is the Guard of Seraphs, that secures
Endanger'd Nature's tott'ring Fate, and yours?
—You make your Fate: stand now, you always stand!
The Terms of Life are no severe Command:
That Tree, that deadly Tree alone forbear,
The rest with Blessing, and with welcome share.
—'Tis pass'd, the Serpent has on Eve prevail'd:
Strengthned with such Allies he rarely fail'd:
She eats, she gives our Sire, it pleas'd his Eyes,
The tempting Flavor pleas'd, he tasts, he dies.
Groan'd the Creation, shook the Poles; and all
Convulsive Nature trembled at their Fall.
Hence all those Ills which God's fair Work deface,
Hence Sin, and Death, and Pain entail'd on all their Race.
IV. Genesis, Chap. III. Ver. 12. to the last.
Adam and Eve driven out of Paradise.
Those happy Regions which no Storm invades!
Th'Offenders, to a ruin'd World must go,
And share a sad Variety of Woe.
In vain the Man does his weak Consort blame,
And on the tempting Serpent, Eve exclaim:
Our Sire, his Life in Sorrow doom'd to wear,
Our Mother must with Pangs and Torments bear.
Th'accursed Serpent, now no longer crown'd,
Erect no more, but groveling on the Ground;
Amid the Dust he trails his Length of Train,
And rears Breast-high his spotted Form in vain.
The Womans Seed his guileful Head shall bruise,
The Servile Chains of ransom'd Mortals loose.
With Mercy mix'd, nor leaves 'em all Despair:
—But the sad Moment's come, they must away,
For angry rolling Flames forbid their stay:
With Shame and Blushes never known before
Fair Eden they forsake—An Angel guards the Door.
V. Genesis, Chap. IV. from Ver. 2. to 8.
CAIN and ABEL.
How soon 'tis all deform'd by Death and Sin!
Their Crime and Curse our Parents soon are shown,
And in their Offsprings Fate they read their own:
Two Sons they had, and both, as taught, prepare
T'attone high Heav'n with Sacrifice and Pray'r.
Their Elder harsh, and fell, his Savage Mind
To darling Mischief and to Blood inclin'd;
Churlish, as was th'ungrateful Soil he tore,
Which Corn with Thistles mix'd, and Darnel bore:
Not so the Younger, in whose Eyes, and Mind
Modesty sat enthron'd, and Virtue shin'd:
His Fleecy Houshold, Innocent as they,
His Joy to fold by Night, and feed by Day,
And then the fairest on the Altar lay:
The lightest Sheaf he found, his Brother brought,
And murm'ring, that, too good for Heav'n he thought.
See a bright Flame descending from the Skies
Consume the righteous Abels Sacrifice;
His Brother's wrapp'd in angry Clouds and Smoke,
Which from th'affronted Throne in Thunder broke.
“Refus'd, what next I offer, Heav'n shall please.
See his just Brother prostrate on the Plain,
His Hands, his Eyes for Mercy plead in vain:
O spare the guiltless Youth!—Too late—He's Slain, He's Slain.
VI. Genesis, Chap. IV. from Ver. 9. to 14.
CAIN's Punishment.
And taught his mournful Sire what Death did mean:
Where is thy Brother, GOD in Thunder cries;
I neither know nor care, the Churl replies.
Am I his Keeper, that thou me dost charge?
My Fields are narrow, but his Walks are large:
O Wretch, he cries, thy Crimes thou canst not hide;
In vain to him, who all things sees, deny'd:
What hast thou done? From Earth unto the Skies
Thy murder'd Brother's Blood for Vengeance cries:
Accurs'd art thou, and Earth thy Curse shall bear;
The barren Soil ungrateful to thy Care.
Trembling and fearful thou in vain shalt run
From Man's dear Face. Thy self thou canst not shun.
When thus the moody Murd'rer in Despair
“My Punishment I cannot, will not bear.
“I'm from my Father's Pious House disjoyn'd,
“And banish'd from the Face of Human-Kind.
“If any me a helpless Exile find,
“They soon the trembling Fugitive will slay,
“Or he to wild and ravenous Beasts a Prey.
“And my just Vengeance to the World declare:
“The dreadful Stains of Murther on thy Face,
“That all may shun thy Crimes and Fate.—He said,
The Caitiff heard, with ghastful Looks he fled,
And oft he turns his guilty Eyes behind,
And starts at every noise, and Breath of Wind:
His guilty Eyes and ghastful Looks confess'd
The secret hellish Pain that gnaw'd his anxious Breast.
VII. Genesis, Chap. VI. Ver. 4. Chap. VII. to the End.
The Ark and Flood.
To purge a guilty World orewhelm'd in Vice:
The Wicked Seed prevail, their monstrous Race
With Rapes and Murthers cover Earths sad Face:
Noah alone his Innocence retain'd,
Of Millions, only Noah, Just, remain'd
And stemm'd a World; nor this to him unknown
Who all surveys from his Celestial Throne:
His injur'd Patience wou'd no longer wait,
His Justice seals the hardned Rebels Fate;
But righteous Noah he resolves to spare,
And bids him a capacious Ark prepare
T'embark the future World, and save it there.
Of every Species, thus had Heav'n enjoyn'd,
Of either Sex, still to preserve the Kind
He to the Ark conveys, of all that breath,
And rescues from th'approaching Watry Death.
—Which now from injur'd angry Heav'n descends,
While the vex'd Earth with dire Convulsions rends:
And Old Abyss, which round the Center lay
Reveals her hidden Stores to wondring Day.
Rivers their Banks, the Sea forgets her Shore
Her Waves by God's Decree restrain'd no more:
Higher the Waters climb, and still more high,
To Trees and Hills in vain the Wretches fly,
For only there a short Reprive they found,
The Trees and lofty Hills themselves are drown'd:
Whatever breath'd is lost; in Oceans Caves
Their Bodies whelm'd, or floating on the Waves:
Noah, the Universal Wreck survives,
By the Great Pilot steer'd, his feeble Vessel lives.
VIII. Genesis, Chap. VIII. Ver. 3. 18. to the End.
The Flood ceases, Noah goes out of the Ark, and sacrifices, God's Promise to him.
The poor Remains of Nature, long confin'd
Within their floating Vault; The Floods decrease
At his Command; tumultuous Whirlwinds cease,
And all the jarring Elements are Peace.
See from the teeming Ark a Second Birth
Descending to renew the desert Earth!
Birds, Reptiles, Beasts in friendly Pairs are joyn'd,
The same the Godlike Race of sav'd Mankind:
Noah, their Prince and Father them conveys,
Then does of Living Turf an Altar raise,
And to their kind Preserver kneels and prays.
Two of the fairest Birds, and Beasts he gave
To him who them, and all the rest did save;
But chiefly did a grateful Heart present:
Up to high Heav'n the pleasing Odour went,
Thus spake th'Almighty Sire, and shook the Firmament:
“While Earth its Center knows, or Heav'n the Pole,
“Shall Nature now her steddy Course pursue
“Alternate Seasons shall the World renew.
“And, O ye Nights, assert your peaceful Reign!
“Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter's hoary Face
“Each other still succeed in Time's revolving Race!
IX. Genesis, Chap. IX. Ver. 1. to 13.
God renews his Covenant with Noah, Forbids murder. The Rainbow.
And view the Billows from the distant Land:
Fear and Distraction drawn in every Face:
So look'd our Second Sire, and all his Race.
Earth to replenish, what Delight or Joy,
Which wrathful Heav'n might soon agen destroy,
Or numerous Beasts their feeble Race orepow'r,
Or lawless Force, and mutual wounds devour?
But that Almighty Love which knows no bound
Provides a speedy Cure for every Wound:
Give to the Winds your causless Fears, he said,
Not You the Beasts, but they their Lords shall dread:
The Kingly Lion at your sight shall flie,
Fierce Wolves, and spotted Pards glare trembling by:
Murder and Thirst of Blood shall Laws restrain:
Who slays another shall himself be slain.
Love, and increase! your numerous Sons, disperse,
And Colonize the spacious Universe.
If you a Second Deluge vainly fear,
Look up and see this friendly Token here;
This radiant Bow which in the Clouds I place,
Nor more shall Floods destroy your new reviving Race.
X. Genesis, Chap. XI. Ver. 1. to 9.
The Tower of Babel. The Confusion of Languages.
Renew Mankind, to num'rous Tribes incres'd:
From lofty Ararat they now descend,
And with the Sun, their Guide, still Westward bend:
Their Language and their Dialect the same,
To Shinars fruitful Plain they journying came.
Vain of their Strength (but what is Strength in Man?
A vast Attempt they in Ill-Hour began.
See where the Tow'ry Walls of Babel rise
And threaten, and almost surmount the Skies!
What Hills on Hills the busy Pismires cast,
What fruitless Care, and unavailing Hast!
Distracted men! Is this, is this the way
To reach the Confines of eternal Day!
Or did you these stupendious Buildings frame
To boast your Pow'r, or aggrandize your Name?
Alike in vain! Behold th'Almighty smile
At your Attempts, and blast your impious Pile!
Confus'd your Dialect, you all disperse
In various Tribes around the Universe.
And reassume your War against the Skies;
Kingdoms on Kingdoms pile to raise his Throne,
Or wast the trembling World to reign alone:
With equal Ease can Heav'n his Pride confound,
And lay his short-liv'd Babel scatter'd on the ground.
XI. Genesis, Chap. XII. 5. 6. XIII. 5. 6. 11. 12. XIV. 1. 11. to the End.
Abram and Lot part. The Assyrian Kings defeated. Abram's Congress with Melchisedec.
And in the Plains of Moreh pitch'd his Tent:
His wealthy Nephew Lot, he with him bears,
His God he worships and his Fortunes shares:
Their Substance great, their Flocks and Herds so large
When joyn'd they the depastur'd Land orecharge:
But Lot removes to where fair Jordan falls,
And graz'd his Flocks by Sodoms impious walls;
Too near Ill-Neighbours whom a Vengeance waits
Worthy their Crimes, almost he shar'd their Fates:
For raging War, and Thirst of Blood begins,
Treaties are broke, and Sins are plagu'd with Sins.
Fierce Chedorlaomer his Vassals arms
And o'r Phœnicia pours unumber'd Swarms:
Luxurious Sodoms Prince resists in vain,
With Fire and Blood they cover all the Plain:
Among the Captives, Lot; when Abraham knew
With his Allies he to his Rescue flew:
Heav'n on his side engag'd; the Victors fled,
And their Captivity he captive led:
On whose Return thro' Shaveh's royal Dale
Grateful Refreshments his tir'd Host regale:
The Great Melchizedech, of Race unknown,
Who wore a Miter, tho' he fill'd a Throne,
To Heav'ns Ally did these kind Presents bring,
Himself a wondrous Prophet, Priest, and King.
Low at his Feet did the glad Patriarch fall,
His Blessing there receiv'd, and gave him Tythes of all.
XII. Genesis, Chap. XVI. Ver. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Hagar flies from her Mistress. An Angel comforts her.
Ev'n wandring Hagar's worth an Angel's care.
From her imperious Ladys Face she fled,
The way that to her native Regions led:
At length a Well she saw, but on the Brink
Sinks fainting down, and wants the Pow'r to drink:
Here, by her kind celestial Guardian found,
When just expiring on the Desert Ground:
He bids her to her Mistress strait repair,
Confess her Faults and make submission there,
And adds the Promise of a joyful Heir;
Ishmael his name; He Beasts and Men shou'd chase
The Father of a bold unnumber'd Race.
She heard, and did th'All-seeing Goodness bless,
Who Pity'd and Reliev'd her in Distress:
The Place preserves the wondrous Action's Fame,
And thence to distant Ages wears its name.
—She rose reviv'd, and to her Lady came;
And of her ripen'd Burthen soon releas'd
She with a welcome Son her Master's house increas'd.
XIII. Genesis, Chap. XVIII. Ver. 1. to 10.
Abraham entertains Three Angels. A Son is promis'd him.
Which o'r his Tent a friendly Arbour made,
Repos'd the Father of the Faithful lay,
To taste the gentle Breez and shun the scorching Day.
Three glorious Guests before the Tent appear'd
In human Form; the Patriarch kneel'd and fear'd:
If mortal, asks a mortals Board they'd share,
Or if Divine, his Sacrifice and Pray'r.
With Candor they accept his friendly Treat,
Around the Oak each takes his mossy Seat,
Chearful and Grave, and eat, or seem to eat:
When He, who most of Majesty express'd,
Larger his Form, and brighter than the rest,
Did hospitable Abraham thus accost,
You all the Bliss of happiest mortals share,
To crown it all you only want an Heir:
Nor shall you long; your Consort shall conceive,
All things are possible, if you believe.
The Patriarch bow'd, and gave his firm assent,
And from their joyful Host th'illustrious Strangers went.
XIV. Genesis, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 17. to the End.
God reveals to Abraham the Destruction of Sodom. He intercedes for it.
Two Angels hasten to destroy the Town:
When God—And shall I from just Abraham hide
My secret Will, whose Faith so often try'd?
Who'll use his Pow'r with wise impartial Sway,
And make his Sons and House my Laws obey?
Then to his Friend the hov'ring Plague foreshows,
Who thus for Grace did humbly interpose.
When Some offend, shall Vengeance seize on All?
O rather the devoted City spare,
If only Fifty Pious Souls are there!
I will, says God; this gracious Answer take!
I'll all the City spare for Fifties sake.
If only of the number Five shou'd want
Wou'dst thou for lack of Five resume this Grant?
No, said the Lord, I'll yet the Town forgive,
If of the Fifty wanting only Five.
Lower, and still more low the Patriarch came,
For Twenty pleads, his Answer still the same:
If only Ten were there, for Mercy pray'd:
If Ten are Righteous there, thy Wish enjoy,
Jehova said, I'll not the Town destroy.
And here at length the Wondrous Treaty ends,
Abraham departs, and God to Heav'n ascends.
“Still Just, and Good—Jehova is thy Name!
“Judge of the World! our sinful Nation spare,
“Who hast thy Fiftys, and thy Thousands there;
“Who still besiege thy Throne with fervent Pray'r:
“Or if our crying Guilt be th'fatal Cloud
“That stops our Vows, yet hear, O hear our Saviour's Blood!
XV. Genesis, Chap. XIX. Ver. 12. to 29.
The destruction of Sodom. Lot is preserv'd.
No longer Sodom ripe for Vengeance, spare:
Yet those who on the fatal business go;
While righteous Lot remains, suspend the Blow:
With an obliging Force they him convey
From those devoted Walls, a moments stay
Wou'd cost his Life; one Glance he must not cast,
But forwards to the neighb'ring Mountains haste:
Their aged Sire his trembling Daughters joyn'd:
Loaden with Wealth his Wife came slow behind,
Yet wish'd for more; Her Eyes she cou'd not hold;
But cast a longing Look to her remaining Gold:
—She look'd her last, her Eyes no more her own,
Unmov'd her Feet, rigid her Arms are grown,
Rooted she stands a Monumental Stone.
And pour'd from angry Heav'n inevitable Hell:
Broad Sheets of ghastly Flame involve the guilty Town,
The golden Statues melt, the Walls come tumbling down:
Deep in a dire Abyss their Grave and Ruin find,
And leave a noisom Lake, and sulph'rous Flames behind.
For here was fiery Lust reveng'd with hotter Fire.
XVI. Genesis, Chap. XXI. Ver. 2. 3.
Isaac born: Hagar and Ishmael cast forth. God comforts them.
And those are not impatient, who believe:
An Hundred rolling years without an Heir,
Had Abraham pass'd but wou'd not yet despair;
At length the welcome promis'd Blessing came,
A Son is born, and Isaac is his name:
Beyond her Hopes the joyful Sarah bless'd,
To see the smiling Infant at her Breast.
Which when he now forsook, a splendid Feast
For all his cheerful Friends the Patriarch made,
And Victims on the smoaking Altars laid,
Doubly a Father double Thanks he pay'd.
But mortal joys are unsincere and vain,
And all our Pleasure soon allay'd with Pain:
Ishmael with Scoffs insults th'intruding Heir,
Nor Sarah, haughty Sarah this cou'd bear;
Hence with the Slaves, she said, let both away,
Nor shall they to affront my Isaac stay.
Agen sad Hagar wanders thro' the wild,
Loaden with Grief, and with her exil'd Child:
The Water now was spent she with her bore,
And in the thirsty Sands what Hopes of more?
Her fainting Son, tho' ev'n her Eyes grew dry
Parch'd and exhaust; nor cou'd she see him die:
One Kiss she gave, that Kiss she thought her last,
And then beneath a Bush the Child she cast:
With much of Pain he rais'd his fainting Eyes,
And for his Mother calls with feeble cries.
That boundless Pity who does all survey,
Who not disdains to aid our mortal Clay,
Tho' Angels serve him, saw their deep distress,
Nor unregarding saw, but did redress.
He bids the mournful Mother cease her Fears,
For God had heard his Voice, had heard her Tears.
Arise, said he, agen thy Ishmael take:
Of Ishmael I'll a mighty Nation make.
When near her she a Crystal Well perceives,
And with recruited Stores herself and Him relieves.
XVII. Genesis, Chap. XXII. Ver. 1. to 3. 6. to 12. 16. to 18.
Abraham commanded to offer Isaac. An Angel stays his Hand.
Thy Son, thine only Son, thine Isaac take,
And where Moriahs craggy Mountains rise
The Youth to him that gave him, sacrifice.
He knew 'twas Heaven's to order, his t'obey:
Who gave him, cou'd perform the Words he said,
Who bid him die cou'd raise him from the Dead.
And chas'd the Shades o'r scorch'd Arabia's Plain,
When Abraham, yet a Father, leaves his Tent,
And to the Place with his lov'd Isaac went:
The thoughtful Father bore the Knife and Fire,
His Son the Wood, who thus accosts his Sire:
—Nor Wood, nor Fire, for Sacrifice we need,
But where's the Lamb must on the Altar bleed?
Unmov'd the faithful Patriarch thus reply'd,
'Tis God who sends and he'll the Lamb provide.
The Father's Hand is rais'd to give the fatal Wound:
O Piety! O Nature! Why so slow,
Ye Angels, to divert the falling Blow!
A willing Watcher flies, and stops his Hand:
When from the Throne a voice like Thunder broke
And to the Patriarch thus th'Almighty spoke.
“Thy matchless Faith shall be to after-Ages known:
“I by myself have sworn thy num'rous Seed I'll bless,
The gate of those that hate them shall thy Seed possess:
“The Saviour of the World shall from thy Stock arise
“T'atone his Father's Wrath a willing Sacrifice.
XVIII. Genesis, Chap. XXIV. from Ver. 17. to 20.
Abraham sends his Servant to take a Wife for his Son Isaac.
And bends beneath a Century of Years:
Concern'd for his restor'd miraculous Son,
His faithful Servant call'd, he thus begun.
Who made this Earth, and yon bright Orbs on high,
Thou'lt not thy Master's Family disgrace,
Nor match my Son to Canaans hated Race;
But back to Aramæan Fields repair,
And from my Kindred chuse his Consort there:
Attent the Servant hears, to all he yields,
And speeds away for Padans distant Fields:
Nor empty he nor unattended goes,
But Ten fair Camels of his Masters chose,
With Spice and Gold, which both th'Arabia's bless'd,
And all the various Treasures of the East.
Shall Ishmaels Sons to their Impostors Tomb,
Or from th'Armuzian Gulf, and Persia's shores,
Or old Damascus, earthly Paradise,
In safety Pilot o'r the sandy Main.)
Strikes the tall Hills, and gilds the Crystal Streams:
Arriv'd, the pious Trav'ler kneel'd and pray'd,
Nor long before he saw the charming Maid,
Whom for his Master's Bosom Heav'n design'd:
The Message done his aged Lord enjoyn'd,
He gains the Virgin's, and her Friends consent,
And soon rejoicing home with his fair Charge he went.
XIX. Genesis, Chap. XXV. Ver. 21. to 26.
Rebecca being barren, Isaac prays for her. Esau and Jacob born. Their conditions foretold.
Still something wants which leaves him still unbless'd.
We ask of Heaven and murmur when deny'd,
We ask fair Children and a beauteous Bride.
But Heav'n alone foresees the dark Event,
And whether they in Wrath or Mercy sent.
No Balm for all our Wounds?—There is—'Tis Pray'r:
By this, unshock'd, the fiercest Storms we bear,
By this remove; new Light and Joy receive,
And breath agen a while, and think we live.
This all the Just of old, this Isaac try'd:
No smiling Heir to bless his lovely Bride:
Can Heav'n forget what Heav'n itself decreed,
Where are his Hopes, and where the Promis'd Seed!
His barren Wealth, th'effect of all his Care
Must Rapine seize, or thankless Strangers share?
The fruitful Poor he bless'd—Yet did he not despair.
But does at length a doubled Blessing gain:
The sad Rebecca's barren Womb's unseal'd,
And of her struggling Birth the Fate's reveal'd:
“Two Nations, thus said God, are in thy Womb
“Two different Warring People thence shall come
“The younger Hand the Scepter doom'd to sway,
‘The Elder, tho' relucting, must obey.
The cheerful Light and tast sweet Vital Air:
A double Birth from her glad Labor came,
Rough ESAU was the First, JACOB the Younger's Name.
XX. Genesis, Chap. XXVII. 1. to Ver 23.
Jacob gets the Blessing from Esau.
And O ye Ages! who commands your Hast?
How soon the Bloom of Life and Youth are flown?
How soon we grow unto our Selves unknown?
Decrepid Isaac now has lost his Sight,
His Orbs in vain attempt the cheerful Light;
Fair Heav'n, and Man's dear Face they search in vain:
His heavier Sences only firm remain:
Touch, Hearing, Taste, and Smell, unbroke and strong,
And still the glimm'ring Lamp of Life prolong.
—But his Immortal Mind renews its Sight,
More quick and vig'rous grown when wing'd for flight
And on the Ridge of Life can farther see
Within the Realms of dark Futurity.
Of those Two Sons which bless'd his Nuptial Bed
He his lov'd Esau call'd, and thus he said.
—Hence to the Woods my Son! and swift as wind
Go chase the lofty Stag, or nimble Hind:
When Heav'n thy Labor crowns with wish'd success
Return, and thee before my Death I'll bless.
His lingring Brother's Blessing to prevent:
The Father bless'd, unknowing his Deceit,
And God confirm'd his Word, and made it Fate:
Thus, Good from Ill, unbounded Wisdom draws,
And thus just Heav'n disposes what it did not cause.
XXI. Genesis, Chap. XXVII. from Ver. 30. to 41.
Esau complains of his Brother's supplanting him. Isaac blesses Esau.
To meet his Father's Blessing and Embrace
Young Esau comes, and begs he'd deign to share
Th'Effects of his Good-Fortune and his Care:
Trembled the Patriarch when his Voice he knew;
“If thou my Son, my Esau, where and who,
“Where is th'Impostor did thy Blessing steal?
“Nor can I that reverse which Heav'n did seal.
Fierce Esau hears, with loud and bitter Cries
Accuses partial Fate, and rends the Skies.
O Father, Brother! in my ruin joyn'd!
A Brother false, a Father as unkind!
And have you then exhausted all your Store,
He adds with Tears, not One, One Blessing more
Can you upon your once-lov'd Son bestow,
Who strains these Knees, and at your Feet will grow!
Of that, at least, a Brother can't deprive;
That, ev'n to Esau, may a Father give.
By Nations serv'd, by Suppliant Foes obey'd:
With Corn and Wine did I his Race sustain;
Yet thou, at length, shalt break his servile Chain:
The Dew of Heav'n shall on thy Lot descend,
The fertile Glebe uncommon Blessings lend,
And Triumphs thy victorious Sword attend.
And treasur'd Deep Revenge within his canker'd Heart.
XXII. Genesis, Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 10. to 15.
Rebecca sends Jacob to Padan-Aram. Who sees a Vision of Angels in the way.
To Bethuel, and her Aramëan Friends:
Who, when Still Night her sable wings had spread,
A Stone his Pillar, and the Earth his Bed,
Weary with trav'ling takes his welcome Rest,
With glorious Dreams, and heav'nly Visions bless'd:
He saw fair Angels from the Clouds descend,
And to the Place their shining Footsteps bend:
A wondrous Scale he saw from Earth arise
Whose lofty top was hid within the Skies.
Th'Angelic Forms were now no longer fair,
Their Rays eclips'd, for God himself was there,
When loe a Voice was heard, a Voice divine,
“I am thy Father's God, and will be thine!
“The Land where thou a Stranger, now dost rest
“Shall be by thy unnumber'd Seed possess'd,
“And all the World shall in thy Seed be bless'd.
“Where e'r thou go'st my Favour shall attend,
“My watchful Angels shall from Ill defend:
“Nor will I leave thee till I thee restore,
“Till all my Words I have perform'd, and more.
Sleep flies away, at once they take their Flight,
And modest Day arose, and shone with paler Light.
XXIII. Genesis, Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 18, to the End.
Jacob's Vow.
And deep revolving what he heard and saw;
While yet the Sun did scarce his Beams disclose
Thus to himself, as he from Earth arose.
How dreadful is this Place, for God is here!
'Tis Holy, 'tis Divine—Away Profane!
What mortal Strength such Brightness may sustain!
What sacred Horror trills thro' every Vein!
The Gates of Heav'n are here expanded wide;
The King of Kings does here himself reside:
And may the Pow'r who fills it, not despise
My grateful, tho' my humble Sacrifice!
Then rais'd the Stone on which he lean'd his Head,
Pure Oyl he pour'd thereon, and thus he said:
“Let me not daily Bread, and Rayment want!
“O prosper, and preserve! I ask no more,
“And to my Father's House in Peace restore!
“So, thou my God, this Place thy House shall be,
“And Tythes of all thou giv'st I'll consecrate to Thee.
XXIV. Genesis, Chap. XXIX. Ver. 10. 14.
Jacob comes to the Well of Haran: sees Rachel. Is received by Laban.
Till Harans Eastern Fields at length he views,
Cover'd with Flocks which graz'd the fertile Plains
Conducted and secur'd by harmless Swains.
Panting for Heat the Flocks and Shepherds lay
Around a limpid Fountains Brim; but none
Cou'd from the Entrance move the pondrous Stone:
Twice Six of our degen'rate weaker Race
The rocky Fragment hardly cou'd displace;
With ease the Hebrew throws it from the brink,
And makes wide way for all the Flocks to drink;
For Laban's Flock he sees approaching near,
He sees their lovely Shepherdess appear,
The Charms of Innocence and Beauty wear.
With more than Friendship in his Eyes and Face
He look'd and blush'd, and ran to her Embrace:
His Name and Kindred to the Maid reveals
With trembling Lips, and scarce his Love conceals.
Rich Laban hears, he meets him at the Gates,
His Kinsman, to his House with courteous welcome waits.
XXV. Genesis, Chap. XXIX. Ver. 18 to 20.
Jacob loves Rachel, and serves for her Seven Years.
That Love transform'd Apollo to a Swain:
See here the Founder of the Sacred Race
For Sev'n long years that pleasing Toil embrace!
His Sheep their Master's watchful Eye confess,
Tho' more he heeds their charming Shepherdess:
Or on some hanging Mountains verdant Side,
Or near fair Streams which thro' the Valleys glide,
Or on a flow'ry Bank, beneath the shade
By spreading Palms and lofty Cedars made,
Which screen'd the Sun, but fann'd his inward Fire,
He sate, and sung, and touch'd his tuneful Lyre.
He sung what pass'd a vulgar Shepherds Lays,
How God did this fair World from Chaos raise;
How, Man, its Lord, he made, and from his Side,
(What cannot Heav'n?) educ'd his beauteous Bride;
When first they met, what Joy, what strange surprize,
And all their bless'd Employ in Paradise.
For Verse and Musick ne'r were Foes to Love:
Her Heart he wins, he wins her Friends assent,
And brings the beauteous Prize in triumph to his Tent.
XXVI. Genesis, Chap. XXXI. 17. 20. 21. 23. 24. 25. 44. to 51.
Jacob's departure. Laban pursues him. God appears to Laban: He makes a Covenant with Jacob.
In Harans Fields, his Labors well repay'd:
So well his faithful Industry was bless'd
His Flocks and Herds thro' all the Plains increas'd.
A num'rous Offspring crown'd his nuptial Bed,
Nor they the Scorn of Fools for want of Bread.
His once dear Home he often call'd to mind,
And Father's House; fain wou'd he close his Eyes,
And see the aged Sire before he dies.
With Heav'n to Friend at length he homeward went,
Nor jealous Laban knew his Son's intent:
By gentle Journeys still to West he leads,
And Paths well known with his fair Troop he treads.
They thro' rough ways, thro' various Regions pass'd,
Euphrates cross'd and Bashans Fields, at last
His richly laden Bark in sight of Shore:
But angry Laban hears, and like the Wind
With his tempestuous Friends came swift behind;
The feeble Troop o'retake, and nothing breath
But Wrath and Vengeance, Slavery and Death:
Too late to fly, too weak to meet the Foe:
For God a Visionary Scene display'd,
And thus by Night to trembling Laban said:
“Touch not my Servant, my peculiar Care,
“And ev'n the least provoking Word forbear:
I'th' Morn they meet, and in a League combine,
Which ragged Heaps of Stones to after-Ages sign.
XXVII. Genesis, Chap. XXXII. Ver. 3. 6. 9. 13. to 15. 22. 24. to 28.
Esau comes to meet Jacob. He sends a Present to appease him. He wrestles with an Angel: His name is called Israel.
And with new Tumults fill the angry Skies;
For now proud Selabs craggy Rock appears
And Edoms Realms; the conscious Jacob fears;
Fears his Supplanted Brother's Arms, and sent
The distant gath'ring Mischief to prevent:
His Messengers ungrateful Tidings bring
Returning swift—(Ill news is on the Wing,
The Good comes slow behind with lazy Feet:)
Fierce Esau with Four Hundred Men they meet,
All on full march his Brother's Camp to find,
Panting they come, and think him close behind.
The Patriarch's with the doubtful news distress'd,
And various Passions struggled in his Breast:
First Heav'n by Pray'r did on his Side engage,
And then to melt his injur'd Brother's Rage
Large Droves of Oxen, Sheep, and Camels brings,
When joyn'd, a Present not unworthy Kings:
Then o'r the Ford his num'rous Houshold sent,
He only stay'd behind, and kept his Tent;
And as he storms high Heav'n with pious Pray'r,
In Human Form an Angel enters there;
Whom Jacob seiz'd, the heav'nly Warrior press'd,
Nor wou'd he let him go, himself unbless'd:
The Angel thus—I grant thee thy Request:
Jacob no more, thy name shall Israel be,
For thou with God and Man hast gain'd the victory.
XXVIII. Genesis, Chap. XXXIII. Ver. 1. 8. to 11. 16.
The kind meeting of Esau and Jacob.
When first the Sun his radiant Face display'd
Crosses the murmuring Brook, no more affraid:
His Brother's Troops he sees, not unprepar'd,
He knew he had himself a Stronger Guard.
'Twas moulded new, revengeful now no more:
Fury and Murder, direful Forms remove,
Soft Pity them succeeds, and mild fraternal Love:
He came to Guard and Welcome, not contend,
And only knew the Brother and the Friend.
When Joy wou'd give him leave his Thoughts to vent,
He asks him what those Droves behind him meant?
'Tis only a small Present, he rejoyn'd,
Tho' far too mean, for you, my Lord, design'd.
I have enough, my Brother, spare your cost
Replys the Prince; on me 'tis only lost:
So long he urg'd till he his Gifts receives,
And Jacob not displeas'd, upon his Journey leaves.
XXIX. Genesis, Chap. XXXIV. Ver. 1. 2. 25. 26. 30. 31.
Dinah ravish'd, The Shechemites slain by Simeon and Levi.
His Tent he pitch'd, and built an Altar there:
The while young Dinah, innocent and fair,
Of Home and rural Pleasures weary grown
Steals from her Father's Tent to see the Town,
And with her Canaanitish Friends resort
To Hamor's Palace, and luxurious Court.
Young Shechem saw, he treated and caress'd,
A lawless Fire inflam'd the Princes Breast,
He seiz'd the struggling Maid, and all his Wish possess'd:
Simeon and Levi heard, they both conspire,
(Enflam'd with Wrath, as Shechem with Desire,)
Severe Revenge for this Affront to take,
And kill the People for their Prince's sake:
By guileful Arts they an Advantage gain,
And the defenceless Citizens are slain:
Cover'd with Blood they to their Father come,
And with 'em lead their mournful Sister home:
No Joy their Conquest brought his peaceful Tent,
Their rash Revenge he chides, and dreads th'Event:
His eager Sons, their Passion scarce allay'd,
Defend the cruel Fact, and thus they said:
“It was too much, too much for Man to bear.
“With his hot Blood we've purg'd that foul disgrace
“The Ravisher has fix'd on us, and all our Race.
XXX. Genesis, Chap. XXXV. Ver. 16. 19. 20.
Rachels Death. Her Burial, and Tomb.
Or the dear charming Object ever lose!
Has Love itself no more of Bliss to give,
Or fears too soon we'd all our Joys outlive!
Thro' Want and Sorrow long the Patriarch strove,
And softned all his Cares with virtuous Love;
The rugged Tempest pass'd, the Storms were o'r,
His Treasure's lost upon the wish'd-for Shore:
His Rachel, his long Labor's happy Prize,
Joy of his Heart, and Light of his glad Eyes,
Himself the Cause, in ling'ring Torments dies:
Scarce cou'd his Piety Despair prevent,
Or make him with so vast a Loss content.
What was the World to him when she was gone?
A Desert all, a Skie without a Sun.
And scatter Tears and Roses round her Tomb:
A Marble Pillar o'r her Dust he rears,
Which this inscrib'd to After-Ages wears.
“While he who lost 'em both stays languishing behind.
XXXI. Genesis, Chap. XXXVII. Ver. 5. to 11.
Joseph's Dreams. His Brethren hate him.
With harmless Shepherds on their humble Plain!
Ev'n there we search for Happiness in vain:
Against a Fav'rite too they there combine,
With less of Art, but still the same design:
They on another's Ruin hope to rise,
And for a Dream wou'd Joseph sacrifice.
He thought he saw the Fields with Harvest crown'd,
And in large Sheaves the golden Blessings bound;
His Brother's Sheaves to his, obeisance pay'd;
They heard, and thus with scornful Taunts they said:
Is that strong Hand a Scepter doom'd to sway,
While we and all our Father's House obey?
Elev'n fair Stars which weaker Lustre wear
Compose their Train; they all in consult meet,
Humbly submit, and bow beneath his Feet:
The Patriarch hear'd, his forward Son reprov'd,
Tho' with the weighty Omen not unmov'd:
He treasures up his Dreams, content to wait
Till lab'ring Time disclos'd the deep Resolves of Fate.
XXXII. Genesis, Chap. XXXVII. Ver. 12. to 28.
Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites by his Brethren, and carried into Egypt.
Their Father's Flocks, and there securely fed;
From thence, (the Fields depastur'd) farther drive
Till they at Dothan's fertile Plains arrive:
Young Joseph goes, commanded by his Sire
To find the Ten, and of their Health enquire;
Discern'd at Distance, they his Death conspire:
He comes, they cry, our future Lord let's kill,
And see if then he can his Dreams fulfil.
Reuben, of Nature merciful, and mild,
Allays their Rage, and seeks to save the Child:
Into a Pit the Innocent they cast,
And careless seat themselves to their repast:
As chanc'd a Band of Ishmaels Sons came by
With Spices, Balm, and Myrrh, approching nigh,
Thus Judah to his listning Brethren said:
What Gain if each upon his guilty Head
Our Brother's Blood we draw? Our selves let's clear
To these we'll sell the Youth, nor need we fear
Of him or of his Dreams again to hear.
The motion pleas'd, he's sold, the Price is pay'd,
And thro' the Deserts he to Mizraims Realms convey'd.
XXXIII. Genesis, Chap. XXXVII. from Ver. 31. to 35.
Jacob laments for his Son Joseph.
And their Injustice must conceal with Lies:
His Coat of various Colours richly made,
Distain'd with Blood is to his Sire convey'd:
The Coat too well he knew, with Grief o'rpow'rd,
'Tis his, 'tis his, he cries, my Son's devour'd,
My Joseph is no more—Behold him tear
With loud Laments his Garments and his Hair!
His goodly Robes he into Sackcloth turns,
Cover'd with Dust in deep Despair he mourns.
His num'rous Sons and all his House arise
And strive to ease his Cares; too late, he cries,
And Hope and Comfort now alike defies:
Ah my Lov'd Son! shall I thy Loss survive?
When Joseph is no more shall Jacob live?
Heavier ye Griefs! make haste ye ling'ring Cares.
And quickly press to Earth these Hoary Hairs:
As fast as an Old Man can move, I'll come,
And meet thee once agen, my Joseph, in the Tomb.
XXXIV. Genesis, Chap. XXXIX. from Ver. 7. to 20.
Joseph tempted by his Mistress, he refuses her; is wrongfully accus'd, and imprison'd.
Joseph, tho' sold, enjoys his Liberty:
His Master loves his Industry and Truth,
His Lady views too oft his blooming Youth;
Too soon a lawless Fire inflames her Breast,
Which robs her Mind of Peace, her Eyes of Rest:
She looks, she sighs, she languishes in vain,
The lovely Youth regardless of her Pain:
In vain her Sex's well-known Arts she tries;
He dares not trust himself, nor trust her Eyes,
But shuns her sight, and conquers whilst he flies.
She still persists, so wild her Passion grown,
Till Shame, the last Reserve of Virtue's gone:
She seiz'd the Youth, attacks with Syrens Tears,
And tells him what's unfit for virtuous Ears:
In vain he Gratitude and Conscience press'd,
Blind to her Charms, and Deaf to her Request,
And twin'd at last the Serpent from his Breast.
With other Fires the slighted Beauty burns,
Defeated Lust to Hate and Vengeance turns:
Seize, seize the Ravisher, aloud she cries,
Resolv'd the guiltless Youth to sacrifice:
Silent he stood, yet bold, with no Defence
Besides his Conscience, and his Innocence;
Enrag'd his Lord commands; they drag him thence;
Loaden with Chains to Dungeons deep convey,
Remov'd from Heav'ns sweet Light, and least approach of Day.
XXXV. Genesis, Chap. XLI. Ver. 14. to 36.
Pharaoh's Dreams Joseph interprets them.
But humble Virtue from the Dust shall rise:
Young Joseph by his Chains illustrious grown,
Drawn from the Dungeon shares great Pharaoh's Throne.
Thither he comes to save the sinking State,
Forewarn'd by wondrous Dreams, and big with Fate:
As on his Couch the Monarch slumb'ring lay
These Visionary Scenes did Heav'n display:
On Nilus's slimy Banks he thought he stood,
And saw ascending from the Parent-Flood
Sev'n large, and milk-white Kine, well flesh'd and fair,
Which to the Meadows ran, and pastur'd there:
A second Sev'n succeeds deform'd and lean;
And, while intent he view'd the wond'rous Scene,
Attack the former, them they soon o'rpow'r,
The Sev'n deform'd the beauteous Seven devour,
And with their weight the Stalk beneath 'em bend:
Sev'n others them succeed, not far behind,
But thin, and blasted with the burning wind;
Yet these with speed devour the Full and Fair.
The King awakes, and seiz'd with anxious Care
He both th'important Dreams to Joseph told,
And thus did he their mystic Sence unfold
Sev'n Years of Plenty are by both express'd:
To these, Sev'n Years of Famine shall succeed,
When Egypt all her boasted Stores will need:
When Plenty comes, let Pharaoh then provide
That those long barren Years may be with Corn supply'd.
XXXVI. Genesis, Chap. XLI. from Ver. 37. to 45. 50. to 52.
Joseph's Preferment. His Marriage, and his Two Children.
Wondrous Young Man, belov'd of Heav'n, he cries,
Egypt's too poor a just Reward to give,
Yet, what a grateful Nation can, receive.
My Viceroy thou, thro' all my Realms obey'd,
To thee their Saviour, be their homage pay'd.
With speed he bids the bright Regalia bring,
And him proclaim their Father, and their King.
He takes the Royal Signet from his Hand,
And with it gives unlimited Command:
Rich Chains of Gold his graceful Neck adorn,
Which an inglorious Iron weight had worn:
High on his stately Chariot rais'd he rode.
Admir'd, ador'd by all the shouting Crowd.
Proud of his Heart, tho she of Princely Race:
Two lovely Sons she did to Joseph bear;
They Smile, and he forgets his former Care;
Of foregone Ills the very Trace remov'd,
Great without Envy, He, and without Flatt'ry lov'd.
XXXVII. Genesis, XLI.
The Famine begins. Joseph's Brethren, &c.
Had spun the first, bless'd Week of plenteous Years:
The Granaries are fill'd by Joseph's Care,
And all against th'approaching Storm prepare;
Which now arrives, a dreadful Famine reigns,
Nor Father Nile cou'd bless his Egypts Plains:
They on their unexhausted Stores rely,
And forein Regions can from thence supply;
Old Jacob hears, and sends his Sons to buy;
For Canaans fertile Fields their Want confess,
Scorch'd like Arabia's Sandy Wilderness.
His Benjamin alone behind 'em stays,
The Second Hope of his declining Days:
The Ten to Egypt come, by Joseph known,
Tho' to his Brethren he a Stranger grown:
Roughly he asks 'em whence they came, and why?
Trembling and pale, from Canaan, they reply
To purchase Food—Rather the Land to spy
From Lubims wast, or Cush, our ancient Foe
He fierce, rejoins—With suppliant Voice and low
Agen they plead their Truth, and thus began,
We once Twelve happy Sons of one Old Man;
One his untimely Fate long since did find,
The Youngest with his Father stays behind.
Replies the Prince, but go, and bring the Youth:
The while this Pledge shall your Return secure,
Or just Rewards of broken Faith endure.
When him they sold, he bids his Servants bind;
The rest return with Corn, he stays in Chains behind.
XXXVIII. Genesis, Chap. XLIII. XLIV.
Lean Want appears, and makes 'em wish for more
Yet dare they not to Mizraims Fields repair,
Their Brother left in Chains an Hostage there,
Unless the Youngest now the Journy share:
Their mournful Father yields a forc'd assent,
Away his Benjamin, his Darling went:
At length arriv'd at Joseph's Princely Seat
He mildly with 'em thus begins to treat.
The cheerful Light, and tast th'Ætherial Air?
He does, Great Sir! tho' Old and full of Days,
The Ten reply, and for your Welfare prays.
Agen he views 'em with attentive Eyes,
And Benjamin among the Crowd espies;
With hast he flees to his retir'd Alcove,
And vents in Show'rs of Tears, fraternal Love,
Returning soon, he treats his Hebrew Friends,
And loaden back with Corn, rejoicing sends:
But short their Joy, and but in vain their Hast,
The Steward had a massy Goblet plac'd,
So Joseph will'd, within the Youngers Sack;
He soon o'rtakes, and brings 'em trembling back:
The fatal Bowl with Benjamin was found
And he secur'd; when prostrate on the Ground
Thus Judah pleads—on me, on me, let all
The Guilt and Punishment unpity'd fall:
But, Oh! this unadverting Youth forgive!
Let him, or rather let his Father live!
If him he miss, he dies, nor dar'd we come
Till I his Surety to return him home:
Here rather let me fall, if fall I must,
Than bring my aged Sire with Sorrow to the Dust.
XXXIX. Genesis, Chap. XLV. Ver. 1. to 16.
Joseph makes himself known to his Brethren. He sends for his Father.
But struggling Nature broke th'uneasie Chain:
He bids 'em clear the Room, the Crowd obey,
And none besides his Wond'ring Brethren stay;
Then—I am Joseph, said, nor needed more,
Tho' humbly prostrate on the Earth before,
They'd now have farther gone, and wish its Womb,
And darkest Shades their kind immediate Tomb:
Agen with gentle words their minds he chears,
And with reviving Smiles dispells their Fears:
The Youngest first embrac'd with friendly Tears,
Then all the Rest; he bids their Grief forbear
For God to save their Lives had plac'd him there
Five dreadful Years of Famine yet remain,
No Harvest shou'd requite the Tiller's Pain:
Return, my aged Father bring with hast,
I'll feed you all until the Dearth be pass'd:
Of Egypt's Dainties he a Present sends,
And bids 'em on the way continue Friends.
Arriv'd they to their aged Sire relate
His Joseph's Glory and his alter'd Fate:
Too big th'unwieldy Joy, too vast the News,
Long did his fainting Heart, Belief refuse:
But when he saw the Carriages appear,
And did his pious Sons kind message hear;
Forgotten Joy shines in his lightn'd Eyes,
And thus the aged Sire in Extasies:
“Shall these chill Veins new Life and Warmth receive,
“And does my lost lamented Joseph live?
“Tho' long the Journey, all my Strength I'll try
“To see and bless my Son, my Joseph, e'r I die.
XL. Genesis, Chap. XLVI. XLVII. to Ver. 11.
Jacob with his Family goes into Egypt, Joseph meets him; and presents him, and Five of his Brethren to Pharaoh.
Old Jacob thro' the Desert takes his way;
Agen he sees his much-lov'd Joseph's Face
Who from his Chariot leaps and runs with Tears to his Embrace:
Then brings to Court the Venerable Sire;
The Nobles press to see him, and admire,
Ev'n Pharaoh not disdains to ask his Age:
—Evil and short has been my Pilgrimage,
A Century and Half t'has not surpass'd,
Tho' longer far my Ancestors did last.
He said, and bless'd the King, and from him went,
And Joseph next his Brethren did present;
Five of the Tallest and of graceful Mien,
By Pharaoh not unworthy to be seen:
He asks 'em, what their way of Life had been?
—They—We from our Youth were humble Swains,
And us'd to feed our Flocks in Canaans Plains,
But all our Pastures now are scorch'd and burn'd,
And like Arabia's Sandy Deserts turn'd:
To You, Great Sir! we all for Refuge fly,
Without your Aid, our famish'd Flocks must die,
In Goshens fertile Fields we beg to rest.
The Monarch hears, and smiles, and grants 'em their Request.
XLI. Genesis, Chap. XLVII. from Ver. 29. to the End of Chap. XLVIII.
Jacob's last Sickness. He sends for Joseph, and blesses his Two Sons.
And drooping Life wear silently away:
His sinking Eyes, heavy with Cares and Age
Approaching Death's long Iron Sleep presage:
For Joseph, e'r he must the World forsake,
He sends, his long, his last Adieu to take:
His Life's weak Lamp gave yet one cheerful blaze,
When he arrives; he tries himself to raise,
And bless his Son, who lowly Rev'rence pay'd,
While thus with pain th'expiring Patriarch said:
I've liv'd enough, nor ask a longer Date:
Yet one Request you must not me deny,
Swear to perform't and I in Peace shall die:
'Tis—that in Canaan you'd my Bones inter,
In Ephron's Field, and Abraham's Sepulcher:
He gave his Oath, and firm'd his last Request,
His Children brought, and them the Patriarch bless'd:
His Hands transverse, his Right the Younger grac'd,
And on the Elder's Head his Left was plac'd:
Joseph displeas'd, to move 'em vainly try'd,
Unerring Fate his palsied Hands did Guide.
Inspir'd he cries, Manasseh only less:
Thy Brother, Great, but thou shalt Greater be,
And Nations like the Sand unnumber'd flow from Thee.
XLII. Genesis, Chap. XLIX.
Jacob calls his Sons, and blesses them.
E'r Death must loose exhausted Nature's Chains;
He calls his Sons, and thus their Fates explains.
REUBEN, my Might, my Strength! but Reuben fell;
Unstablehe as Water, can't excell:
His Youth with shameful Incest did abuse
His Father's Bed, and must his Birthright lose:
Which LEVI and fierce SIMEON hope in vain,
Their Swords in Blood, and guilty Hands they stain:
'Tis JUDAH shall that envied Honour gain.
Nor, Judah! shall thy regal Race expire
Till the Great Shiloh come, the Nations long Desire.
From Sea to Sea shall ZEBULON extend,
At ancient Sidon shall his Border end.
Rich ISSACHAR! be rather Safe than Brave!
Inglorious Ease he'll chuse, a Wealthy Slave.
The Sacred Rod of Justice, DAN shall wield,
By Art prevail, too Weak for open Field.
The wand'ring Sons of Ishmael GAD shall quell:
In Royal Dainties ASHER shall excel:
Soft Words for NAPHTHALI his Freedom gain,
Like a Swift Hind he shoots across the Plain.
JOSEPH! thy Branches like a fruitful Vine
Shall shade the Walls, and round the Cedars twine!
And o'r th'Eternal Hills shall thy fair Branches go:
Not famish'd Wolves dart keener at their Prey
Than BENJAMIN his trembling Foes shall slay,
Thus his enlightn'd Mind their Fates express'd,
Then loos'd from mortal Chains she wings for endless Rest.
XLIII Genesis, Chap. L. Ver. 1. to 13.
Joseph buries Jacob in Canaan.
And dear Remains of him he lov'd so well.
Then for his Stately Funeral Pomp prepares,
And him, embalm'd, to native Canaan bears.
Due Honours to his Herse the Nobles pay,
And o'r the Sandy Deserts him convey:
Fair Jordan's Streams disturb'd with Tears they pass'd,
In Palestina's Fields arriv'd at last,
Near Atad's Floor in regal state he lay,
And thence to Ephron's Cave they him convey:
In Solemn Ranks the vested Mourners go,
Joseph the Chief: silent they march and slow:
How sad a Scene! how vast a Pomp of Woe!
The wond'ring Natives crowd, and ask the cause
So large a Troop from Mizraim's Regions draws:
The Place's name preserves the Great Event,
Which down from thence unchang'd to distant Ages went.
XLIV. Exodus, Chap. I. Ver. 6. 8. 16. II. 1. to 10.
Joseph dies. The Israelites afflicted. Moses born, expos'd, found, and brought up by Pharaoh's Daughter, who adopts him for her Son.
Themselves or dearest Fav'rites from the Grave:
Pharaoh is dead, and Joseph is the same,
Ungrateful Egypt soon forgets his Name:
A King arose a Foe to Israel's Seed,
As soon as born their Sons are doom'd to bleed.
MOSES of Levi's Race, divinely Fair,
Did his sad Mother then to Amram bear:
A while the lovely Infant did conceal,
At length left envious eyes shou'd him reveal,
Did in an Ark of Bulrushes inclose,
And to the Mercy of the Waves expose:
The Waves themselves than Tyrant-Man more mild,
Safe on their Bosoms waft the lovely Child.
As Pharaoh's Daughter did to Nile repair
To pay mistaken Adorations there,
The Infant she among the Rushes spies,
Nor him beholds with unrelenting Eyes:
To his glad Mother him commits unknown,
And when he past his tender Childhood grown
Adopts the envy'd Youth a Kinsman to the Throne.
XLV.
Moses visits his Brethren. Kills an Egyptian.
Who Wisdom's shar'd at once, and Beauty's Prize,
Yet all their gawdy shows he cou'd despise.
Afflicted Virtue meanly to disown
He thinks too dear a Rate to gain a Throne:
His Hebrew Brethren now no more unknown,
Tho' for their Thraldom he cou'd only grieve,
And mourn the Wrongs he cou'd not yet relieve.
Pharaoh he left, he left the pompous Court,
And to th'afflicted Hebrews did resort:
He found 'em faint beneath their servile load,
The Desart sprinkled with their Tears and Blood.
Compassion in his gen'rous Soul did rise,
And just Resentment sparkled in his Eyes:
Too many miserable Objects there
His Temper try'd, but One he cou'd not bear:
He saw a cruel Master seize his Slave,
Resisting tho' unarm'd, and vainly Brave:
Mov'd by the sacred Sp'rit his Sword he drew,
And to his injur'd Brother's rescue flew:
Deep in th'Invader's Breast the Weapon drives,
And his warm Heart the deadly Point receives:
Cursing he falls, and kicks the Sandy Ground,
And his black Blood and Soul rush mingled thro' the Wound.
XLVI. Exodus, Chap. II. Ver. 15. to 21
And deep Revenge against the Heroe swears;
A Price is set on his devoted Head,
To Midian's Fields the glorious Exile fled;
And, as the Sun, in Western Waves descends,
The Pilgrim too his weary Journy ends.
When Shepherds rul'd, and Kings did not disdain
To guard their fleecy Housholds on the Plain!
Good Jethro held, of these, the foremost Place,
A Priest and Prince of holy Abra'ms Race:
Sev'n beautious Daughters bless'd his Nuptial Bed,
On flow'ry Banks their Father's Flocks they fed;
By Day they fed, and cooler Evening come,
The lovely Shepherdesses drive 'em home.
Whence all the Plains refresh'd their fainting Flocks:
When Jethro's there among the rest arrive
The churlish Shepherds thence his Daughters drive:
—Nor Moses this—“Is't thus you treat the Fair?
“Hence, or the just Rewards of Rudeness bear!
—He said, and did for more than Words prepare:
Diffident of their Number's weak defence
The frighted Clowns in troops run murm'ring thence:
The Flocks suffic'd they homeward haste, and tell
With Moses and the Rusticks what befell:
—And have ye left the gen'rous Stranger there,
Expos'd in Fields to cold nocturnal Air,
Their Father answers—strait his Servants sent
And brought him to his hospitable Tent:
His Faith, his Courage, and his Prudence try'd
He begs he'd not disdain his Flocks to guide,
And made fair Zipporah his well-contented Bride.
XLVII. Exodus, Chap. III. Ver. 2. to 8.
God appears to Moses in a Burning Bush.
And feeds 'em there in Pastures fresh and large:
Hanging they graze the Sacred Mountain's side,
A mossy Hillock bears their careful Guide:
Rare Myrtle Shrubs around at distance seen,
The Friendly Palm, and Cypress Ever-Green.
As he the Sylvan Scene with Pleasure views
By gentle motion dress'd in various Hews,
A hollow wind comes whisp'ring thro' the Leaves,
The solid Rock with dire Convulsions cleaves:
The largest Bush, and fairer than the rest
He saw in harmless Flames, and Lambent Lightnings dress'd.
Tho' strange, tho' wondrous strange the Sight appear.
The Saint who knew no Guilt cou'd know no Fear,
And to the Burning Bush approaches near:
When from the Flames a Voice like Thunder broke,
And Moses in these awful Words bespoke:
“Thy Sandals quickly loose, bold mortal, and retire,
“This Place is Holy Ground, and God is in the Fire,
“The God of Abraham, I, and all his favour'd Race.
When thus the Voice goes on—“To me are not unknown
“Afflicted Israel's Tears, I number every Groan:
“Under their cruel Lords no longer shall they grieve;
“From my own Heav'n I come to pity, and relieve.
“From Egypt's Slavish Bands shalt thou my Flock convey
“To Canaans happy Fields, my self I'll show the Way:
XLVIII. Exodus, Chap. V. from Ver. 1. to 21.
Moses and Aaron go in unto Pharaoh. He refuses to let Israel go, and increases their Oppression.
His Friends to rescue, and confound their Foes,
Great Aaron in th'August Commission joyn'd,
The future Ephod to adorn, design'd.
Undaunted they to Pharaoh's Court repair,
And Audience gain'd, their Embassy declare,
From God, the Lord of Hosts, who all things made,
From Israel's God they come, and thus they said:
To Sacrifice in Etham's Wilderness.
When thus the haughty Tyrant from his Throne?
Can any God be in my Realms unknown?
Who is the Lord, that I respect shou'd pay
To his Commands? I'll not his Words obey.
Have Hebrews nothing else to do but Pray?
Other Employ I'll find—Impostors go,
Or you the weight of Royal Hands shall know.
Of Bricks their wonted Number see they make!
Diminish nought, but let no Straw be giv'n:
They're Idle, and wou'd fain go play with Heav'n.
Thro' all the Land for Straw the Hebrews stray;
With this their Time consum'd, their Tale was less,
Remorseless Stripes their Officers oppress,
To Pharaoh they complain but no Redress.
They the Great Brethren met, and them accus'd,
Their Words had but their easie Faith abus'd.
Their Message false, their Promises in vain,
And only added Weight to their inglorious Chain.
XLIX. Exodus, Chap. V. Ver. 22. VI. 2 3. VII. 1. to 12.
God encourages Moses. He goes agen to Pharaoh. His Rod becomes a Serpent, and swallows up the Rods of the Sorcerers.
For his Relief, till Heav'n can find the way:
Joy oft is near when we of Joy despair,
A Storm succeeds a Calm, and Thunder clears the Air,
Ev'n doubtful Moses self confess'd the Man,
When thus to him his Fathers God began.
Th'Immutable Jehovah is my Name:
A God to Pharaoh Thou, as I to thee;
Thou mine, and Aaron shall thy Prophet be.
With Plagues on Plagues I'll harden'd Egypt scourge,
Till they themselves your wish'd Departure urge.
But first with Wonders I'll your mission sign,
Their Sence compell'd to own a Pow'r divine:
That Rod thou bear'st, when on the Marble thrown
Before their Eyes a crested Serpent grown:
Encourag'd they agen to Pharaoh goe,
And on the ground their wondrous Rod they throw,
Which in an instant did a Snake become,
Whose bloody Eyes shot Flames around the Room:
And by their hellish Magic did the same:
But th'active Hebrew Serpent theirs pursues,
Breaks their strong Backs, and does their Charms unloose:
By Heav'n commission'd with Superior Pow'rs,
Seizes on all the rest, and them devours:
Then glides a harmless Worm around the Room,
And does in Aaron's Hand its wonted Form resume
L. Exodus, Chap. VII. Ver. 20. 21. Chap. VIII. Ver. 3. to 6.
The Waters turned into Blood. Frogs are sent.
Their helpless Gods are plagu'd as much as they.
Ev'n Nile, their Jove, if whose rich Streams o'rflow
No Thanks th'Ungrateful think to Heav'n they ow,
Stagnates, and stinks, and all its sev'n-mouth'd Flood,
Direful Portent! rolls with a Sea of Blood:
Satiate with what they did so long desire
The cruel Natives now for Thirst expire:
Nor this alone; what e'r in Mystic Stile:
They dream of Creatures from the Slime of Nile,
See now its animated Waters roll,
And every Drop swell with imperfect Soul!
Myriades of Frogs from thence at Heaven's command
March from the River, and invade the Land:
For Nature's slow Production will not stay,
Born in a Moment, perfect in a Day.
To Pharaoh's Court they press, and slight his Guard;
Like factious Crowds they swarm, and will be heard:
Importunate, as hungry Courtiers, grown,
His Levee wait, and croak around the Throne;
On his Rich Beds their slimy Members place,
“A Luxury unknown before to all their watry Race.
LI.
Lice and Flies are sent.
But can't their solid Texture pierce, or wound,
So, doubled Plagues the Tyrant's Heart affright,
Yet still obdurate he renews the Fight.
Tho' now the Frogs remov'd by Moses Pray'r,
Just Heav'n can soon another scourge prepare:
The meanest Worm commission'd, proves the Rod
And weighty Plague of an avenging God:
From Lice, th'uncleanly Torment of the Poor,
Not Pharaoh's Robes can Pharaohs self secure:
Obscene and large, of an uncommon kind,
The like his Sorc'rers cou'd not make or find:
They own their Art out done: they own this Sign
Th'inimitable Work of Hands divine.
Tho' still just Heav'n with vengeful Plagues pursues:
On Egypt came a dreadful swarm of Flies,
Of countless number, and of monstrous size,
Of painful Bite, and of molestful Sound;
Both Night and Day they fly their endless round
Until their Soul is left in each vexatious Wound.
In dismal Clouds they hover o'r the Coast,
“And Accaron, their Airy Prince led forth their various Host.
LII.
The Murrain and Blain.
And when Beasts die, their Masters must prepare.
The gen'rous Steed, ready equipp'd for Race,
Pawing the Ground, and eager of the Chace,
Swallowing the distant Goal with alter'd Eyes
Unwilling to forego th'expected Prize
Beneath th'incumbred Rider falls, and dies.
The lab'ring Oxen, as they sweating come,
And bring the Plough with weary Footsteps home
With doubled Knees drop on the printed Clay,
And in deep murmurs groan their Souls away.
The painful Camels lose their Masters hire,
The milky Mothers o'r the Pails expire.
The Ass, which late his Lady proudly bore
Sinks in his Stall, and loves the Crib no more:
Vex'd Air he with his quiv'ring Hoofs does wound
As his strong crested Shoulders strike the Ground.
The Sheep, their wealthy Masters envy'd store
Which Wool well worthy Tyrian Purple bore,
Struck with the sudden Plague forget to graze,
Their sunk dim Eye, their inward Pain betrays:
Each staggers from the next; in vain he tries
His wonted wholsome Herbs, and bleating dies.
Their Masters scarce escape, the pois'nous Air
Infects their Blood, but yet their Lives did spare:
Tortur'd with noisom Blains no ease they find,
Forerunners of the Plague that yet remain'd behind.
LIII. Exodus, Chap. VIII. IX.
The Plague of Hail.
Transfix th'unjust, the guilty Land o'rthrow,
Still unreform'd: His fearless Heralds came,
And War against their impious King proclaim.
“Or all my Plagues shall centre in thy Heart.
“For this I suffer'd thee to fill the Throne,
“To make my Pow'r and Justice widely known;
“To vindicate my Honour and my Laws;
“For this permitting what I did not cause.
“If thou refuse, my Stores I'll open wide,
“And quickly humble all thy Nation's Pride:
“My Magazines of Cold and Heat disclose,
“Whence mingled Fire and Hail shall blast my Foes.
He Steels his Heart, unknowing to repent:
When, see the must'ring angry Storms on high!
Behold the ruddy Vengeance streak the Skie!
The disembowel'd Clouds discharge their store,
File off in haste, and still make room for more;
Whence Fire and Hail in Ruin reconcil'd,
Swept the sad Earth, the future Harvest spoil'd:
Amazing Thunders thro' the Welkin drive,
As the vast Crystal Orb itself wou'd rive.
The Trees no more their leavy Honours wear,
Like broken Arms their shiver'd Boughs appear:
Deep fix'd in Earth their broad Foundations quake:
No mortal Force the Tempest cou'd sustain,
But Beasts, and Trees, and Men, lie scatter'd o'r the Plain.
LIV. Exodus, Chap. IX. Ver. 27. to End. Chap. X. Ver. 13. to 15.
The LOCUSTS.
But can't the threatning Storms, and Thunder bear:
Pharaoh, of late so haughty and so proud
Now hides his Face, for Moses calls aloud:
O bring that Holy Man, if not too late,
His Pray'rs may save us from impending Fate!
He came, he heard, for trembling Pharaoh pray'd,
Who promis'd all,—but Pharaoh's now afraid:
This Death remov'd, he heeds his Vows no more,
His melted Iron, harder than before:
Agen the Prophet stretch'd his fatal Wand:
The Locusts come, their Quarters were assign'd,
Their Convoy was the burning Eastern Wind:
Their sounding Wings the stooping Plague foreshow,
A dusky Twilight veils the World below.
The tender Grass which new from Earth arose,
The spiring Wheat, which promis'd Harvest shows;
If any Herbs, or straggling Leaves remain,
If ought that's Green had scap'd the Hail in vain,
These famish'd Libyan Troops the Country scour,
And bare as Earth the rising Blade devour.
The Trees they bark; like Skeletons they stand,
Or Masts of Shipwreck'd Fleets in sight of Land.
Which to a Desart thus can turn a Paradise!
LV. Exodus, Chap. X. Ver. 21. to 23.
The Ninth Plague. Thick Darkness in Egypt. Light in Goshen.
Like Thunder, where the Bolt outflies the Blow:
(Who play with Heav'n, their Day of Mercy pass'd;
A sudden Vengeance them shall seize at last.)
On all the Land prodigious Darkness fell,
It fill'd the Heav'ns, tho' it arose from Hell;
Their Lamps extinct, their Fires no cheerful Ray
Emitt, but trembling in their Ashes lay:
If any Gleams of ghastly Light appear
Across the Shades, they only raise their Fear,
While boding Shrieks, and dismal Yells they hear:
While many a Fiend, with fierce and bloodshot Eye
Dire Faces and deform'd, shoot glaring by:
Only their Parents Ghosts wou'd longer stay,
With hollow Murmurs beckning them away:
Bound with a more than Adamantine Chain:
While happy Goshen cheerful Light enjoy'd,
While in their Great Redeemer's Praise employ'd,
They saw the Pitchy Darkness roll from far
In hellish Fogs, without one friendly Star.
From Abraham's Bosom thus bless'd Souls survey,
The Dungeons of the Damn'd, and Realms remov'd from Day.
LVI. Exodus, Chap. XII. Ver. 3. to 28.
The Passover instituted.
On stubborn Egypt, and their faithless King;
Then shall they soon dismiss my People thence,
And thrust 'em from them in their own Defence.
Their Sons, their dear First-born, their Strength and Might
The Pestilence shall slay: One fatal Night
Shall sweep them all, but Israel shall be free,
And just Revenge on their Oppressors see.
A Spotless Lamb let every House prepare,
And every Soul the sacred Banquet share.
With Sandals on your Feet, proclaiming hast,
And Staff in Hand I order this Repast,
Which shall to immemorial Ages last.
The Blood which from the dying Victim flows,
When seen, where my destroying Angel goes
On his dread Message, sprinkled o'r the Gate,
Shall save you from the sudden stroke of Fate:
That sacred Sign shall every House defend,
Th'Almighty's Sword shall spare th'Almighty's Friend;
But bath'd in Blood, and red with slaughter come
From Egypt's Sons in Triumph reaking home.
And for the last, the great Decisive Moment staid.
LVII. Exodus, Chap. XII. 29. to 33.
The Death of the Firstborn.
And half the World lay drown'd in dusky shade:
The Fires on Pharaoh's Tower remissly burn,
And snatch short Life from their exhausted Urn:
Lean Avarice slumbers o'r its useless store,
Ev'n Malice Sleeps, in some to wake no more.
Fix'd in their Orbs the sickning Planets stand,
And Ammon trembles for his darling Land.
And on his radiant Face he wore a Frown
To Angels terrible; his Sword unsheaths,
Walks thro' the Land, and deals Ten Thousand Deaths;
But stops at each protected Hebrews Door,
And drops the Point, or waves it gently o'r:
Then, as the Nile, where Hills or Damms oppose,
When these surpass'd, with greater Fury flows,
He shoots away and draws a purple Flood,
Agen the Land is drunk with Seas of Blood.
What steely Heart can bear, what Tongue recite
The mortal Terrors of that dreadful Night?
Expiring Groans the gentlest Sounds they hear,
And something worse than Death the Living fear:
An Universal Shriek invades the Skies;
As when th'Unjust compell'd to Judgement rise:
And now for Moses not dissembling sends;
He beggs, he sues, he hastens him away,
No Children now, or Goods behind must stay:
Nor empty thence, nor unadorn'd they went,
Loaden with Jewels by th'Egyptians lent:
The Hosts of God, led by his own strong Hand
In peaceful Triumph march from Egypts hated Land.
LVIII. Exodus, Chap. XIV. Ver. 5. to 15.
Pharaoh pursues the Israelites.
He can, he does he grows too ripe for Hell.
(When respite once a perjur'd Tyrant gains,
Nothing can hold him but infernal Chains.)
Leviathan the Great enrag'd, pursues
The Prey he seem'd e'rwhile content to lose:
Chariots, and Horse which knew not to retire
(But how can Stubble face consuming Fire?)
He leads, defenceless Israel to oppress,
Entangl'd in th'impervious Wilderness.
The Sea in Front, their Flanks huge Mountains lin'd,
And Pharaoh's num'rous Army press'd behind,
The servile Crowd, base as the Chains they wore
Envy the Bondage which they mourn'd before:
In vain the fiery Column now may shine,
Dumb Idols fear'd above the Pow'r divine.
Moses to God for speedy Succour flies,
And God to Moses from the Cloud replies:
Let not the Hours in weak Complaints run waste,
But give the word to march, and forward haste!
March for the sounding Shore without delay,
And he that bids you go will make, or find the Way.
LIX. Exodus, Chap. XIV. from Ver. 21. to 29.
Pharaoh and his Army drowned in the Red Sea.
The Rod which had not yet its Virtue lost!
The Sea divides, and every shouldring Wave
His Neighbour pressing, easie passage gave:
Old Ocean's secret Chambers open lay,
Its Pearls and Gemms expos'd an easie prey;
Pale Coral blush'd to see th'invading Day.
The rescu'd Hebrews tremble now no more,
But wall'd with Floods attempt the distant Shore.
Th'Egyptians with Revenge and Fury blind
Pursue the Track, and press 'em close behind:
The Cloud and Fiery Pillar interpose,
And Israel shield from their devoted Foes:
What mortal Force Heav'ns angry Looks can bear,
Which in a Moment frowns it to Despair?
Terror, Confusion, Horror, and Dismay
Their Army seize; their Horses disobey
The Master's Voice; unwheel'd their Chariots flag,
And thro' the Sand, a pond'rous Load, they drag:
Too late the Wretches now their Error see;
From Israels God too late attempt to flee:
The Ocean sees, and from its Walls descends:
On every side its watr'y Troops appear,
And charge at once their Front, their Flank, and Rear,
The gen'rous Coursers rear, and plunge in vain
To break the Studded Harness, and the Rein,
And like Sea Monsters float upon the Main.
Nobles and Peasants, Princes and their Slaves
Fall undistinguish'd in the roaring Waves:
Pharaoh the last, tho' high above the rest,
Like Lucifer his Looks, his Pride confess'd:
Cursing he from his lofty Chariot fell,
His Carcass sunk to Earth, his faithless Soul to Hell.
LX. Exodus, Chap. XV.
MOSES's Song.
And see their Foes extended on the Sand:
Each sees the cruel Lord from whom he fled,
Trembling they view, and scarce believe 'em dead.
While Moses thus transmits to After-Days
The Great Event, and their Redeemer's Praise.
Praise the dread Maker of the Universe!
Proud Riders by the gen'rous Coursers born,
At once have slept their Everlasting Sleep,
At once lie buried in th'Arabian Deep.
Thy wondrous Works—Jehova is thy Name.
My Saviour thou, my Strength, my Song, my Praise,
My Father's God—Thy glorious Name I'll raise;
For Thee a Stately Temple I'll prepare,
Deep as the Centre, tow'ring as the Air.
My Sword in Blood, my thirsty Sword imbrue:
The Winds of God blew terrible and loud,
Th'Abyss the Signal takes, and overwhelms the Proud.
Like Stones, like Lead they sink, they all expire,
Weak Stubble in thy Wraths consuming Fire.
The Waters saw, thy Voice the Waters hear,
Forget their Nature, and congeal with Fear:
The Sea like Earth, and Earth like Seas appear:
Convulsions cleave the Ground in horrid Caves,
And show a new Abyss beneath the Waves.
With thee, th'Eternal Lord of Hosts, compare?
Obedient Nature does thy Pow'r confess,
And Thee with Faces veil'd the dazled Angels bless.
LXI. Exodus, Chap. XV. from Ver. 22. to the End.
The Israelites journey to Marah. They murmur. The Water healed. They arrive at Elim.
And thro' th'untroden Wild their Journey take:
Three Days they measure that unhappy Land,
O'r Rocks of Salt, and burning Hills of Sand:
At Marah, Water found, but found in vain,
It mocks their Thirst, and but augments their Pain.
Bitter and Salt,—The murm'ring Host complain;
Forget their Saviour who, from Egypt brought,
And all the Signs in Zoan's Fields he wrought:
Israel we blame, yet Israel's Crimes pursue.)
To Heav'n their Leader flies, which sends Relief,
Heav'n which can find a Cure for ev'ry Grief,
A Tree of wondrous Use, and Pow'r reveals,
Whose Virtue soon the brackish Waters heals.
Scarce Canaan's self cou'd more of Pleasure give:
For every Tribe a Crystal Spring they found,
Whose limpid Waters fall with murm'ring Sound,
And lull their Cares; the Host encamps around,
Beneath a Palm-Tree Grove's refreshing Shade,
No Sun can reach 'em there, no Storms invade.
Tho' wand'ring thro' a weary Wilderness,
When some reviving Drops kind Angels bring
From Loves and Pleasures unexhausted Spring;
Whose Streams from God's high Throne incessant flow,
On whose green Banks in comely Order grow
Fair Trees, whose gen'rous Fruit that charms the Eyes,
Who wou'd not die to taste? who tasts it never dies.
LXII. Exodus, Chap. XVI. Ver. 3. 4. 10. 12. 14. 15.
Manna given.
Their Stores exhausted ask a new supply:
Happy th'Egyptians, who in plenty dy!
The Mercy of a Plague, who wou'd not chuse
Rather than Life by lingring Famine lose!
How gladly wou'd they those bless'd Times regain,
And Pharaoh's happy, peaceful, glorious Reign!
Behold the God of Israel's Glory shine
Amid the Cloud, which rais'd its lofty Head
Above the Camp, and thus th'Almighty said:
To morrows Sun your Plenty shall renew,
And shew a faithless Race what Heav'n can do.
And draw the fragrant moisture from the Grass,
When on the ground a hoary Substance lay
Like tender Frosts, that melt at sight of Day;
Unseen before, unknown from whence it came,
But Manna now the wondrous Food they name,
Transparent Crystal Globes less bright, and round,
Fairer than Pearls in Indian Oceans found:
Of noblest Taste, and fitted to invite,
But never cloy the treated Appetite.
Less sweet the Hony which from Hybla flows,
Or Oyl, that Asher's fruitful portion grows:
Celestial Fare! if ought above they need,
On this, or not unlike it, Angels feed:
Their radiant Vehicles with this renew,
And feast on pearly Drops of fragrant Morning Dew.
LXIII. Exodus, Chap. XVII. from Ver. 8. to the End.
Moses praying Amalek discomfited.
And first with Jacob's Sons his War renews:
But Joshua, Jacob's Sons their Leader choose,
While Moses with strong Pray'rs attacks their Foes,
Planted upon a neighb'ring Mountains height,
No unconcern'd Spectator of the Fight:
From Heav'n auxiliary Troops he draws,
And Guardian Hosts espouse the juster cause:
Invisible they charge, th'Invaders yield;
Retiring in disorder from the Field.
And can no more his palsied Hands sustain:
The strong Cherubic Guards retire from fight,
The Foe returns with doubled rage and might:
When Hur and Aaron this perceiv'd from far,
And mark'd the various Fortune of the War,
Ebbing and flowing saw the doubtful Tide,
Which Moses rais'd or drooping Hands did guide,
Cautious they plac'd themselves on either side:
Supported thus till Night the Prophet pray'd,
The dubious Chance no longer now delay'd,
But Conquest on the Hebrew Banner staid;
When thus th'Allhigh—Let future Ages know
Who first was ransom'd Israel's conquer'd Foe:
Write, in the Sacred Volumes, write it fair,
Let future Nations find, and read it there,
That God, with Amalek proclaims eternal War.
LXIV. Exodus, Chap. XIX. and Chap. XX.
The Law is given from Mount Sinai in Thunder and Lightning.
Which soon was veil'd in awful Clouds, and Flame:
Jehova calls, and bids the Camp prepare,
From Heav'n he will his sacred Laws declare;
Around the spatious Mount must Bounds be made,
Nor Man nor Beast on pain of Death invade.
Which from th'Arabian Deep, and Western Shores rebound:
Heark how th'unsufferable Thunders tear
Both Earth and Heav'n! while forky Lightnings glare,
And with blue Flames transfix the ambient Air:
Trembled the Camp, the solid Mountain shakes,
And Earth beneath it, to the Centre quakes:
Red Volcans from its mould'ring Top expire,
Extinguish Day, and damp the Lightnings Fire.
The Lord descends, the Thund'rers Voice is known,
The Holy Myriads guarding round his Throne:
The Ten dread Words from Sinai he recites,
Which his own Hand in Marble Tables writes:
Great Natures Transcript, and Eternal Law,
Whence future Sages shall their Models draw,
Wise Greece and haughty Rome are here surpass'd,
Each Word, each Tittle here shall Earth and Heav'n out-last.
LXV. Exodus, Chap. XXV. Ver. 8, 9, 10. 17, 18. 22. Chap. XXVII. to the End.
The Altar and Tabernacle.
Whence he his moving Temple shou'd compose:
Figure of heavenly Things in Shades conceal'd,
And Truths to be by lab'ring Time reveal'd.
Of Shittim's precious Wood an Altar's rear'd,
And all its sacred Utensils prepar'd:
Next see the Court whose spacious Curtains joyn,
Embroider'd richly o'r, a Work divine:
On Twenty neat Pilasters strongly born,
Whose Heads fair Silver Cornishes adorn.
The Tabernacle next—with awful Fear
Approach the Place, for God himself is here.
Let all adoring enter, nor presume
With Feet unhallow'd to invade the Room:
Where a rich Branch with purest Oil supply'd
Scatters perpetual Day on every side,
Until the Son of God in Mortal Clay
Into the Holy' of Holies shews the way:
Yet Faith may pierce beyond dull Sense's Eye,
And those tremendous Mysteries descry.
The sacred Ark with purest Gold o'rlaid,
Of the Redeemers Flesh a Mystic Shade:
High over all the Shechina divine,
From whence unsufferable Glories shine.
Here Modest Seraphs veil their Faces, and adore.
LXVI. Exodus, Chap. XXXII.
The Golden Calf.
Shameful Idolatry the People stain'd:
Their Leader absent, who shou'd them protect?
Rejecting him they God himself reject:
A Golden Calf the Crowd in Horeb frame,
And for their Idol steal Jehova's Name,
Then thus the gaudy Nothing's Praise proclaim.
“Who Israel didst from Egypts Bondage free:
“O guide us thro' this barren World of Sand,
“And bring us safe to Canaans blissful Land!
Their Black Ingratitude, and Blasphemy:
In wrathful Clouds his Face he soon conceals,
And thus to Moses he their Crime reveals:
“Thy People, (mine no more, they my Commands disdain,)
“Whom thou from Egypt brought'st, so soon corrupted grown,
“New Golden Gods adore, their Fathers God disown:
“Confirm'd and steel'd in Sin, of harden'd Heart and Face,
“My Vengeance I'll unrein on all their murm'ring Race.
And on th'offended Pow'r for Mercy calls:
His Truth and Glory pleads, nor pleads in vain,
A kind Reprieve his fervent Pray'rs obtain.
Then from the Mount descends as Heav'n commands
With both the Sacred Tables in his Hands:
Approach'd the Camp he did too soon descry
Their New-born Golden Idol plac'd on high:
Riot and Shouts his festal Pomp proclaim,
Lewd Dances spread his Glory and their Shame.
The Saint did all with just Resentments view,
And from his Hands the heav'nly Treasure threw;
Against the craggy Rock the Tables brake;
Then did their Calf, their helpless Idol take,
Moulten and ground to Dust, the Dust he strows
Upon the Brook which from the Mountain flows:
Then brings his fond Adorers to the Brink,
And makes 'em of the odious Potion drink:
Nor this enough to expiate their stain,
Till Thousands of th'Unjust by Zealous Levi slain.
LXVII. Leviticus, Chap. VIII. from Ver. 5. to 10. Chap. IX.
Aaron's Vestments. His Offerings.
Great Aaron, and his consecrated Race:
Of purest Linnen twin'd his Mitre made,
A glorious Ephod o'r his Shoulders laid:
Light and Perfection on his Breast he wears,
And near his Heart the Names of Israel bears,
Which as he mov'd a dazling Splendor cast.
In finest Linnen clad his Sons appear,
Miters their Heads, their Shoulders Ephods wear.
Inestimable Unguents largely shed
Surround the Holy Pontiff's rev'rend Head,
Thence to his Robes descend, and scatt'ring there
With fragrant Odours fill the Ambient Air:
Thus vested, he his Offerings makes t'atone
At once the Peoples Errors, and his own:
An Holocaust upon the Altar lays,
And next the peaceful Minchas chearful blaze:
Pure Incense last within the Veil he burns,
Then Moses joyns, and to the Crowd returns,
Whom both with lifted Hands they bless-when see,
To firm their Pray'rs a welcome Prodigie!
Th'illumin'd Cloud is fill'd with golden Streams,
Which drown the fainter Suns retiring Beams;
From whence large Sheets of pure Ætherial Flame
Shot thro' the Clouds and instantaneous came;
Consume the Fat which on the Altar lies,
Consume at once the grateful Sacrifice.
And with loud Shouts they praise the God of Israel.
LXVIII. Leviticus, Chap. X. Ver. 1. to 7.
Nadab and Abihu.
The daily Incense in their Course to bear.
They saw no friendly Blaze to Heav'n aspire,
They saw the Smoak in gloomy Curls retire,
Their Incense kindled with unhallow'd Fire.
But from th'affronted Oracle there came
In rolling Clouds a more than Lambent Flame,
Which seiz'd th'audacious as too late they fled,
Reveng'd their Sacrilege, and left 'em dead,
Their Robes untouch'd—Thus Lightnings wondrous Fire,
Which melts the Blade the Scabbard leaves entire.
Restrain your Tears, nor mourn this dreadful Stroke.
From Heav'n it comes, 'tis just, tho' 'tis severe,
For thus Jehova did his Will declare.
“Holy as I am Holy, Clean, and Pure,
“Nor can the smallest Stain of Sin endure.
Cover'd your Heads, nor shall your Cloaths be rent,
Lest while th'anointing Sacred Oyl you bear,
And that with Grief pollute, their Fates you share.
Sepulchral Honours to their great Remains:
All Israel shall their Obsequies attend,
Bemoan their rash Attempt, and their untimely End.
LXIX. Leviticus, Chap. XXIV. Ver. 10. to 23.
Shelomith's Son blasphemes, and is stoned.
Sprung from a proud Egyptian's loath'd Embrace,
His Father's Nature but too well express'd,
And all the Heathen in his Life confess'd;
Stubborn and lewd, inclin'd to curs'd Debates,
Israel alike, and Israel's God he hates:
Always Contentious, ever in the Wrong,
Boasting his nervous Strength, but vainly strong,
As impotent of Heart as stout of Tongue.
He challenges the Camp his Force to try,
But shameful Foyl his boasted Victory;
O'rthrown and baffled by a single Hand,
Cursing the Impious falls, and bites the Sand:
Enrag'd, on partial Heav'n he throws the blame,
Blasphemes the Great Jehova's sacred Name;
But on himself his Curses backward fly
And wound his Head, but cannot reach the Skie.
The pious Crowd around with Horror hears,
They seize the harden'd Wretch and stop their Ears:
To the Tribunal dragg'd, his Cause is try'd,
The Fact Notorious not to be deny'd:
No Punishment that reach'd his daring Crimes
Their Laws had fix'd, unknown to former Times:
The Oracle consulted, strait replies,
No Mercy shew to him who Heav'n defies!
Beneath a stony Show'r th'abhorr'd Blasphemer dies.
And still affront th'Unutterable Name:
But happy those, who on Heav'ns side engage,
Bold Blasphemy to check, and stem an impious Age.
LXX. Numbers, Chap. I. II. Chap. X. Ver. 35. 36.
The Number and Encampment of the Israelites.
His Golden Car, and view'd both Ends of Heav'n,
Since Jacob's Sons from Egypt's Thraldom came,
Conducted by the wondrous Cloud and Flame:
When God in Sinai's Wild to Moses spake,
And bids of all the Tribes the Number take:
With him the Princes of th'Assembly join,
The famous Heads of every Patriarch's Line:
To Sixty Myriads did their Males amount,
Tho' Levi not included in th'Account:
The Charge of God his constant happy Care,
His sacred Tribe the sacred Vessels bear;
For this encamp'd the Tabernacle round,
The rest far off from that forbidden Ground:
Each House the Standard of their Tribe regard,
Each Tribe observes its own peculiar Ward.
Great Judah's Princely Lion meets his Rays:
Wise Issachar his deep Battallion join'd,
And Zebulon encamp'd not far behind.
Against fierce Noon were Ruben's Arms displaid,
But skreen'd beneath the Clouds refreshing Shade,
Simeon and Gad their Brother's Quarter share,
A pow'rful Army each, and each a War:
Ephraim encamps against the midland Main,
Manasseh him, and Benjamin sustain:
Beneath the frozen Pole his Banners wave;
Whose numerous Camp bless'd Asher's Sons augment,
And Nephthali behind 'em pitch'd his Tent.
Thus marshal'd they the Sandy Desart tread,
Where e'r the Ark and wondrous Column led:
The Signal giv'n for marching, Moses pray'd,
And not in vain, implor'd celestial Aid:
“—Arise, O Lord! and those that hate thee find,
“Scatter'd like Dust or Chaff before the Wind!
But when agen their weary Armies halt,
Thus did he their Redeemer's Praise exalt;
“Where thou our Guard, no Shape of Ill we fear;
“Return, O Lord! and bless thy chosen Myriads here.
LXXI. Numbers, Chap. XI. Ver. 1. to 6.
TABERAH.
And rank Egyptian Dainties they prefer
To that rich Food whereon th'Immortals fed,
The sordid Bread of Slaves to Angels Bread:
Ah who, they cry, shall give us Flesh to eat!
The same dry nauseous Food we still repeat?
Is Heav'n so Poor it can no better treat?
Nothing but Manna, Manna can afford?
Too well we now recall that crowded Board
We did in Egypt with our Masters share.
Nor wanted tasteful Leeks and Onions there:
They thought 'em Gods, and them we scarce can blame,
Who if we saw 'em now, shou'd do the same.
And woe to his unthankful murm'ring Foes!
Behold the Fire of God from Heav'n appear;
And seize their utmost Tents like Stragglers in the Rear,
Raging unquenchable; the Rebels fly,
Or in the rapid Flames blaspheming dy.
With short extorted Penitence the rest
To Moses cry, and he to Heav'n address'd,
Which soon the furious Element repress'd:
The Place's Name the wondrous Action shares,
And thence, unchang'd by Time, to distant Ages bears.
LXXIII. Numbers, Chap. XI. Ver. 31. to 34
Quails Given. The People Plagu'd.
And base Ingratitude, as deep as Hell!
As fast as God can Pardon, we rebel:
Obnoxious Sinners think his Bolts too slow,
Challenge his Thunder, and prevent the blow.
The stubborn Mutineers, their Fellows slain,
Mercy to them, and Grace, indulg'd in vain,
Against the Hand that gave 'em Life complain:
For Flesh their cry, around the Camp it ran,
From every Tent 'twas heard, and every man:
Ye shall, said God: your raging Wish enjoy,
And with the fatal Grant your selves destroy!
One Day, nor Two, nor Twenty shall suffice,
Since you the Lord, and what he sends despise;
For a full Month of Days you Flesh shall eat,
Till with the lusted Dainties all replete,
You loath, like Manna now, your own desire,
And sated with the Food unbless'd expire.
And fill with Clouds of Quails, the burthen'd Skies:
Tired with their Flight they fall the Camp around,
And cover wide away the Sandy Ground;
Thick as th'unnumber'd Drops, when Auster brings
Warm fruitful Rains upon his Humid Wings,
The People seize the animated Show'r,
And half alive their bleeding Limbs devour.
Nor long behind the thankless Gluttons staid,
Nor was the threatn'd Vengeance long delay'd:
A sudden Plague from Heav'n th'Unjust consumes,
And late Posterity with Horror shows their Tombs.
LXXIV. Numbers, Chap. XII.
Aaron and Miriam's sedition, her Leprosie and Cure.
The more he bears, the more the Crowd complain:
The Foe to Goodness moves domestic Strife
Betwixt his haughty Sister and his Wife:
Ambition, Pride, and restless Female Rage,
Three pow'rful Fiends did on his side engage:
Place, and Preeminence, (which cou'd they chuse
What Woman wou'd not rather die than lose!)
The weighty Causes of their mutual Jarrs;
This no Superior, that no Rival bears.
Miriam too weak, her Brother Aaron draws
Against their Sister to espouse her cause:
Moses for his unhappy choice they blame,
A Cushite she, their Stocks and Nations shame:
Silent he stood, nor in their Fewds engag'd,
With weightier Thoughts employ'd—the more enrag'd,
At length they into open Faction brake,
The Lord by them, as well as Moses spake:
Nor this th'All-high, who from his radiant Throne
Regards the Meek, and still their Cause will own:
His well-known Glory in the Cloud appears,
Far off the whole Assembly kneels and fears:
A Voice from his Majestick Presence went,
Which Aaron call'd, and Miriam from their Tent:
Trembling they came, when thus Jehova said:
Against my Servant Moses to repine,
And with th'accursed murm'ring Crowd combine?
If You the Great Prophetic Office share
In Dreams and Visions I'll my will declare;
But Face to Face with Him I'll speak, and he
Shall only my unclouded Glories see.
The marks of heav'nly Anger soon they knew:
All o'r a ghastly Leper Miriam grown,
Unclean, deform'd, and to her self unknown:
Affrighted Aaron saw, to Moses ran,
Fell at his Feet, and thus with Tears began:
Our shameful Guilt and Folly we deplore
Goodness like yours, my Lord! will ask no more:
That Mercy which your greatest Foe can spare
O now let a repenting Sister share!
The Plague remov'd, as sound and beauteous as before.
LXXV. Numbers, Chap. XIII.
The Spies and Bunch of Grapes.
And of their Rulers send to search the Land:
By ancient Hebrons Tow'rs they took their way
And those tall Hills which round proud Jebus lay;
Thence to delightful Jericho they came,
The City' of Palm-Trees, widely known to Fame:
O'r Kishon's Foords, near Tabor's Mount and Fields,
Kishon, which to fair Jordan only yields,
The sounding Shores of Cinnereth survey;
Their Journey thence to Jordan's Fountains lay,
Which under hoary Libanus arise,
Whose Ridges bound the Land, and threat the Skies.
Returning they to fruitful Eshcol came,
Thence Eshcol stil'd, before unknown to Fame:
'Twas now the Time when Nature in her Pride
That happy Land with gen'rous Fruits supply'd:
With Golden Cheeks the rich Pomgranates shine,
And tempting Grapes load each luxuriant Vine.
Th'enormous weight Two of the Strongest share:
Brought on a knotty Staff with Sweat and Pain,
The knotty Staff cou'd scarce the the Load sustain,
Full Forty Days expir'd at length they come
In an unlucky Hour to Paran home.
The Land, they must confess, was rich and good
Exuberant every where with Fruit and Food,
And all the needs of Life; But still they must
In their Accounts impartial be, and just,
And not betray the Peoples weighty Trust:
They were not fond of War, nor wish'd to try
The Force of their unequal Enemy:
Their Garisons were strong, their Walls were high,
Their num'rous People Bold and Warlike were,
Anak the Great, with his fierce Sons were there:
Proud Amalek the Southern Border fills,
The Hittite and the Amorite the Hills,
Themselves as Tall; bold Jebus Sons the rest,
The Canaanite the Shore and Jordan's Coast possess'd.
LXXVI. Numbers, Chap. XIV.
The People murmur. Joshua and Caleb endeavour to still them, &c.
The fiery Pillar shot no friendly light,
A Pannic fear the trembling Camp invades,
Attack'd by Legions of infernal shades:
Discord and Malice, Discontent and Care
Ingratitude, Sedition, and Despair,
And Faction, fowlest Fiend of Hell were there.
Amid the Croud in close Cabals they lay
Preparing for the Mischief of the Day:
With sullen Gloom the luckless Day arose,
And did the Counsels of the Night disclose,
Gath'ring in Globes see the Tumultuous Crowd,
Pour'd from their Tents their Treasons vent aloud:
Nor only Moses now, but God accuse,
Both did deceive 'em, both their Faith abuse;
To Canaan's hungry Sword their Host betray,
Their Wives and Children doom'd the Victor's prey:
This was too much, nor longer cou'd be born;
What they cou'd yet prevent they vainly mourn,
A Captain made to Egypt they'll return.
Of all the Spies, these only loyal found:
In vain they strive the heated Crowd t'appease.
We soon shall in bless'd Canaan's Land repose,
Bless'd Canaan's Land with Milk and Hony flows.
The Natives vainly boast their Walls and Tow'rs,
Their Strength, their Hearts are gone, and God is ours:
Deaf to their Charms th'Assembly furious grown
A motion made they both the Traitors stone:
Intrepid still the mighty Moses staid,
And still to Heav'n that ne'r forsook him, pray'd:
So when rude Winds the angry Billows chase,
The steddy Steersman they'd in vain displace,
And dash the Salt-Sea Foam against his Face;
Whilst on the Star that must his Vessel guide
Fixing his Eyes he scorns the Ocean's Pride.
And flashing Lightnings streak the angry Sky:
The Factious Heads who the just War oppose,
Abuse their trust and magnifie the Foes,
By a swift Plague from Heav'n of Life bereft,
Caleb and faithful Joshua only left:
The rest must to the howling Wild retire,
And wand'ring Forty Years unlov'd, unbless'd expire.
LXXVII. Numbers, Chap. XVI.
Korah's Rebellion.
For Korah's Arts disturb their short-liv'd Peace:
Of Levi's Sons too many Names he draws,
Freedom the Plea, Int'rest and Pride the Cause:
Of heavy Grievances aloud they cry'd,
That Moses Rod did Aaron's Censer guide:
The Lordly Priests no longer they'l obey,
Mean Instruments of base Despotick Sway.
Moses of men the meekest they upbraid
That he'd their Ancient Liberties invade:
Of fault'ring Reuben's weak and angry Line.
And still they urge their forfeit Right Divine.
To them no Honour, no Preferments fall,
Aaron and Judah had engross'd 'em all:
They for their Birthright strive; they Levi hate,
Yet Aid his angry Sons in this Debate.
These in the Sanhedrim of Name and Note,
And us'd to sway the House of Judgement's Vote;
Whom the dull Crowd implicitly admir'd,
Hung on their Lips, and thought 'em all inspir'd:
The mingled Multitude, that murmur'd still,
From Egypt crowded on, and sav'd against their will.
LXXVIII. Numbers, Chap. XVI. Ver. 19, 21. 22. 25. 28. to 34.
Dathan and Abiram swallowed up.
Korah his Party heads, and leads 'em on:
Before the Altar they embattel'd stand
With each his kindled Censer in his Hand:
So far their Arts among the Tribes prevail,
That on their side the whole Assembly rail:
Moses and Aaron all deserted, blame,
(They did not so when they from Egypt came.)
Not one to own, or to defend 'em dares;
Nor did they Numbers need, for God was theirs;
When from the Cloud amazing Splendor broke,
And to his Servants thus Jehova spoke:
“Retire, my Friends, with speed from this devoted Place,
“And in a moment I'll consume this murm'ring Race.
The injur'd Saints for Mercy prostrate fall,
Shall one offend, and Vengeance seize on all!
They intercede a moment e'r too late,
And stop the issuing Word before 'twas Fate.
The Sanhedrim converted with 'em joyn,
They saw th'Appearance of the Pow'r Divine:
To Dathan and Abiram's factious Tent,
So Heav'n commands, they with 'em trembling went.
(Korah and his, to just Destruction doom'd,
The while, are by the Fire of God consum'd.)
When Moses thus—If these Offenders fall
The common way that Nature paves for all,
I ask no Faith that I from God am sent;
But if impatient Heav'n their Fates prevent;
I'm no Impostor; you'll my Words believe.
The lab'ring Earth—Behold its surface cleave;
The secret Realms of Ghosts and Shades display,
And let in Night upon th'invaded Day;
When thro' the horrid Chasm the Traitors go,
And with loud Shrieks they sink, deep, deep to Hell below.
LXXIX. Numbers, Chap. XX. from Ver. 1. to 12.
Moses smites the Rock, and brings forth Water at Meribah.
Horrid with barren Rocks, and Hills of Sand:
Mountains on huge mishapen Mountains pil'd,
A Prospect hideous, terrible and wild:
The Pilgrim-Stream which thro' the Desart wide
Following the num'rous Host their Thirst supply'd,
Forsakes 'em here.—Th'Assembly Moses chide:
Is this? is this the Canaan we must gain,
For which we travel'd cross the sandy Main,
And with vain Hopes forsook bless'd Egypt's Fields?
No Figs or Vines th'unhappy Region yields;
No Seeds will on the the barren Surface grow;
Nor from the Rocks refreshing Waters flow.
When from the Cloud th'All-high to Moses spake,
The Rod of God agen commands him take;
Then bid the Rock disclose its Secret Store,
And Wat'ry Treasures never known before:
Provok'd, the Prophet his Commission breaks,
And for the Rock the harder Crowd bespeaks.
Miracu'lous Streams, nor will ye yet believe?
Then smote the Rock, when from its flinty Womb
Tumbling in loud Cascades new Waters come
For all the Camp-But ah! how dear they cost!
For this the angry Brethren Canaan lost;
For rashly disobeying Heav'ns Command.
Let Levi all unseemly Warmth forbear!
Like thee their Anger, tho' provok'd restrain;
So shall the Meek at length the Heav'nly Canaan gain.
LXXX. Numbers, Chap. XXI. from Ver. 4. to 9.
The Brazen Serpent set up.
Around their Brother Edom's hostile Coast:
They thro' rough ways, thro' scorching Desarts go,
Huge ragged Rocks above, and Sands below:
Agen of God and Moses they complain,
And tastful Manna, heavenly Food, disdain:
The Lord displeas'd a dreadful Army sent
Of fiery Serpents, who commanded went
Attack'd the Camp, and enter'd every Tent:
Among the rest himself th'Old Serpent came
His Mouth, his Eyes shot Flakes of smoky Flame:
Rais'd on his Folds, a Crown adorn'd his head,
And hissing horrible his scaly Troops he led:
Their Quarry seiz'd they poisnous Vapors breath
Around the Rebels twin'd, an odious Wreath,
And scatter every where Despair and Death:
Those who escape to injur'd Moses fly,
Their Guilt acknowledge, and for Mercy cry:
To angry Heav'n he for the People prays,
Which bids him strait a Brazen Serpent raise
High in Mid-Air, which speedy Ease shou'd give,
And all the wounded Host who look'd shou'd live.
Whoever look, immediate ease obtain:
Their dying Eyes they turn, new Life receive,
Yet scarce themselves the wond'rous Cure believe.
While sinful Men and wond'ring Angels gaz'd:
Whose Death our Life, whose charming Mercy brings
Health and Salvation underneath its Wings:
Thy Merits to our wounded Souls apply,
Those who believe in thee, O Saviour! never die.
LXXXI. Numbers, Chap. XXI. Ver. 21. to the End.
Sihon and Og.
Tyrants like him are never void of Fear:
Their peaceful Host his jealous Court alarms,
And the fierce King his servile Subjects arms:
In vain the Pilgrims friendly Terms propose,
He with no friendly Mind to meet 'em goes:
Their Troops with their long March fatigu'd, assails,
Yet soon the Justice of their Cause prevails.
The Tyrant falls, his Slaves no longer stand,
To his lov'd Israel God dispos'd their Land.
A double Conquest now, but lately won,
From Lot's incestuous Daughter's elder Son;
When Heshbon shin'd in Flames, and all its State,
Cou'd not protect it from its ripen'd Fate.
To Bashan's Region, not unknown to Fame.
And Giant-Beasts, and Monster-Men produce,
Huge Og their King, an Iron Army brought.
In Edrei's Fields with trembling Israel fought.
His Sons like lofty Pines around him stood,
He, like a Cedar in the midst, o'relooking all the Wood.
An Iron gleam the hideous Monster made,
His Guards, like Dwarfts, fought underneath his Shade.
Singly rosolv'd to tempt his boasted might:
Nor had his nervous Arms forgot to wield,
The biting Ax, or pond'rous brazen Shield:
The moody Tyrant fearless he assails,
And in the Lord of Host's dread Name prevails.
His Head that towr'd aloft, he cou'd not reach,
But thro' his Bosom drives a fatal Breach:
The spouting Life a Speedy Passage found,
He falls a cumbrous Load, and dints the trembling Ground.
LXXXII. Numbers, Chap. XXII. Ver. 4. to 35.
Balak sends to Balaam, &c. The Ass speaks.
His Cunning and his Force are all in vain:
In vain he strives against its strong Decree,
His Hopes are Wind, his End is Infamy.
This, Balak Lord of faithless Moab found,
When Israel's Sons approach'd his Eastern Bound:
When human Succours fail, to Hell he goes,
With curs'd Enchantments to confound his Foes.
To Balaam, thro' the East too widely known,
By Magic infamously famous grown;
Who by strong Charms, and many a secret Spell,
The servile Gods cou'd to his Aid compel:
No vulgar Embassy the Tyrant sends,
Of Moab's Lords, and Midianitish Friends:
T'enquire of Heav'n the Sorcerer pretends.
But to the Fiends in dead of Night he goes,
And asks their Counsel to destroy their Foes.
In vain obsequious to his Charms they come,
His Threats in vain, their Oracles are dumb.
When lo! a heav'nly Light the Room invades,
And chases thence the foul infernal Shades:
They durst not stay, for God himself was there,
Concern'd for Israel, his peculiar Care;
Beware, he crys, audacious Wretch beware,
Move not a Foot, thou canst not hope success,
Nor canst thou curse the Man whom God will bless,
And Balak's Lords return'd, behind 'em stay'd.
But when a second Embassy he sent,
The wav'ring Wizard rose, and with 'em went.
The Wages of Unrighteousness he chose,
But see a Mighty Angel him oppose:
His Ass at first the shining Form espy'd,
And started oft, and oft he turn'd aside.
In vain he strikes, and works her to the Road,
Till down she sinks beneath her impious Load.
With silent Looks complaining of the Wrong,
When Heav'n, (What cannot Heav'n!) unloos'd her Tongue.
With human Voice form'd in her secret Breast,
She the mad Prophet's brutal Rage repress'd;
Whose eyes unseal'd, he sees the Angel stand,
A flaming Sabre in his vengeful Hand,
Pointed against his Breast; to Earth he falls,
And half a Penitent, for Mercy calls.
The Angel lets him still pursue his way,
But bids him only what high Heav'n shou'd dictate, say.
LXXXIII. Numbers, Chap. XXII. 39. 41. XXIII. 1. 5. 7. to 10. 21. to 24.
Balak meets Balaam. His Sacrifice, &c.
Which from its spatious Streets receiv'd its Name;
There to survey and curse their hated Foe:
Sev'n Altars that false Wizard bids them rear,
A Bullock and a Ram on each prepare;
Thus did the Zabii's Heathen Rites advise,
And to the Planets thus they sacrifice.
When lo a Pow'r unknown the Sage oppress'd,
Spake with his Lips, and struggled in his Breast:
Heav'n, which before his Ass's Tongue did loose,
Her impious Master's now is pleas'd to use:
Unwillingly inspir'd he can't forbear,
But must these bold ungrateful Truths declare.
“In vain has from the Eastern Mountains brought,
“Jacob to curse, and Israel to distress,
“Ah! who can curse the Man whom God will bless?
“Vain Idols he in Jacob has not found,
“Whose shameful Worship fills the Nations round.
“What Charms can then against his Sons prevail?
“Divining's lost, and strong Enchantments fail.
“I see him from the Mountains wide away,
“And from the craggy Rocks his Camps survey:
“His God's peculiar choice, he dwells alone,
“His Numbers as the Dust or Sand unknown.
“With him, O let me to the Grave descend!
“What e'er my Life, like his I'd wish my End.
“Is God like Man, to Lie, or to Repent?
“Who can his Words reverse, or who prevent?
“What Jubilees, what Triumphs shall proclaim
“The peaceful Kings, the Great Messiah's Name?
“His Israel God from Egypt's Bondage led;
“See his protecting Cloud around him spred!
“Couch'd like a Lion safe beneath its Shade,
“What desp'rate Mortal dares his awful Rest invade?
LXXXIV. Numbers, Chap. XXIV.
Balaam blesses Israel. He Prophesies of Christ, the Assyrians, and Romans, &c.
But his own Israel God resolv'd to bless;
Delusive Auguries he sought no more
Nor follow'd curs'd Enchantments as before:
Another Spi'rit had seiz'd the alter'd Sage,
And swell'd his Bosom with diviner Rage:
Fierce Balak's Anger he does now disdain,
(His Golden Promises alike in vain,)
And thus of all the World the distant Fates explain.
“They with the fertile Valleys may compare;
“Or Gardens richly deck'd with Nature's Pride,
“Whole Verdant Trees by some fair River's Side
“Like Cedars Tall in comely Order grow,
“And view their Branches in the Streams below:
“Beyond a Mortal's Skill their vast Design,
“The Model and the Structure all divine.
“What Visions have I seen, what Wonders heard?
“Far off I see a radiant Star arise,
“And with new wond'rous Light adorn the Skies:
“The Orient shall his fated Empire gain,
“Of Jacob's Race the Great Messiah reign:
“Moab and all the Heathen Lands his Prey,
“The spacious Globe shall his Commands obey.
In Canaan's Southern Bounds, and thus he says.
“Of all the Nations Thou didst first declare
“Against God's Favourite People impious War:
“Too weak thy Arms, unequal this Debate,
“Ruin, eternal Ruin is thy Fate.
“Strong is thy Dwelling Place, thy choice is wise;
“Happy Exchange, he says; yet all in vain,
“Thy Doom at length to wear Proud Asher's Chain:
“Ah who shall live that sees that luckless Day!
“Yet worse behind! behold the Western Sea
“Cover'd with Ships, whence Chittims' Offspring come,
“And thy renowned Sons, O future Rome!
“Ashur must fall, and Heber strives in vain,
“For so the strong Decrees of Fate ordain:
“Nor shall their haughty Victor long survive;
“Empire, like Men, their stated Periods live:
“Eternal Rome must die, her Reign is o'r,
“Tumbling from her proud Hills she falls to rise no more.
LXXXV. Numbers, Chap. XXV.
Zimri and Cozbi.
In vain attempted and in vain design'd,
At length by Female Guile accomplish'd see,
And Israel naked to its Enemy!
Their Gods, and more, their Wives and Daughters lend;
Whose Charms than Balaam's Curses far more strong,
More pow'rful Magic in their Eyes and Tongue:
With these they their enchanted Guests intice
To their lewd Idols pompous Sacrifice:
Peor of old, thro' Moabs Regions fam'd,
In after-Days the foul Priapus nam'd.
Nor did th'unnurtur'd Crowd alone rebel,
For in the specious Snare their Nobles fell:
Zimri, a noted Chief of Simeons Race,
Who Private Lewdness only, thought disgrace,
In open Day false Cozbi with him brings,
Sprung from the Stem of Midianitish Kings:
Nor Zealous Phineas this, who snatch'd a Spear
Which double Death on its Sharp Point did wear,
And in the very Act of Lewdness found
Transfix'd 'em both, and nail'd 'em to the Ground:
Nor this without Commission he presum'd,
For God's dread Word before to Death had doom'd
Each Wretch whom foul Idolatry had stain'd:
Nor unrewarded his just Zeal remain'd:
Those guilty Victims angry Heav'n appeas'd,
And in the Camp the wide Contagion ceas'd:
The Covenant of Peace his Justice gains,
An everlasting Priesthood he obtains.
And can unbounded Goodness give no more?
There is, there is, a sure Reward for those
Who own its Cause against its mighty Foes:
Who bear the Sword with an impartial Hand,
And in the Breach, firm and undaunted stand,
To punish daring Vice, and save a Guilty Land.
LXXXVI. Numbers, Chap. XXXI.
The War with Midian.
Suspends its Arm to give the greater Blow.
For all the Whores and Gods that Midian gave
The chosen Race to weaken and enslave,
Twelve Thousand Warriours harness'd for the Fight
Must now their curs'd Civilities requite:
Brave Phinehas gladly leads the chosen Band,
The Trump of God adorns his strong Right-Hand:
In vain th'unequal Foes their Host surround,
And like unnumber'd Locusts spread the Ground.
Sound! Sound a Charge! They shake, they bend, they fly,
And Israel gains an easy Victory.
False Midian's haughty Princes strive in vain,
Zur, Evi, Rekem, Hur, and Reba slain;
Whose Fate their Wizard Prophet Balaam shares,
Victorious Israel's just Revenge he bears,
He scap'd the Angel's Sword, but cou'd not theirs.
Into the Countries Heart (their Army broke)
They pierce, and gain their Towns without a stroke.
With Fire and Sword the Treach'rous Race pursue,
Their Palaces they burnt, their Men they slew.
The fatal Causes of the War they spare:
These with uncounted Spoils, they bear away,
And to their Breth'rens joyful Camp convey:
When Moses saw, his Anger justly rose:
“—What Madness this, to spare your strongest Foes?
“A mortal Plague they brought, themselves a worse;
“Where Balaam cou'd not, these prevail'd to curse.
“Your Swords against the splendid Serpents turn,
“Who have their Thousands slain: Let Midian mourn,
“As Israel did before—They plead in vain;
Just, tho severe their Doom, the specious Plagues are slain.
LXXXVII. Deuteronomy, Chap. XXVII.
Ebal and Gerizim.
Whom Moses thus accosts by Heav'ns command:
When Jordan pass'd, you seize the Promis'd Land;
Two hanging Rocks you'll see with equal Pride
Thrust out their rugged Fronts on either side:
Whose mould'ring Walls affright the Vale below:
Be half the People plac'd on Ebal's Brim,
The other on the cloudy Gerizim:
When Levi thus the Curses shall repeat
Which GOD's just Laws on harden'd Sinners threat.
And an abominable Idol makes!
In vain he sets it in a secret Place;
Just Vengeance him shall find, and all his Race.
Who slight their Aged Parents in distress:
Those who the Ancient Land-Mark move away,
And those who make the helpless Blind to stray:
Who poor unfriended Strangers shall oppress,
Or wrong the Widow, and the Fatherless:
Whom Incest, or unnatural Crimes delight,
Or who in secret shall their Neighbour smite:
Who for Reward the Innocent pursue,
Or who in Blood their guilty Hands embrue:
Who not confirm each awful Word they hear;
All are accurs'd, and all their Sin shall bear:
While distant Eccho sounds each Curse agen,
All Israel to each Curse shall give their loud Amen!
LXXXVIII. Duteronomy, Chap. XXXIV.
Moses's View of Canaan. His Death, Burial, and Elegy.
For this his Life, and more, he Canaan lost:
His temperate Youth with vigorous Age was bless'd,
And no Decays his num'rous Years confess'd:
His Eyes as full of Fire, his Pulse as warm
As when th'abhorr'd Egyptian felt his Arm:
Yet he must die—But first the Favour gain'd
To see the Land for Israel's Sons ordain'd:
Behold him to the Top of Pisgah go,
And view the Country and the Clouds below!
Sweet Jericho's delightful Town and Plain,
And Judah's Lot to the Great Western Main:
From thence to North survey with longing Eyes,
Where goodly Lebanon's fair Cliffs arise,
Whose Tall Eternal Cedars threat the Skies.
Last of the Southern Wild a Prospect take
To Casiotis, and the Syrbon-Lake:
He cou'd no more, but on the Turf reclin'd,
As meekly as he liv'd, his Soul resign'd:
Officious Seraphs bare his Soul away,
And to a happier Canaan him convey:
And in a Tomb unknown to Mortals laid:
Nor this enough, O favour'd Saint for thee;
Since God himself thus wrote thy Elegy.
“What Friend of God with Holy Raptures fir'd,
“Whose Deathless Name can equal Glories share,
“Or with my Servant Moses can compare?
“With Mortal Eyes th'Invisible he saw,
“On trembling Sinai's Top receiv'd the Law:
“From Egypt's Fetters ransom'd Israel brought,
“And in their sight, dread Signs, and mighty Wonders wrought.
LXXXIX. Joshua, Chap. I. Ver. 1. 2. Chap. II.
Rahab and the Spies.
Jehova bids the Valiant Joshua rise;
Second in Honour fill his Vacant Place,
And to their happy Seats conduct the chosen Race:
The Prudent General's Thoughts and Care no less,
Tho' Heav'n itself assures him of Success:
Two Spies to neighb'ring Jericho he sent,
Nor undiscover'd thro' the Guards they went:
The jealous King appriz'd of their Intent,
But Rahab's House conceals her Hebrew Friends:
The Souldiers hope in vain their Prey to find,
Pour'd thro' the Eastern Gate as swift as Wind,
In vain pursuing those who staid behind;
To whom their Fair Preserver thus begins:
“Your Title and Possession Heav'n secures;
“Yours are our Cities, and our Land is Yours:
“A Panic Fear does every Breast invade,
“We faint, we melt, of Israel's Arms afraid.
“We've heard how God did you thro' Seas convey
“While parting Waters show'd your wond'rous way:
“What you to Sibon and to Og have done,
“Trembling we hear, and make their Fates our own:
“Since then with hazard of my Life conceal'd,
“Nor to the threatning cheated Guards reveal'd,
“The Mercy I have shown you, let me find,
“And to my Father's House be just and kind.
“Swear by the Pow'r that loves your Nation Swear
“The hungry Sword their precious Lives shall spare:
They did, then o'r the Wall she lets 'em down,
They to the Mountain flee, and leave the Town:
Three Days conceal'd in Palm-Tree Groves they lay
Almost impervious to the All-searching Day;
Then fording Jordan, to the Camp repair;
To Joshua and the rest the joyful news they bear.
XC. Joshua, Chap. III. Ver. 1. to 17. Chap. IV. Ver. 5. to 18.
Jordan divided. Israel passes over.
Near Jordan's Banks decamp'd from Shittim's Plain:
With longing Eyes they view'd, unsatisfy'd,
Their promis'd Fields that grac'd his Western side,
Still to their Wishes and their Vows deny'd;
For Jordan now his slimy Banks o'reflows,
And broad as Father Nile, or Ganges grows.
In vain, for Nature to her Lord gives way:
When Seas divide, can Rivers not obey?
The Priests, in Stoles of purest Linen, bear
The dreadful Ark, and to the Brink repair;
Nor sooner on the utmost Rivage tread,
When, lo! the Waters saw, and backward fled,
Their ancient Course forgot, and Oozy Bed;
Far, far away to Adam's distant Strand,
And furl'd on Heaps like Icy Mountains stand:
While those below fail from the Salt-sea Plain,
Whose thirsty Soil expects their cooling Waves in vain.
This great Event the trembling Guards perceive,
From Jericho, and scarce their Eyes believe:
Thick on the Walls and Battlements they stood,
To their chill Hearts retir'd the curdling Blood:
They saw the ransom'd Flock come safely o're,
And with glad Shouts salute the welcom Shore:
Twelve weighty Stones from Jordan saw them take,
And Signals of their wondrous Passage make:
Who as they enter'd first, ascended last:
The Firm no sooner by their Sandals press'd,
And on the sedgy Banks the Ark did rest;
When Jordan breaks with burst of Thunder's roar,
Like some fierce Eagre sweeps each sounding Shore,
And shoots its foaming Waves as widely as before.
XCI. Joshua, Chap. V. Ver. 13. to the End.
Joshua sees the Captain of the Lord's Host.
And with a strong Blockade 'tis closely press'd:
Alone the fearless Joshua walks the round,
To view the Place, if any weakness found,
Or to surprize, or storm from advantageous Ground.
Thoughtful he stood, reclining on his Spear,
When lo! he sees an awful Form appear.
Mortal he seem'd, yet more than mortal Grace,
And Splendor terrible adorn'd his Face.
A Sword he grasp'd, as bright as it were made,
Of a portentous Comets flaming Blade:
When thus the General of the chosen Host,
The Great unknown undaunted did accost.
“For Canaan or for Israel, Peace or War?
Michael am I, the shining Form reply'd,
Sent from the Throne the Host of God to guide:
Prostrate the General falls, and prints the Sand,
And waits for his Superior's dread Command;
He bids, to loose his Sandals not disdain,
Nor with irreverend Steps the hallow'd Place profane:
Joshua obeys, new Orders he receives,
Whom, mounting to the Clouds, the heav'nly Visions leaves.
XCII. Joshua, Chap. IV. Ver. 20. to 23.
The Walls of Jericho fall down, the City taken: Rahab and her Family preserv'd.
Betrays our Guilt, or owns our Impotence.
The strongest Walls an inward Fear confess,
Corslets and Shields, and glittring Helms no less;
And Force or Fraud o'er our weak Frames prevail,
Tho' arm'd with Tow'rs, or wall'd with Coats of Mail.
If from our fellow Mortals unsecure,
What Fortress can, against just Heav'n ensure?
What rocky Ramparts may its Bolts endure?
Nor needs it the red Thunder still unsheath,
Nor grants each guilty Wretch so great a Death.
And solid Substance shake with airy Sound:
This, Jericho, thy tott'ring Walls declare,
No Steel-head Rams, no strong Machins of War
Provok'd that Fate which for thy Crimes was just,
And roll'd thy ancient Honours in the Dust:
But Israel's Sons, so Heav'n commands, surround
Thy Ramparts with the clanging Trumpet's sound:
The Priests, the Ark in long Procession bore,
The harness'd Warriors silent march'd before:
A Week of Days they prosecute their Toil,
While from the Walls th'abhorr'd Barbarians smile:
But scarce the seventh bless'd Morn had deck'd the Skies,
When with new Hopes inspir'd th'Assembly rise:
Sev'n times the nodding Tow'rs and Walls they pass'd,
And Joshua gives the Signal at the last:
Now shout, he said, your Conquest Heav'n assures;
Ascend! for the devoted Town is yours:
Let Rahab live, but all the rest must die,
So loud their ripen'd Sins for Vengeance cry:
The Spoil is God's, beware th'accursed Thing,
Lest on yourselves and us the Curse you bring.
Tumble the Walls, thick Clouds of Dust arise:
So bursts a Torrent from the Mountains side,
So roars the Thunder thro' the Welkin wide:
Each in his Rank ascends from where he stood,
The City's won, and fill'd with Fire and Blood.
Rahab alone her Countries Loss survives,
And with her Fathers House in Israel lives;
Whom Holy Bands to Princely Salmon joyn,
Whence a long Race of Kings in Judah's sacred Line.
XCIII. Joshua, Chap. VII. and VIII.
Achan and Ai.
Unsatisfied to be alone accurs'd,
Your pois'nous Influence larger Conquests gains,
And blasts th'unhappy Nation where it reigns.
One Achar Israels Glory can deface,
And spread wide Vengeance round the sacred Race.
For Ai, Three Thousand Warriors now prepare,
More than enough their Force, had God been there,
—But he was gone, and Conquest with him led,
Before their feeble Enemies they fled:
Some fall transfix'd, and wounded some return;
They melt, they faint, the whole Assembly mourn:
Prostrate on Earth afflicted Joshua lay
With Israel's Elders all that luckless Day,
Their Cloths they rend; around 'em Sackloth spread,
And scatter Dust on each dishonour'd Head.
When God to Joshua did the Crime disclose,
Which made his People naked to their Foes:
The blasting Sacrilegious Guilt reveals,
Tho' for a while the guilty Wretch conceals:
And Tribe from Tribe, and House from House divides:
Singling at last devoted Achan's Head,
Paler than Death when his black Name was read:
Trembling and manifest of Guilt he stands,
When Joshua mildly all the Truth demands,
As best becomes a Judge—Th'accurs'd replies
His Sacrilege confess'd, and Avarice;
Among the Spoils he saw a goodly Prize,
A Royal Garment, glorious to behold,
Embroder'd rich, and squalid all with Gold:
And near, a Golden Wedge inviting lay'd;
The precious Spoils he to the Camp convey'd:
Nor these alone, a Heap of Silver coin'd
Hid close in Earth they in his Tent might find.
Both these, and all who did his Crime partake
They with their Sire a just Example make:
Beneath a Show'r of Stones the Traitors groan,
And happy He by whom the First was thrown.
When thus they angry Heav'ns fierce Wrath appease,
Proud Ai is conquer'd and destroy'd with ease.
“Our Israel cou'd not miss to gain the Victory.
XCIV. Joshua, Chap. IX. and X.
Gibeon makes a League with Joshua. The Kings discomfited who combin'd against it. The Sun and the Moon stand still.
They hear their Neighbour's Fates, and dread their own:
Yet justly harden'd in their Crimes oppose
With Force united their unequal Foes:
Gibeon alone by Wiles a Peace obtain'd,
Gladly their Lives, tho' not their Freedom gain'd:
Against whose Walls the Lord of Jebus brings
A num'rous Host of tributary Kings:
Hebron, and Jarmuth, and strong Lachish joyn'd,
With learned Debir's pow'rful Prince combin'd:
The Gibeonites distress'd with Numbers, fly
For Succour to their New and Great Ally:
Oblig'd by sacred Oaths to their Defence,
For sacred Oaths cou'd then oblige a Prince:
Brave Joshua heard, nor timely help delay'd,
But marches strait to his Confed'rates Aid:
Fell furious in upon his careless Foes:
Th'Intrenchments gain'd, How vast a Carnage made?
And roll'd in Dust, what heaps of Princes laid?
Slaughter was glutted, Ruin wanted Breath,
And panting Hades scarce cou'd follow Death:
Who scap'd the hungry Sword, in vain wou'd fly,
Beneath prodigious Show'rs of Hail they die:
A dismal Gleam th'affrighted Sun did yield,
And gather'd sanguine Vapours from the Field:
When Joshua stretch'd aloft his knotty Spear,
And thus began, “Ye rolling Heav'ns, give Ear!
‘Attend, O silent Moon! thou Solar Brightness, hear!
“—Stand!—in your Maker's Name, I charge you stand,
“While Israel executes his dread Command!
It stood unmov'd and stable as the Poles:
Nature the stop perceiv'd, and shook for fear,
She thought her fatal Period now was near:
Scarce more amaz'd, when this great Frame gives way,
And Earth and Heav'n shall mingled fall at the last dreadful Day.
XCV. Joshua, Chap. XXIII. and XXIV.
Joshua's Advice, and last Speech to Israel. His Death.
And God by Joshua gave his Israel rest;
Bending with Age his Dust to Dust inclin'd,
But firm and vigorous still his deathless Mind:
E're what was Mortal to Corruption falls,
Of Israel's States he an Assembly calls,
Then thus began—Near broad Euphrates side,
Your Paynim Fathers did of old reside:
From thence was Abr'ham call'd to this bless'd Land,
Whose Seed unnumber'd as the Stars or Sand:
Nor have you yet forgot the Wonders wrought,
When God your Fathers out of Egypt brought,
Nor how the Amorites against you fought:
How treach'rous Balak did for Balaam send,
How vain his Curses, how deserv'd his End.
What Nations leagu'd your Conquests to prevent,
Destroy your Name, and frustrate Heav'ns intent:
And not your own Right-hand, your Sword or Bow;
Has giv'n a Land where Milk and Honey flow:
Whose happy Fields without your Toil, produce
The Olives, and the Grapes reviving Juice:
What shall you for his Goodness, then repay?
Jehovah fear, and him sincere, obey.
That Idol-Fire which Chesed's Sons adore,
Th'Egyptian Gods, which vainly guard their Shore,
Exterminate their very Names, and be
Alone devote to Israel's Deity.
If this bless'd Service you ingrate, refuse,
Declare whose Altars you design to chuse!
—Or those which Abraham did in Ur forsake,
Or Canaan's Gods, whose helpless Shrines you brake?
For me and mine, while vital Breath shall last,
Our happy Choice is made, our Lot is cast:
To God alone we'll Adoration pay,
To Israel's God, whom Earth and Heav'n obey.
And whilst his Eyes surrounding Princes close,
To Abraham's Bosom, and his great Fore-fathers goes.
XCVI. Judges, Chap. I. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 8.
War with the Canaanites. Bezek taken. Adoni-bezek punish'd.
And wait for Orders to renew the War:
Warn'd by their murm'ring Fathers impious Rage,
They dare no more without Command engage:
Brave Judah's Sons the Posts of Honour gain,
Which with sev'n harness'd Myriads they maintain;
Their Royal Lion waving in the Field,
Unknowing to retreat, and less to yield:
Proud Bezek's spatious Walls with Turrets crown'd,
On ev'ry side the Host of God surround:
Too weak the Town to bear their first attack,
They push the Foe, they storm, they gain, they sack;
While Bezek's haughty Lord resists in vain,
Nor can his trembling Guards the Fight maintain:
Ignoble Flight with like Success he tries,
A short Reprieve with Shame too dearly buys:
Pursu'd and seiz'd, the same hard Fate he bore,
Which sev'nty Kings had done from him before;
Who glean'd their Meat beneath the Tyrant's Board,
The Footstools they of their imperious Lord;
Maim'd and abus'd—he still prolong'd their Breath,
As envy'ng them the Luxury of Death.
He owns his Fate is Just—and so must all,
Who as they trace his Crimes may share his Fall:
Stifled with Malice, Pride and Rage he dies,
To clear a Providence, and vindicate the Skies.
XCVII. Judges, Chap. I. Ver. 10. to 13.
Judah conquers Hebron and Debir. Achsah given to Othniel.
Of old from Anakean Arba nam'd;
Judah's victorious Army dar'd oppose,
Who saw unmov'd their huge Gigantic Foes:
The monstrous Sons of Anak saw from far,
Each nodding Terrour, each himself a War.
Low in the Plain encamp'd the Hebrews lay,
Whom from the Walls with scorn their Foes survey:
Behold above the rest proud Sheshai stand,
Who own'd no God but his own strong Right-hand:
The Fear of Israel he aloud defies,
And darts retorted curses at the Skies:
Nor valiant Othniel this, who from below,
Shoots o're the Hill to meet th'unequal Foe:
Thro' Darts, thro' Swords, thro' Show'rs of Death he's born,
Thro' rocky Fragments from the Mountain torn:
See him upon the tallest Rampart stand,
And meet the bold Blasphemer hand to hand:
His well-known Sword he rais'd (the dreadful Blade,
With choicest Skill at rich Damascus made,)
And cleaves him to the Twist.—
—Still like a half demolish'd Tow'r he stood,
And his warm Entrails spouted Seas of Blood:
In his wide Ruins find their Grave and Death:
Dread and Dismay the weak Defendants seize,
By Israel trampled, and destroy'd with ease.
Their Battlements he scales, and routs his Foes:
Below the beauteous Achsah view'd the Fight,
Honour and Love at once enflam'd her Knight:
Honour bids high, but Love had stronger Charms,
He comes, and reaps the Fruit of Conquest in her Arms.
XCVIII. Judges, Chap. IV. Ver. 1. to 22.
Deborah and Barak. Jael and Sisera.
And baffled Canaan's desp'rate Claim renews;
While Sis'ra his victorious Char'ots leads,
And Slaughter all around, and Ruin spreads:
Lopp'd Arms, and bleeding Heads lie strow'd beneath
His Murd'ring Scythes, too hard for Time or Death:
His fiery Coursers trampling o'er the Plain,
Their brazen Hoofs dash round a sanguine Rain.
Their very Souls enslav'd—But heav'n can find
In female Breasts a more than manly Mind:
The Sex that boast themselves for Empire made,
Had dropp'd the Sword, the Sov'reign Pow'r betray'd:
Undaunted Deborah reclaims their Right,
And with Abin'am's Son descends to fight:
The Heathen hear, their dreadful Chariots arm,
And on the Banks of ancient Kishon swarm;
Clust'ring above, an Iron-Wall, they stood,
Breast-high, God's Army marches o're the Flood:
They cast their Darts, they mount, they joyn, they beat,
And Sis'ra bears the News of his Defeat:
Inglorious Chief! himself the News did bring,
He sav'd his precious Life for Canaan's King.
—How short the Life which he in vain did save?
How soon the fatal Stroke a Woman gave?
Sleeping he dies, unknowing yields his Breath,
Now first couragious seems, for now he smiles on Death.
XCIX. Judges, Chap. V. from Ver. 2. to the End.
The Song of Deborah and Barak.
The pious Deb'rah thus his Praise express'd:
In lofty Notes of everlasting Praise!
Hear, O ye Kings! attentive Princes hear,
A wond'rous Song that well deserves your Ear!
When Israel's God from hostile Edom came,
With his own Thunder arm'd, array'd in Flame;
Trembled the Earth, as o're the Clouds he rode,
The Cloud's dissolve to Rain, and own the incumbent God.
The Mountains Tops at his approach retire,
Their molten Entrails run in streams of Fire.
Which did th'ungrateful lands devotion gain.
Weak unavailing Names! no help they yield,
War, War the Gates resound, and War the Field!
Th'alarm in vain is giv'n, of Spear and Shield.
By their insulting jealous Lords bereft,
No refuge but inglorious Flight was left:
When Deborah arose at Heav'ns Command,
When I arose to save the Orphan'd Land:
Bless'd be their Names, the gen'rous Few, that join'd
To urge the happy Change by Heav'n design'd!
To save their Country, and to help the Lord:
But curse ye Meroz! an uncommon weight
Of Vengeance seize 'em, and a Neuter's Fate!
They wou'd the Spoil, tho' not the Danger, share,
When Sisera is faln, they'll now declare.
—His Boasts, his fruitless Hopes, his Fears are o're;
He bow'd, he fell, he sunk, to rise no more.
But those that love thee, brighter Stars attend!
The Sun himself less glorious far than they,
The Sun, when mounted on the blazing Noon of Day.
C. Judges, Chap. VI. Ver. 36. to the End.
Gideon's Expostulation. The Miracle of the Fleece.
And soon their angry God his Judgments sends:
O're all the Land wild Midian's Offspring pours,
An Epidemic Plague, like Locusts, all devours:
To Caves and Dens th'affrighted Hebrews run,
Entomb themselves alive their Death to shun:
Nor long unmov'd the Father at their Cries,
At his Command an Angel cleaves the Skies;
Beneath a spatious Oak at Ophrah stays,
And to the thoughtful Gideon thus he says:
—Brave Man! secure of Fate, and Aid divine!
No Danger canst thou fear, for God is thine.
Where are those Wonders he in Egypt wrought?
Are all our Moses's, all our Joshua's gone,
Our Othniel's, and our Ehud's? Are there none
To Heir their Virtues, that we still must bear
The Heathens Yoke, and of Relief despair?
—Yes—one there is, says God, and thou art he:
Go then, in this thy Might, thy Country free!
With Reformation he the Wars begins,
He knew their strongest Foes were Israel's Sins:
Baal's helpless Altar to the Ground he throws,
And fells the Grove which near his Altar grows:
Inspir'd, the Trumpet takes, and blew a Blast,
Which first thro' Ophrah's narrow Confines pass'd:
It pass'd thro' Abiezer's utmost bound;
Glad Israel hears, and gathers to the Sound:
From double-trib'd Manasseh thousands run,
From distant Asher, and from Zebulun.
When Gideon thus did Israel's God address,
And humbly asks an Omen of Success.
O let the Dew on my sole Fleece descend!
'Tis done—the Grass and Floor around are dry;
Agen the Hero, Heav'n presumes to try:
Upon his Fleece no drop of moisture found,
While Sheets of Silver Dew spread all the ambient Ground.
CI. Judges, Chap. VII. Ver. 5. to the End.
Midian discomfited.
Too num'rous yet the Victory to gain:
Three Myriads who at first the Hero joyn'd
Melt off, Three hundred only left behind:
By these, said God, too few their Strength to boast,
Will I discomfit Midian's num'rous Host:
This Night go down, in Moreh's Vale they lie,
And welcom Omens meet of Victory!
He goes, his faithful Phurah by his side,
They find their careless Army scatter'd wide;
They hear a Soldier no vain Dream relate
Of Israel's Conquest, and of Midian's Fate:
From thence return'd secure of wish'd Success,
The joyful News by Looks and Words express.
Gideon his Army, (scarce an Army) heads,
And not to Battel, but to Conquest leads:
Around the slumb'ring Camps they shout; The Word
Was Gideon's and Jehovah's vengeful Sword!
Horror and Guilt the Paynim Host affright,
Dread sounds their Ears, their Eyes a ghastly Light:
They ran, they cry'd, they fled; their Swords they drew,
And each did in his Fellows's Blood imbrew;
Manasseh, Asher, Nepthali pursue:
Fierce Ephraim seiz'd the Foords of Jordan's Flood,
And dy'd his Streams with Midianitish Blood:
Oreb and Zeeb in their Flight they meet,
Their bleeding Heads they bring, and cast at Gideon's Feet.
CII. Judges, Chap. IX.
Abimelech made King, and Shechem destroy'd.
Abimelech arose of spurious Race:
Without Remorse his seventy Brethren slain,
He thought a Crown he still did cheaply gain:
To Shechem he his ill-got Empire ows,
Ally'd by Birth, yet they his secret Foes:
In narrow Passes they an Ambush lay,
And hope Abimelech himself their Prey;
Their plenteous Vintage home, well-warm'd they bring,
And by their Idol-Gods they curse their Idol-King:
Nor this cou'd Gideon's Blood, tho' base endure;
To crush his Rebels, and his Friends secure
He with a potent Army takes the Field,
To whose superior Force the double Traytors yield:
The Victor to the City them pursues,
Th'unwieldy Gates are clos'd, the War renews:
The wrathful King, impetuous, presses on,
Their ill-defended Gates and Walls are gone:
The Foe breaks in like an impetuous Flood,
Which tops the Banks that long its Course withstood,
The City's sow'd with Salt, and moisten'd with their Blood.
And Treaty they alike and Force disdain'd:
They trust their God, the Hold was nam'd from Baal,
But more they trust their firm and lofty Wall:
The Victor thinks the rest in vain was won,
Till Art compleats what Valour had begun:
Above the Town an hoary Mountain stood,
Whose venerable Head was crown'd with Wood:
The Firs and Pines thick Branches thence they rend,
And to the Tow'r, a moving Grove descend:
These to the Gates apply'd th'Assailants fire,
In vain within they from the Gates retire:
At once their dismal Shrieks ascend the Skies,
Their dying, and their Fun'ral Flames arise,
Never had Baal before so large a Sacrifice.
CIII. Judges, Chap. IX. Ver. 50. to 55.
Abimelech slain by a Woman.
She gains the Day when Life itself is lost:
What with'ring Joys deceitful Conquest yields,
From Cities sack'd, and from triumphant Fields!
How soon the giddy Globe of Fortune turns,
The Captive smiles, th'insulting Victor mourns!
This, Great Abimelech! from thee we learn,
(And future Warriors may their Fate discern:)
Now happy, if thou bear thy Ensign's back,
Nor Thebez Walls, with Stars averse, attack:
And Death, disguis'd like Glory, leads to War:
The Town is storm'd, the weak Defendants fled,
But in the Citadel again make Head;
Arm'd with Despair a brave Resistance make;
Again their well-known Fire th'Assailants take;
Tho' lately try'd, of wish'd Success it fails;
One Stratagem but rarely twice prevails:
Greedy of Fame, impatient of Delay,
To his warm Troops the Gen'ral leads the way;
Whom, at the Gates, to his despairing Foes,
His lofty Plume and glitt'ring Arms disclose:
—'Tis done, and from a Mill-stone's deadly weight,
A Woman, a weak Woman sends his Fate:
He feels the Stroke the Seat of Life confound,
His Helmet crush'd, his Head a single Wound;
Groaning he falls, reluctant strikes the Ground:
But his strong Heart still rises with Disdain,
“Can Gideon's Son by Female Hands be slain?
“Let some kind Sword the Stroke of Mercy lend,
“If near me either Enemy or Friend!
His faithful Squire, who oft in Battel try'd,
Had ne're unguarded left his Master's side,
This last kind cruel Office not deny'd:
Soon as the Sword its fatal Passage found,
He rises to the Point, and meets the welcom Wound.
CIV. Judges, Chap. X. Ver. 17, 18. Chap. XI. to 29.
Jephthah chosen Captain by the Gileadites.
From Rabbah's Tow'rs they Gibeah's Walls assail:
At Mizpeh's neighb'ring Hills the Tribes unite,
Pressing Memorials their Distress recite,
And valiant Jephthah to their Aid invite.
From foreign Lands their loud Complaints he hears,
And speeds away to dissipate their Fears;
Their high Estates in full Convention joyn'd,
To him the vacant Soveraign Pow'r assign'd:
He knew 'twas an unthankful Work to save,
He knew the Wealthy never lov'd the Brave;
And, Ammon beat, might civilly desire,
He'd ease the Nation, and to Tob retire.
Revolving deep he poiz'd the Crown, before
His thoughtful Brows that thorny Trifle wore;
For publick Good at length accepts the Weight,
For others Freedom he a Slave of State.
In their new Head secure they promise fair,
And to their rightful Saviour Homage swear,
And Jephthah does for their Defence prepare:
By Treaty first does friendly Terms propound,
But ne're was Ammon yet by Treaty bound;
For where no Faith is, how shou'd Truth be found?
And all the God his mighty Soul possest:
Like Lightning thro' the Clouds he darts away,
And only wou'd a while at Mizpeh stay,
The Gen'ral thought it no Disgrace to pray.
New Strength receiv'd, secure of Conquests, goes
At once to find, engage and rout his Foes.
Attend thy Banner, and thy Temple crown!
Thy conqu'ring Sword insulting Ammon's Rod,
Their Chemosh forc'd to yield to Israel's God!
—“But, ah! in vain thy Brows with Laurel crown'd,
“For Fate and gloomy Death encompass thee around.
CV. Judges, Chap. XI. from Ver. 30. to Ver. 39.
Ammon discomfited. Jephtha's Vow.
Glad Israel rose and shouted for the Fight:
Between both Armies valiant Jephthah ran,
His Spear to Heav'n he rais'd, and thus began;
“So may my Arms the God of Battles bless,
“And grant his own lov'd Israel wish'd Success;
“As when from War with Conquest I return,
“What e're I meet, a Sacrifice shall burn.
The lost Forlorns engage, the Battles joyn:
But fresh Reserves the tott'ring Fight sustain:
Till Jephtha's Guards, their General at their Head,
Charg'd their unwieldy Gross, which bent and fled:
Their Main dispers'd, the Wings no longer stood,
The rest was Carnage all, a Field of Blood.
This Moment gives 'em, and the next destroys:
How dear must what he wins, brave Jephtha cost?
How oft he'll rather wish his Life he had lost?
Swift Fame did his desir'd Return prevent,
And with her Silver Trump before him went:
An only Daughter Heav'n the Hero lent,
A lov'd, an only Child, as chast as fair,
She did her Father's Soul and Virtues share:
Her Country's Love and Duty made her fly
To Joy him of his mournful Victory:
—He saw the Maid, and like a Statue stood,
Pale was his alter'd Face, congeal'd his Blood:
“—My Daughter!—longer mine, alas! no more!
“Thy cruel Duty we must both deplore:
“Th'irrevocable Word to God is past,
“Thou now art his, this Day must be thy last!
Thus he; unmov'd and calm her Doom she hears,
Her charming Eyes alone are free from Tears:
When Israel's safe, her Death she scorns to grieve,
And only asks, submiss, a short Reprieve:
Sadly he grants, two wexing Moons she stay'd,
Then his hard Vow's fulfill'd on the devoted Maid.
CVI. Judges, Chap. XIII. Ver. 2. to 23.
An Angel appears to Manoah and his Wife, and promises them a Son.
Enslav'd to faithless Capthor's fore-skin'd Race:
To Zorah's Fields a heav'nly Watcher came,
(His dazling Robes laid by, and Wings of Flame;)
Where liv'd a happy Pair with Plenty bless'd,
And only want a Son to crown the rest.
The Angel did the pleasing Tidings bear,
And to the Wife fore-told a joyful Heir:
A Nazarite of God; the tempting Wine,
To him in vain thro' Crystal Walls shou'd shine:
No Razor must his sacred Locks profane,
His Hands must loose his injur'd Nation's Chain.
She hastens home to bring her Lord the News,
So great, he did almost his Faith refuse:
Agen the wondrous Messenger appears,
And all confirm'd attentive Manoah hears;
Who on the Rock an Holocaust prepares
To Israel's God, and joyns his fervent Pray'rs:
The Angel his celestial Robe resumes,
His Sun-like Face, and gay Cherubic Plumes:
Behold his alter'd God-like Presence shine,
His large extended Form confess'd Divine!
High on a fiery Column's wondrous Car,
To Heav'n he mounts, swift as a shooting Star:
Prostrate on Earth the trembling Pair are laid,
When Manoah silence broke, and thus he said:
For who can see the Face of God and live?
With fairer Hopes his Consort thus rejoyn'd,
If God displeas'd our speedy Deaths design'd;
Why shou'd the Angel with such Care advise,
And why shou'd Heav'n accept our Sacrifice?
For e're ten waning Moons their Orbs had spent,
The Angel's Words perform'd, a wondrous Heir is sent.
CVII. Judges, Chap. XIV. to Ver. 8.
Samson slays a Lion, &c.
And soon the sacred Spirit invades his Breast;
Near Eshtaol and Zorah's fruitful Plain,
His lab'ring Breast cou'd scarce the God sustain.
Prompted to mighty Deeds the more than Man,
Afflicted Israel's Freedom thus began.
He wish'd the charming Infidel his Bride,
So Heav'n itself directs him, which fore-knows,
He'll hence Occasion gain against his Foes:
His Parents, ignorant of Fates intent,
Unwillingly to Timnah with him went:
The aged Couple thro' the Vineyards walk,
And of their Son's unhappy Choice they talk;
Samson behind; when from the secret Shades
A Lion ramps, and him unarm'd invades:
The sacred Spirit, earnest of mightier Deeds,
Seizes him all; the rugged Foe he joyn'd,
Crush'd his broad Breast, and his strong Neck he twin'd:
Onward he walks, the careful Pair o'retakes,
But of his great Exploit no mention makes:
The lovely Timnite saw, who charm'd him more,
Than when her Eyes had seiz'd his Heart before:
Scarce cou'd his Parents longer disapprove
His Passion, where they saw such Cause of Love:
Their Wealth, his Merits, cou'd not be deny'd,
Nor long his Faith and Constancy were try'd,
He soon returns with Joy to wed his beauteous Bride.
CVIII. Judges, Chap. XIV. Ver. 7. to the End.
Samson's Riddle.
Near where the Lions putrid Carcass lay;
He hears surpriz'd, from thence a murm'ring Sound,
He sees live Honey flowing on the Ground:
The dropping Combs he from their Mansion tears,
Walks eating on, and with his Parents shares:
At Timnah they his Nuptials celebrate:
Th'Ill meaning Politician Lords combine,
T'entrap their gen'rous Guest, their base Design:
To mark his Actions they, in Friends disguise,
His festal Table crowd with thirty Spies:
Nor had his wond'rous Birth escap'd their Ears,
Nor ever yet were Tyrants void of Fears:
Open and brave young Sampson all receives,
As he no Ill designs, no Ill believes:
At length the Feast he crowns with gen'rous Wine,
From Gaza's and Sarepta's noble Vine;
But with the crystal Nymph his Thirst allays,
Nor needs the fuming Grape his Spirits to raise:
E're from the Board the chearful Guests arose,
This Riddle Samson did to all propose;
“The Eater did on others Meat bestow,
“And from the strong did wond'rous Sweetness flow:
If they the knotty Riddle cou'd explain,
Each for his share shou'd a rich Vestment gain.
At length they with his facil Spouse confer,
She wrung it from her Lord, and they from her:
Enrag'd he heard it solv'd, her Treason knew,
And Thirty of th'abhorr'd Philistians slew:
Near Ashkalon's proud Walls their Spoils he takes,
And to their faithless Friends th'ill-omen'd Present makes.
CIX. Judges, Chap. XV. from Ver. 3. to Ver. 15.
Samson's Foxes. He kills a Thousand Men with the Jaw-bone of an Ass.
And Time's a Leach that deepest Wounds can cure:
All Breaches he, but that of Faith can bind;
No Salve, no Herbs, no Charms for this can find,
If falsly heal'd, he leaves the pois'nous Head behind.
Samson, appeas'd, does with a Kid prepare,
Agen to see his false Philistian Fair;
Now his no more, another's Wife she's made,
And to his treach'rous Friend with Ease betray'd:
Nor this Great Samson unreveng'd cou'd bear,
Philistia, tremble! you, th'Aggressors were!
Foxes and Fire-brands thro' their Harvest turn'd,
Their Shocks at once, and standing Corn he burn'd.
(To Mimic Rome the late Tradition came,
Their shouting Cirque each Year beheld the same.)
The Cause around their wasted Country known,
Their Rage is on the perjur'd Timnite shown:
To vengeful Flames they the fair Trait'ress doom,
And her, and all her Father's House consume.
The Lordly Philistines their Army sent:
And from their slavish Vassals him demand,
Of Judah's Sons a base inglorious Band
Unto their Camps the willing Captive bear,
At whose approach with Shouts they rend the Air.
And from his Hands the Cords like Threads he shakes,
An Asses Jaw his boney Sword he takes:
Behold him dealing dole amongst his Foes!
Terror before, behind him Slaughter goes,
From Heaps to Heaps of Carcasses they stride,
Which Streams of warm and reeking Blood divide,
And haughty Death sits crown'd upon the crimson Tide.
CX. Judges, Chap. XVI. Ver. 4. to 20.
Delilah betrays Samson.
By Female Wiles, how often trapp'd and lost?
—We rave, but still they wind us back again,
In Destinies or Follies endless Chain:
But newly scap'd the beauteous Timnite's snare,
Nor yet cou'd Samson of her Sex beware:
He saw in Sorek's pleasant Vale retir'd,
False Delilah, he saw her and admir'd:
In lazy Luxury his Hours he past,
His matchless Might, and useless Life ran wast:
Philistia heard with false mistaken Joy,
And rouz'd that Virtue must themselves destroy:
Happy for them if still he there had stay'd!
To worse than Delilah he ne're cou'd be betray'd.
Yet her they bring vast Sums of tempting Gold,
What Kings, what Senates have for less been sold?
'Twas hers, if she his Counsels wou'd betray,
And shew wherein his Strength and Israel's lay:
Long he eludes her Arts, tho' hourly press'd,
And lock'd the fatal Secret in his Breast:
She frowns, she smiles, she all the Woman tries,
In vain, he still evades, or still denies:
The specious Syren baits his passive Ears,
Nor want soft sighs, or well-commanded Tears:
“Was't this, was't this, false Man! you did design,
“When at my Feet you vow'd your Heart was mine?
“How soon the Viper to my Breast receiv'd?
“May every Maid your faithless Nation shun,
“And learn by me, forsaken, scorn'd, undone!
—He cou'd no more, his stubborn Heart gave way;
Doubly betray'd, he does himself betray:
Like easie Man the fatal Secret tells,
Which like true Woman Delilah reveals:
Robb'd of his sacred Locks, amidst his Foes
Th'insulting Traitress did her Lord expose:
In vain he rouz'd, in vain his Limbs he shakes,
And self-forsaken him his God forsakes:
Vanquish'd with Ease, a Captive, scorn'd and blind,
T'inglorious Pains, a publick Drudge confin'd,
Shorn of his boasted Strength, and yet compell'd to grind.
CXI. Judges, Chap. XVI. from Ver. 23. to Ver. 30.
Samson's Death.
We learn at once to know ourselves, and God!
Samson by this the truest Freedom gains,
Smiles in his Dungeon, and enjoys his Chains;
And his purg'd Soul's endu'd with inward Light,
Which more than pays his Loss of sensual sight:
His haughty Lords less free than him they bind,
By their own Pride and Vice enslav'd and blind;
To spread their mighty Fishes glorious Name;
Their two-form'd God, who to Philistia gave
Samson, their once dread Foe, but now their Slave:
The Feast and Noon grew high, for him they send,
And at his sight with Shouts the Heavens they rend:
His gifted Strength their Scorn, which late their Dread,
Thro' all their Streets in shameful Triumph led:
Their spatious Theatre was crowded round,
And with the Flow'r of wealthy Gaza crown'd:
The vaulted Roof two massy Columns bear,
Samson, as tir'd, sues to repose him there;
Betwixt whose Bases by his Leader plac'd,
This his Right hand, and that his Left embrac'd.
Straining his utmost nervous Force, he bends,
The Pillars from their firm Foundations rends,
With burst of Thunder strait the Roof descends,
Crushing at once the shrieking Crowd beneath,
At once confounded in one Grave and Death:
Samson among the rest contented fell,
And smiles to think his Eyes reveng'd so well.
And by so fair a Death, can loose his Country's Chains!
CXII. Judges, Chap. XVII. Ver. 7. to Chap. XX. Ver. 46.
The War with Benjamin.
Of mortal Plagues? but Anarchies are more:
No Law, no Faith, no Wrongs in her redress'd
The Swords blind Chance of Right and Just the Test,
And every Man's a Lewis to the rest,
Each strolling Levite there a Priest will be,
Each House must have its diff'rent Deity:
Nor those secure, for Micah's Art and Cost,
His wooden Priest, and golden Gods are lost:
Murder and Rape avow'd, the Tribes engage
In civil Fury, and intestine Rage:
At Mizpeh met, they Gibeah's Walls assail,
Where Benjamin's fierce Offspring twice prevail:
Stretch'd on their Mother Earth four Myriads lay,
Whence ev'n degen'rate Israel learns to pray:
To Shiloh's slighted Oracle repair,
Near Bethel's Fields the Ark of God was there,
And still just Phineas did the Ephod wear:
They fast, they mourn, and from the Altar's Fire
Their grateful Odors to the Clouds aspire,
Then of propitious Heav'n agen enquire;
Which bids 'em go, and Promise adds to bless,
Their righteous Arms resum'd with wish'd success.
Whose alter'd Fate her Children soon must mourn:
Flush'd with success they sally from their Hold,
And as an Herd of Wolves assault the Fold;
With hideous Shouts they Israel's Host attack,
With well-dissembled Fear retreating back:
But when to Gibeah's Walls their Ambush came,
Defenceless now; when thence th'ambitious Flame
Glar'd in mid-Heav'n, the Host the Signal knew,
And their amaz'd Pursuers soon pursue,
Trod down with ease; their Tribe at once they slay:
—By Lewdness, thus and Discord, States decay,
Thus many an Age's Growth is ruin'd in a Day.
CXIII. Ruth, Chap. I. Ver. 1. to 21.
Elimelech's History. Ruth and Naomi.
Whose Sons were free by turns, by turns obey'd;
A good old Sire, Elimelech his Name,
To Moab from his native Bethl'hem came:
His Wife, and two fair Sons did with him bear,
By Famine forc'd to seek a shelter there:
Nor long he stays before to Fate he yields,
His Bones inhum'd in Moab's friendly Fields:
A pair of beauteous Moabitish Brides:
Nor long, alas! possess'd they their desire,
Their Nuptial Torch might light their Fun'ral Fire,
In Prime of Youth they childless both expire:
What Grief their Parent, what their Brides possess'd,
The Story says not, but with ease 'tis guess'd:
Nor long the widow'd exil'd Mother mourn'd,
E're she to bless'd Judeas Fields return'd;
Part of the Journey both her Daughters went,
Orpah, at her desire, was soon content
To take her leave, and back her Footsteps bent:
The Younger, Ruth, (whose memorable Name,
In Judah's future Annals place shall claim,
While History remains, consign'd to Fame;)
Her Mother's pressing Instances deny'd,
Nor wou'd while Life remain'd, forsake her side,
Nor ev'n shou'd envious Death their Dust divide:
In Weal or Wo her Fortunes press'd to share,
One Law, one God for Naomi and her.
(A rare Example of a pious Mind!
Equal Success may all such Daughters find!)
Arriv'd at Bethlehem, all the City come
T'admire their Neighbor, and to welcom home:
They scarce can credit what themselves they see,
And ask, if this the alter'd Naomi?
O call me by that happy Name no more,
She said, which while my Fortunes smil'd, I bore!
Forgotten Joy long since is out of date,
And Bitter be my Name, as bitter is my Fate!
CXIV. Ruth, Chap. I. Ver. 22. Chap. II. Ver. 2. to the End. Chap. IV. Ver. 13.
Ruth gleans in the Field of Boaz. He takes her to Wife.
And the just Maid her glorious Guest receives:
The swarthy Reapers fill their Arms with Sheaves.
As chanc'd, or rather Heav'n dispos'd th'Event,
The virtuous Ruth with Naomi's Consent,
To glean the Fields of wealthy Boaz went;
Who soon observ'd her more than common Grace,
Her modest Air, and lovely virtuous Face:
Not unconcern'd he asks the Damsel's Name,
To whom his Hind replys—'Tis she that came
With Naomi: His Master bids her stay,
Glean in his Fields, nor from the Reapers stray;
She from his Servants no abuse shou'd meet:
Prostrate she falls at her great Kinsman's Feet:
Whence, Sir! is this obliging Goodness shown,
She said, to me, a Stranger, and unknown?
We are not ignorant, he pleas'd, rejoyn'd,
What widow'd Naomi from thee did find;
How tender thou, how dutiful and kind:
Of Father and of Mother both, bereft,
Thy native Land, and Country-Idols left,
For Altars and for Hearths unknown before;
And may that Pow'r whom Israel's Race adore,
Thee underneath his Wings from Danger guard,
And on thy Virtues show'r a full Reward!
And western Waves prepar'd to meet the Sun;
When the fair Gleaner to her Mother goes,
And what had pass'd, and what she gain'd, she shows,
And does her Benefactor's Name disclose:
And when the Fields were of their Burthen shorn
And with loud Shouts and rustic Songs, the Corn
On groaning Wheels to crowded Garner's born;
Her wealthy Kinsman, so their Laws ordain'd,
In childless Chilions room she for her Consort gain'd.
CXV. 1 Samuel, Chap. I. Ver. 11. Chap. II. Ver. 1. to 11.
Elkanah and Hannah. Samuel born. Hannah's Song.
Whose Life did ne're his Character disgrace;
The pious Hannah chose his beautious Bride,
But Heav'n to both their Vows a Son deny'd:
To sacred Shiloh yearly they repair,
To pay their Gifts and pure Oblations there:
She griev'd, she wept, she pour'd her pious Pray'r
Before the Oracle, nor pray'd in vain,
A welcom Heir her ardent Vows obtain:
Samuel his Name—from Heav'n she him implor'd,
And to the Pow'r that gave, agen restor'd:
Estrang'd from fuming Bowls of tempting Wine:
No Razor must his hallow'd Locks invade,
Or the long Honours of his Hair degrade,
And guilty of her Vows, her Vows she pay'd:
When wean'd to Shiloh brought and left him there,
Entrusted to the Rev'rend Eli's care;
Then thus with well according Heart and Tongue,
She God's high Praise in deathless Numbers sung.
‘Awake my vocal Lyre! awake my tuneful Voice!
‘Thee, Holy! Holy! Holy! Thee alone,
‘Officious Angels serve, around thy Throne.
‘Restrain your Tongues, nor talk so fierce and loud!
‘For God's impartial Eye the World surveys,
‘With equal Justice every Action weighs.
‘The mighty Bows, which mighty Arms did wield,
‘Unstring'd and broke are scatter'd round the Field,
‘O God of Strength, by thee the weak are rais'd,
‘The Hungry fill'd, the Rich and Proud debas'd:
‘The barren Womb a num'rous Offspring fills,
‘'Tis he that makes alive, 'tis he that kills:
‘'Tis his alone, or Poor or Rich to make,
‘He from the Dunghil does the Lazars take.
‘O Scorn of human Pride! with Princes seat,
‘And stamp him honourable there, and great:
‘Those Pillars of the World are his alone,
‘They prop the Universe, and he supports their Throne.
‘To gloomy Shades th'Unjust shall be confin'd,
‘His Foes shall God's fierce Wrath to pieces grind:
‘With Vengeance wing'd, shall pierce their faithless Hearts.
‘O're all the World shall he extend his sway,
‘And all the World his Great Messiah's Laws obey.
CXVI. 1 Samuel, Chap. II. Ver. 12. to 33.
Eli's weak Government. A Prophet reproves him.
Scarce equal to his Honours and his Cares:
Contempt alone his easie Goodness gains,
While with too slack a Hand he holds the Reins.
Two Sons he had, how happy had he none!
Whose Crimes their Country's ruin, and their own.
Those Sons of Belial wou'd not know the Lord,
They made his Off'rings, by the Crowd abhor'd,
Rapine and Lust for Deities ador'd:
Yet when reprov'd by their indulgent Sire,
Softly he touch'd the Wound which did require
The deepest Search, the Lancet and the Fire.
And thus from injur'd Heav'n did War proclaim.
Did I by them my Peoples Bondage loose?
Did I for this the stronger Tribes refuse?
And favour'd Aaron separate alone,
To wear my Ephod and approach my Throne?
He shar'd my Table and he eat my Bread:
And will not these your greedy Wish suffice,
That ye my Off'ring, and my House despise,
And trample on my daily Sacrifice?
I said, thy Father's House shou'd still be mine,
'Tis you are chang'd, and from my Paths decline:
Jehovah ever was, and is the same,
He honours those who honour his dread Name,
Whilst all who him despise, stand manifest of Shame.
The Day, the dreadful Day approaches near,
When from thy Shoulder I thy Arm will tear:
Will wither all thy Houses Pride and Joy,
And in their Flow'r of Life thy impious Sons destroy.
CXVII. 1 Samuel, Chap. III. Ver. 5. to 18.
The Lord calls Samuel, who prophesies the Destruction of Eli's House.
The Lamp of God shone faintly thro' the Shade:
Old Eli his dim Eyes did newly close,
Ev'n Samuel slept, indulging soft repose:
Nor had the Lord to Samuel yet appear'd,
But now a still small, awful Voice he heard,
His Name repeating—he to Eli ran,
Who call'd him not, but bids him rest again!
Thrice was the Voice repeated, thrice he rose,
And thro' the solemn Shades to Eli goes;
And his young Pupil new Instructions gives:
It calls agen, the future Prophet fears,
And thus, submiss—“Speak, Lord! thy Servant hears!
To whom distinct the awful Voice proceeds,
“Behold in Israel I will do such Deeds;
“As all who hear shall with amazement quail,
“Their Ears shall tingle, and their Hearts shall fail.
“Let Eli's lost devoted House prepare,
“For what my Servant did, inspir'd, declare;
“Theirs in the Show'r of Wrath the largest share.
“For ever will I them, for ever leave,
“And no Atonement for their Crimes receive:
“Their Crimes he knows, regardless to restrain,
“He bears my Image and my Sword in vain.
When Samuel did the sacred Gates unfold:
The Judge adjures him, nothing to conceal,
Who all the dreadful Message did reveal:
He owns the Doom was just his Faults procur'd,
And God was good, whate're his House endur'd.
His false Indulgence shun, as they'd his Fate beware!
CXVIII. 1 Samuel, Chap. IV. Ver. 10. to 19.
The Ark taken. Hophni and Phinehas slain. Eli's Death.
Of Capthor's Sons, which valiant Samson broke:
The Tribes of Israel arm without success,
For how shou'd God a sinful Nation bless?
Baffl'd and beat, four thousand Warrior's slain,
Their Bones unbury'd lay on Aphek's Plain.
With stronger Forces they renew the War,
God's Ark they to the Camp from Shiloh bear:
But what avails his Ark when God's not there?
Trembled the Plains, the hollow Mountains ring,
When to the Camp that sacred Pledge they bring;
So loud a Shout the joyful Army gave,
Tho' neither that itself nor them cou'd save.
Their Enemy the Noise with wonder hear,
Which soon, th'Occasion known, is chang'd to Fear:
Wo to our Nation—thus alarm'd they cry'd,
Dangers like this, till now we never try'd:
Who, from these mighty Gods our Host shall save,
Which plung'd th'Egyptians underneath the Wave?
Philistia! now exert thy utmost might!
The Conquest gain, or fall in manful Fight!
They joyn, and long the Battel doubtful stood,
The Fields with Warrior's strew'd and dy'd in Blood:
But round the Ark agen the Fight renew'd:
Hophni the fainting Troops, and Phinehas chear,
And twice, when broke, they rally'd in the Rear;
(O! how cou'd Guilt like theirs, so brave appear?)
And might have turn'd the Fortune of the Day,
Had not their Sins their Laurels snatch'd away.
A third Effort with feebler Force they make,
But can't their sacred injur'd Charge retake:
Close by the Ark, oppress'd with odds they fell,
Happy their Deaths had they but liv'd as well!
Three Myriads more to Fate compell'd to yield,
Whose Limbs extended on the moisten'd Field:
A Benjamite escapes, Fear lends him Wings,
At close of Day the News to Shiloh brings:
The City gave an universal Groan,
Old Eli hears the Noise, the Cause unknown;
When thus the Messenger—“The People fled,
“Philistia triumphs, both thy Sons are dead,
“And more than all—the Ark is captive led.
He heard till then, till then he fill'd his Place,
But now the hasty Blood forsakes his Face:
Back to his Heart, thro' secret Channels flies,
Back from his Seat he falls, he backward falls, and dies.
CXIX. 1 Samuel, Chap. IV. from Ver. 19. to the End.
Ichabod's Birth. His Mother's Death.
To th'empty Temple now in vain repair;
And, Phinehas! to thy widow'd Spouse relate
That mournful Day's Transactions, big with Fate.
Ah, how unfit so vast a Weight to bear,
Press'd with her tender Sexes greatest Care;
By her lov'd Lord a pregnant Widow left,
Of Father, Brother, Husband, all bereft!
Yet more, the loss of more than all her Line,
The sacred Symbol of the Pow'r Divine.
The Ark of God won by th'insulting Foe;
'Twas this that gave the last, the greatest Blow.
Hence, immature, her Pangs the Matron seize,
And hasten, first to Labor, then to Ease:
Pressing for Life her Burthen longs to share
A larger World, and taste the lightsom Air:
Nor struggled long, for soon her thickning throes
A lovely Babe to ready Birth disclose:
In vain the Women his sad Mother chear,
A Son is born, nor had she more to fear:
Fix'd are her Eyes, and all her Actions show
A steddy Grief, a solemn silent Wo:
These only Words she strain'd before she dy'd.
“One moment more, thy mournful Name to give:
“Be Ichabod thy Name, and in it wear
“Thy Country's Fate which thou so soon must share:
“The Ark is gone—our Glory is declin'd,
“And who so fond of Life to wish to stay behind?
Where weary Souls enjoy soft Rest, and endless Day.
CXX. 1 Samuel, Chap. V. Ver. 3, 4.
The Ark and Dagon. The Philistines plagu'd, the Ark return'd.
In festal Hymns their mighty Fishes name:
Their barb'rous Joy scarce louder Triumphs made,
When dreadful Samson to their Lords betray'd,
Tho' short are these as those; for now they bear
To Dagon's Dome the Ark, and leave it there:
With Dagon now and God the Cause is try'd,
And which will win, 'tis easie to decide:
The Priests their Idol leave, whom they before
Glutted with od'rous Streams, and holy Gore:
Nor sooner gilds the Sun the Cretan shore,
When to their daily Task th'Impostors rise,
And haste to pay their morning Sacrifice:
But found their Monster-God more monstrous made,
Prostrate on Earth his helpless Trunk was laid,
As to the Ark he there his Homage paid.
His Hands and Head were sever'd from the rest,
His fishy Tail remain'd, and scaly Chest:
Nor this alone, their Idol thus subdu'd,
A shameful Plague his Worshippers pursu'd:
Affrighted Ashdod sends the Ark away,
Which next to Gath's proud City they convey,
Till Gath's great City plagu'd as much as they.
To Ekron last, but Ekron cries in vain,
Nor wou'd their sure Destruction entertain:
The winged Plague did o're the Rampires fly,
The Streets with Corpses fill'd, and thousands die:
Thro' every House the dire Contagion spread,
The tortur'd Living envy ev'n the Dead.
The Lords of their five Satrapies advise,
With those who were, or who were counted wise,
How to appease the anger of the Skies:
Resolv'd, the Ark with Presents home they sent,
To glad Beshemesh that, and they to Ekron went.
CXXI. 1 Samuel, Chap. VII.
The Philistines discomfited. Ebenezer.
To God at length, and to themselves return:
Their former Sins and Follies now lament,
Obsequious to the Prophet's call, repent.
For Samuel with resistless Eloquence,
Soft piercing Words, and more than manly Sense,
Moulds 'em to Good, recalls 'em when they stray,
And guides direct in Virtues glorious way.
If they return to God with Hearts sincere,
If they to keep his Laws, their Mind prepare;
And him alone their Rock and Saviour make;
He soon wou'd break Philistia's servile Bands,
And save 'em from th'insulting Heathens Hands.
With Hearts contrite they hear, with ready Will,
Exact Obedience promise and fulfil:
For all the Tribes to Mizpeh Samuel sent,
They fast, they pray, their num'rous Crimes lament:
Philistia's Pow'r their Lords against them raise,
Tremble the People, and the Prophet prays:
A bleating Lamb upon the Altar lies,
And Heav'n accepts a spotless Sacrifice:
Th'uncircumcis'd the sacred Host assail,
Nor fear but Dagon will again prevail:
O harden'd to your Fate, who still go on,
Their Strength is now return'd, and yours is gone!
Look up, and see your Death in yonder Sky!
The ruddy Bolts are in the Act to fly:
—'Tis pass'd, they Fire and Thunder on their Head,
Behold the Field with groveling Warriors spred,
The living Shelter seek beneath the Dead!
Israel no more their Strength or Numbers fear,
But sallying forth attack them in the Rear:
Their double Ruin they in vain wou'd shun,
The Hebrews perfect what just Heav'n begun.
And thence a rugged antique Pillar makes;
Which in the Field of Battel rear'd, conveys
The memorable Fact to long succeeding Days.
CXXII. 1 Samuel, Chap. IX. from Ver. 3. to the End. Chap. X. Ver. 1. to Ver. 17.
Saul seeking his Father's Asses, is anointed King by Samuel.
Our Fates, tho' not our Crimes, by Heav'n decreed.
To Reach and Fore-sight, vainly we pretend,
How unproportion'd oft the Means and End?
On no high Deed, no strange Adventure bound,
Monsters to quell, or Tyrants to confound;
The Son of Kish, so did wise Heav'n dispose,
To seek his Father's Asses humbly goes;
But onward drawn by a strong secret Chain,
Fulfils his Fate and does the Kingdom gain:
One faithful Servant joyns him in the Quest,
Who still a ready Will to please exprest:
Thro' Ephraim's woody Mount they search in vain,
Thro' Shalim's Coast, and rich Shalisha's Plain;
Thro' Benjamin's yet thinly peopled Ground,
Whose Tribe still halted of so deep a Wound:
Now Zophim's hanging Rocks before 'em spy,
And pleasant Ramah tow'ring in the Sky.
The Master here proposes to return,
Lest for their Loss his careful Father mourn:
Pious and Wise the Servants thus reply'd,
There's one Expedient yet remains untry'd:
Who pass'd, and present knows, and future things can tell:
Thither let's turn aside, the Place is near,
He'll soon direct what Course is best to steer:
The motion pleas'd, with painful Steps they climb
The rocky Path, and reach the Hill sublime;
Whose Cliff surmounted they a while respire,
And of the Seer himself, they for himself enquire:
Nor was their Journey, or its Cause unknown,
For God, before, had all to Samuel shown:
He knew that Day, that happy Hour shou'd bring
Israel's Desire, and fated future King:
Dismiss, said he, your Care, and rest you here:
For what you seek dismiss your groundless Fear.
Safe and return'd—Be you my Guests to day,
To morrow you I'll send in Peace away.
The Strangers feasted, there that Night repose,
And early with the dawning Morn arose,
Then leave the Town, the Prophet with 'em goes:
Behold him on the wond'ring Hero, shed
A show'r of mystic Oyl, and thus he said.
“Appointed Captain o're his chosen Race:
“Another Spirit shall soon thy Breast invade,
“And mighty Signs shall thee to mighty Deeds persuade.
CXXIII. 1 Samuel, Chap. X. from Ver. 17. to the End.
Saul's Election.
By Samuel call'd, to fix the grand Affair,
And thus the Rev'rend Sire accosts them there.
Against your Foes my self from Heav'n have fought:
By Miracles protected when oppress'd,
And now on ev'ry side have giv'n you rest:
But what returns? Weary of Peace and me,
Your Tribes abjure divine Theocracy.
Enjoy your Wish, what e're th'Event it bring!
Approach, and Heav'n will soon declare your King.
They came, the great decisive Lot is cast,
The stronger and more num'rous Tribes it past,
And on exhausted Benjamin did fall;
“Forth leapt the House of Kish, and forth leapt Saul.
Distinct above the vulgar Crowd he stood,
Like some fair Pine the Monarch of the Wood.
Which fell adown his Shoulders with loose Care:
A modest Fire his Sun-bright Eyes did grace,
Diffusing a calm Lustre round his Face:
His well-knit Nerves did Strength and Vigour show,
Equal to Toils a Prince must undergo:
Erect his Gate, majestic was his Meen,
And when his God-like Form by all was seen,
A gen'ral Shout that rends the Heav'ns they give,
God save the King! Let him for ever live!
The sacred Contract next the Prince is shown,
The Peoples surest Safeguard and his own.
He pleas'd 'em with their lov'd Variety:
But soon the Sons of Belial weary grown,
Their Tribute murm'ring paid, or paid him none;
What they had rais'd, Why might they not dethrone?
God's Choice a fatal Disappointment brings,
Their Worth o'relook'd, they'd fain have all been Kings.
Silent he stood, their factious Rage despis'd,
Which Time and ripening Fate without his Aim, chastis'd.
CXXIV. 1 Samuel, Chap. XI. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 13.
The War with Nahash.
But did itself from secret Shades display:
Fierce Nahash, like a Torrent, pours along,
By num'rous Nations formidably strong;
From Rabbah's Gates to Jabesh Walls o'reflows,
But Jabesh Walls too weak his Strength t'oppose:
A cruel Tribute by the Victor laid,
Must for inglorious Life be meanly paid;
They their right Hands, and dearer Eyes must give,
Sev'n Days allow'd 'em for a short Reprieve,
To try if Earth or Heav'n wou'd them relieve.
Wo to the vanquish'd—who a Message sent
To Saul, But how cou'd Saul their Fate prevent?
Th'unsettled King was weak, the Factions strong,
And wou'd in fruitless Counsels time prolong,
The Monarch in his rustic Court retir'd,
Their Message hears, with gen'rous Anger fir'd.
Like Him whom God did his Vicegerent chuse,
He speaks, and acts, and all the King indues:
(Thus from their Fields did the Great Fabii come,
To fix the Fate of all the World and Rome.)
His Royal Mandate sent, the Tribes prepare,
With strong united Force to meet the War;
And e're the Mornings purple dress'd the Skies,
Proud Ammon's num'rous careless Host surprize;
Diffus'd abroad, bury'd in Sleep and Wine;
But Sleep must now his softer sway resign
To his Twin-Brother Death—How wide its reign?
How high its Throne on heaps of Subjects slain?
Murder his Kind, destroy his God-like Race?
Why shou'd he lend his cruel Sword to Fate,
And mow the Flow'rs that have so short a Date?
—But savage Beasts, and Men must be subdu'd;
The Boar is justly thro' the Woods pursu'd,
And in his Blood the glitt'ring Spear embru'd.
For this of old High-Heav'n Commission gave,
To Hero's—'Tis a glorious Work to save;
When Justice has its awful Business done:
The Brave alone have Courage to forgive,
When Saul with Conquest crown'd he bids his Rebels live.
CXXV. 1 Samuel, Chap. XI. Ver. 15. Chap. XII.
The Kingdom confirm'd to Saul. Samuel appeals to the People for his Integrity.
Confirms their own, and Heav'ns unchanging Choice:
(—How many Loyal Converts makes success!)
When Samuel thus—Your Wish you now possess:
A King you ask'd with one united Cry,
Nor did I your concurring Votes deny:
Yet e're I to forgotten Shades repair,
And these gray Hairs, silver'd with Age and Care
To Ramah's Fields, or to the Grave I bear;
From God, and God's anointed nought conceal!
What Ill you know, of Samuel, now reveal!
Whose Ox or Ass I've wrongfully possess'd,
If ever I for Bribes did Justice wrest,
Any defrauded, any have oppress'd?
If you with Truth and Justice cann't complain,
Why have you then cast off th'Almighty's Reign?
Can you his Pow'r suspect, his Love distrust,
His Truth arraign, Ingrateful! and Unjust!
Look up, and see his wrathful Terrors nigh,
His ruddy Vengeance gath'ring in the Sky!
The forky Lightnings cross the fearful Shades:
Th'Almighty's angry Voice is heard from far,
The rolling Thunder gives the sign of War:
Huge Cataracts of Rain come pouring down,
As they'd the Lab'rers Hopes, and promis'd Harvest drown:
Agen he prays, and all agen is fair,
Hush'd are the chiding Winds, serene the Air:
Then thus goes on—'Tis not, you see, too late,
Sincere Repentance may avert your Fate.
With steddy Piety your God adore,
And vain and helpless Idols serve no more!
Forsake not him, nor will he you forsake,
Whom he his own peculiar Choice did make:
With fervent Vows to pray for Israel's Peace!
But still must plain ungrateful Truths declare,
My Country Love, but not its Vices spare;
Which if still unreform'd, at length will bring
A Vengeance worthy Heav'n on you, and on your King.
CXXVI. 1 Samuel, Chap. XIII. Ver. 23. Chap. XIV.
Jonathan falls on the Outguards of the Philistines. Their Army routed.
Whose proud unnumber'd Fishes fill the Sky:
Saul, in far different State at Gibeah lay,
Each hour his heartless Army melt away,
Now scarce a Crowd, six hundred only stay
To guard their Prince, unarm'd and trembling these,
But no such base unmanly Passions seize
Undaunted Jonathan; his Squire he takes,
And from the Camp a bold Excursion makes,
To where secure th'uncircumcis'd remain'd,
And Israel both, and Israel's God disdain'd:
For this Event to after Ages fam'd
Their Outguards held, a narrow Pass between,
Cut thro' the stubborn Stone was scarcely seen:
When from above the valiant Pair espy'd,
The Captain of the Guard insulting cry'd:
Come up, ye Hebrew Slaves, and quickly meet
That Fate your Treasons merit, at our Feet!
The Prince the welcom Omen understands
With Pain and Joy; upon their Knees and Hands
They clamber up the Hill, nor sooner there,
But their dread Message from high Heav'n declare:
In Heaps they fell, mow'd by the Prince's Sword,
And faithful Abdon glean'd behind his Lord:
Those who escap'd, to their main Body fly,
And tell'em all the Hebrew Host was nigh:
Scarce had they spoke, when swifter than the Wind,
Behold the eager Victors press behind:
They storm the Camp, where e're they reach, they kill,
And all with Terror and Distraction fill:
A panic Fear invades their Host from God,
Trembled the conscious Earth on which they trode:
Chariots, and Horse, and Foot confounded fly,
And by Philistian Arms Philistians die:
They saw them melt, the thickning Tumult heard:
Swift as before they fled, the Foes pursue,
Fell on their scatter'd Rear, and thousands slew:
The Slaughter reach'd abhorr'd Bethaven's Plain,
To Canaan's Gods Philistia prays in vain;
Till Night did o're the Heavens her Wings display,
And sav'd the broken Reliques of the fatal Day.
CXXVII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XV. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 34.
Saul wars with Amalek, spares Agag, who is hew'd in pieces by Samuel.
To whom wise Samuel thus the Fates explains:
And by these Hands with holy Oyl anoint;
Forgets not treacherous Amalek's Design,
When you from Egypt came, but says, Revenge is mine.
Go then—against th'accurs'd, renew the War!
Whatever breaths destroy, and nothing spare!
Invades the Amalekites devoted Coast:
Dispirited they faint, they fly, they yield,
With Blood the Town's deform'd, with Blood the Field.
In vain they yield, in vain for Mercy cry,
Their Doom is fix'd, the faithless Nation die.
The goodliest Spoil, and Trophy of the War:
The flow'r of all the Flocks and Herds they save,
The Vile and Refuse to the Slaughter gave.
When Saul the Prophet met, and thus he said,
—At length have we th'Arrears of Vengeance paid,
And have exactly Heav'ns commands obey'd:
From whence can then proceed, replies the Seer,
These bleating, and these bellowing Sounds I hear:
The Choice of all the Cattel, Saul replies,
Our pious Warriors spar'd for Sacrifice;
Agag with these in golden Chains they bring,
To grace their Triumphs with a captive King.
When Samuel thus—Does God Oblations need?
Tho' Hecatombs shou'd on his Altars bleed,
From a rebellious Hand, he'd all despise;
Obedience is the noblest Sacrifice.
'Tis in the Fates, thy Fate thou canst not shun,
Thy cruel Mercy has thy self undone.
Nor shall the sanguine Tyrant scape—he dies;
The guiltless Blood h'has shed, for Vengeance cries
The same his haughty Mien, his Eyes the same,
His fierce black Eyes shot round indignant Flame:
Scarce seem'd to feel the Ground on which he trod,
Erect and comely, as a fansi'd God:
When thus the Seer—since all thy Acts defame
A King's belov'd, and fear'd paternal Name;
In Blood thy Hands, in Blood defil'd thy Throne,
That Fate which others shar'd, be now thy own:
The Victim's Life before his Altar spills:
See his black Blood through num'rous Channels flow,
And with a Groan his haughty Soul flies to the Shades below.
CXXVIII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XV. Ver. 34, 35. Chap. XVI. to Ver. 13.
Samuel anoints David.
And Samuel to his native Ramah went;
Never, ah never now to see him more!
Yet his well-natur'd Tears his Fate deplore.
When God—How long wilt thou for Saul lament!
Himself has fix'd his Doom, nor will repent.
To Ephratean Jesse's Fields repair,
Thy Horn with Oyl replenish'd with thee bear,
My People I'll provide a Captain there,
Amongst his Sons; to blind the Tyrant's Eyes,
A free-neck'd Heifer take for Sacrifice.
Arriv'd, their Elders trembled at his sight;
He Jesse did with all his Sons invite.
Eliab, his eldest Hope the first appears,
A tall young Man, in Life's most vigorous Years:
When Samuel to himself—It must be he,
And sighing said—a second Saul I see:
But God corrects the Prophet's hasty Choice,
And thus reproves with inward secret Voice;
His tow'ring Stature, and majestic Grace!
'Tis God alone his secret Soul can see,
Deform'd with Pride, unfit for Royalty.
Who, like his five fair Brothers, look'd a King;
Yet these rejected—much the Seer admires,
If these were all his Sons, concern'd, enquires:
One more there is, the youngest, who remains,
To feed and guard our Flocks on Bethlehem's Plains:
With speed they send, the lovely Youth appears,
What Sp'rit his Eyes, his Face what Beauty wears!
A Light divine around his Temples shed,
Not more the mystic Drops adorn'd his Head,
Which now in a rich Circle round it shin'd;
So Heav'n commands, and strait his gen'rous Mind
Still more exalted, calls to mighty Things,
To punish and to save, Atchievements worthy Kings.
CXXXIX. 1 Samuel, Chap. XVII. to Ver. 37.
Goliah challenges the Host of Israel. David accepts the Combat.
To vindicate their Dagon's tott'ring Cause:
Goliah, they, their monstrous Champion chose,
His hideous Form like some huge Mountain rose:
His shaggy Locks like shady Pines, that grow,
Loading the Mountain's side, and fright the Vale below:
His knotty Spear like some fair Gally's Mast;
A young tall Squire, tho' he a Dwarf appear,
When his proud Lord's enormous Bulk was near,
Did sweating his bright Shield before him bear.
—Such was Goliah, such his useless might,
Which Terror round him cast, and wild affright,
When challenging all Israel to the Fight.
Trembled their Host when his vast Form appears,
And scarce his own remains secure from fears.
Young David only cou'd his Threats despise;
On more than mortal Strength his Hope relies:
Demands the Combat at the Royal Tent;
Saul prais'd his Valour, but he dreads th'Event:
When thus the wond'rous Youth—
“As I my Father's Flocks at Bethlehem fed,
A Bear and Lion by fierce hunger led,
Ramp'd o're the Fold, and snatch'd a Lamb away;
But from their Mouths I pluck'd the bleating Prey:
Furious they rose their Booty to regain,
But by my faithful Sheep-hook both were slain:
That God who sav'd from their devouring Jaws,
Will aid me in his own, and Israel's Cause:
By me will humble this fell Monster's Pride,
Who has his Armies and himself defy'd:
Like one of these shall that Blasphemer be,
'Tis Heav'n alone that gives the Victory.
Go, and since God inspires thee, God will be thy Guide.
CXXX. 1 Samuel, Chap. XVII. from Ver. 37. to the End.
David kills Goliah. The Philistines routed.
Is only with its cumbrous weight oppress'd,
And for the Battel does himself divest:
Nor other Arms he needs for his Defence,
But those of Faith, of Pray'r and Innocence:
Yet to offend and quell his Country's Foes,
Five Stones he from the neighb'ring Valley chose:
One Hand his Staff, a Sling his other held,
And thus equipp'd he marches to the Field:
O Shame of human Strength, and boasted Might!
—But thus to crush the Proud is Heaven's Delight.
Great Dagon! such a beardless Boy, he says,
Is this the Champion, these the Arms you bring
To Combat Men? A Staff, a Stone, a Sling!
Approach, rash Boy, and die!—for 'tis beneath
Our Fame, to move one Step to bring thee Death!
Omen of Conquest round his Temple shine!)
Thou com'st to me with Sword and Shield, and Spear,
And all the glitt'ring Instruments of War:
But in the Name of Great Jehovah, I,
Whose Armies thou, Blasphemer! dar'st defie,
Descend to fight, secure of Victory:
Thy Host shall fall, and future Ages tell,
There is a God that reigns in Israel.
He hastens on, the Ground beneath him shook:
More happy haste the Youth to meet him makes,
And from his Scrip the fatal Stone he takes,
Then with unerring Aim against him threw,
Wing'd with sure Death, and hizzing as it flew:
In his broad Forehead deeply plung'd it lay,
His crashing Scull to Life's chief Seat gave way:
He falls, his Armour clanks against the Ground,
And Blood and Brains crowd mingled thro' the Wound:
The Hero ran, and from the Champion's side,
Drew his broad Sword, in Slaughter often dy'd;
One Blow his Head did from the Trunk divide.
Swift fled the fore-skinn'd Army at the sight,
Vain, as their Boasts before, now was their Flight:
Wading through Blood, and countless Thousands slew:
Scarce cou'd the Walls of Gath and Ekron shield
From their victorious Swords the Reliques of the Field.
CXXXI. 1 Samuel, Chap. XVII. Ver. 57. Chap. XVIII. to Ver. 4.
The Friendship of David and Jonathan. A Digression concerning Friendship.
His impious Mouth blaspheming now no more;
The Monster's Head to Saul young David bore:
Scarce cou'd the conqu'ring Army bear the sight;
The Hero scarcely cou'd support its weight:
What loud Applause his Actions justly gain!
What Songs, recording his Ten thousands slain!
Ev'n then the growing Seeds of Ill infest
With jealous Envy Saul's malignant Breast:
The Fair commend the Youth, the Brave approv'd,
But matchless Jonathan admir'd and lov'd:
His princely Breast with sacred Friendship warm'd:
Insensibly the kindly Ardor stole,
And wrought itself within his secret Soul:
He gave his Sword and Bow—The Gift was poor,
His noble Heart was David's all before.
Who dost with Heav'n ambitious Kindred claim?
No cold Acquaintance, no unhallow'd Fire,
By Interest fann'd, or kindled by Desire:
Where both the same, no Sympathy is shown,
There's no exchange of Souls where both are one.
Its bless'd Effect our Joy and Wonder draws,
Yet scorns a narrow Definition's Laws;
So all admire thy Power; but what thou art,
We must not ask the Tongue, but ask the Heart.
How many Miracles by thee perform'd!
How fondly Mortals of thy Loss complain,
Thy Footsteps trace, and court thy Smiles in vain!
'Tis Virtue is the solid Base alone
Which, firmer than the Center, bears thy Throne:
When that is to its native Regions flown!
Friendship, when Virtue's gone, is but an empty Name.
CXXXII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 8. to Ver. 11.
Saul envies David, and seeks to kill him.
Of vulgar Souls, invade the Royal Breast,
And rob great Saul himself of Peace and Rest?
It dar'd not till his heavenly Guards were fled,
And left the Charge of his devoted Head:
When from deep Hell that odious Fantom came,
And, like a ruddy Comet's boding Flame,
Swerv'd through th'Abyss, to trembling Gibeah flew,
And enter'd, at the slumb'ring Monarch threw
Her best lov'd Snake, too well the way it knew:
Around his Heart in deadly Curls it twin'd,
Suck'd his best Blood, and Poyson left behind:
His alter'd Eyes the secret Taint confess,
His stormy Brow, and sallow Face no less:
And the black Humour's Rage in vain allays.
And led to War the valiant Sons of God:
Beneath whose Arms th'apostate Legions fell,
Who half unpeopled Heav'n, and crowded Hell:
The hideous noise affrighted Chaos made,
When Lucifer's vast Bulk did her black Waves invade,
Like some broad burning Island floating laid;
While round their Prince his vanquish'd Chiefs respire,
Into vex'd Ether spouting Seas of Fire:
What Sounds of Joy ran round the Victor Host,
Who not their Courage, or their Conduct boast;
But God's high Praise employ'd the heav'nly Quire,
While each triumphant Seraph touch'd his tuneful Lyre.
The Fiend that seiz'd his Breast, had clos'd his Ears:
With sudden Rage thro' whizzing Air he threw
His beamy Spear, which quiver'd as it flew,
And sought the Youth: some Angel who stood by
To hear, to learn his heav'nly Harmony
Th'impressive Force against the Cedar dy'd:
When from his Seat the royal Minstrel fled,
And for the promis'd Crown preserv'd his sacred Head.
CXXXIII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 17. to the End.
Merab offer'd. Michal given to David. She preserves his Life.
Of every Grace and every Love possess'd,
Great Saul had with two beauteous Daughters bless'd.
Merab the first, of a Majestic Mien;
Conscious of her high Birth, she spoke and look'd a Queen:
Michal, the younger, milder Rays adorn;
Her Sister like the midday-Sun, she like the rising Morn.
From David's Arms the haughty Merab fled,
And head-long ran to wealthy Adriel's Bed:
Michal the Youth with juster Eyes survey'd,
Nor unconcern'd he view'd the Royal Maid:
(For what their Lips deny'd, their Eyes reveal:)
Their Passion, Gratitude and Duty name,
Yet soon the Court perceiv'd their growing Flame:
From Saul not hid, who with malicious Joy
Improves th'Event the Hero to destroy:
No Joynture for his Daughter he requir'd,
Tho' she by many a neighb'ring Prince desir'd:
Not all bright Ophir's Wealth by him was priz'd,
Like just Revenge upon th'uncircumcis'd:
A hundred Fore-skins of Philistian Knights,
Vanquish'd by him, and slain in single Fights
Was all he ask'd; they'd prove an easie Prey,
Goliah had already shown the way.
Arose the Youth, fill'd with a noble Flame,
Kindled at once by Beauty and by Fame,
And like a Torrent on Philistia came:
Two hundred of their choicest Knights he slays,
And in full Tale the bloody Dowry pays:
Not Ashdod more enrag'd, or Gaza mourn'd
Than Saul, when David with Success return'd:
Yet can't the Royal Promise be deny'd,
The charming Michal soon is made his Bride.
—But his unnat'ral Father still pursues,
His sacred Life, his thirst of Blood renews:
Which Idumæan Doeg cursing led,
A vast Reward to him, that brings the Traitor's Head:
But pious Michal thro' the conscious Night,
Conveys her Lord, and give him time for Flight:
The murd'rous Guards with honest Fraud deceives:
A well-dissembled Image only leaves:
Thus sav'd the future Grace of Israel's Throne,
And thus preserv'd a Life far dearer than her own.
CXXXIV. 1 Samuel, Chap. XX. Ver. 35. to 38.
Jonathan's Covenant with David.
Which sink again, and cloud Earth's dusky Face,
So sicken'd Saul at David's growing Praise:
Griev'd at his Virtue's Lustre, and affraid,
Which did the Dimness of his own upbraid:
Still new Designs against his Life he forms,
At Earth and Heav'n, when disappointed, storms:
Yet still his gen'rous Son unalter'd stood,
Not to be brib'd by Interest or by Blood:
O wond'rous Prince! who cou'dst with ease fore-go,
Scepters and Crowns, and all Earth's empty show;
Which Fools above their Souls admire and prize,
And whose false Splendor dazles ev'n the Wise.
—To thee thy persecuted David flies;
When Jonathan he finds, no more distress'd,
He finds a safe Asylum in thy Breast:
To his great Friend unbosoms all his Cares,
And he the unwieldy Burthen more than shares.
Who my Accusers are; and what my Sins,
That Saul with restless Rage my Life pursues:
If die I must, thy Hand I'd rather chuse;
Thy friendly Sword, to pierce this faithful Breast,
And send my weary trembling Soul to rest:
But do not (O thou canst not!) me betray
To my insulting Foes a guiltless Prey:
By Friendship's sacred Laws I thee adjure,
And let the Oath of God our mutual Faith secure!
That I above a Friend, a Father prize?
If ought of Ill against thy Life design'd,
(But sure it cannot be) I'll search his Mind;
Witness th'Almighty Pow'r that guards his Throne,
The worst shall to my noble Friend be shown:
The while go rest secure at Ezel's Stone!
Thither, my Father sounded, I'll repair,
My Arrows shall the silent Message bear.
And David to the Field renews his secret way.
CXXXV. 1 Samuel, Chap. XX. Ver. 24. to the End.
Saul enquires for David at the Feast. Jonathan excuses his absence. Saul casts his Javelin at him, &c.
The sacred Moon her blunted Horns renew:
The festal Trumpets spread the Tidings round,
And Gibeah's Hills return their silver Sound.
The numerous free-neck'd Herd with Garlands crown'd
Beneath the Sacrificer's Ax expire;
Then, part employ the Altars hallow'd Fire,
Part hiz on Spits, or vex'd with Flames beneath
Emitting Fume, in brazen Cauldron's seeth.
The Priests did with the Prince and People share;
(For 'twas a Tale in after-days devis'd,
That for themselves alone they sacrific'd.)
The Monarch first, on his high Throne was plac'd,
A second Seat by Jonathan was grac'd,
Brave Abner fill'd the Third, but by his side,
The place of David still was unsupply'd:
Not unobserv'd by Saul, whose jealous Eyes,
Had mark'd his absence from the Sacrifice:
David, he answers, earnestly desir'd,
He to his native Bethl'hem might repair,
His Father's solemn Sacrifice to share:
When pale with Rage the furious King replies,
(Defeated Malice sparkling in his Eyes)
False to thy self and me! the Traitor dies!
That Rival of my Throne without delay
Produce, or thy false Head for his shall pay:
The faithful Prince pleads in his Friend's defence,
He pleads in vain his Truth and Innocence:
The Fiend had all the Father dispossess'd,
And darts a Javelin at the Prince's Breast:
He rose with Passion never known before,
And to his Friend th'unwelcom Tidings bore:
What was too big for Speech, his Arrows tell,
Then on each others Neck with Tears they fell.
And which the braver Man, the better Friend?
The Palm to Jonathan is justly due,
True to his Friend, against his Int'rest true.
—Yes, O thou dearer than my self to me!
A Crown's a Trifle when compar'd to thee.
Thus said the Prince—'Tis thine by God's own Choice,
Confirm'd by Israel's loud according Voice:
Which still moves on, nor will thy Friend complain,
Nor can I lose a Crown, if David reign.
Next, and but next to thee shall I have place,
And thou shalt Kindness shew to all my Race.
Part of his pious Hopes by Heav'n were sign'd,
But part, alas! were lost, and scatter'd into Wind.
CXXXVI. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXII. from Ver. 9. to the End.
Ahimelech and the Priests at Nob accus'd and slain by Doeg.
On just Ahimelech of Eli's Line:
Faintly it shone, its faded Beams portend,
The things concerning him must soon have end:
A plain good Man, he wore no double Face;
True to his Friend, and Virtue in Disgrace:
To God's anointed true, yet always free
From Courtiers Craft, and servile Flattery.
At Nobah was his pleasant humble Seat,
A sacerdotal College and Retreat:
As David from the jealous Tyrant fled,
Hither by Eli's Destiny he's led,
Goliah's Sword receives, and hallow'd Bread:
Doeg of Idumæan Race was there,
Who did too near rough Esau's nature share:
Salvage and brutish as the Herds he fed,
To Carmel's Hill, or Bashan's Pastures led:
The Hero and the Priest oblique he view'd
With Rage and barb'rous Joy, and Thirst of Blood:
So glares the Felon-Wolf across the Plain,
When faithful Dogs his hungry Rage restrain,
And howls and licks his frothy Jaws in vain;
Yet hopes at length to seize th'unguarded Prey.
False Doeg so to Gibeah speeds his way;
To furious Saul he brings th'unwelcom News,
Of David's Flight, and does the Priest accuse:
When for Ahimelech the Tyrant sends,
Who soon with all his Father's House attends:
In vain his Innocence wou'd ward the Blow,
He must be guilty, Saul wou'd have it so:
Nor wou'd a single Murther please; on all
The sacred Priests he bids his Servants fall:
The generous Guards the hateful Work refuse,
Rather than take their Lives, their own they'd lose:
To Doeg next he turns, who pleas'd obeys,
The Priests unarm'd the valiant Murd'rer slays:
Their loud-tongu'd Wounds, emit a purple Flood,
Their holy Vestments roll'd in Dust and Blood:
Compos'd the Guiltless fell, and smil'd on Death.
From thence, unsated still, the Traitor flew
To trembling Nob, and all that breath'd he slew:
Abiathar alone escap'd the snare,
To David in the Desart did repair,
And found a safe Retreat, and gen'rous welcome there.
CXXXVII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXIII. to Ver. 14. 25. to 28.
David in the Cave of Adullam. He carries his Parents to Moab. Relieves Keilah, &c.
From Saul's fierce Rage the Hero and his Friends:
Who-e're in Want, or Debt, or Discontent,
To David as their sure Protector went:
Some few good Men his suff'ring Virtue drew,
To own his Cause, but those were always few:
(He knew their Lives the Tyrant wou'd not spare,)
To Moab's Realms, almost a Native there
His pious Duty brings, and Refuge found,
And quiet Seats, to Judah's fertile Bound;
He with his faithful Servants takes his way,
And close conceal'd in Hareth's Forest lay:
But restless Fame upon her various Wings,
To his Retreat important Tidings brings:
That Keilah by Philistian Arms was press'd,
And all the forag'd Country round distress'd:
Nor this cou'd David's lively Virtue bear,
Yet Heav'n consults e're he begins the War:
Commission'd thence his valiant Band he heads,
And not to Battel but to Conquest leads:
Invades th'Invader's Host; part routed fly,
And part beneath the Victor's Swords they die:
Keilah reliev'd, and all the Spoil regain'd,
The Hero in th'ungrateful Town remain'd;
Who their Deliv'rer wou'd to Saul betray;
Their Embryo Treason, while it lurking lay
In its dark Causes, God to David shows;
To Ziph and woody Hachilah he goes,
But still betray'd, his Haunts the Tyrant knew,
And did to Maon's craggy Rocks pursue:
His doubtful Troops he in the Mountains found,
And with a num'rous Host encompass'd round:
Nearer, and still more near the Circle brought,
When see a panting Messenger appear,
Silent awhile he stood for Haste and Fear:
At length with scarce recover'd Breath he said,
“Great Sir! Philistian Troops the Land invade!
When Saul, the Tyrant left, the King indues,
And private Piques adjourn'd, the publick Foe pursues.
CXXXVIII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXV. from Ver. 2. to Ver. 42.
Nabal's churlishness: Abigail wisely pacifies David.
When to rich Churls oblig'd, and made their Scorn;
No Worth but Wealth, no Shame but Want they own,
Pity and Gratitude alike unknown.
No Mirth but Drunkenness; in Store unbless'd,
For half the Year they starve to make one Miser's Feast.
Of Judah's Line, and Caleb's gen'rous Race.
On Carmel's Fields, and Maon's shady Rocks
He browz'd his Goats, and fed his num'rous Flocks.
To him the beauteous Abigail was ty'd,
In harsh unequal Bands, condemn'd his Bride;
Yet she his Faults cou'd bear and cover too,
And liv'd as well as Nabal's Wife cou'd do.
To recompence their Master's yearly Pain,
In bleating Droves forsook the verdant Plain;
And then their woolly Robes they gladly leave:
The Day well-worn the sweating Shearers rest,
And at long Tables every rustic Guest
Sits down confus'd at Nabal's crowded Feast:
A hundred Sheep in his own Pastures fed,
With twenty Beeves from ranker Bashan led,
Loaded his Boards; yet cou'd he nothing spare
For Heav'n, no Stranger was, or Levite there:
David in vain expects his Feast to share;
Tho' while in Maon's spatious Wild he staid,
Nor Wolves, nor Robbers dar'd his Flocks invade.
Nabal well-warm'd with Taunts his Men receives,
And only Language like himself he gives.
Th'affronted Hero bids his Troops prepare,
They gird their Swords and hasten to the War.
What pass'd, to prudent Abigail unknown,
Who from the drunken Feast retir'd alone.
(Happy her Sex, from Noise and Nonsence free,
In the calm Joys of sober Piety!)
When by her Servants told, with haste she rose,
And down the steep with kind Refreshments goes,
T'appease the angry Chief; surpriz'd they meet,
She kneels and throws herself at David's Feet;
Then with soft Words, and artful Praises joyn'd,
Disarm'd, at once, and pleas'd his gen'rous Mind:
On every charming Accent of her Tongue:
Her grateful Present smiling he receives,
And Nabal, churlish Nabal's self forgives:
So wou'd not Heav'n, for soon by sudden Death,
Th'unhospitable Wretch resigns his Breath:
His Farms, his Flocks, his useless hoarded Store,
His Fields, his Vines, his spatious Grange, and more,
The beauteous Abigail compell'd he leaves,
Who Freedom by her Gaoler's Death receives;
And when a Widow's decent Tears she'd shed,
Is, by a happy Change, preferr'd to David's Bed.
CXXXIX. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXVI. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 17.
The Ziphites discover David to Saul. He pursues him. Abishai takes his Spear, &c.
To Saul discov'ring David's close Retreat:
With Rage unquenchable the Tyrant rose,
And from his Host three thousand Warriors chose;
With these the Heav'n protected Prince pursu'd,
Tir'd with the Chace, and faint for Thirst of Blood:
Surpriz'd him there, when from a Mountain's height,
By the Moon's friendly and officious Light,
The Hero his unguarded Camp surveys,
And thus to his attending Worthies says,
Is any here of Heart so firm, that dare
Honour and Danger with his Gen'ral share,
And to yon Camp descend to view the Foes?
With Joy the bold Abishai with him goes;
Swerv'd from the craggy Rocks at length they found
The careless drowsy Guards diffus'd around;
Ev'n faithful Abner slept; they forward press'd
To where the weary King himself did rest:
Fierce was his mien, and threatning as he lay,
His Thoughts recall'd the Labors of the Day.
Close by his Head they saw his knotty Spear
Planted, in Earth, a Cruse of Water near:
When thus Zeruiah's Son—the happy Hour
Is now arriv'd, thy Foe is in thy Pow'r;
This Hand, this Spear shall do the righteous Deed;
A second Stroke the Tyrant shall not need:
In Act to strike, see the fierce Warrior stand!
But gen'rous David stops his lifted Hand:
Forbid it Heav'n! thou shalt not him destroy,
Nor at so dear a Rate wou'd I a Crown enjoy:
He shall the common Fate of Mortals share,
Or sink by Heav'ns just Stroke, or fall in War.
Yet take the Spear and Cruse, nor longer stay,
And to our Friends, for us, in Pain, convey!
They went, nor sooner had their Camp regain'd,
Saul's Army still in heavy Sleep detain'd:
When from a distant Mountain David cry'd,
While to his Voice the ecchoing Vales reply'd;
Ho, Abner!—Who with Abner may compare,
In Israel Chief, and Father of the War:
Where is the Gen'ral's Conduct and his Care?
One of the People came your Lord to slay;
Justly your Heads for your neglect shou'd pay.
Born from the Camp, behold the royal Spear!
Behold, untouch'd, the Cruse of Water here!
And thus he spoke, almost relaps'd to Good:
It rises when oppress'd, and shall at last prevail.
CXL. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXVII. Ver. 1. to 6. Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 3. to 20.
David flies to Achish. Saul goes to the Witch of Endor. Samuel appears, &c.
David with Achish does himself secure;
To whom the Royal Bounty Ziklag gives,
Where happy with his Hebrew Friends he lives:
Not so proud Saul on his uneasie Throne,
Which totter'd, now its chief Support was gone:
Too well Philistian Lords his Weakness knew,
As David he of late, they him pursue:
To Gilboah, he a pow'rful Army draws,
Had but their Hearts been equal to their Cause;
But with his Crimes and hastning Fate oppress'd
Their guilty Gen'ral's Fear infects the rest:
Unwillingly to God he flies at last,
But 'twas too late, his Day of Mercy past:
Then desp'rate thus—Since Heav'n will not foretel
My Fate, 'tis time to seek Relief from Hell;
Almost defeated there, those Wretches slain,
Who with accursed Spir'ts did Leagues maintain,
(For God to Moses gave not Laws in vain.)
As Fortun'd, one her Sister-Hags surviv'd,
Who with her trusty Imp at Endor liv'd:
To know the worst, and read his Destiny:
Disguis'd he did the trembling Sage accost,
And bids her raise him Samuel's awful Ghost:
With mystic Characters a Circle made,
Low-mutt'ring dire forbidden Words she said,
And pow'rful Spells repeating, backward pray'd.
But whilst her servile Fiends attempt to frame
Illusive Shapes, the real Samuel came:
The Witch his God-like Form survey'd, and knew,
'Twas more than all her boasted Charms cou'd do:
She knew the bless'd beyond her magic Call,
'Tis Samuel's self, she cry'd, and thou art Saul!
The Monarch saw, and knew the more than Man;
He bow'd to Earth, and Samuel thus began.
Hast thou disturb'd my Soul, and robb'd of Rest?
When thus the King replies—I'm sore distress'd:
Philistia with unequal Force invades,
And from thy envy'd Rest and peaceful Shades
Once more I call thee for thy sage Advice,
Since God has left me, and no more replies.
And to thy injur'd David gives thy Throne;
Agen the Prophet answers, Why too late
Am I disturb'd to shew thy luckless Fate?
What Agag miss'd, thy self art doom'd to share.
—Prepare! against to morrow's Sun prepare!
Israel shall fall, and Thou and Thine shall be
Thin airy Ghosts, and empty Shades like me.
But drops to Earth, at length reviv'd in vain;
Unhappy to awake and die with greater Pain.
CXLI. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXIX. Ver. 1. and Chap. XXXI. to Ver. 4.
The Fight between Israel and the Philistines in Gilboah. Saul and Jonathan slain.
And greedy Death hung hov'ring o're her Prey:
Nor more content with mean and vulgar Fare,
The Flesh of Kings and Captains long'd to share;
On Gilboah's green Hills her Table spread,
In Triumphs thither the crown'd Victims led.
From Aphek's Plain the fore-skin'd Host ascend,
The circumcis'd awhile the Hill defend;
Lodg'd on the Cliff an Iron-Wall they stood,
Floated the hollow Road with Streams of Blood;
And nearer these the Hebrew Foes invade;
Beneath their serred Shields, while those from far
With Darts and Stones maintain a missive War:
The Battel hung, and neither side gave way,
Till Achish charg'd himself and turn'd the Day:
A Show'r of feather'd Deaths his Guards let fly;
At once their Bow-strings twang'd, and fill'd the Sky:
As with red Lightnings forky Shafts o'rethrown,
Stretch'd on the Turf th'expiring Hebrews groan;
Almost as swift their Foes the Passage gain,
And to the Hill descend from heaps of Slain,
The rest oppose or flie, alike in vain:
The Brave oppress'd with Odds, the vulgar find
Inglorious Death, their Wounds were all behind.
Such were not Jonathan's, unmov'd and great,
His Host they might, but cou'd not him defeat:
He saw his wounded Father's slow Retreat,
He saw the furious Guards his Life pursue,
His precious Life to shield, himself he threw
Before their Swords; awhile he stopp'd their Chace,
Calm and secure of Death, yet terrible his Face.
Hamgar, the haughty Prince of Ashdod's Town,
First came too near his Sword, which chin'd him down;
Scarce cou'd the Wretch blaspheme, so swift he fell,
His faithless Soul was in such haste for Hell.
To wait their Lord, an Army of his Friends:
The rest retire, renew th'Assault from far,
Nor longer Hand to Hand wou'd tempt the War:
Besieg'd the Prince, unknowing how to yield,
Tho' Show'rs of Arrows clatter'd round his Shield;
Tho' Groves of Darts his faithless Armour bor'd,
And purple Streams thro' ev'ry Passage pour'd.
“—Thus far, my Father! Jonathan has done,
“Both what became a Subject and a Son.
“May Heav'n preserve—and more he wou'd have said,
But Life thro' wide and num'rous Portals fled,
And grasping still his Sword, he falls among the Dead.
And still more near the Royal Quarry drew;
Wounded and faint he cou'd no longer flie,
Yet by Philistian Hands disdain'd to die;
Behold his own his fatal Sword apply
To his broad Breast, which soon the way did find,
The Hilt on Earth, the Point appear'd behind.
While his fierce Soul to those sad Mansions fled,
Where Tyrants reign in Wo above the vulgar Dead.
CXLII. 2 Samuel, Chap. I. from Ver. 1. to the End.
David's Elegy on Saul and Jonathan.
That Israel's Host before the Heathen fled,
And Saul, and matchless Jonathan were dead:
Jessides heard, nor longer cou'd resent
His private Wrongs; he wept, his Robes he rent,
His festal Triumphs into Fasting turn'd,
Forgave the Tyrant, and the Father mourn'd.
How did he then his Jonathan deplore!
His Friend, his dearer self was now no more:
Thus did at length his Loyal Passion vent,
And thus his Country's Loss in deathless Songs lament.
'Tis vanish'd, never, never to return.
Ah! who in feeble Mortal's Strength wou'd trust?
'Tis fallen, fallen, fallen to the Dust!
Nor in the Streets of Ashkalon relate:
Their Dagon conquers him who rules the Sky.
No Dew on thee descend, or kindly Rain!
No Corn or Wine thy blasted Surface yield,
Accurs'd and burnt, as Sodom's dismal Field;
For there was lost the Warrior's mighty Shïeld,
The Shield of Saul was lost; his sacred Head,
Tho' the bless'd Oyl around his Temples shed,
Profan'd and mingled with the vulgar Dead.
Thy Arrows drunk the Blood of thousands slain.
What Armies fell by Saul's victorious Sword,
Too faithful now to to its despairing Lord?
With him alone cou'd Jonathan compare:
Lovely in Life, in Death too near ally'd,
Not Death itself their Friendship cou'd divide:
Swifter than Eagles cut their airy way,
Stronger than Lions when they seize the Prey.
Your flowry Wreaths to Cypress Garlands turn:
Mourn your lov'd Monarch's lamentable Fate,
On whom so oft your charming Quire did wait,
As he from Fight return'd in Kingly State:
The Wealth of Peace and glorious Spoils of War:
Lay by your purple Robes from Sidon's shore,
And wear your splendid Coronets no more;
For Saul who gave 'em, gen'rous Saul is lost,
And silent Shades receive his mighty Ghost.
O Jonathan! thou wert in Battel slain!
Stretch'd on cold Earth, thy lifeless Limbs as cold,
Nor those dear Eyes must I agen behold.
O Jonathan! How shall I thee commend!
My more than Brother, and my more than Friend!
My Life, my Jonathan!—And can we part?
I feel my Loss hang heavy on my Heart.
With mortal Anguish is my Soul oppress'd,
I wear thy bleeding Image in my Breast.
Thy Friendship did the tend'rest Love excel;
'Twas like thy self, 'twas all a Miracle:
A pure, a constant, and a heav'nly Fire,
Beyond the softer Sexes frail Desire.
Thy Sword, thy Spear and Shield, O Israel! are no more!
CXLIII. 2 Samuel, Chap. II. from Ver. 19. to Ver. 23.
David anointed King by the Tribe of Judah. Ishbosheth made King by Abner. Asahel slain.
The promis'd Crown adorns young David's Head:
Brave Abner for a while resists in vain,
Divides, but can't prevent his fated Reign:
Weak Ishbosheth, who now, almost alone
Surviv'd, he plac'd on his Great Father's Throne:
His Fame did Israel to his Party bring,
And Abner rul'd, tho' Ishbosheth was King:
But Judah's pow'rful Tribe for David stood,
Pleas'd with the Choice of Heav'n (and with their Kindred-Blood.)
Weary of Peace, at length the Tribes engage
In civil Discord, and intestine Rage.
Abner, th'Aggressor—he to Gibeon went,
And first will he th'unequal War repent:
Fierce Joab hears with Joy; the Guards he heads,
And to repel the bold Invader leads:
Their Out-guards met, awhile suspended stood,
And their new Foes with sullen Silence view'd,
But soon in Blood their thirsty Swords embrew'd;
The desp'rate Champion's close, and mingled fall.
Nor these cou'd hungry Death suffice, for they
But Preludes to the Slaughter of the Day:
The Bodies joyn, with equal Fury fir'd,
By turns each other push'd, by turns retir'd:
Till Conquest saw at last the beck of Fate,
And threw in David's Scale her over-weight.
Nor Abner's self his tott'ring Host cou'd stay,
Himself he's in the Torrent born away:
Yet oft he stands, for he disdains to yield,
And heads the scatter'd Reliques of the Field:
Thus, press'd with Odds, the Lion sow'rly flies,
And glares on his rash Foes with Blood-shot Eyes;
If any reach his Paws, the bold Invader dies,
Thus forward Asahel far'd, who swift as Wind,
Pursu'd and press'd the Hero close behind:
Unarm'd the panting Warrior ran, and light,
As hasting to a Conquest, not a Fight:
Ah, heedless Boy! the gen'rous Abner cry'd,
Turn from thy hast'ning Fate—yet turn aside!
If thou thy unflesh'd Valour long to try,
Single a less unequal Enemy!
Closer he plies, and soon he hopes to share
The Gen'ral's Spoils, the noblest Prize of War:
Agen the Hero warns,—he presses on;
'Tis in the Fates, thy Fate thou canst not shun,
Which warns thee thus, learn from my faithful Spear!
Then struck—to Life's chief Seat the way it found,
And Blood and Soul rush mingled thro' the Wound.
So falls the lovely Lily, Natures Pride,
When ruthless Shares its Stem, and beauteous Head divide.
The furious Victors, who pursu'd before,
Now stand, to see him weltring in his Gore;
While Abner rallys after his Defeat,
And mournful Joab sounds a late Retreat:
All Night he march'd, the Host to Hebron come,
And bear his Brother's Corps with joyless Triumphs home.
CXLIV. 2 Samuel, Chap. III.
The Death of Abner.
But dimly shines on a precarious Throne:
Of Foes alike, and pow'rful Friends afraid,
Aw'd by those Idols which himself has made:
A Truth by Ishbosheth perceiv'd too late,
Whether it were his Folly or his Fate;
To beautious Rizpah's Love and Bed aspir'd;
Him, in her Heart a Monarch's Place she gave,
For hardly can the Fair deny the Brave:
This Ishbosheth with feeble Passion heard,
Half-frown'd, and was as angry as he dar'd;
He thinks his Father's Ashes were profan'd,
And softly Abner chid, who his Reproof disdain'd:
'Tis thus, said he, ungrateful Princes slight
Those Services they never can requite:
Did I both God's and Judah's Choice disown,
And fix thee on thy Father's tott'ring Throne;
And am I for that despicable thing,
A Woman, faulted, by a feeble King?
—No—'tis too much: So God and more to me,
If I confirm not righteous Heav'ns Decree:
The Son of Jesse's Title I'll maintain,
Who now from Dan shall to Beersheba reign.
Mute as the Dead, and ill conceals his Fears:
Not so th'affronted Chief, who soon is grown
For David's Cause a Patron, and his own;
The Heads of Tribes solicits and prevails,
His Weight with ease inclines the dubious Scales:
None e're like David had their Battels fought,
He talk'd of God, but still of Rizpah thought:
And did to David his Design disclose:
The League is made, he treated and caress'd,
And then dismiss'd with Thanks his Princely Guest:
Nor Joab this, who new from Fight return'd,
His slaughter'd Brother's Fate he long had mourn'd,
And still with deep Revenge he inly burn'd:
For Abner on his way advanc'd, he sends,
They meet, embrace, and who were greater Friends?
Then stabs him to the Heart, and as he fell
This, this, he cries, for murder'd Asahel!
Thus Treachery did Treachery pursue,
And thus a Murderer a haughty Traitor slew.
CXLV. 2 Samuel, Chap. IV, V.
Ishbosheth slain. David crown'd. The Jebusites conquer'd, and the Philistines.
To dear Indiff'rence he subsides again,
Is all himself, and saunters out his Reign:
With Sloth, the meanest Vice in Kings, oppress'd,
No Cares of Empire e're disturb'd his Rest:
He till High-noon indulg'd his lov'd Repose;
Till by false Traitors of his Life bereft,
Asleep they found him, and asleep they left;
Then conscious of their Guilt, to Hebron fled,
And cast at David's Feet his Rival's Head.
A vast Reward they hope for such a Prize;
He, from the ruthful Object turns his Eyes;
The Treason and the Traitors both he hates,
And from his Guards they meet their righteous Fates.
And David King of all the Land proclaim:
The sacred Contract firmly sworn, that none
Shou'd fail of equal Justice from the Throne:
Strong Jebus only still his Pow'r defies,
On Canaan's ancient Idols much relies,
More on its lofty Tow'rs that threat the Skies:
Nor this cou'd the Jessean Virtue bear,
But musters all the Tribes, and heads the War:
The Town surrender'd soon, the Citadel,
Proud of its Site, do's their Assaults repel,
Who-e're their Idols cou'd, and them destroy,
For Life he shall the Gen'ral's place enjoy:
This heard Zerviah's Son, and shoots away,
Nor Rocks, nor Darts, nor Men his Course cou'd stay:
Shouts to his Friends without—The Fort's our own;
Their ill-defended Gates are open thrown,
Enters the Hebrew-Army like a Flood,
While Heav'n is fill'd with Shrieks, and Earth with Blood.
And in ill Hour they tempt their ancient Foe.
The Giant's Vale their num'rous Squadrons spred,
And to the War their Guardian Idols led;
While David to the sacred Ephod goes,
And waits for Orders to attack his Foes:
These soon receiv'd, and of Success secure,
Which Heav'n did to his righteous Arms assure,
With speedy Marches at their Camp arrives,
And all before him unresisted drives:
That David still his Myriads slew they find;
Some fled, but left their captive Gods behind;
Which with loud Shouts the Victor-Host destroy;
Now first the Wood to some good use imploy,
They make their helpless Trunks, supply their Fire of Joy.
CXLVI. 2 Samuel, Chap. VI. and 1 Chron. Chap XV.
David prepares to bring the Ark to Sion. Uzzah smitten. Obed-Edom bless'd. The Ark carry'd by the Levites. Michal's Barrenness.
Cover'd with Laurels, and with Conquest crown'd,
Jessides sat, while to his working Thought,
Or Fate, or Choice, the dear Remembrance brought
Of God's bless'd Ark, which long, a Pilgrim grown,
Had sojourn'd in a Dwelling not his own:
Its Heart no Ease, no Rest his Eye-lids found,
Till for its Seat he mark'd the destin'd Ground;
Fair Sion's Holy Hill the bless'd abode,
And peaceful Mansion for the Ark of God:
The Flow'r of all the Tribes conven'd attend,
Three Myriads they their Course to Gibeah bend;
And from thy House, Aminadab! they bear
The sacred Pledge with inauspicious Care:
Two Sons, their aged Father's Hopes and Pride,
The Carriage, and the bellowing Oxen guide;
On Lutes and Harps the long Procession play,
And David led the Quire, and led the way:
But soon their Pomp to silent Sorrow turn'd,
And David griev'd, and all th'Assembly mourn'd:
At Nachon's Floor, and shook their precious Load:
Bold Uzzah saw, nor longer cou'd refrain,
But touch'd the sacred Ark with Hands profane:
Nor this th'offended Pow'r, whose Laws he broke,
His Rashness punish'd with a mortal Stroke;
He drop'd to Earth and with a Groan expir'd,
The trembling Monarch from the Place retir'd;
Which Uzzah's Name to distant Ages bore;
The trembling Monarch dares attempt no more;
The dreadful Ark upon the Road he leaves,
Which Obed-Edom's House with Joy receives:
Three wexing Moons it with the Gittite staid,
Whose hospitable Kindness not unpaid;
With all his Houshold bless'd; when David heard
Resuming Courage, he agen prepar'd
With Joy to bring it thence, but warn'd before
The Levites now the sacred Symbols bore:
Asaph and Ethan with sweet Heman joyn,
To praise the Goodness and the Pow'r divine;
And strongly these the vocal Brass inspire,
These joyn their Voices to the tuneful Lyre,
The Monarch guides the Dance and guides the Quire,
With all his active Strength he play'd and sung,
While Sion's Walls with Hallelujah's rung:
This Michal saw, averse, with haughty Eyes,
And in her Heart his meaness did despise;
Nor wanted words sarcastic and profane,
Which not forgot, nor unreveng'd remain;
Accurs'd with Barrenness, she ne're cou'd claim,
Till Death had clos'd her Eyes, a Mother's joyful Name.
CXLVII. 2 Samuel, Chap. VIII. IX. X.
David conquers Moab, Zobah and Damascus; shews Kindness to Mephibosheth; sends to condole with Hanun on his Father's Death: His Ambassadors abus'd, &c.
Fair Darmesek! to conquering David yield:
Vast Sums his crowded Treasuries amass,
Of Gold and Silver, and of precious Brass:
For Presents these, and these for Spoils they bring,
From Hamath some, and some from Zobah's King:
To God who had his Arms with Conquest crown'd,
He gave the Prey, and deck'd his Altars round;
The rest within the Treasury they place,
Which must the future Temple build and grace:
Nor cou'd the Hero hope his Gifts alone,
And pompous Piety cou'd Heav'n attone;
An equal share those human Virtues claim,
Justice, and Gratitude, and Friendship's sacred Name:
Tho' on the Throne sublime, he cou'd not yet
His other-self, his Jonathan forget:
The Faults of Fortune he resolv'd to mend,
And for Mephibosheth to Court did send,
To pay a Debt due from his Father's Friend:
He his Paternal Fields agen restor'd,
And plac'd him daily at his regal Board.
In his own Court or Kingdom rest confin'd:
Ev'n Ammon's distant Fields it reach'd, and sent
To Hanun a condoling Compliment;
Whose Father once receiv'd with Royal State
That exil'd Chief, but now had paid his Debt to Fate:
The jealous Lords their easie Prince persuade,
'Twas all Design, and he'd his Land invade:
Against the Faith and Law of Nations us'd
His Embassie, affronted and abus'd;
The Men to Jericho with Shame return'd,
Nor David this, who with just Anger burn'd;
Joab and all his Host Revenge prepare,
Nor conscious Ammon slow to meet the War:
Of Zobah, Rehob, Israel's ancient Foes,
Their strong auxiliary Troops compose;
Themselves distinct, their trusty Walls were nigh,
If worsted in the Fight, and forc'd to fly;
The Cherethites undaunted Joab led,
Who never yet in Battel shrunk or fled,
The rest did brave Abishai's Virtue head:
When Joab thus—If Syrian Arms prevail,
And push the Guards, tho' never us'd to fail,
You from your Wing shall speedy Succours send,
As I to yours, if you to Ammon bend:
We for our Hearths and Holy Altars fight,
And Piety and Nature here unite:
Like Men let's Conquer, or like Men let's die,
And leave the Event to him who rules the Sky.
Nor for the Trumpets tardy Signal stay:
The Syrians to superior Virtue yield,
Dishearten'd Ammon sees, and quits with shame the Field.
CXLVIII. 2 Samuel, Chap. XI. to Ver. 5.
David and Bathsheba.
How often some inferior Passions slave!
To bad the best, by native Bent inclin'd:
—O why was Pow'r bestow'd on human kind,
A harmful Pow'r to make themselves unblest?
—But vainly we with righteous Heav'n contest:
Man were not Man unless indulg'd Free-will,
And uncontroll'd in Choice of Good or Ill.
The Mind can no exteriour Force control,
When Beauty thro' the Body wounds the Soul:
Had David clos'd his Eyes, the fatal Dart
From Bathsheba had never reach'd his Heart;
Vain of her Form, tho' she th'occasion gave,
And proud to have a Monarch call'd her Slave.
That Virtue which so many Storms cou'd bear,
Relax'd with Ease, grew sick in milder Air;
Loose from his Couch with the declining Sun,
He rose, and came, and saw, and was undone:
Her Bosom the polluted crystal laves,
How wild a Flame shot upward from the Waves?
Th'unguarded King beheld, review'd, admir'd,
Th'unknown forbidden Beauty he desir'd,
He blush'd and trembled, and her Name enquir'd,
Which his officious Courtiers soon declare,
Her Lord detain'd in Ammon's dubious War:
Seduc'd with ease the willing Prey they bring,
His Blot, his Shame, his Curse to Judah's King:
In vain awhile their lawless Loves conceal'd,
First by th'Effects, and then the Punishment reveal'd.
CXLIX. 2 Samuel, Chap. XI. from Ver. 14. to the End.
The Death of Uriah.
How long the Sting, and Shame, and Pain endures!
From Ill to Ill our wand'ring Nature slides,
When Piety, no more, and Virtue guides:
To cloak Adult'ry Murther must succeed,
And by base Treason brave Uriah bleed;
Tho' milder Methods first the Monarch tries,
And wou'd in vain their Guilt and Shame Disguise:
Bathshebah! for thy injur'd Lord he sends,
Who with Dispatches from the Camp attends;
But with the Pelethites the Guard he kept,
Nor in his violated Mansion slept:
He scorn'd of Ease and soft Repose to taste,
While in the Fields their Nights the Army pass'd:
Tho' twice the conscious Monarch vainly tries
To hide their Shame; the golden Goblet plies:
Well-warm'd the Warrior from his Presence sends,
And much of Kindness and of Love pretends:
The Chief persists; how dear his Firmness cost!
His Life by Murther and by Treason lost:
He to the Camp the fatal Letters bears,
Which to the Gen'ral David's Will declares:
With Ammon's Sword the brave Uriah slays.
The News is brought, which Ammiel's Daughter hears,
And pays awhile a Widow's decent Tears:
With easie Grief she mourns her Husband dead,
But soon resumes her Robes, and shares the Monarch's Bed.
CL. 2 Samuel, Chap. XII. from Ver. 1. to the End.
Nathan sent to David: His Parable, &c.
Above the spacious Circle of the Sky;
Who weighs in equal Scales, our Crimes and Fates,
And Sin, where e're he sees, abhors and hates:
The rev'rend Nathan he to David sent,
Who thus his Wrath disclos'd, and warn'd him to Repent.
With all the needs of Life was one supply'd,
Nor wanted Food for Luxury and Pride:
Of Herds and Flocks so num'rous was his Store,
Bashan and Carmel hardly pastur'd more;
Unlike the other, indigent and poor,
How unproportion'd his Estate and Charge?
Yet frugal, he, and careful of the main,
One Lamb procur'd, in hopes at length to gain
Both Milk and Wool his Houshold to sustain:
With much of Pains 'twas nurs'd, and much of Care,
His Meat and Drink the Favourite must share;
His Daughter's Rival; thus caress'd by Day,
By Night within his careful Arms it lay:
As chanc'd one Ev'n a Stranger pass'd his Door,
Nor call'd (for few make Visits to the Poor;)
But to his wealthy Neighbour did repair,
In hopes of splendid Entertainment there:
The niggard Churl his Flocks and Herds to spare
Seiz'd his poor Neighbour's Lamb, and kill'd, and drest,
And thus at others Cost he treats his Guest:
When David, thus with Fury in his Eyes,
Fourfold th'unpitying Wretch restores or dies:
With alter'd Voice agen the Seer began,
And thunder'd in his Ears—THOU ART THE MAN!
Thus saith the Lord, 'Twas I thy Life did save,
And thee thy Master's Wives and Kingdom gave;
Why didst thou then my Laws and me despise?
Behold, where poor Uriah murther'd lies,
By Ammon's Sword and thine, whose Blood for Vengeance cries;
His beauteous Wife thou to thy self hast ta'ne:
Not unreveng'd, for Plagues on Plagues shall rise
From thine own House; thy Wives before thy Eyes,
Before this Sun, be by thy Neighbour known,
And spread thy wide Dishonour, and their own:
This shalt thou for thy foul Transgression bear,
Thus others warn, and thus affronted Heav'n repair.
CLI. 2 Samuel, Chap. XIII.
Amnon's Rape of Tamar. He is slain by Absalom.
Th'Arrears of brave Uriah's Ghost unpaid:
See where it comes like a resistless Flood,
And Lust is plagu'd with Lust, and Blood with Blood:
Fair Tamar kindles Amnon's loose Desire,
Who forc'd the Royal Maid, and quench'd his lawless Fire:
Possess'd of all he wish'd, he hates her more,
(The Sexes wont) than he admir'd before:
Nor this cou'd Absalom's great Heart digest,
Tho' long he kept it boyling in his Breast:
And view'd new Stars beneath each distant Pole;
Then in the Lion all his force displays,
And shoots direct on Earth his burning Rays:
The fleecy Train their weight cou'd hardly bear,
And long to pay their Master's yearly Care;
They and their bleating Lambs in Folds compell'd,
When Absalon a Feast in Hazor held,
The King and Court invites; in vain he press'd,
His Father him deny'd, but kindly bless'd:
With more Success he his Desire renews,
When he for Amnon and his Brethren sues:
Chearful they go, on Regal Fare they dine,
And crown the plenteous Feast with noble Wine.
Their Host the Signal gave for Amnon's Death,
His Servants in his Breast their Poniards sheath:
Life gushes out at many a griesly Wound,
And mingled Blood and Wine distains the Ground:
The Boards are over-turn'd, the Guests are gone,
Look back, and think their Brother's Fate their own:
But Fame which always mingles Truth with Lies,
And stretch'd on saily Wings still gathers as it flies,
Prevents their Speed, more swift than Fear it fled,
And told th'astonish'd King, that all his Sons were dead:
Swift to his Heart the frighted Blood repair'd,
And made a stand the Fort of Life to guard:
Stretch'd on cold Earth his Royal Robes he rends;
The same around his silent mournful Friends:
Wise Jonadab alone applies Relief,
Alone durst stem the Tide of Royal Grief:
That Amnon only was for Tamar slain,
He wou'd persuade, but wou'd persuade in vain;
Till now the Royal Company appears.
At once confirms, at once confutes their Fears,
And with their mournful Father's mix their Tears;
While Absalon to Syrian Geshur fled,
And till his Fate was ripe, from Justice sav'd his Head.
CLII. 2 Samuel, Chap. XIV. from Ver. 23, 25, 26. Chap. XV. to Ver. 6.
Absalon's Return: He steals the Hearts of the People.
Compell'd their frail Mortality must own;
Their Counsels oft they change; as oft by those
Abus'd, on whom they shine, and Faith repose:
This David was by dear Experience taught,
When Absalon he from long Exile brought:
Yet who cou'd fondness blame for such a Son,
So lov'd, so prais'd, so fair as Absalon?
A manly Beauty he, without a Mole,
(Ah, had he but enjoy'd as fair a Soul!)
Nor cou'd the Raven's glossy Plumes compare,
When jetting in the Sun, with his long weight of Hair:
To this the Tempter's self had scarce a Tongue
More softly fil'd than his, more smoothly hung;
Form'd to deceive; the Art of Courts he knew,
But more himself from bounteous Nature drew:
Chariots and Horse, and regal Pomp assumes,
And glitters in his slighted Father's Plumes;
Nor needs he those, a Living Tide came round,
Where e're he walk'd, and bore him from the Ground:
For none can seem so humble as the Proud?
Early he rose, so ill Ambition slept,
And in the Gate perpetual Guard he kept:
When any of the Tribes for Justice came
He sounds his Bus'ness, his Abode, and Name,
And Court-Delays does well-dissembling blame:
My Father to his Harp delights to sing
The Temple-Hymns, too pious for a King:
The while the Bus'ness of the State forgot,
And Law alike, and JUSTICE sold and bought.
Ah, had I, tho' unworthy such a Grace,
On his Tribunal, but the meanest Place;
None justly shou'd with my award be griev'd,
None shou'd depart my Presence unreliev'd.
When to the Royal Youth Obeisance made,
Too much, my Friend, 'tis far too much he said,
You must not thus to me yourself debase,
Then stooping, rears 'em with a kind Embrace,
Thus steals their Hearts; the King almost alone,
Robb'd of his Subjects, sate on his deserted Throne.
CLIII. 2 Samuel, Chap. XV. from Ver. 7. to the End.
Absalon's Conspiracy. David's Flight from Jerusalem. Hushai's Loyalty, &c.
And raise their baleful Heads from teeming Earth;
Of War and Bloodshed bode a plenteous Crop,
And hov'ring Fiends their bleeding Quarry hope:
Too long th'Unnatural thinks he waits in vain,
While his hard Father still protracts his Reign:
The small Remains of Piety he breaks,
And thus the Hypocrite his injur'd Sire bespeaks:
The Faults of Youth, which none but one so kind,
Cou'd e're have pardon'd—Then, when in disgrace,
Deny'd the Bliss to see a Father's Face;
Wandring in foreign Fields, a Vow I made,
Which, ah! too long has now remain'd unpaid;
That if my Father's God wou'd me restore
To his lov'd House, I there wou'd him adore,
And with an hundred Victims die the sacred Floor;
The richest Gifts and noblest Sacrifice,
My Guilt, and Heav'ns just Wrath I'll rather bear,
Than to my native Hebron's Walls repair;
Till your Commands and Blessing I obtain:
With kind paternal Love embrac'd and kiss'd,
And then the Traitor from his Arms dismiss'd:
To Royal Hebron he his Progress bends,
To all the Tribes his trusty Spies he sends.
When thence they heard from far the Trumpets sound,
The Signal 'twas that Absalom was crown'd,
And all must spread the joyful News around:
But none cou'd serve his dark Designs so well,
As thy Serpentine Head, Achitophel!
Th'Oraculous Traitor came, as Satan wise,
For darling Mischief left his Sacrifice:
From ev'ry Tribe unnumber'd Thousands run,
And Hebron crowd t'adore the rising Sun:
Suprizing Tidings they to David bring,
That all was lost, and Absalom was King:
Moisten'd with Tears they Olivet ascend,
By Loyal Hushai met, his Princes ancient Friend:
Constrain'd he stays, and him behind they leave,
With honest Fraud the Traitor to deceive;
Who now from Hebron-Hills came crowding down,
And enter with loud Shouts th'unguarded sacred Town.
CLIV. 2 Samuel, Chap. XVI. XVII. to Ver. 23.
Ziba's Fraud. Shimei curses David. Achithophel's Counsel overthrown by Hushai, on which he hangs himself.
He lights and throws himself at David's Feet;
A Grant by fraudulent Suggestions gains,
And from the Crown his Master's Lands obtains;
Some small Refreshments to his Army brings,
Nor Ziba was the last that cheated Kings.
From black-mouth'd Shimei's canker'd Tongue and Mind:
A Wretch he was of Saul's abandon'd Race,
The Soul of Spite and Envy in his Face:
See where the Felon in the Passage stands,
His Mouth with Curses fill'd, with Stones his Hands:
Avaunt thou Fiend, thou Murtherer, he cry'd!
Thy guilty Hands thy Master's Blood has dy'd;
By Treason didst thou seize his vacant Throne,
The Fate he met is justly now thine own;
Silent th'afflicted Prince—Abishai turn'd,
Sparkled his Eyes, his Breast with anger burn'd:
Blaspheme the King!—Speak but his Doom, he's dead,
I'll in a Moment fetch the Traitor's Head.
Since Heav'n permits, and orders all—my Son,
Part of my self, my Soul, my Absalon
Into his envy'd Father's Years enquires,
My Crown already seiz'd, my Life desires:
Loyal to him this Benjamite, and mild,
Nor uncommission'd has he me revil'd;
My Virtues Tryal, which if firm it prove,
May Heav'n, perhaps, at length to Pity move.
When wading thro' Afflictions gloomy Cloud;
While Absalom a short-liv'd Meteor glares,
And hides his tow'ring Head among the Stars:
War, Plagues, and Death his sanguine Streams portend,
From fetid Earth exhal'd, on Earth must end:
He mounts at once his Father's Bed and Throne,
His rich Seraglio seiz'd, and made his own;
Thus did th'abhorr'd Achithophel advise;
Nor cou'd imperfect Mischief him suffice,
The King himself his Counsel to surprize;
The Traitor fears he shou'd the Murther miss:
But faithful Hushai call'd to this debate,
More pleas'd the hot-brain'd Charioteer of State:
The Loyal Traitor found his weaker side,
Did to his Ruin honestly misguide,
Provok'd his youthful Fire and sooth'd his Pride:
A King shou'd at his Armies head appear,
Revive his Friends and strike his Foes with Fear:
Let him but stamp and show his Royal Will,
All Israel soon he might with Armies fill:
From Dan they wou'd to old Beersheba rise,
As Clouds of swarming Insects dusk the Skies;
Thro' all the Tribes th'affrighted King pursue
And swallow, as the Sun the morning Dew:
The Motion pleas'd, to Hushai all incline,
For 'twas of God to blast their curs'd Design:
This saw Achitophel, and swoln with Pride,
Around his Neck th'unhappy Noose he ty'd,
Suborn'd his speedy Fate, and like a Traitor di'd.
CLV. 2 Samuel, Chap. XVII. from Ver. 24. to the End. Chap. XVIII. to Ver. 18.
David met by Barzillai at Mahanaim. The Battel between his Servants and Absalon. Absalon slain by Joab.
To David's Camp, by two confiding Friends:
To Mahanaim, late a Kingly Seat,
O're Jordan's Floods they make a swift Retreat;
By old Barzillai met—.
With Grief at once, and welcom in his Eyes,
Whose hoary Loyalty their Wants supplies;
His Wealth and corresponding Heart so large
To treat a King, nor sink beneath the Charge.
When Tidings came that with a num'rous Host;
The Rebels had the Streams of Jordan cross'd;
And like its spreading Torrent swoln with Rain,
With a broad Front came sweeping o're the Plain.
The Monarch hears, tho' long with Fortune press'd;
He rouz'd the Royal Virtue in his Breast:
Review'd his Army and prepar'd for Fight,
Himself resolv'd to try the Rebel's might:
Nor this his faithful Friends, who thus—If all
Thy Servants shou'd in heat of Battel fall;
The Rebels wou'd so mean a Prey despise,
Their Treason at a nobler Quarry flies:
Who if within the Town entrench'd he stays,
If press'd with Odds before the Foe we bend
A strong Reserve to our Relief may send:
Compell'd he yields—Nor cou'd his Royal Breast
Tho' injur'd, all the Father yet divest;
O spare that unadverting Youth, he said,
Whom ill Advice to this rash Action led;
Neither by Malice wicked, nor Design,
Who e're attempts his Life, must aim at mine.
Silent the Generals hear his fond Desire,
The Father praise, but not the King admire.
Horrid with ancient Oaks and Shades profound,
Of old for Giants terribly renown'd;
Tho' future Times with more of Dread relate,
The Wonders of this Day's decisive Fate:
Both Armies meet beneath this gloomy Glade,
And Darts and Arrows make a double Shade:
How rude the Shocks, how obstinate the Fight!
But Fortune, once, tho' blind, was in the right:
The Cherethites with Joab at their Head,
Like Lightning pierc'd the Ranks; the heartless Rebels fled;
Fled Absalon as fast as Guilt and Fear,
And his swift Mule cou'd him from Battel bear:
When flatt'ring Fortune conquer'd Reason's Light;
And Nature now to mind, and Reason brought
His injur'd Father, (how severe a Thought!)
How kind, how good! almost he did Repent,
But cou'd not now his hast'ning Fate prevent.
Now all too late, his righteous Doom is past;
—As thro' the Woods he flies with luckless Haste,
While the deceitful Wind does loosly bear,
The flowing Honours of his fatal Hair,
An aged Oak seiz'd and secur'd him there:
Swift as a Shaft from Parthian Archer sped,
His Mule shoots on, and thro' the Covert fled:
With a malicious Joy fierce Joab hears,
And grasping in his Hand three pondrous Spears
Pointed with Death, unto the Place he flew,
And at the Royal Youth the quiv'ring Weapons threw:
To his ambitious Heart they found the way,
And let out lab'ring Life, and introduc'd the Day,
When thus the Chief—If after this thou live,
Let David thee forgive, I'll him forgive:
An Heap of Stones they on the Body cast,
His Marble Column now by Time defac'd,
His Infamy shall down to num'rous Ages last.
CLVI. 2 Samuel, Chap. XVIII. XIX. and Chap. XX. to Ver. 22.
David mourns for Absalom. He returns to Jerusalem. Shimei pardon'd. Amasa slain. Sheba's Rebellion and Destruction.
And thus may all who dare like him rebel!
With true paternal Grief his Father hears,
Retires from publick View, and melts in Tears;
Then thus—“O Absalom! my Son! my Son!
“My dearer than my Soul! my Absalon!
“Why is my Grief so weak, or why so strong!
“Why must I still a weary Life prolong!
“With how much Joy had I his Place supply'd,
“The Son had liv'd and reign'd, the hapless Father di'd?
The Joys of Triumph thus to Tears were turn'd,
The sympathizing Land with David mourn'd:
Fierce Joab hears, and by his Service bold,
The Truth too roughly for a Subject told:
The King his Grief repress'd, he dries his Tears,
And in the Gate with alter'd Face appears:
To Zadok and Ahimaaz he sends,
Who in the worst of Times his faithful Friends,
By these and Amasa the Heart of Judah bends:
Ev'n Shimei comes, and prostrate at his Feet;
For Pardon sues, and does his Suit obtain,
By thee, Zerviah's Son! oppos'd in vain:
Mephibosheth does half his Lands regain.
At Jordan David old Barzillai leaves,
And Chimham in his room to Court receives:
Thus grateful Princes smile on worthy Deeds,
And to the Father's Grace the Son succeeds:
Yet still the Relicks of the Storm remain,
And bode a dreadful Show'r of sanguin Rain.
While Israel Judah blames, that they alone
Recall'd the King, and fix'd him on his Throne.
Too soon the unlucky Hint false Sheba takes,
A Trumpet sounds, and new Rebellion makes:
Amasa now commands in Joab's stead,
And to pursue the Rebels Judah led;
Nor this Zerviah's cruel Offspring bore,
But basely stabb'd, as Abner long before,
And left the Gen'ral weltring in his Gore;
Then thro' the Tribes the Son of Bichri chas'd,
Who in strong Abel's Walls his Refuge plac'd:
The Royal Forces soon the Town invest,
With vast Machines on ev'ry side 'tis prest,
At length one Woman's Prudence saves the rest:
Curs'd Sheba's Head did all their Faults attone,
See where 'tis o're the lofty Turret thrown:
His Mouth can vomit Treason now no more:
Joab a Trumpet sounds, the Siege to raise,
And to Jerusalem in Peace the Host conveys.
CLVII. 2 Samuel, Chap. XXIII. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 7.
David's last Words.
When Angels wait their Brother Psalmist home:
For his lov'd Harp he calls, resolv'd to die
As he had liv'd, in Hymns and Harmony:
His ready Hand runs o're the vocal Strings,
And thus instructive Truths, and God's high Praise he sings.
And guide my Song, and guide my tuneful Lyre:
'Tis God that speaks, ye Gods on Earth give Ear,
The Rock of Israel's awful Precepts hear!
You who with Sovereign Sway o're Men preside,
Let Piety your Steps and Justice guide!
In Goodness like th'All-High, as well as Pow'r,
Whom for his Grace the suppliant World adore:
So shall your Fame appear serenely bright,
Out-shine the rising Sun, and morning Light;
Call'd by the Sun, and rais'd by fruitful Show'rs.
Tho' otherwise for me just Heav'n ordain,
With Crimes my House, with Blood deform'd my Reign,
Yet God's unfailing Words my Hopes secure,
For like himself his Contract's wise and sure:
'Tis here I fix, nor ought beyond require,
All my Salvation 'tis, and all my Soul's desire:
Not so those Sons of Belial, who disdain
Jehova's easie Yoke and gentle Reign;
The Laws of Earth and Heav'n at once withstand,
And wound like Thorns th'unwary Toucher's Hand.
Armour of Proof, if you approach 'em, wear,
Or keep them at the distance of a Spear!
The Blood they shed will Heav'n at length require,
Their Doom, the dreadful Lake of never-ending Fire.
CLVIII. 2 Samuel, Chap. XXIII. from Ver. 7. to the End.
David's Worthies.
Well worthy Marble Piles and Leaves of Brass,
By David oft in doubtful Battel try'd,
Who ne're for Fear or Danger left his side:
First of the mighty Thirty, and the Three;
His Spear he rais'd, which never rais'd in vain,
His single Force whole Armies scarce sustain;
Behold almost a Thousand round him slain!
Whose Sword so oft had drunk Philistine Blood:
One of the Three with David at their Head,
Who when from Caphthor's Offspring Israel fled,
Stood firm, and all their conqu'ring Host defi'd,
And humbled soon their mighty Fishes Pride:
He rose, he smote, he foil'd, he lash'd, he slew,
And soon the bold Pursuers did pursue;
Till his strong Hand no more his Sword cou'd wield,
He mow'd the bloody Harvest of the Field.
Thus by his Arm the God of Battles fought,
And Great Salvation for his People wrought.
The Heav'ns with Shouts, their Tents with Spoils they fill,
'Twas all their Work, for none were left to kill.
With Conquest and with deathless Laurels crown'd:
The fore-skinn'd Host a general Forage made,
Like Locusts they the ripen'd Fields invade;
Fix'd like a Land-mark in the Path he stands,
Nor one escapes with Life that reach'd his Hands:
To David in Adullam's Fastness came;
Fierce Sirius rag'd, the Heav'ns were all on Flame.
And Beasts and Men refreshing Streams desire,
To slake their Thirst, and quench their raging Fire.
David himself, tho' long his Pain compress'd,
Gasping and faint, at length the Man confess'd;
(For Heroes too of mortal Mold are made,
And Nature's Iron-Laws by all obey'd.)
Then thus—Our common Blessings we despise,
And only by their Absence learn to prize:
O for a Draught of Bethlem's crystal Well!
But 'tis in vain, and I'll my Wish repel!
This heard the mighty Three, to none they spoke,
But thro' Philistia's num'rous Army broke,
Who lay encamp'd in Bethlem's Avenue,
And fill'd the Town—while one the Water drew,
His Fellows like a Wall before him stood,
And slaughter'd all around, and dy'd the Streams with Blood.
As yielding Clouds which Bolts of Thunder rive;
And to their Gen'ral brought the far-fet Prize:
Forbid it Heav'n the pious Chief replies,
That what with hazard of your Lives you gain'd,
Sacred to God, shou'd be by me profan'd!
Thus with uplifted Hands Jessides said,
Then on the Ground a pure Libation made.
When Souldiers fight for Honour, not for Hire.
Nor must Abishai's, or Benaiah's Name,
Or, Asahel! thine, be unconsign'd to Fame:
Nor shou'd the rest which sacred Books rehearse,
But their unwonted Sounds refuse the Laws of Verse.
CLIX. 2 Samuel, Chap. XXIV. 1 Chron. Chap. XXI.
David numbers the People. A Pestilence sent, &c.
Dissolve in lazy Luxury and Peace:
When Kings offend, their sinful Lands endure
Those Plagues which their united Crimes procure.
To Pride he tempts the Monarch and prevails.
For Joab strait he sends, and bids him go
And number all the Tribes, resolv'd his Strength to know.
His word unwillingly the Chief obey'd,
From Dan he to Beersheba's Coasts survey'd,
Th'appointed Ransom for their Souls unpay'd:
Th'ungrateful Sacrilege did Heav'n resent,
And to the King with heavy Tidings sent;
My Three dread Scourges, Famine, Plague and War
Are all propos'd, thou must for one prepare:
How hard a Choice! The Monarch how distress'd!
Yet with repenting Tears he chose the Best:
Into the Hands of God, since one he must,
He chose to fall, as Merciful as Just.
See the destroying Angel speed away,
While greedy Death attends to seize her Prey!
His Sword of pois'nous Exhalations made,
Red, as a fatal Comet's flaming Blade,
High in mid-Heav'n he brandish'd, not in vain,
In three short Days were Seventy thousand slain.
And shakes his Sword, which thirsted yet for Blood:
Jessides saw the Minister of Fate,
In Act to strike, and but for Orders wait:
And in his Hand the dreadful Sword of God:
Low on the Ground he falls with Sackcloth spread,
His Crown laid by, and Ashes on his Head:
On me, on me, O righteous Heav'n! let all
The threaten'd Death, and heavy Vengeance fall:
But spare these Innocents, nor let thy Rage
Wax hot against thy Sheep, thy Heritage!
'Twas I that number'd, I that sinn'd—'tis I
Alone deserve, alone desire to die.
Mild Pity heard, and prostrate at the Throne
Presents his Pray'rs, and added of her own:
The Father smiles and grants; she shoots away
And pass'd the Confines of eternal Day,
On her own peaceful Rain-bow swerving down,
She stood confess'd above the sacred Town,
Seiz'd the Destroying-Angel's flaming Brand,
Seal'd in its Sheath, and stopp'd his lifted Hand;
Then did to raise th'afflicted Monarch send
The Reverend Gad, his Prophet and his Friend:
In Ornan's Floor an Altar bids him rear,
To him who stopp'd the hov'ring Vengeance there.
'Tis done, the grateful Odor mounts the Skies,
And heav'nly Fire consumes th'accepted Sacrifice.
CLX. 1 Kings, Chap. I, II.
Adonijah affects the Kingdom. Solomon anointed King. Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei slain, &c.
And all must yield to Time and Age and Fate:
Broken with Cares, the Monarch now appears,
And sinks beneath the Weight of Seventy Years:
Languid and Cold, almost a Carcass grown,
He lives by Warmth and Vigour not his own:
This Adonijah heard, fair Haggith's Son,
In Beauty only next to Absalon:
Ensigns of Royalty like him prepar'd,
High on his Chariot rais'd, and circled with a Guard:
Abiathar the Pontiff with him joyns,
And Joab aids in his unjust Designs:
By Rogel's-Well he at Zoheleth staid,
His Brethren call'd, a Kingly Feast he made;
But Solomon he left with conscious Fear,
Nor Zadok, Nathan, or Benaiah there:
To David, Bathsheba and Nathan bring
The Tidings first, that he assum'd the King:
And Solomon his Successor declares:
On his own Royal Mule he rides in State,
The Guards and Council him to Gihon wait:
The sacred Oyl with Joy they thither bring,
Anoint him there, and shout—God save the King!
The hollow Vales restor'd the distant Sound,
Shook lofty Olivet, and shook the Ground:
This to Zoheleth's Stone the Traitors hear,
Vanish'd their Mirth, their Hearts dissolv'd with Fear:
Their King Himself, and they their King disown,
He quits his short-liv'd Reign, and quits his Throne.
For Refuge he to God's High-Altar flies,
And sues for Life, when Solomon, replies,
If Loyal he's secure, if false he dies:
In Peace he thence did to his House retreat;
But soon the curs'd Ambition to be Great,
The Royal Mercy did, and his Resolves defeat:
For David now to his Fore-fathers gon,
Agen he seeks by Wiles to mount the Throne:
To strengthen thus his Title, seeks to wed,
The beauteous Relict of the Royal Bed:
Nor this young Solomon, whose piercing Eyes
The Treason saw, tho' veil'd in Loves disguise,
And by Benaiah's Hand his Rival dies:
Next Joab, vainly to God's Altar fled,
Who Abner's Blood, and Amasa's had shed:
Benaiah there, the hoary Murtherer slew:
Nor railing Shimei scap'd, but Kidron cross'd,
His solemn Oath he broke, his Life he lost:
Abiathar with milder Doom depriv'd,
To his own native Fields confin'd he liv'd;
The righteous Fate of Eli's House he bore,
And Zadok in his Room, great Aaron's Ephod wore.
CLXI. 1 Kings, Chap. III. from Ver. 16. to Ver. 27.
Solomon prays for Wisdom. He decides the Case between the two Harlots.
The Prince adores the Pow'r that fixt him there:
Ten Hecatombs to God at Gibeon paid;
And more, he lov'd him, and his Laws obey'd:
Bright Signs of Peace and Grace th'Almighty gave,
And bids him make his Terms, and ask and have:
When thus with humble Heart and Voice he said,
(New Blessings ask'd, and Thanks for Blessings paid.)
My Father David, whom thy Bounty chose,
Did not in vain on thee his Hopes repose;
His Family thy promis'd Goodness share,
Nor wants his House, nor wants his Throne an Heir.
How Young at once in Wisdom and in Age!
My People num'rous, and my Kingdom large,
And who is equal to so vast a Charge?
O thou, the King of Kings, whose Sov'reign sway
This Earth, and even the Heav'n of Heav'ns obey;
Give Knowledge to discharge my weighty Trust!
The Art of Ruling give, and make me Wise and Just!
Th'Almighty heard, and pleas'd with his Desire,
Thus answers mild—
Since thou dost neither Length of Days require,
Revenge nor Riches which the World admire;
But rather Wisdom ask, I'll give thee more
Than Mortal e're shall have, or e're enjoy'd before:
Riches and Honour, Regal Pomp and State,
I give thee undesir'd for over-weight:
And if like David thou my Laws maintain,
I'll crown thee with a long and prosp'rous Reign:
To Salem's Royal Town the King returns,
And Victims slays, and hallow'd Incense burns:
When to his Throne two clam'rous Women came,
And Justice! Justice! both aloud exclaim.
An Infant in their Arms did each embrace,
Breathless was one, with pale and alter'd Face;
The Second, warmth and vigorous Life confess'd,
And paid his Nurse with Smiles, who clasp'd him to her Breast:
No Witness but their own the King to guide:
What mortal Wisdom cou'd the Case decide?
Awhile he weighs with deep consid'rate Thought,
Then calls his Guards, and bids a Sword be brought;
In equal Parts the Child that did survive
He bids divide, and half to either give:
The spurious Mother with th'Award content
His Justice prais'd, and gave her full Consent:
Not so the Genuin, when the Guards prepare
To execute a Sentence so severe;
Pale as the lifeless Corps that near her lay,
And cold as Death she cries and bids 'em stay:
Then to the King—O let her all enjoy,
Rather than my dear Infant thus destroy!
—'Tis finish'd, the sagacious Prince reply'd,
And Nature does herself the Cause decide;
The Child is Hers—which she with Joy receives,
With Shame her Rival the Tribunal leaves:
Th'Assembly shout, and Heav'ns Indulgence own,
Which plac'd so Wise a King on David's vacant Throne.
CLXII. 1 Kings, Chap. V, VI, VII. Ch. VIII. from Ver. 15. to the End. 2 Chron. Chap. VII. to Ver. 3.
Solomon's Temple.
For God on ev'ry side had giv'n him Rest;
A lofty Pile of wondrous Art and Charge,
A Temple opulent, august and large:
Whose Majesty might some Resemblance bear,
Of that dread Pow'r who fix'd his Mansion there,
On tall Moriah's Mount resolves to rear:
To Tyrian Hiram, his Ally, he sends,
(Hiram and David had been ancient Friends.)
His Servants help he gains, for none so well
Cou'd Timber square, or lofty Cedars fell:
To Lebanon's fair Forrest they repair,
His Head like barren Calvary's they bare:
The Sun, a Stranger there, the Ground invades,
And drinks new Dew, and drives th'affrighted Shades.
To Sidon's Shore, a long and dubious Road,
O're craggy Rocks they drag their precious Load;
Not unrewarded by the Hebrew King.
All things prepar'd, see the vast Fabrick rise,
And from the Center hasten to the Skies;
In three fair Stories wrought, stately and tall,
Marble the Columns, Marble was the Wall:
The House with Cedar floor'd, with Cedar lin'd,
And all with flaming Gold profusely shin'd:
So richly carv'd that Nature owns, compel'd,
She here is by her Hand-maid Art excel'd.
But who th'amazing Splendor dares reveal,
Which mystic Veils from mortal Eyes conceal?
Those bright Cherubic Forms which guard the Place,
Those menial Angels who attend and gaze!
—At safer distance from the Throne retire!
Those wide and everlasting Gates admire!
Those Pillars which the Pyramids surpass;
The Mould how curious, and how rich the Brass!
Behold yon Sea, which scarce admits a Shore,
And Rivers will receive, yet thirst for more:
Rang'd on their Bases Ten fair Lavers near,
On either side like Inland Lakes appear:
With purest Oyl, and native Lustre shin'd.
Next see what spatious Courts the Dome surround,
With Portico's, and fair Piazza's crown'd!
The dreadful Ark the Priests and Levites bore,
To settled Seats, a Wanderer no more.
When all compleat, a vast Assembly came,
Drawn by their Monarchs and their Temples Fame:
The Dedication now their Care employs,
And Israel's Sons in festal Hymns rejoyce:
Nor cou'd a Thousand Hecatombs suffice,
The bleating, and the bellowing Nation dies,
Almost the Species falls a Sacrifice.
—See where the pious Prince himself expands,
Kneeling before the Throne his spotless Hands!
Loud Instruments and Voices fill the Quire,
Their Praise receiv'd, for lo! th'auspicious Fire
Breaks from the Oracle, the Priests retire;
A Present Deity by all confess'd,
Trembling, their Fathers God they all, adoring, bless'd.
CLXIII. 1 Kings, Chap. X. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 14.
The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon; propounds Questions to him; makes Presents to him, and receives from him.
Rich Sheba's Queen from bless'd Arabia came:
Prepar'd, as was the Custom of her Age,
To prove his Skill with Problems Deep and Sage:
How splendid was her Train, how vast her Store?
What Caravans of Camels Spices bore,
What precious Gems and Heaps of shining Ore?
Majestic on his Throne she saw him crown'd,
She saw his Nobles waiting silent round,
And struck with awe, cou'd scarce her Doubts propound:
But when she heard the Prince with ease explain,
What Joktan's Sons so oft had try'd in vain;
No Trees or Shrubs that on the Mountains grew,
No Herbs that drank the Valley's fragrant Dew,
But he their Names and various Natures knew;
His Houshold, with their Order and Array;
The stately Galleries and broad Ascent,
Which from the Palace to the Temple went;
She cou'd no more, pleas'd and at once amaz'd,
In Extasie awhile, she round her gaz'd:
Recov'ring, thus—while I at home remain'd,
And in Sabea's narrow Confines reign'd;
I heard, but scarce believ'd the Voice of Fame,
Which did your Wisdom and your Acts proclaim:
Too loud I thought her then, but now her Silence blame:
My dazled Eyes, Great Sir! have seen far more,
Nor heard I half of Solomon before:
Almost beyond a Mortal, bless'd is he
Whose daily Duty to attend on thee;
Hear the lov'd Accents of thy Voice divine,
And see that Face, that heav'nly Face of thine!
Bless'd be the Pow'r that fix'd thee on the Throne,
To rule his favourite People and thy own;
Strict Justice to dispense with equal Hand,
Large as thy Soul, and wide as thy Command!
Worthy of her to give, and him to take;
Myrrh, Nard, Amomum, Frankincense she brings,
And Gold that wou'd have ransom'd captive Kings;
Which Solomon with Princely Grace receives,
And more of his own Royal Bounty gives:
What cou'd he not, when so immense his Store?
How vast the Sums which his proud Navy bore
From old Tartessus, and from Ophir's Shore?
Silver and Gold o'reflow his happy Land,
As plenteous as the Pebbles on the Sand:
The precious Metal takes a warlike Mould,
His Shields, his pond'rous Targets blaz'd with Gold.
Exotic Beasts and Birds augment his State,
Which human Speech or Action imitate;
See there the mimic Ape, for Laughter made,
While the proud Peacock near, her gaudy Train displaid!
CLXIV. 1 Kings, Chap. XI. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 14.
Solomon's Wives in his old Age seduce him to Idolatry.
Thou sweetest, deadliest Poison to Mankind!
Unjustly we of adverse Fate complain;
That has its Thousands sav'd, and thou Ten thousands slain:
But, ah! when Women on thy side engage,
How swift the Death, how strong the Philtres Rage!
What Potent Kings, what Heroes Great and Wise,
Have at thy Altars faln a Sacrifice?
But none like Solomon to future Times,
Transmit thy Conquests and transmit their Crimes:
Behold his Wisdom sunk, his Lustre fade,
His Glory clouded in how deep a Shade?
A thousand Women to his Court he brings,
(Almost too many for a thousand Kings!)
They steal his Scepter while he drags their Chain,
And wears in solid Sloth a shameful Reign:
Their mungril Faith as various Gods ador'd:
Th'uxorious King to gain a quiet Life,
Almost a diff'rent God must serve for ev'ry Wife.
A fair Sidonian made him first decline,
And brought him to her own Astarte's shrine;
With Pharaoh's Daughter she unites her Claim,
Th'Egyptian sacred Heifer was the same:
To Chemosh then he bow'd his hoary Head,
By Moabitish Charms to Ruin led:
At Moloch's sanguine Altar next he's seen,
To please his beauteous Ammonitish Queen:
God's sacred Temple now neglected lies,
No Incense there, no Pray'rs, or Sacrifice:
On either side his pow'rful Rivals grown,
The Demons as of old, insult his Throne.
Was it for this, for this he twice appear'd
To Solomon, when his dread Voice he heard?
What Blessings promis'd to his pious Care?
How strictly charg'd of Idols to beware?
But all in vain; he's lost, his Heart is gone,
He and his Kingdom ruin'd and undone;
For his Ingratitude and Folly curs'd,
New Foes are rais'd, and Hadad is the First:
To Pharaoh's Court the Youth for Refuge fled;
Receiv'd with Grace and Princely welcom there,
Nor that proud Pharoah did for Hadad care,
But Israel's Scourge secur'd in Edom's Heir;
For this did he his dubious Title own,
And made an Exile Kinsman to the Throne:
How firm, how gen'rous in his weighty Trust,
How faithful (to his Int'rest) and how Just!
Thence like a Vultur hov'ring from afar,
For plenteous Death he hopes, and waits for War;
Ready to stoop and plague the guilty Land,
When Israel's Sins so dire a Scourge demand:
Rezon the next,—but greater Mischief rose
From anger'd Fav'rites, and intestine Foes:
To Jeroboam, diligent and brave,
The God of Israel, Israel's Scepter gave:
Whom jealous Solomon attempts in vain,
To spoil of Life, and of his fated Reign;
When Dust himself, he shall his Throne enjoy,
For none cou'd ever yet his Successor destroy.
CLXV. 1 Kings, Chap. XII. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 19.
Solomon dies. The ten Tribes revolt from Rehoboam. Hadoram ston'd.
When Solomon for neither Cure cou'd find,
To him that spares not Kings his Breath's at length resign'd.
His Folly and his Wisdom ne're shall die,
Immortal both in Fame and Infamy.
Roboam next supports the tott'ring State,
How weak his Shoulders for so vast a Weight!
With Taxes gaul'd th'assembled People press'd
To have their weighty Grievances redress'd;
Bold Jeroboam at their Head appear'd,
And mutually secur'd they nothing fear'd:
Th'unsettled Monarch for the Council sends,
Hoary and Wise, his Father's constant Friends,
Well vers'd in deep Emergencies of State,
And 'twas by all resolv'd on the Debate,
With gentle Words 'twas fittest to asswage
Uneasie Minds, and calm the Peoples Rage:
Their first Request 'twas fatal to deny,
Which granted, would confirm their Loyalty.
When all that pass'd the King his Equals shows:
Warm unexperienc'd Nobles, empty Peers,
Companions of his Pleasures and his Years:
His unfledg'd Politicians him advise,
He shou'd those doting Counsellors despise,
Who only for their Beards were counted Wise:
A factious People something still require,
The more you give the more they still desire,
Favours, like Oyl, inflame seditious Fire:
Must they uncall'd their Princes Counsels share?
Must they presume to feel, who born to bear?
Exert the Monarch, Sir! and let them know,
You are their Sovereign and you will be so!
The worse Advice prevails, for God design'd
Whom he had mark'd for Ruin, first to Blind:
His Equals Counsel the rash Youth pursues,
With aukward Majesty the King indues;
And with ill-tim'd Resentment in his Eyes,
He to his suppliant People thus replies:
Our Lenity, and all Distinctions lose?
Too mild my Father, his indulgent Reign
Unjustly made your pamper'd Tribes complain:
His easie Yoke, and gentle Rods despis'd,
But I'll with Scorpions see my Slaves chastis'd.
Treason unmask'd her ugly Visage shows;
What only grumbled in the Clouds before,
Now bursts enlarg'd away with Thunder's Roar:
All Interest they in David's Line disclaim,
And Jesse's Son is but a vulgar Name:
Hence Israel to your Tents! desert his Throne,
And leave the childish Prince to reign alone!
Thus all enrag'd; 'tis done as soon as spoke,
And in Confusion, thence th'Assembly broke:
Too late the King his Folly did repent,
And to the People old Hadoram sent:
Amid the Crowd in luckless Hour he came,
His hateful Sight did more their Rage enflame;
For none in Ways or Means was deeplier skill'd,
More dext'rously the Subjects fleec'd and pill'd,
Their Coffers empti'd, while his own he fill'd:
A Show'r of Stones around his Temples flies;
Rebels! you shall for this—He says and dies:
Swift as his Fears the Monarch drives away,
And him his foaming Steeds, to Salem's Walls convey.
CLXVI. 1 Kings, Chap. XII. Ver. 20. and 27. to the End. Chap. XIII. Ver. 23, 24, 25.
Jeroboam made King of Israel. His Idolatry. A Prophet prophesies against his Altar: Disobeys God's Command: Is slain by a Lion.
Th'Ambitious Chief his Master's Throne invades:
To his new Governments new Gods he makes,
For Priests the meanest of the People takes:
A King's Religion seldom fails to please,
When back'd with Int'rest, Novelty and Ease:
Yet to his golden Calves, Prescription He
Pretends, and Primitive Idolatry:
The same their Fathers had in Horeb sought.
The same their Ancestors from Egypt brought.
Their Holy Sees at Dan and Bethel plac'd,
Tho' Bethel with the Royal Presence grac'd:
While there the King himself the Pontiff turns,
And Incense at his Idol-Altar burns,
A Man of God inspir'd from Judah came,
And boldly thus his Message did proclaim:
And dare with that in God's own Temple vie;
Tho' Israel David's Linage now despise!
Who in thy Fire thy Priests shall sacrifice;
Thy Groves destroy'd, and thou with Bones defil'd,
JOSIAH shall they call the wond'rous Child:
Nor uncommanded this, nor wants a Sign,
To prove my Mission and my Words divine:
Behold th'unhallow'd Altar soon shall rend,
Its scatter'd Ashes to the Dust descend!
Who dares at once my Gods and me despise!
By Dan's and Bethel's holy Calves he dies;
With out-stretch'd Hand the Prophet strives to take,
But feels the vital Warmth his Hand forsake,
Sere, as the Branch of some old Monarch-Oak,
Blasted like him by Heaven's resistless Stroke:
With Thunder long in Nature's Caverns pent,
Bellowing beneath, till now it forc'd a Vent,
His Altar's from its firm Foundations rent:
A Show'r of Ashes thence is scatter'd round,
And fills the troubled Air, and hides the Ground.
With him who made 'em vainly to contend!
The Monarch at the Prophet's Feet did fall,
And begs he wou'd to Heav'n for Mercy call:
For God his wither'd Hand restores again;
He feels the chearful Blood shoot warm through ev'ry Vein;
Then this kind Healer did to Court invite,
And wou'd with Royal Bounty him requite.
So strict a Charge did he who sent me give:
Nor Bread nor Water must I dare to taste,
But from this Place profan'd with Idols haste:
Thus he, and happy had he thus remain'd,
But by an hospitable Fraud detain'd,
Too long in those forbidden Walls he stays,
And dearly for his Disobedience pays:
A dreadful Messenger obstructs his way,
Who better did the Will of Heav'n obey.
Behold him there the Kingly Lion's Prey!
Nor further his Commission gave him Pow'r,
He dar'd not seize his Beast, nor dar'd the Man devour.
CLXVII. 1 Kings, Ch. XIII. to V. 25. Ch. XIV. and Ch. XV. from V. 25. to 29.
Jeroboam persists in his Idolatry. His Son falls sick and dies; Israel mourns for him. His Family destroy'd by Baasha.
When Error does with pow'rful Int'rest joyn;
But, oh! how hard against the Hill to rise,
And reassume the Path that leads us to the Skies?
The brightest Miracles no Credence gain,
And Nature's stedfast Laws are broke in vain:
This Jeroboam's Crimes and Fate attest,
Tho' warn'd, and plagu'd, and heal'd, he still transgress'd:
Nor this that injur'd Pow'r to whom alone,
Th'ungrateful owes his Life and owes his Throne:
A Son he had, the best of all his Blood,
For such a House and Father far too Good:
With pious Vows he Israel's God implor'd,
Non ever Dan's or Bethel's Calves ador'd:
Yet he, alas! his Parents Sins must bear,
O righteous Heav'n! how Just, yet how severe!
Snatch'd from the Plagues that must his House destroy,
He'll his short Pains exchange for endless Joy.
Death-struck, he neither murmur'd nor repin'd,
But on a brighter Crown he fix'd his Mind;
Then that he now must lose—his Father hears,
His guilty Mind is seiz'd with anxious Fears;
With Presents to the Man of God she went,
Too soon, of his Disease to know th'Event:
Nor this cou'd Bethel's Gods or Priests reveal,
Nor cou'd she from the Seer herself conceal:
Tho' his corporeal Eyes with Age were blind,
How clear the Sight of his inlighten'd Mind?
He bids the Mother, yet a Mother, come,
As first her trembling Feet approach'd the room:
Vainly disguis'd, unhappy Queen! draw near,
The Prophet says, and heavy Tidings hear!
Unto thy Lord this dreadful Message bring,
From Israel's God, from him who make him King.
—And did I thee my Peoples Captain make,
For this—the Crown for this from David take!
O how unlike!—For me he serv'd and fear'd,
Obey'd my Precepts, and my Laws rever'd:
Thy Faults have drown'd their Crimes that reign'd before,
Thou and thy Land new golden Gods adore:
Nor unreveng'd shall thy Transgression go,
Soon will I thee and all thy House o'rethrow;
Like Dung remov'd from Earth's polluted Face;
By him whom I'll exalt to fill thy Place:
Already is the kindled Wrath begun,
Already has it seiz'd thy darling Son,
No longer yours, he dies at thy Return,
And Israel his untimely Fate shall mourn:
He only to the Grave in Peace descends,
A happy Death his pious Life attends,
The rest, as fits their Crimes, reserv'd for dreadful Ends.
Her Son and Husband die, and Nadab's slain,
Nor did one Branch of all their impious House remain.
CLXVIII. 1 Kings, Chap. XVI. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 19.
Baasha's Reign and Death, Elah succeeds him, and is slain by Zimri, who kills himself.
As he began, in War and Blood he reign'd.
On Jeroboam's House did Vengeance take,
But cou'd not his convenient Gods forsake:
The Grave at length the mighty Chief receives,
To Elah he his Crimes and Kingdom leaves;
Who swiftly with his Father's House declines,
Unkingly Luxury to Idols joyns:
To Arzah's Seat he from the Court retires,
And there his Blood with potent Liquor fires:
Arzah, with richest Wines profusely stor'd,
A drunken Steward, worthy such a Lord.
The Royal Debauchee the Goblet plies,
His Face a Flame, and red his sparkling Eyes;
Stumbled his Tongue in many a fruitless Boast,
His fault'ring Feet, and delug'd Reason lost:
Tho' scarce alive, for Death how ill prepar'd!
When furious Zimri, Captain of his Guard
Springs in abrupt, his Master wou'd have spoke,
But hasty Death th'unfinish'd Accents broke,
And Blood, and Brains, and Wine pursu'd the fatal Stroke.
Sev'n Days (an Age for such a Tyrant) reign'd.
Against strong Gibbethon the People fought,
When Fame the Tidings to their Leaguer bought,
The Treason they unanimous abhorr'd,
And vow'd for their assassinated Lord
Severe Revenge; to Omri, Firm and Brave,
By general Vote the dubious Crown they gave;
From Gibbethon he with his Army rose,
To Tirzah he by speedy Marches goes,
Within whose Walls his Rival they enclese:
With jealous Eyes, the conscious Wretch survey'd
The Gates and Tow'rs, the Soldiers largely paid,
Yet yet soon the Traitor is himself betray'd:
While to secure a distant Gate he flies,
The Guards admit their friendly Enemies:
He heard, and to the Palace thence retir'd,
Whose lofty Top above the Town aspir'd,
And o're his Head the stately Building fir'd:
Nor Omri! shalt thou this enjoy, he cries,
Amid the crackling Flames too well the Traitor dies.
CLXIX. 1 Kings, Chap. XVI. from Ver. 23. to Ver. 33. Chap. XVII. to Ver. 6.
Ahab's wicked Reign. Elijah prophesies a Drought. He is fed by Ravens.
Still farther from their Father's God decline:
Not one of all their Kings to make a stand,
And by Repentance save the guilty Land:
None cou'd but Ahab, Omri have out-done,
An impious Father, and a viler Son:
Of vulgar Wickedness he's weary grown,
And wants some new Damnation, all his own;
Tho' soon his Wants by Jezebel supply'd,
Enough enrich'd by his fair Tyrian Bride,
Her Dowry was Idolatry and Pride;
Her Country's Manufacture, plenteous there,
With all the Neigb'ring Lands unenvy'd share;
Baal, whom his peaceful Bolts and Crown adorns,
And fair Astarte, with her Silver Horns.
A Colony of Priests her Father gave,
(Gods must have Priests, or Priests no Gods wil have)
Tho' these with Jeroboam's scarce unite,
For Bethel pleads Priority of Right,
The golden Calves against the Heifer fight.
His once-lov'd Flock, whom treach'rous Guides deceive:
The Great Elijah, arm'd with Zeal and Flame,
To Shemir's rising Walls from Gilead came,
And from the Lord of Hosts did War proclaim:
Not Ahab's self th'undaunted Prophet spar'd,
But to his Face the hov'ring Plague declar'd:
Lean Famine thro' th'Apostate Land shall pass,
And burning Drought devour the rising Grass:
Thrice shall the Sun his annual Course renew,
Nor drink one fragrant Drop of morning Dew:
No gentle Rain distilling from on high;
A dusky brazen Earth, an Iron Sky;
Such Judgments wait Idolatry—he said,
And from the moody Tyrant's Vengeance fled;
To Cherith's Silver Torrent did repair,
At pow'rful Heav'ns Command sustain'd by Ravens there.
CLXX. 1 Kings, Chap. XVII. from Ver. 7. to Ver. 16.
Elijah reliev'd by a Widow: Her Barrel of Meal and Cruse of Oyl multiplied.
Are vanish'd now, and Cherith is no more:
If Heav'n th'exhausted Fountains not supply,
How soon are all our mortal Comforts dry!
Yet where the Event by Providence decreed,
The most unlikely means shall oft succeed;
And a poor Widow must Elijah feed.
At Heaven's command he to Sarepta goes,
And does in the broad Gates himself repose:
The Widow came by whom he must be fed,
And in her careful Hand her Son she led,
O happy Age! How free from Sins and Cares!
He smiles, and neither Drought not Famine fears,
The thirsty Prophet calls, and begs she'd bring
A Draught of War from the neighb'ring Spring;
Which under hoary Libanus did rise,
Whose ample Caverns yet afford Supplies:
With courteous Haste to his Relief she fled,
Agen the Prophet calls and asks for Bread;
As gen'rous Minds that wou'd, but can't relieve:
A little Oyl and Meal was all her Store,
A poor Reserve, nor cou'd she hope for more:
She this prepares to dress, when this was done,
Herself a Prey to Famine, and her Son:
Give to the Winds thy Fears the Prophet said,
The lib'ral Soul was ne're in want of Bread:
The Meal shall still afford mirac'lous Food,
The Cruse of Oyl from secret Springs renew'd;
Till Heav'n appeas'd, with large and bounteous Hand,
Shall Rains bestow to sate the thirsty Land:
He said, and she her ready Faith affords,
The great Event fulfill'd the Prophet's words:
Thus was her hospitable Bounty bless'd,
And thus the more she gave, the more she still possess'd.
CLXXI. 1 Kings, Chap. XVII. from Ver. 17. to the End.
Elijah restores the Widow's Son to Life.
Her humble Roof in so divine a Guest!
With such a Guard can she have ought to fear,
Or can Misfortune dare to enter here?
But to a better World reserves her Reign;
Tho' from the Dust she often takes her rise,
Still circling nearer to her native Skies;
By an Eclipse more Venerable made,
More bright emerges from an envious Shade.
Is snatch'd away; her Ages Staff is broke;
With loud Complaints she to the Prophet ran,
And thus she with a burst of Tears began;
Why hast thou call'd to mind those Ills I've done,
And why just Heav'n provok'd to slay my Son?
His Heart was touch'd with sympathetic Grief,
But Pray'r for both their Sorrows finds Relief;
To Heav'n he flies, and thus his Suit preferr'd,
—Alrighteous Judge, whose Sentence never err'd!
If sinful Dust and Ashes may presume,
Why meets this Innocent so harsh a Doom?
What must be theirs who Friendships Laws invade?
What Punishment for him who has his Guest betray'd?
O rather boundless Pity, boundless Pow'r,
The Soul which thou hast call'd, agen restore!
While this below, those glorious Forms above,
Mild Mercy, sweet Compassion, radiant Love,
Who helpless Widows and poor Orphans aid,
Besieg'd the Throne, and to the Father pray'd:
He yields, and calls the Soul but new undress'd,
And scarcely seated yet among the bless'd;
Bids it to Life and mortal Cares return,
Nor let th'afflicted Mother longer mourn:
With longing Eyes those happy Seats survey'd,
It bow'd, and then unwillingly obey'd;
Descending did with Horror first Survey
That Lump of cold disanimated Clay;
It must agen, at Heav'ns Command, inform,
Re-entring slow, the Limbs agen grew warm,
The chearful Blood its wonted Channels found,
—He sigh'd at length, and look'd amaz'd around;
But more his Mother, when the Prophet bore
The twice-born Youth, and did to her restore:
Wonder at once and Terror, Joy and Fear,
Exactly mingled in her Face appear;
I know, she said, that you from Heav'n are sent:
Your Mission true by this authentic Sign,
From God, from God you come, your Words are All divine.
CLXXII. 1 Kings, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 16.
Obadiah hides the Prophets in Caves: He meets Elijah.
Of all her wasted Country's Plagues the worst,
Ahab, to Murther and to Mischief prone,
She to his Ruin urges and her own:
With such a Friend to all her black Designs,
She Persecution to her Idols joyns:
Who e're the King's Religion dar'd oppose,
Are doom'd to Death, proscrib'd for public Foes:
God's Prophets who her Idols still withstand,
Pursu'd with Fire and Sword around the Land:
Where e're the Heretic is found, he dies,
To Baal and Ashtaroth a Sacrifice:
But Virtue ev'n in Tyrants Courts has Friends,
And pious Obadiah them defends;
Forc'd from their Colleges their Wants relieves,
At once Provision and Protection gives.
An Hundred from the gen'ral Wreck remain'd,
Whom he in subterranean Vaults sustain'd:
Whence fearless wading thro' the gloomy Night;
He tempts alone, the doubtful deep descent,
And to his refug'd Friends with kind Refreshments went.
Thro' the blind Grott he oft Relief conveys,
And oft returns thro' secret winding ways;
Thus long eludes the jealous Tyrant's Cares,
Who now a Progress thro' the Land prepares,
For his half-perish'd Steeds relief to find,
And save what Drought and Famine left behind.
A diff'rent Course he bids his Servant steer,
Happy, the Tyrant was no longer near!
Proceeding, soon he did Elijah meet,
And prostrate on the Ground embrac'd his Feet;
Who bids him to the wand'ring Prince repair,
And let him know Elijah waits him there:
He thus returns—thro' all the Nations round,
Which our unhappy famish'd Country bound,
My Lord has search'd in vain, but no Elijah found:
If I the News of his Arrival bring
To our enrag'd and disappointed King;
While thee the sacred Spirit far hence shall bear
Thro' distant Fields, or else sublime in Air,
Thy Servant's Life th'Inhuman will not spare:
And was it never to Elijah shown,
(Or can there ought to him remain unknown?)
When Jezebel the Prophets did pursue,
And with insatiate Rage proscrib'd and slew;
How many I preserv'd—which all must die,
If I am lost and they have no supply.
Dismiss thy Fears, he said—So God to me,
Unless this Day thy angry Lord I see:
To Ahab strait he with the Message went,
And brought him half displeas'd, and half content;
But what their mutual Salutations were
The Verse awhile must breath, and then at large declare.
CLXXIII. 1 Kings, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 17. to Ver. 39.
Ahab's Discourse with Elijah. The heavenly Fire consumes the Prophet's Sacrifice on Mount Carmel, &c.
The Messenger of Heav'n, and thus he said;
Art thou the Traitor, insolent and vain,
Who dar'st a diff'rent God from mine maintain,
To nourish Faction, and disturb my Reign?
With Thunder in his Voice, and Lightning in his Eyes;
'Tis thou, lost Prince! and thy devoted Line,
Who from th'Almighty's sacred Laws decline,
That fill with weighty Plagues th'Apostate Land,
Which all your helpless Idols can't withstand:
But if thy Priests their Worship dare defend,
For all their num'rous Seminary send;
To Carmel let 'em with the Tribes repair,
Nor single shall I fear to meet 'em there;
—“He said, with such a Voice and such an Air
As shook the King, his conscious Heart gave way,
He own'd Superior Pow'r, and dar'd not but obey.
They came, and see the spatious Mountain's Head
Is with innumerable Thousands spred;
To whom Elijah fervent thus apply'd.
—How long will you your dubious Faith divide?
If Baal be God, your Father's God disdain,
If not, adore th'unutterable Name!
With Guilt confounded they and silent stood,
When thus the Prophet his Discourse pursu'd.
I only for the Lord of Hosts appear,
But Baal can shew almost an Army here.
T'invoke their God with Sacrifice and Pray'rs!
The same to Israel's awful Pow'r will I,
And he who shall by heavenly Fires reply,
Be own'd of all the true Divinity!
The Motion pleas'd; who e're was in the wrong,
The stiff-neck'd People still for Wonders long.
The Pomp of Baal's Procession first proceeds,
The Chemarim array'd in Sable Weeds:
With many a mystic Dream and Paynim rite,
The Victim slay, and thund'ring Baal invite:
The resty God did silent still remain,
Their barb'rous Yells and secret Names in vain:
Louder, yet louder, says the Prophet, call!
Such Whispers ne're can reach your slumb'ring Baal:
Or in deep Thoughts engag'd he makes you stay,
Revolving on the Bus'ness of the Day;
Or of his Fellow-Gods he Counsel takes,
Pursues his Foes, or some long Journey makes.
Agen they cry, agen their Throats they strain,
And discipline their Flesh, but all in vain:
Like Franticks, on their Altar leap and bound,
Stain'd with the Blood that gush'd from many a fruitless Wound:
The Victim slain, the Turf the Prophet press'd,
And thus to Israel's Fear with fervent Vows address'd.
“That thou art Israel's God, and thou alone:
“That I thy Servant, not in vain pretend,
“Thou me didst to thy once lov'd People send:
“O turn their Hearts, thy banish'd Truth restore,
“And in thy Seat let Idols reign no more.
And Lightnings thro' illumin'd Ether fly,
Shooting direct, they to the Altar came,
Nor Flesh, nor solid Stones resist the Flame;
Nor cou'd the Water which surrounds the Trench,
Lick'd up like Dust th'etherial Vigour quench:
Prostrate on Earth the trembling People fell,
The Lord is God they cry, the God of Israel!
CLXXIV. 1 Kings, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 39. to the End. Chap. XIX to Ver. 8.
Baal's Priests are slain. Jezebel threatens Elijah. He is fed by an Angel, &c.
And all the Idol Priests he seiz'd and slew:
Just Heav'n atton'd with such a Sacrifice,
Unlocks the Winds and spreads with Clouds the Skies,
Which bellying low not long their freight sustain,
But burst in sounding Show'rs of welcom Rain:
To Jezreel's Gate the fearless Prophet goes,
So Heav'n commands, and dares his impious Foes:
Nor this the Tyrant's haughty Consort bore,
But by her vanquish'd Gods enrag'd she swore,
That he who dar'd her sacred Priests invade,
Shou'd soon himself like one of them be made,
A lifeless Trunk, a fleeting empty Shade.
So fairly warn'd he to Beersheba fled,
The way that to the Southern Desert led:
Beneath a spreading Juniper he lay,
To rest his fainting Limbs, and shun the scorching Day.
With Lives Fatigue and fruitless Labours tir'd,
A kind Dismission he from Heav'n desir'd:
If this short Rest so sweet, how those are bless'd,
In Abraham's Bosom who securely rest!
Such were his Thoughts, when by a kind surprize,
Soft balmy Slumbers seiz'd his weary Eyes:
Nor long he slept, when loe an Angel came,
Adorn'd in Robes of Light, and wing'd with Flame;
And banish from his Eyes the bashful Shade:
Gently he rais'd, and shew'd a Table spread,
With Eden's Nectar, and Ambrosial Bread:
Celestial Food from mortal Dregs refin'd,
At once it chears the Body and the Mind.
He eats, but soon agen his Head reclin'd;
Agen the Cherub softly touch'd his side,
And for no common Journey bids provide:
He rose, and of the heav'nly Feast did eat,
And thence, supported by the wond'rous Meat,
Full forty Days the barren Desert trac'd,
Nor once did Bread or cooling Water taste;
Till Horeb's sacred Mount his Sandals press'd,
And in a shady Grot his weary Limbs did rest.
CLXXV. 1 Kings, Chap. XIX. from Ver. 9. to Ver. 19.
God appears to Elijah, and commands him to anoint Hazael, Jehu and Elisha.
'Twas God that call'd and said, What dost thou here?
He thus—A Loyal Zeal did me enflame,
Dread Lord of Hosts, for thy dishonour'd Name:
Thy sacred Altars to the Ground have thrown;
Thy Cov'nant have they broke, thy Prophets slain,
And only I, unhappy I remain:
My envy'd Life their cruel Hands invade,
And force for Refuge to this Desart-Shade.
“Go forth, said God, and on the Mount appear,
I'll meet thee there, and thou my Will shalt hear:
When loe a boist'rous Whirl-wind rushes by,
And ploughs the Sand, and drives the troubled Sky:
The Rocks and Mountains by its Force are torn,
Thro' frighted Air like Dust their Fragments born:
Tho' loud the Noise, yet God himself's not there,
The Whirl-wind only is his Harbinger:
Earth hears the Tumult in the ruffled Skies,
From her deep Caves imprison'd Tempests rise;
Nature's eternal Gates and Bars remove,
To joyn their Fellow-Mutineers above:
The Realms of venerable Night display,
And gild the brown Abyss with hateful Day:
While Seeds of Fire awak'd through the broad Crater rise,
In Pyramids of Flame, and sally on the Skies:
Nor Fire, nor Earthquake, did the God confess,
His Pow'r, but not his Goodness these express:
Calm were the Winds, and hush'd the Thunders noise,
When next a gentle and harmonious Voice:
The trembling Prophet heard and did prepare,
He veil'd his Face, and knew that God was there.
Agen th'Eternal asks, from whence, and why
He came, the Prophet makes the same reply.
To whom the Sov'reign Arbiter rejoyn'd,
Thou shalt have Rest, thy Foes my Wrath shall find:
The spatious Way which will to Syria bring,
Pursue, and there anoint fierce Hazael King:
The Son of Nimshi Israel's Captain make,
Who just Revenge on Ahab's House shall take:
Elisha to thy Office shall succeed,
To wear thy Mantle he by Heav'n decreed:
By Jehu shall they fall who Hazael fly,
Who scape his Sword shall by Elisha die.
Yet have I left me, tho' to thee unknown,
A faithful Few whose Hearts are all my own:
Sev'n thousand Names who ne're wou'd prostrate fall,
To Israel's Shame, or kiss the Lips of Baal.
And Heav'ns Instructions he with ready Zeal pursues.
CLXXVI. 1 Kings, Chap. XX.
The War with Benhadad. The Syrians discomfited.
To try if Israel's Sons wou'd yet Repent.
A mighty Host insulting Syria brings,
Of more than Thirty tributary Kings:
Samaria's Walls his num'rous Troops invest,
On ev'ry side the Town is closely press'd:
To Ahab he a threatning Message sends,
That all was his by Conquest's Right pretends:
Unsafe within his Ill-defended Town,
The Tyrant scarce his Palace calls his own.
The heaviest Tribute not denys to pay,
Compell'd he must Superior Pow'r obey:
Nor this the Syrian Monarch cou'd appease,
He'll ransack all, and plunder where he please:
When those unreasonable Terms deny'd,
(War cou'd not worse) for War they both provide:
The Sword at last the Diff'rence must decide.
Enrag'd the haughty Son of Hadad calls,
For Rams and huge Machins to shake the Walls.
Resolves once more the gentle Paths to try;
To try if Mercy were not yet in vain,
And cou'd backsliding Israel's Hearts regain:
Agen a Prophet sent to Omri's Heir,
Did this glad unexpected Message bear:
That num'rous Host which lay encamp'd around,
Like Troops of Locusts, blackning all the Ground;
Shou'd prove a Prey to Israel's conqu'ring Sword,
And let them know Jehovah was the Lord;
The Pages only shou'd begin the Fight,
And tempt at once, and break the Syrian Might:
Their small Detachment sallies not in vain,
Sev'n Thousand harness'd Warriors these sustain,
Of Israel's Myriads now no more remain.
The Syrian Guards attack'd, with ease they slew,
The rest to their disorder'd Camps pursue:
Confusion, Terror, Fear they with 'em bring,
And in his Tent almost surpriz'd the King:
He reels to Horse, which bears him swift away,
And helpless Foot and Camp the Victor's Prey:
The vanquish'd always some Excuse have made,
And on the Gods is their Misfortune laid:
The Gods of Israel did in Hills delight,
(Their Laws declar'd on Sinai's sacred Height)
The Syrians there with Disadvantage fight:
To tempt their Fortune the succeeding Year.
By Nature's narrow Limits unconfin'd:
By Israel's feeble Force their Troops are slain,
And Hundred-thousand Syrians load the Plain:
The rest to Aphek fled, secure they lay,
Till the false Walls like Jericho's gave way;
With hideous Crack they bear 'em to the Ground,
And Thousands in one Grave and Death confound.
Their King himself as Base as Proud before,
With mean Submission did for Life implore;
Which Ahab grants, altho' his own 'twill cost,
And Syrian Treaties gain, what they by War had lost.
CLXXVII. 1 Kings, Chap. XXI.
Jezebel murthers Naboth for his Vineyard. Elijah denounces God's Judgments against Ahab and his House. Ahab humbles himself, &c.
Tasts not her own, and yet still gapes for more.
On Naboth's Vineyard, Ahab casts his Eye,
And to enlarge his Garden fain wou'd buy:
With Female Grief his Disappointment mourns:
Upon his Bed the wayward Tyrant thrown,
Neglects his Food, and sees and speaks with none;
Till he the weighty Cause at length declares
To Jezebel, who scarce from smiles forbears,
Her manlier Mischief chides the Monarch's Cares:
Art thou the King of Israel?—thus she said,
I'll soon the Vineyard give, and give the Traitor's Head:
In Ahab's Name the Queen an Order sends
To Jezreel's Nobles, her confiding Friends,
The Sum, that Naboth and his Sons must die,
Accus'd of Treason and of Blasphemy.
Too soon the Loyal Murtherers obey,
And take at once their Life and Fame away;
Their Land devolv'd by Treason to the Crown,
The Tyrant seiz'd, and cheaply made his own.
As he with barb'rous Joy his Prize survey'd,
And walk'd beneath the Vineyards leavy Shade,
Pale with Suprize he the Great Tishbite met,
And soon did all his pleasing Thoughts forget;
When thus Elijah—Cruel and Profane!
And hast thou thus the guiltless Naboth slain!
Suborn'd his Murther and his Land possess'd!
—Enjoy thy Conquest then, but hear the rest!
His Limbs expos'd to rav'nous Hounds a Prey,
Thy Blood, Yes Tyrant! thine for his shall pay.
When Ahab thus, confus'd with Guilt and Fear,
—O my Ill Genius! hast thou found me here?
Yes, I have found thee, he severe pursu'd,
O sold to Sin, and lost to all that's Good!
Yet hear what farther for thy House design'd,
Still deeper Woes, and weightier Plagues behind!
'Tis God that says he will thy Line displace,
And ease the World of all thy vip'rous Race:
Thy House like Jeroboam's shall become,
Nor Baasha's fell by a severer Doom:
So high thy daring Provocations grown,
So black the Sins of Israel, and thy own.
—Nor shall the Wretch that shares thy Crimes and Throne,
False Jezebel escape, well worthy thee,
In Pride, in Malice, and in Cruelty:
The Dogs by Jezreel's Walls her Flesh shall tear,
And all thy impious Brood her Fate shall share.
Trembling and pale; his Royal Robes he rent,
And Sackcloth wore, and did almost Repent.
Nor this to that Almighty Pow'r unknown,
Who all surveys from his celestial Throne;
His own lov'd People plagues for their Offence,
Rewarding ev'n imperfect Penitence:
For this to Ahab a Reprieve he gave,
And his devoted House to future Reigns did save.
CLXXVIII. 1 Kings, Chap. XXII. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 23.
Ahab prepares to recover Ramoth-Gilead. He makes an Alliance with Jehoshaphat: Sends for Michaiah, who fore-tells his Defeat and Destruction.
Yet impious Ahab, Ahab still remains:
Almost too ripe for Ruin now he's grown,
By Jezebel's Offences and his own;
Urg'd by his Fate, with Syria War declares,
And for a vigorous Campaign prepares;
Ramoth a Frontier-Town, they still retain,
The Faith of Treaties Israel pleads in vain:
The King of Judah in the Quarrel joyn'd,
Betwixt the Rival-Crowns a League is sign'd:
Unless the Lord of Hosts the Cause maintain:
His pow'rful Aid did Judah's King desire,
And e're they mov'd wou'd at his Word enquire:
For all his Herd of Prophets Ahab sends,
And these th'Interpreters of Heav'n pretends:
The Monarchs with their proud Regalia grac'd,
Before the Gates on splendid Thrones are plac'd:
The mimic Prophets came, a fawning Crowd,
Long live the Kings they cry'd, and at their Footstools bow'd:
Nothing but Well their Auguries declare,
The Fates consulted bode a prosp'rous War:
Nor Asa's Son did their Responses please,
Who thro' their fulsom Flatt'ry saw with Ease;
And is there none, concern'd he asks, but these?
There is, says Ahab, but the Wretch I hate,
Prophet of Ill, he still fore-bodes my Fate.
Micaiah is his Name; for him they send,
While glorious Triumphs all the rest portend:
Amid the shouting Crowd Micaiah came,
And with sarcastic Smiles fore told the same,
Till by the Great unutterable Name
Adjur'd, th'ungrateful Truth no more denies,
But to the Monarch cautious thus replies,
I saw all Israel's Army scatter'd wide,
Around the Hills, like Sheep without a Guide,
—Sound a Retreat, the God of Battles cry'd,
The Crown is faln, their Master is no more.
And thus to Judah's thoughtful Prince returns:
I knew before his canker'd Heart too well,
I knew th'Ill-omen'd Bird wou'd Plagues fore-tell.
And thus in lively Schemes th'Event fore-shows:
I saw th'Angelic Guards, which these out-shone
As Stars to Dust:—With dazling Glories crown'd,
Thus spake the Lord to those that waited round:
Is any here who Ahab will persuade,
And make him Ramoth's fatal Walls invade,
That his just Doom no longer be delaid?
When a malignant Spirit who slily press'd,
Disguis'd in Seraphs Robes among the Bless'd,
To Mischief prompt, the wish'd Employment chose,
And to the Fane of Baal the Demon goes;
There in his gilded Image safe resides,
Thence unperceiv'd amongst his Prophets glides:
They feel their Breasts with furious Rapture fir'd,
And with Orac'lous Lies are all inspir'd.
Thus does the Fiend their venal Tongues imploy
Their Patron to deceive, and then destroy:
The Sword of Vengeance hovers o're thy Head:
No Force can she from Heav'ns just Wrath defend,
Prepare, Unhappy Prince, to meet a dreadful End!
CLXXIX. 1 Kings, Chap. XXII. from Ver. 26. to Ver. 38.
Micaiah imprison'd. The War with Syria. Jehoshaphat in danger. Ahab slain.
Hence with th'Impostor! let the Traitor die!
Nor Scoffs, nor cruel Taunts were wanting there,
Nor cou'd the Zealots ev'n their Hands forbear:
On his own Ruine obstinately bent,
The King awards, and he's to durance sent:
With slender Fare the Prophet's doom'd to mourn,
Till crown'd with Laurels he in Peace return:
He stems 'em all, and stands th'impetuous Shock,
So break the clam'rous Waves against a Rock.
O Israel hear, (as him they force away,
And to the Dungeon bound in Chains convey;)
Yet hear, he cries—If e're agen he come
From Ramoth's Walls with Peace and Triumph home;
That God did me on this dread Message send:
Then to Confinement goes with chearful Heart,
Not so to War did Israel's King depart:
Ill-boding Fears his conscious Soul surprize,
And Naboth's Ghost still shoots before his Eyes:
Nor dares he at his Armies Head appear,
By his ill Genius told his Fate was near:
In vulgar Armour dress'd, the King denies,
Obscurely sculking in a mean Disguise.
How vainly Man from Destiny wou'd run!
Fate were not Fate, if in our Pow'r to shun:
His Friend expos'd, whose Kingly Mind was clear
From treach'rous Guilt and from unmanly Fear,
And undisguis'd he plung'd into the War.
But, ah! almost he had too dearly paid,
For his kind League and unavailing Aid;
Hemm'd in by more than Thirty Syrian Lords,
To Heav'n, he cries, which turns their Hearts and Swords.
As thro' the Battel hurry'd by the Throng:
From place to place he on his Chariot flies,
And on Ignoble Foes his Javelin tries;
A random Shaft his faithless Armor cleft,
Deep-buri'd in his Breast the deadly Point is left:
And bids th'affrighted Driver turn the Rein:
Soon his despairing Soul reluctant fled,
Where Kings are number'd with the vulgar Dead:
Around their Master his Domestics mourn,
And with the bleeding Body home return;
Then to the Crystal Stream, his Armour bore,
And Chariot, both deform'd with clotter'd Gore,
A Feast for rav'nous Hounds, as Naboth! thine before.
CLXXX. 1Kings, Chap. XXII. from Ver. 51. to the End; and 2 of Kings, Chap. I.
Ahaziah's wicked Reign. He falls from a Window, sends to enquire of Beelzebub. Elijah fore-tells his Death. He calls for Fire from Heaven, &c.
Who not degen'rates from curst Omri's Race:
What most commends his Reign is its short Date,
How Criminal, and how Unfortunate!
As gazing careless o're his Palace-Walls,
Prodigious Height! he from the Window falls:
His nobler Parts are bruis'd, hard comes his Breath,
And ev'ry Symptom promis'd speedy Death:
The Leeches but in vain their Cares apply,
Mock'd by th'increasing stubborn Malady:
Earth cou'd not aid, in Heav'n he had no Friends,
Despairing he to Hell for Counsel sends;
To Belzebub, whom Ekron's Sons adore
With horrid Victims, and with human Gore:
The breathless Messengers Elijah meets,
From angry Heav'n with dreadful Tidings greets:
“To Ekron's Temple, and consult the Fiend?
“No more the King shall from his Bed descend:
“Go tell your Lord, a Greater Lord than he
“Has seal'd his Fate and does his Death decree.
Th'unpleasing Tidings to their Master bear:
A rev'rend Sire they met, with awful Grace,
And something more than human in his Face:
His rough and hairy Garment swept the Ground,
And his strong Loins a leathern Girdle bound.
Elijah by their Character he knew,
He sigh'd, and fear'd his Words wou'd soon be true:
With feeble Voice he sends his Guards away,
To bring him to the Court without delay:
They find the Prophet seated on a Hill,
Their Captain roughly tells the Prince's Will:
Elijah calls from Heav'n a fiery Show'r,
Whose scalding Drops his Troops and him devour:
A second Fifty with their Leader came,
Unwarn'd by others Harms, their Fate the same:
A Third is on the hopeless Message sent,
Who o're his Fellow's Ashes trembling went:
His Party left, he to the Prophet goes,
And only wou'd his single Life expose:
Interpreter of Heav'n! he kneeling cries,
From these and me avert thy angry Eyes!
Which lost, if we our Orders not obey!
An Angel whispers in the Prophet's Ear,
And bids him with 'em go, and nothing fear:
Arriv'd at Court he to the Monarch went,
Repeats the Message he before had sent,
Nor long his Threatnings did fore-go th'Event:
Th'unhappy Prince, unbless'd and undesir'd
Finish'd his short-liv'd Reign, and with a Groan expir'd.
CLXXXI. 2 Kings, Chap. II. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 8.
Elijah divides Jordan.
Whom God resolves he'll now to Heav'n translate:
From Gilgal he his Steps for Bethel bends,
Faithful Elisha at his side attends;
Both lov'd of Heav'n, and undivided Friends:
In vain he begs he'd there himself repose,
He presses on, and down to Bethel goes:
A num'rous College of the Prophets there;
To thoughtful Eliseus they repair,
And ask him if he knew that this the Day,
When God his Master wou'd to Heav'n convey?
Replies the Saint, and bids 'em speak no more!
To Jericho their Journey they pursue,
Elijah there does his Request renew;
Agen the Son of Shaphat him deny'd,
The same the Prophets warn, and he the same reply'd:
Forward they move to Father-Jordan's Flood,
Far off the Prophet's Sons admiring stood;
When now the rising Waves their Sandals meet,
And crowd each other on to touch their Feet,
Elijah his Prophetic Mantle took,
And lifting high th'obedient Waters strook:
They knew the Signal and their Streams divide,
A wond'rous Path appears from side to side:
Bare on the Sand the gasping Fishes lay,
Their secret Beds reveal'd to conscious Day;
The Friendly Pair securely hastens o're,
And tempt a Path which once was only mark'd before.
CLXXXII. 2 Kings, Chap. II. from Ver. 9. to Ver. 12.
Elijah carry'd to Heav'n in a Chariot of Fire.
To Eliseus, thus Elijah said:
What shall I for so just a Friendship pay?
For Heav'n has call'd, I must no longer stay:
When thus to him returns his constant Friend,
O let a double Share on me descend,
Of that prophetic Spirit that warms thy Breast!
No low or vulgar Favour thy Request,
The Tishbite answers; yet thou shalt not want,
Whatever's in Elijah's Pow'r to grant:
Thus far, at least, remain secure,—If me,
When taken to the bless'd, 'tis giv'n to see,
Thou shalt thy own ambitious Wish obtain,
If not, thy Hopes and my Desires are vain.
And of celestial Joys approaching talk'd;
Flam'd the red Axles, and the Wheels were Flame;
The fiery Coursers of th'etherial Breed,
Which on the Hills of beauteous Eden feed:
He mounts the lofty Seat, nor knew to fear,
Great Michael was himself the Charioteer:
Around his Feet tempestuous Whirlwinds play,
O're Pisgah's hoary Top they him convey;
They drive the Clouds before 'em as they run,
And gazing Mortals see a second Sun:
Elisha view'd, with out-stretched Hands he cry'd,
Will Heav'n so fair a Friendship then divide?
O Father! Father! can you leave leave Son?
With you is Israel's Strength and Glory gone:
Heav'ns wide and everlasting Gates unfold;
And as its Favourite was entring there,
While all the bless'd their tuneful Harps prepare,
His Mantle waving drops thro' yielding Air:
Nor needs he that, whom purer Robes adorn,
Than snowy Fleeces, or the rising Morn:
His alter'd Body now so far refin'd,
'Twas all-transparent grown; his God-like mind,
Like noblest Spirits enclos'd in Crystal, shin'd.
And does his own, at once, and Israel's Loss deplore.
CLXXXIII. 2 Kings, Chap. II. from Ver. 14. to the End.
Elisha divides Jordan. Heals the Waters of Jericho. The Children who mock'd him are destroy'd by two she-Bears.
Then with his Mantle to the Stream return'd:
Where is Elijah's God, aloud he cry'd,
And struck the Waves, th'obsequious Waves divide,
The Prophet's Sons who on the distant side
Observ'd th'Event, their rising Master meet,
And own his Mission, prostrate at his Feet:
Then with officious Kindness needs wou'd send,
Thro' Mountains, Fields and Plains, to search his Friend:
In vain they search each Mountain, Field and Plain,
And cross well-weary'd Jordan's Streams again:
As o're the Hills they to the College go,
They make a stand, and view the Plains below:
In spatious Vales large fleecy Housholds play,
Jordan beneath cuts out his winding way;
Here Rabba's Tow'rs, and there th'Arabian Coast,
Until th'unbounded Sight in pleasing Raptures lost.
Return'd, they shew their Lord their happy site,
How bless'd, where Profit mingled with Delight!
But curs'd by Heav'n, the Soil no Product yields,
And brackish Streams divide the barren Fields:
As forth they walk'd to the fair City's Walls,
And Fountains-Head, for Salt the Prophet calls;
He casts it in the Spring, and thus goes on,
—Thus saith the Lord, the mighty Work is done:
Henceforth these Waters I to Health restore,
And Death and barren Land shall be no more:
No vain Presages in his Words were found,
A new and sudden Verdure spreads the Ground:
Their churlish Taste, the Waters soon forgo,
And soft as Streams of Milk and Honey flow:
Thus, for the Prophets, was their Land restor'd,
And thus obedient Nature own'd her Lord.
And as Elisha rais'd the steep Ascent;
A Crowd of Children pouring from the Place,
Rude as their faithless Sires, and void of Grace;
And leudly mock his venerable Age:
He turns and views the Rout with Eyes severe,
And does the righteous Doom of Heav'n declare.
To Beasts of Prey an undisturb'd Retreat:
Here Tygers glare aloft across the Shade,
The Kingly Lion there his Covert made,
And rugged Bears stalk thro' the gloomy Glade:
Two of the last, of an enormous Size,
Rush'd from the Thick, and seiz'd their destin'd Prize,
In vain the Children fill'd the Air with Cries:
Their tender Limbs with ease the Monsters tore,
And dy'd their Muzzles in their reeking Gore;
Whence others learn what Plagues to those are due,
Who Piety, with scorn, and rev'rend Age pursue.
CLXXXIV. 2 Kings, Chap. III.
Jehoram succeeds. The King of Moab revolts from Israel. Miraculous Water fore-told by Elisha. The Moabites destroy'd, &c.
Not virtuous, but less wicked than the rest:
With Baal a Reformation he begins,
But stops at Jeroboam's useful Sins.
Whose Flocks unnumber'd graze the fertile Plains;
And thence his dear-bought Peace with Israel made,
For Tribute twenty Myriads yearly paid,
Shakes off the Yoke, and wou'd no more obey,
His annual Quota he denies to pay:
Jehoram arms, Samaria's Youth he heads,
And to the War against his Rebels leads.
While Judah's facil King too near ally'd,
With dang'rous Kindness still espous'd his side:
Nor over Jordan they attempt to go,
The Foords too strongly guarded by the Foe;
They round the Salt-Sea Plain, and Edom's Coast;
Whose King their Army joyn'd, and on they pass'd,
Through burning Sands and Regions wide and waste,
Where Israel once on Wonders drank and fed,
A Rock their Water gave, and Heav'n their Bread:
But now no cooling Streams their Thirst allay,
Panting with Heat thro' Worlds unknown they stray,
Expos'd the weaker Rebels easie Prey:
To Israel's God at length Jehoram flies,
And has he brought Three Monarchs here, he cries,
And sold 'em to such wretched Enemies?
Nor yet wou'd Judah's pious Prince despair,
So large an Host and not one Prophet there,
Who might enquire of God in their Distress,
And for their common Ills procure Redress?
In happy Hour was Great Elisha nigh,
To whom for help three suppliant Princes fly:
Silent awhile he Israel's King survey'd,
With stern Regards, and thus at length he said;
And, Why to me? Can Baalim help no more?
Thy Fathers and thy Mothers Gods implore!
If Judah were not here, so God to me,
He still pursues, if I thy Face wou'd see.
Then thus the kind Resolves of Heav'n express'd.
Which never yet refreshing Streams did taste;
Scorch'd like Gomorrah's Fields—this sandy Plain,
Without the needless help of Clouds or Rain,
With Water soon for all your Camps shall flow;
Nor only this, I'll greater Wonders show;
Your Arms shall a triumphant Conquest gain,
While Moab's Sons resist your Arms in vain:
Nor that false Race with cruel Pity spare,
Lest soon recruited, they renew the War:
No Terms, no Truce, no solemn Oaths believe,
From those who always practis'd to deceive:
Raze, raze their Towns, depopulate their Land,
To long Posterity the faithless Nation brand.
From Edom-ward prodigious Water flows:
The wond'ring Sun with his refracted Beams,
In lively Sanguine paints the crystal Streams:
Moab beheld th'unusual Sight from far,
'Twas Blood they cry'd, the Kings by mutual War
Were faln, and spar'd their Swords the glorious Toil;
They rose, and ran disorder'd on the Spoil;
And on their Rear with doubled Fury fell:
To their defenceless Barriers them pursue,
Almost at once the perjur'd Nation slew:
Their Trees they fell, their lofty Towns they raze,
The Marks of just Revenge to long succeeding Days.
CLXXXV. 2 Kings, Chap. IV. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 7.
Elisha multiplies the Widow's Oil.
The Poor its Providence and Bounty share:
Three Kings reliev'd by Great Elisha's Pray'r,
A Prophet's Widow to the Prophet came,
Oppress'd at once by Want, and sharper Shame:
While to her pious Consort Life was lent,
With mod'rate Fortunes they remain'd content;
Their lib'ral Hands still open to the Poor,
Who ne're without a Blessing left his Door:
The less cou'd he for his dear Offspring save,
Nor shall they want those Alms their Father gave;
Tho' nothing cou'd the Creditor appease,
Th'inhuman Wretch wou'd them for Bondsmen seize;
And one small Pot of Oil was only left:
When thus the Man of God—It shall suffice,
And th'unexhausted Store afford Supplies:
From every Neighbour and from every Friend,
Around thy House for their Assistance send,
Nor empty Vessels they'll refuse to lend:
T'exclude the curious Gazer, close the Door,
Then all replenish from thy wond'rous Store!
The careful Mother his Commands obey'd:
Behold her busy'd in the pleasing Toil!
Behold a Spring, almost a Sea of Oil
Incessant pouring from her frugal Store,
Till her capacious Urns receive no more.
The Widow to her Benefactor went,
With Tears of Joy relates the strange Event;
With part her Debts discharg'd, by what remain'd
Herself and orphan'd Family sustain'd.
“Have still access to Heav'n, and Faith can find the Door.
CLXXXVI. 2 Kings, Chap. IV. from Ver. 8. to Ver. 37.
A Child giv'n to the Shunamite. Elisha restores it to Life.
When Merit shines in Fortune's golden Light!
When Wealth employ'd to just and noble Ends,
The Succour and Reward of virtuous Friends!
All is not lost that to their Needs is giv'n,
For who obliges them, obliges Heaven.
Above the worthless Crowd as far remov'd
In Merit as Estate—
Whose kindness Eliseus oft did share,
And found an hospitable Welcom there:
Nor this enough, a new Apartment they
Erect and furnish to oblige his Stay:
So oft he call'd, yet ne're too oft did come,
No Coldness there, 'twas now almost his Home;
And to the Lady thus at length express'd,
The Thoughts that labour'd in his grateful Breast.
For all your Care, must no Return be made?
If my small Int'rest can your Suit obtain,
In Camp or Court, you must not ask in vain:
Beyond these Fields we never cast our Eyes;
Pleas'd with a private Station, and content
With what indulgent Heav'n has freely lent.
—And is there nothing can augment your Bliss?
Gehazi hears, and thus—My Lord! there is.
Tho' their paternal Fortunes large and fair,
Their Name must with 'em sink, they want an Heir.
Silent she waits, nor dare her Words request,
What in her modest Blushes stood confess'd:
To whom the Prophet thus—Thy Suit is heard,
Nor to the King of Kings in vain preferr'd:
E're once the Year compleat her circling Race,
A smiling Son shall those glad Arms embrace.
How fain I'd hope, she said, but hardly dare believe:
But in the Court of Heav'n are no Delays,
And what it Promises, it always Pays:
Nine wexing Moons their borrow'd Light had spent,
When to their House the wond'rous Heir is sent:
What festal Joys his welcom Birth proclaim,
How fast he grew, and lisp'd his Mother's Name,
No Time to tell, nor much deserves our Care.
But all our mortal Joys are unsincere:
'Twas now the Time when burning Syrius reign'd,
And of his Tyranny the Fields complain'd:
Which thence to crowded Granaries is born:
The Child did to the neighb'ring Fields repair,
And finds with Smiles his joyful Father there,
Softens his Labours, and allays his Care:
But on his Head with fierce immod'rate Heats,
The Sun high-mounted in the Zenith beats:
His tender Limbs a burning Feaver fries,
His Tongue is parch'd, half-clos'd his heavy Eyes,
Born to his Mother, in her Arms he dies:
No wild Complaints, no fruitless female Tears,
Beneath a Grief and Mind so Great as Hers:
Till she the Prophet found, his Death conceal'd,
And then with doubtful Words but half reveal'd:
With speed return'd, he to his Chamber goes,
And found Death's Iron-Sleep his Eye-lids close:
His Mouth to that of the lov'd Child applies,
And to his own he joyns his slumb'ring Eyes;
Which wak'd from rigid Death's intruding Night,
Look wond'ring round, and feel the chearful Light;
To his glad Mother's Arms he him restor'd,
Low at his Feet she bow'd, and only not ador'd.
CLXXXVII. 2 Kings, Chap. IV. from Ver. 38. to the End.
Elisha heals the Pottage. Feeds a hundred Men with twenty Loaves.
The Prophets Sons attend their Master there:
Jehovah call'd, and loe! at his Command,
A dreadful Famine plagu'd the guilty Land:
Nor he who bounteous Heav'n so oft had try'd,
Cou'd doubt but Heav'n wou'd for his Guest provide:
The Servants range the Woods and search the Fields,
For what uncultivated Nature yields:
Herbs of unwholsom Juices thence they bear,
And for themselves and for the rest prepare,
Who urg'd by Hunger taste the deadly Fare:
Their Error known, they to the Prophet cry'd,
Who taught by Heav'n, did soon a Cure provide:
The Flow'r of Wheat amid the Cauldron throws,
And what was Death before, a Banquet grows,
Its pois'nous Nature alter'd and subdu'd,
A salutary and delightful Food:
Their Wants reliev'd, 'twas now a festal Day:
From Baal-Shalisha's Fields a Stranger sent,
With new Refreshments did the Saint present:
The Famine press'd, he wou'd not hoard his Store,
But dares on Providence rely for more:
With Holy Fruits he bids the Board be spread,
Nor wanted there his small Reserve of Bread:
His Servitor replies—Alas, in vain!
Can we with these an hundred Men sustain?
Dispute not, but obey, his Lord replies,
It shall for all, with over-plus suffice:
They eat,—Behold the wond'rous Store renew,
And larger than the whole the Fragments grew.
Thus Hospitality's the greatest Gain,
And thus a Little bless'd can num'rous Wants sustain.
CLXXXVIII. 2 Kings, Chap. V. from Ver. 1. to the End.
Naaman cur'd of his Leprosie.
Must Heav'ns diffusive Goodness rest confin'd:
The Nations round that healing Pow'r shall own,
Who has in Salem fix'd his radiant Throne:
To hostile Syria's Court his Fame extends,
So shines his Sun, his fruitful Rain descends,
Promiscuous Gifts, on Enemies and Friends:
His Breast adorn'd with honourable Scars;
These from the fierce Arabian Rovers born,
And those not unreveng'd, from Israel worn;
Yet a foul Leprosie deform'd his Skin,
Crept thro' his Veins, and fir'd the Blood within:
A captive Maid from Israel's confines led,
On Naaman's Lady waits, and thus she said:
Ah! wou'd my honour'd Lord and yours repair
To Shemir's Walls, a wond'rous Prophet there
Wou'd heal him soon: Th'important News they bring
To Naaman first, and then to Syria's King:
The haughty Prince to Israel's Monarch sends,
A num'rous Troop his Favourite attends;
Vast Treasures on their Carriages are laid,
O're Lebanon to Isra'l's Land convey'd:
The Message known which Hadad's Son had sent,
Trembling with Rage and Fear his Robes Jehoram rent:
That with a word can kill and raise the Dead?
Can we his Lepers heal!—A mean Pretence,
For Rapine, Blood and War without Offence:
Dismiss, Elisha says, your groundless Fear,
He soon shall know there's yet a Prophet here:
Before his Gates he drives with all his Train,
The fiery Coursers scarce endure the Rein,
They champ the frothy Bit, and paw the Ground,
His splendid Equipage wait silent round:
Go wash thy leprous Limbs in Jordan's Wave!
Sev'n Times the crystal Lavers use renew,
Mirac'lous Health and Ease shall thence ensue.
Is't thus my Master's Friends the Hebrews treat?
From Israel's pow'rful God who rules the Sky,
I look'd for something more august and high:
In his dread Name the Prophet shou'd attend,
And strike the Place, and Health and Beauty send:
Ev'n he must own his Jordan's Current yields
To those that wash my native happy Fields,
Where Pharpar's Streams thro' flow'ry Meadows stray,
And Abana cuts out its winding way.
His wiser Servants mildly interpose;
My Father! had the Prophet deign'd to ask
For thy Recovery some important Task,
'T had been by those resistless Arms atchiev'd;
How easie then to wash and be reliev'd?
A gen'rous Mind can never wander long,
But Truth and Reason weighs, when in the Wrong:
His Passion calm'd, to Jordan he descends,
And Ease, and vig'rous Health his Faith attends:
Return'd, vain Idols vows to serve no more,
But Israel's God with Pray'rs and Sacrifice adore.
CXC. 2 Kings, Chap. VI. from Ver. 3. to Ver. 23.
Elisha discovers the Counsels of Syria to the King of Israel: An Army of Syrians sent to take him. He is defended with Chariots and Horses of Fire, &c.
For Glory and for Empire; mighty Names,
Which oft have set the rival World in Flames!
By frequent Spoils the Land too well they knew,
Nor their Advantage wanting to pursue:
What Posts to seize in Council they agree,
Whence they might most infest their Enemy:
To Israel's Monarch Eliseus sent,
Who more than once appriz'd of their Intent,
The Passes seiz'd and did their Spoil prevent.
As Waves when with tumultuous Waves engag'd,
The disappointed Syrian storm'd and rag'd:
What Traitor has my Counsels thus reveal'd,
Or are you all combin'd that still the Wretch conceal'd!
When thus his Slaves around him crouching say,
A Syrian never cou'd his Lord betray;
But 'tis Elisha has his Master shown,
What only to these Walls before was known.
I'll have the Wizard's Head whate're it cost,
The Tyrant cries, and sends a num'rous Host,
By long and speedy Marches soon invest:
As o're the Hills the blushing Morn arose,
Her Beams their glitt'ring Squadrons first disclose,
When thro' the Gates Elisha fearless goes,
His faithful Servant waiting by his side;
Nor sooner he the Syrian Army spy'd,
Trembling and pale—, Alas my Lord! he cry'd,
Their Host so num'rous, and the Foe so nigh,
What Hope to 'scape, or whither must we fly?
His Master thus—with coward Fear away,
We have a larger Army far than they.
He prays, those Scales remove that veil'd his Sight,
His Eyes are struck with new and wond'rous Light:
He saw the Hills with fiery Chariots spred,
Red were the Steeds, their flaming Manes were Red:
Their deadly Scythes of pointed Lightnings made,
Or borrow'd from the Comets threatning Blade:
So close their Ranks, so deep their Files appear'd,
As their own Heav'n they left without a Guard.
Agen to Heav'n the Man of God preferr'd
His fervent Pray'rs, his fervent Pray'rs are heard:
Who the protected Pair did late surround,
Their Eyes with Darkness seal'd, and Shades profound;
Their Army, now a Rout, is scatter'd wide,
And whom they sought their Prey, implore their Guide:
Their Eyes recover'd when the Prophet pray'd.
O What a Sight! when making first they view'd
Those hostile Walls so oft in Blood embrew'd!
The Guards around in glitt'ring Armour stand,
Each with his Weapon in his strong Right-Hand,
In act to strike; they thought their Prince too slow,
And wait with Pain the Word to give the Blow.
He asks the Prophet, mildly he replies,
And wou'dst thou smite thy captive Enemies?
Th'ungen'rous only with th'unarm'd contend,
And take a Life which cannot theirs offend:
Rather oblige, and home in safety send!
The Not-ill-natur'd Prince his Word obey'd,
A Kingly Feast he for his Captives made;
Then did without a Ransom them release,
And with his Bounty charm'd, to Syria send in Peace.
CXCI. 2 Kings, Chap. VI from Ver. 24. to the End; and Chap. VII.
Samaria besieg'd. The Famine there. The Syrians fly. The unbelieving Lord trod to Death.
The Syrian Monarch with a num'rous Host
Thro' Israel's rifled Tribes came pouring down,
And with a strong Blockade he press'd the Royal Town;
Till meagre Famine did their Walls invade:
Clean and unclean were lost, the vilest Meat,
Ev'n Excrements they now for Dainties eat.
Nature's forgot, the tender Mother's Womb
Does her lov'd Offspring half-alive intomb.
Broken with Ills their wav'ring Prince gave way.
For Heaven's assistance he'll no longer stay:
So God to me and more, enrag'd, he said,
Unless this Day the Son of Shaphat's Head
For all the Mischief we endure, attone,
Prevent my Peoples Ruin and my own.
Nor to the Prophet his Designs unknown;
While Israel's Elders round attentive wait,
He thus pronounc'd the bright Reverse of Fate:
“Has reach'd his Goal, or half his Circuit run,
“I'll bless your crowded Gates with wond'rous Store,
“And Famine shall infest your Walls no more.
Shou'd Heav'n itself its Window open wide,
And rain prodigious Show'rs of Plenty down,
Scarce cou'd it thus relieve the famish'd Town.
Yet thou thy self shalt see it with those Eyes,
The Prophet to the Infidel replies;
But small the Joy thou shalt from thence receive,
Not giv'n to taste what thou wilt not believe:
Th'Event fulfill'd his Words—'twas now the Hour.
When Light and Shades contend with equal Pow'r:
Mix'd with the neighing Coursers warlike Voice
Is heard, a panic Fear from Heav'n is sent,
And wild Confusion runs thro' every Tent.
They rose, they ran, they cry'd for Life, they fled,
Nor look behind; their fansi'd Foes they dread,
And with their Spoils the Road to Jordan spread;
Four Lepers these surprizing Tidings bring,
But find no Faith at first with Israel's King:
'Twas but a Feint, the Foe in Ambush laid,
Wou'd soon agen th'unguarded Gates invade:
Two trusty Spies for sure Advice he sends,
And with impatience their Success attends,
Who soon confirm the Tidings brought before,
The Foe was fled, incredible the Store
They left behind; th'ungovern'd Crowd no more
Wou'd bear Restraint, thro' the broad Gates they pour,
And what they find, by Hunger urg'd, devour:
Pleas'd and displeas'd the King attempts in vain
The Citizens Disorders to restrain:
Th'incred'lous Noble who on him did wait,
He from the Palace sends to guard the Gate:
But all Distinctions lost, he call'd aloud,
Unheard, or unreguarded of the Crowd:
Till born to Earth beneath their Feet he lies,
Fulfils the Prophet's Words, and vainly threatning, dies.
CXCII. 2 Kings, Chap. VIII. from Ver. 7. to Ver. 15.
Elisha fore-tells Benhadad's Death, and that Hazael should be King of Syria, &c.
And hostile Fields, so did high Heav'n dispose,
His Master's great Commission to fulfil,
Long since receiv'd on Horeb's sacred Hill.
Weak on his Couch the Son of Hadad lay,
And linger'd with insensible Decay:
His Robes, his Scepter and his Crown lay by,
Those unavailing Marks of Royalty:
Weak Cordials, and apply'd without Success,
In Mind or Body not one Pang the less:
Of all the suppliant Slaves who him attend,
False Hazael did he to the Prophet send,
Who veil'd the Traitor underneath the Friend:
Loaden with Gifts he on Elisha waits,
At his orac'lous Mouth consults the Fates.
The Son of Shaphat did this Answer give,
By course of Nature still thy Lord may live:
And God has shown me, he shall surely die:
He said, and on the Traitor fix'd his Eye,
Thoughtful he view'd, on future Ills intent,
Till with a Burst of Tears he gives his Passion vent.
—Why weeps my Lord the wily Courtier said,
To whom the Prophet thus—I see and dread
Th'innum'rable Ills the Fates prepare,
And my dear Country from thy Hands must bear:
Nor Sex, nor Age thy cruel Hands will spare.
Their valiant Youth shall by thy Sword expire,
Their Cities wilt thou raze, their Castles fire.
—Am I a Dog, the Peer incens'd replies,
To act such black, such monstrous Villanies?
The Prophet wishes his Presage were vain,
But God had said, he shou'd in Syria reign.
With Looks that falsly promis'd fair Success,
Hazael returning does his Lord address:
His Life, and his Recov'ry both insur'd,
Both by th'unerring Prophet's Word secur'd.
The Morning came, the last that e're must rise
On Hadad's Son, who now by Treason dies:
Thus Vengeance came at last, tho' long delaid,
And Cruelty by Cruelty is paid.
The Truth of righteous Heav'n is clearly shown,
And on the Tyrant's Neck the Traitor mounts the Throne.
CXCIII. 2 Kings, Chap. VIII. Ver. 28, 29. and Chap. IX.
Joram wounded at Ramoth-Gilead. Jehu anointed King. He kills Joram, Ahaziah and Jezebel.
Will pay the Vengeance due to Omri's Line:
While Joram push'd strong Ramoth's Siege, a Place
That still was fatal to his impious Race,
A desp'rate Salley thence the Syrians made,
The wounded King to Jezreel is convey'd;
The while his Army in the Leaguer staid.
Thither a Prophet by Elisha sent,
To Jehu thus disclos'd high Heav'ns intent:
The Lord has thee his People's Captain chose,
Thy Hands shall take Revenge on all his Foes:
For all his Servant's Blood, for those which fell
By Ahab, and by faithless Jezebel:
Their Name to an entire Destruction doom'd,
Like Nebat's Son, or Baasha's Line consum'd:
Nor shall unplagu'd the Royal Murdress stay,
Nor any shall her Fun'ral Honours pay,
Her pamper'd Limbs to rav'nous Hounds a Prey.
Then thro' the Crowd of Warriors broke and fled;
And to their Gen'ral Regal Honours paid.
Nor long the Chief their joynt Desires withstood,
His own Ambition veil'd with publick Good:
To Jezreel he by speedy Marches went,
So swift he drove he did his Fame prevent:
A Cloud of Dust the Centry first espy'd,
Then in full March a num'rous Troop descry'd:
Two Courrier's sent, Intelligence to gain,
The Strangers joyn, and in the Rear remain.
With small Attendance rash Jehoram goes,
By Ahaziah joyn'd, to meet his Foes,
And Jehu fac'd, in that unhappy Field,
Which Naboth only with his Life wou'd yield:
And is it Peace he to the Gen'ral cries?
What Peace canst thou expect, he, stern replies,
When thy lewd Mother's Charms the Throne disgrace,
And call for Plagues on thee and all thy Race?
He heard, his Hand he turn'd, and fled too late,
His Chariot-Wheels too slow for following Fate:
Strong Jehu to the Head an Arrow drew,
Pointed with Death, and singing as it flew:
Guided by Heav'n th'inevitable Dart
Jehoram's Armour pierc'd, and pierc'd his Heart:
Headlong he tumbles from his lofty Seat,
His quiv'ring Feet th'unguided Chariot beat.
Nor cou'd for murther'd Naboth's Life attone:
In vain unhappy Judah's Monarch fled,
By the fierce Guards pursu'd and left for Dead.
And soon at Jezreel's spatious Gates arrives:
As a fell Tygress when her Whelps are slain,
Invades the Hunter's Spear, and does her Life disdain,
So fares fierce Jezebel when Jehu near;
Despair and Rage had left no room for Fear.
From the broad Window she look'd scornful down,
As his hot Wheels invade th'unguarded Town;
—Had trait'rous Zimri Peace, aloud she cry'd,
Whose Hands were in his Master's Murther dy'd?
He only thus—Are none on Jehu's side!
Th'Attendants heard, he bid 'em cast her down:
See where she head-long falls and drops her Crown!
She stains the Pavement with a sanguine Show'r,
And Dogs, as was fore-told, her mangled Limbs devour.
CXCIV. 2 Kings, Chap. X.
Jehu destroys the House of Ahab, and Worshippers of Baal.
Nor half appeas'd was murder'd Naboth's Ghost;
Till Ahab! all thy hateful Race destroy'd,
And Vengeance with repeated Victims cloy'd:
Almost an Hecatomb must now succeed,
And for their Parents Crimes thy seventy Sons must bleed.
To Jezreel's high Estates and Ahab's Friends;
Who their old Master's Sons, as fits their State,
With fruitless Care and Duty educate:
His Letters this surprizing Message bear;
“Since you so well appointed for the War
“With Horse and Arms, a City wall'd and strong,
“Which to your Master's House and Sons belong,
“The best and worthiest of their Number chuse,
“Nor wou'd you such a fair occasion lose,
“To place him firmly on his Father's Throne,
“Your Loyalty at once and Valour shown.
The trembling Burghers Jehu's Message hear;
Too rich to fight, two prudent to be brave,
Wisely they all resolv'd their own to save,
To Jehu a submissive Answer gave.
But 'tis not Words but Deeds must him content,
With speed agen he to Samaria sent,
Their Peace must with the Princes Heads be bought,
Without delay the bloody Present brought:
'Tis done, they at the Gates in Heaps are laid,
Their gastful Visages the Chief survey'd,
And with ungen'rous Smiles he to the People said:
Against my Master I conspir'd, but who
With greater Merit these before us slew?
—But 'tis on Ahab's House the Vengeance due;
For righteous Naboth who unjustly slain,
By Great Elijah not fore-told in vain.
The bitter Cup from Jehu's Hand to share;
Furious he drives, the Ministers of Fate,
Destruction, Slaughter, Death around his Chariot wait.
Nor cou'd the Royal Blood which on the way
They met and drunk, their burning Thirst allay,
Tho' forc'd awhile for Jonadab to stay,
By Jehu call'd, who plac'd him by his side,
At once a Witness of his Zeal and Pride.
While Baal's proud Image trembled as they past:
What e're of Ahab left is now consum'd,
His House to an entire Destruction doom'd:
With Justice next his helpless Gods must fall,
Jehu proclaims a Sacrifice to Baal,
His Priests and Servants to the Feast they call;
Absence was Death, their Idols Fane they crowd,
And sing in barb'rous Hymns his praises loud:
Short was their Mirth; the fierce Reformer came,
And look'd around—his wrathful Eyes shot Flame,
As from black Clouds the flashing Lightning breaks,
Yet thus, his Wrath repress'd, the Paynim-rout bespeaks:
“Let none within these hallow'd Walls remain,
“Whose Presence may our Mysteries profane.
And now the hungry Demons fill the Skies,
And lick the Blood, and taste the grateful Sacrifice.
When Jehu plac'd around a chosen Band,
Of faithful Guards with this severe Command;
If any mark'd for Death escapes away,
Who lets him go, his forfeit Life shall pay.
The signal giv'n the Guards rush fiercely in,
And soon the pious Massacre begin:
The Priests to their polluted Altars fly,
And vainly beg for Life, and meanly die:
Tho' Bodies are on heaps of Bodies pil'd:
Thus Jehu's Zeal and Policy were shown,
Who Heav'ns just Doom fulfill'd, and did attone
For all Idolatry—besides his own:
The Golden Calves his Life and Reign disgrace,
And brought at length a Curse on his devoted Race.
CXCV. 2 Kings, Chap. XIII. from Ver. 10. to the End.
Jehoash reigns. Elisha's Sickness: He prophesies the Discomfiture of Syria, &c.
(His Father dead) and in Samaria reign'd:
But to his Crimes succeeds as well as Throne,
And Jeroboam's Idols made his own:
On ev'ry side press'd by their ancient Foes,
Weaker and still more weak his Empire grows:
Their Guardian Prophet too declining lay,
Thy Strength, Elisha! and thy Spirits decay;
Hardly the Twi-light left of thy once glorious Day!
The King of Israel heard, he left his Throne,
And wept the Prophet's Loss, but more his own:
My Father! O my Father!—thus he cry'd!
Who shall the widow'd Land defend or guide,
And o're his Face a Show'r of Tears he rain'd;
Nor unconcern'd th'expiring Saint remain'd.
He summons all his Force, rais'd on his Bed,
(The last Effort of Life) and thus he said,
Of ev'ry Avenue, prepare to storm my Breast:
Yet sooner shall this lab'ring Breath depart,
Than my dear Country's Love forsake my Heart:
Happy in this, that I my Life shall close,
With fair Presage of Conquest o're their Foes:
A Bow and Arrows brought at his Command,
Upon the Kings he plac'd his trembling Hand:
To East, to Syria-ward, my Liege! he cry'd,
And rais'd his Voice, the fatal Arrow guide!
The Bow-string twangs, and from the Windows height,
The whizzing Shaft pursues its airy Flight:
Agen the Prophet rais'd his drooping Head,
His Eyes confess'd new Life, and thus he said.
Go on, bright Messenger! thy Quarry find,
And for long Triumphs mark a Track behind!
While Syria's boasted Strength like Dust before the Wind.
Once more his Eyes he on the Monarch cast,
These Arrows take and strike, for Life's in haste!
And once, and twice he wond'ring struck and staid:
The Prophet thus—too well the Fate I know
Of Israel's Kings, too easie to their Foe.
How happy, hadst thou dar'd pursue thy Blow?
So had with ease by thy repeated Stroke,
Beyond Recruits the Syrian Arms been broke:
The just Event his true Presages found,
For thrice were Israel's Sons with Conquest crown'd.
Reprieves those Sinners whom he not forgave:
The sacred Contract with their Fathers sign'd,
Tho' they forgot, he still retains in mind:
For his own Honour their Salvation wrought,
Against his Foes at once, and Israel's fought.
“So may'st thou still on thy lov'd People shine!
“Assist their Arms with undeserv'd Success,
“Proud Tyrants humble, and their Rage repress;
“So all the groaning World shall thee their Saviour bless.
CXCVI. 2 Kings, Chap. XIII. Ver. 20, 21.
Elisha's Death and Burial. A dead Man rais'd by touching his Body.
And Angels hymn his Soul to endless Rest:
How long a Pomp his Fun'ral Rites attends,
What Tears were shed by his and Virtue's Friends,
No Time to tell, or with what tuneful Verse
The Prophet's Sons adorn'd their Master's Hearse:
But with a decent Tomb at length they trust,
His lov'd, his dear Remains, and sacred Dust.
The Vulgar and the Great to Earth descend;
How e're unlike their Life, in this the same their End.
Nor long before a base ignoble Name,
Who ne're was worth the Register of Fame;
The many joyn'd, and him his Neighbors bear
Lamenting to his humble Sepulcher:
When loe of Moab's Sons a roving Band,
Who Jordan's Foords had cross'd, invades the Land.
More careful of the Living than the Dead;
But in the Prophet's Tomb with happy haste,
The Carcass yet immovable they cast;
Whose Bones no sooner toucht, to Life he rose,
And from his Iron-Sleep his Eyes unclos'd:
Or from the sacred Corps such Virtue spread,
As ev'n cou'd after Death revive the Dead;
Or rather Heav'n his Virtues did attest,
When his bright Soul was rang'd among the Bless'd.
This, as it will, the Man his Life renew'd,
And shrouded as he was, the Crowd pursu'd:
Shriek'd the Spectators when from Earth he rose,
And dread the Living Ghost beyond th'invading Foes.
CXCVII. 2 Kings, Chap. XVII.
Israel carry'd Captive by Shalmanezer: Strange Nations sent in their rooms, &c.
Now on the Hill of ancient Shemir reign'd:
By Shalmanezer conquer'd, Tribute paid,
Awhile his new Assyrian Lord obey'd:
Weary at length he lays a deep Design
To break his Yoke, and does with Egypt joyn;
Which by Assyria's Partizans disclos'd,
To his Resentments he's agen expos'd:
What crowding Nations with him take the Field,
To whom the Royal Towns compell'd to yield;
Their King in Chains th'Assyrian with him bore,
Nor wou'd he trust the pardon'd Rebel more:
From their dear Native Country far away,
Degenerate Israel's Sons he did convey,
Whence never, never more they must return,
But their lost Seats in endless Exile mourn:
In Halah and in Habor these were plac'd,
These in the Median Towns by Gozan's Stream embrac'd,
That with his own lov'd People thus he broke
His ancient Leagues, and left 'em to their Foe,
For whom so oft he Wonders wont to show?
—'Twas they who on themselves his Wrath pull'd down,
And sold to Ruin their forsaken Town:
Incorrigibly wicked and profane,
His Prophets call'd, himself he call'd in vain:
On ev'ry Hill an Idol-Grove they made,
Beneath each verdant Trees inviting Shade,
Themselves defiling they their Shame ador'd,
The Heathen follow'd, and provok'd the Lord.
But Jeroboam's Calves the casting weight,
Which their swift Ruin brought, and seal'd their Fate:
For this the Nation long of God belov'd,
From their bless'd Land, and from his Sight remov'd;
While to Samaria's Regions in their room,
Large Colonies of barb'rous People come:
From Babel these, and these from Cusha went,
From Hamath others, and from Ava sent,
Or conquer'd Sepharvaim's wasted Land,
Whose Gods too weak th'Assyrian to withstand;
Like those they follow'd, impious and profane,
For this by rav'nous Lions justly slain;
Till their entire Destruction to prevent,
The King an ancient Priest of Bethel sent:
Than what the Heathens knew themselves before.
How richly now is their Pantheon stor'd!
The Calves, their Gods, and Israel's God ador'd:
A diff'rent Pow'r each diff'rent Sept maintain,
And of divided Faith to After-Days remain.
CXCVIII. 2 Kings, Chap. XVIII.
Hezekiah's Good Reign, and Prosperity. Jerusalem besieg'd: Rabshakeh's Blasphemy, &c.
And Sanherib th'Assyrian Scepter wields:
Israel his Predecessor Captive made,
And Judah's Sister Realm his Arms invade:
The same his Hopes, but with unlike Success,
For Hezekiah now the Throne did bless:
To David, not unworthy, he succeeds,
Heir of his Kingdoms and his virtuous Deeds:
High-Places he, the People's Snare, removes,
Their Images he breaks, and fells their Groves:
The brazen Serpent, twenty Ages pass'd,
By mighty Moses in the Desart cast,
With Incense by their stupid Sons ador'd,
While the Grand Serpent hiss'd for Joy, to see
The Gifts of Heav'n abus'd to vile Idolatry;
This, humbled from its heighth, the Prince did take,
With just and pious Zeal to pieces brake.
In Israel's God he trusts, nor trusts in vain,
His Arms succeed, and Dagon's Slaves are slain;
Nor longer wou'd he bear proud Assur's Chain:
Whose Host on Judah like a Torrent pours,
And levels with the Dust their Walls and Tow'rs:
With Presents unappeas'd he hastens on,
His barb'rous Troops invest the sacred Town:
Their Leader Rabshakeh, robust and strong,
Vast was his Trunk, and valiant was his Tongue:
Full of himself and of gigantic Pride,
The bold Blasphemer Earth and Heav'n defy'd;
And thus to Hezekiah's Princes cry'd.
With speed this Message to your Master bear,
The King of Kings Imperial Will declare;
Thou say'st I Counsel have, and Strength for War:
How vain thy Confidence, thy Hopes are vain!
Can Egypt's feeble Succour thee sustain?
False as the Reeds that on their Nilus stand,
At once they break and wound the Leaner's Hand.
That boasted Pow'r that rules both Earth and Sky;
His Altars and High-Places are no more,
Your King has those destroy'd, and bids you here adore.
That God's Commission 'tis I with me bear,
And War from him against your Town declare.
And in their native Speech his Blasphemies express'd.
But yield, and honourable Terms obtain!
Trust not your King, tho' vainly he pretend,
Your God can you against these Arms defend:
Where are the Gods that Hamath's Sons implor'd,
That Arpha, Henah, Ivah once ador'd?
Cou'd these my Master's Force and mine withstand,
Or save their Countries from my conqu'ring Hand!
How then can yours, who now looks frowning down,
And soon must see the Fall of his own sacred Town?
CXCIX. 2 Kings, Chap. XIX. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 34.
Sennacherib's Letter to Hezekiah His Prayer in the Temple: God's Answer by the Prophet Isaiah.
The same the Boasts, the Blasphemy the same:
Nor this unmov'd, the King of Judah read,
In God's bless'd House before his Altar spread,
When humbly prostrate on the Ground he said,
'Tis thou O Lord art God, and thou alone;
By all the Kingdoms of this Earth obey'd,
By thee this Earth and Heav'n of Heav'ns were made:
Bow down thine Ears and let my Pray'rs be heard!
With Eyes of Pity my Distress regard!
Regard th'Assyrians Blasphemy and Pride,
For thee he has reproach'd, and thee defi'd:
His growing Pow'r has laid whole Nations waste,
Into the Flames their helpless Gods has cast;
By stupid Mortals who ador'd 'em fram'd:
O hear and save! save from the Tyrant's Hand,
That all the World may round with Wonder stand:
When thy Salvation seen, compell'd to own,
That thou O Lord! art God, and thou alone.
Nor lost in Air, nor scatter'd into Wind:
A welcom Answer princely ESAY bears,
And thus propitious Heav'ns Resolves declares.
Against proud Assur thee from Heav'n I'll aid:
All otherwise to him the Message sent,
The Truths how terrible! how near th'Event!
Fair Sion's Daughters, Assur! thee deride,
And scorn alike thy threatning Rage and Pride:
Whom does thy Mouth blaspheme and whom despise,
O wretch of harden'd Face and haughty Eyes!
Against what Pow'r dost, thou profane, rebel?
Against the Holy one of Israel.
The Lord hast thou reproach'd, and thus hast said,
To Lebanon's fair sides and lofty Head.
Fearless have I my brazen Chariots driv'n,
And thunder'd in the neighbourhood of Heav'n:
The Cedars groan beneath my Axes stroak:
Thence will I with unnumber'd Legions go,
And waste the fruitful Fields and Plains below;
And easie Conquest they—Thro' Realms unknown,
Have my victorious Arms already gone,
When troubled by my Feet deep Streams grew dry,
While Earth produc'd new Springs, nor dar'd her Lord deny.
The Nations felt my threaten'd Scourge in thee:
Hence all confus'd with Terror and Dismay,
Like Grass before the Scythe, an easie Prey:
Yet still I mark thy Steps, I know thy Rage
Against my self, against my Heritage:
My Hook, my Bridle shall thy Rage restrain,
And fierce Leviathan shall plunge in vain;
The way he came he must return again:
Jerusalem, whose fair and lofty Tow'rs,
Thy greedy Eyes and savage Mind devours,
Will I protect, my strong Salvation send.
And them for David's sake, and for my own, defend.
CC. 2 Kings, Chap. XIX. from Ver. 35. to the End.
An Angel kills 184000 Assyrians, &c.
Tir'd with the bloody Labours of the Day:
The fatal Evening climbs the gloomy Air,
Dark was the Night as Horror or Despair:
When loe from Heav'n th'avenging Angel came,
His Sword a Pestilence's deadly Flame;
Incumbent o're the trembling Camp he flies,
So glares an angry Comet in the Skies,
And points from East to West his length of Train,
Fore boding Nations plagu'd and Princes slain:
A Viol of Almighty Wrath he bore,
And crashing broke like burst of Thunders Roar,
Or Waves by Whirl-winds dash'd against the Shoar:
O what a Groan!—as Nature's self expir'd,
Or all this habitable Mansion fir'd.
Awak'd by dying Shrieks the Warriors rose,
And these in vain their spatious Shields oppose;
Some Swear, some Pray, but both alike in vain;
Levell'd with Earth the Tents confus'd remain,
And heaps of Myriads lie on Myriads slain.
Blaspheming Rabshakeh among the rest,
The Pow'r of Israel now too late confess'd:
And nail'd by vengeful Thunder to the Ground.
Averse at length, and slow the Morning rose,
But what a Scene its sickly Beams disclose?
'Twas Horror, Horror all—The Plague was kind,
Paler than Death were those who left behind.
With these did proud Sennacherib remain,
Who clamb'ring o're prodigious Hills of slain;
Yet I have scap'd thy Bolts, blaspheming cries,
And to the Town of ancient Ninus flies.
—No Tyrant! no—Their Fate is mild to thine,
Reserv'd the Triumph thou of Wrath divine!
Nor long delaid—for as at Nisroch's Fane,
He paid his Thanks and pompous Vows in vain;
His impious Sons against their Father rise,
And to th'infernal Demons sacrifice.
On those Sennacheribs that reign'd before:
Its Plagues and Swords are still for Tyrants meant,
And both prepar'd to strike unless they soon repent.
CCI. 2 Kings, Chap. XX. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 19.
Hezekiah's Sickness. The Shadow goes back on the Dial of Ahaz. His Recovery, &c.
Too strong for Art to conquer or assuage,
Good Hezekiah lay—with pious Care,
Isaiah bids him for his Death prepare:
He heard, but Kings, tho' Saints, are loth to die,
To Heav'n he does with fervent Pray'rs apply:
His Truth and upright Heart he humbly pleads,
And for his Life with Tears he intercedes:
Nor were his gasping Vows in vain preferr'd,
But Israel's God his own lov'd Monarch heard:
With Words of Health and Peace the Prophet sends,
Who gladly with this welcom News attends.
Not one of all thy Tears or Pray'rs are lost:
To my lov'd House I'll thee agen restore,
Thy Days prolong'd four happy Lustres more:
Nor shall a Sign be wanting to persuade
The ready Credence of celestial Aid:
Which marks the rising and declining Day;
By skilful Artists from Damascus brought,
With Royal Bounty paid, for Abaz wrought;
Say, shall the Shade from the Meridian Line
Rise in the broad Degrees, or else decline!
And Heav'n for equal Choice indulges room;
Returns the Monarch, let the Shade retire,
That all the World may Israel's God admire:
Enjoy thy Wish, the well-born Saint replies,
And to the pow'rful Lord of Nature cries:
Its wonted Course the trembling Shade gives o're,
And backward climbs, a Path unknown before:
The Sun the Signal saw, he turns his Rein,
His Steeds agen approach th'Eöan Main.
Those Sages who that Lamp of Heav'n adore,
And never saw him wander thus before,
At this Reverse of Nature stand amaz'd,
Now on their Books, and now on Heav'n they gaz'd;
Till Fame the Tidings from Judea bears,
And to the wondring Nations round declares:
Proud Merodach, who Babel's Sceptre sway'd,
By many a Tributary Prince obey'd,
To the recover'd King his Servants sent,
And kindly joy'd him of the Great Event:
And all his Treasure to the Strangers shows:
How many a Tear, and what a Heap of Woes.
(Fatal Civility!) from hence shall spring,
The Prophet not conceals from Judah's King:
He thus—What God Decrees must needs be best,
And since my Days with Truth and Peace are bless'd,
The Future is not ours, to Heav'n I leave the Rest.
CCII. 2 Kings, Chap. XXI. to Ver. 16; and 2 Chron. Chap. XXXIII. to Ver. 16.
Manasseh's wicked Reign. His Captivity and Repentance. &c.
O how unlike Good Hezekiah's Son!
Those Idol-Fanes his Father's Zeal defac'd,
And levell'd with the Ground, agen he rais'd:
Baalim he serv'd and Moloch, Names abhorr'd,
And all the glitt'ring Host of Heav'n ador'd:
Within the sacred Courts did Altars rear,
Nor ev'n the venerable Temple spare,
But horrid Forms he plac'd, and monstrous Idols there:
And to th'Infernal Pow'rs he sacrific'd:
In all their Superstitions deeply read,
In all the secret Language of the Dead:
By Charms he knew the servile Gods to raise
Their Planetary Hours and lucky Days:
Himself a black Familiar-Friend retain'd,
By pow'rful Words and mystic Numbers chain'd;
With Steams of human Sacrifices fed,
A Sea of Blood around the City shed:
Ev'n Canaan's Sins, when they, at Heav'ns command,
By Israel swept from their polluted Land,
When none of all their vip'rous Race were spar'd,
But vulgar Wickedness with his compar'd.
The Nation leven'd by his fatal Reign,
Incorrigibly vitious and profane,
The Prophets to Repentance call'd in vain;
In vain their Warnings dreadful Threats inforce,
No Blushes, no Compunction, no Remorse;
Till Heav'n did Assur's Arms against 'em bring,
Who to proud Babel led their captive King.
A gracious Answer) for Manasseh heard:
To God and to himself at length he's brought,
His Father's God with contrite Heart he sought;
Nor boundless Mercy he in vain implores,
Which to his happy Country him restores:
He own'd the Strength of his Almighty Hand,
And seated on the Throne reform'd th'Apostate Land.
CCIII. 2 Kings, Chap. XXI. to Ver. 19. Chap. XXII, XXIII. to Ver. 3.
Amon succeeds. His wicked Reign. Josiah succeeds him. His early Piety. He reads the Book of the Law; sends to Huldah the Prophetess. Renews the Covenant, &c.
Is that so late begun, so soon it Ends:
Yet this almost might for his Crimes attone,
That he the Nation bless'd with such a Son,
Josiah left, to fill and grace the Throne:
In Childhood he his shining Race began,
Pious when young, a Saint before a Man:
Nor ever did from David's God depart,
To whom in Life's sweet Dawn he gave his Heart.
His Nobles to the House of God he sends,
And every Breach with pious Care amends:
Hilkiah then the sacred Miter bore,
Which his Great Ancestors from Aaron wore:
The Lords to him the Peoples Offerings bring,
He sends a greater Treasure to the King;
Th'oraculous Volumes which the Law contain,
And long ith' Temple had neglected lain;
He read the dreadful Plagues and Curses there,
Which Heav'n did for the sinful Land prepare:
Josiah trembling heard, his Robes he rent,
And to enquire of God his Nobles sent,
If yet he might the hov'ring Plague prevent.
(From Men departed) in a Female Breast:
Wise Huldah she, the College her abode,
Respected there of Men, belov'd of God:
The Seeds of great Events he made her see,
When lab'ring yet in the divine Decree,
Weak Embryo-Forms, and pressing on to Be.
Consulted by the Lords, she thus replies,
While Floods of boding Tears invade her Eyes:
To him that sent you, heavy Tidings bear,
And thus from Israel's injur'd Pow'r declare.
—Mischief and Woe on this devoted Place,
On all the Natives, all their impious Race;
Thus saith Lord, I, I my self, will bring,
And all the Curses read to Judah's King;
Because from me th'ungrate Apostates turn'd,
To vain and Idol-Gods have Incense burn'd:
Full Vials of my Wrath I'll on them pour,
And them with Flames unquenchable, devour.
These happier Tidings bear by Heav'ns Command.
When late thou didst my awful Threatnings hear;
While Peace remains thou to the Grave shalt go,
Nor see thy Country's fatal over-throw.
The threaten'd Vengeance—he for Judah sent,
To try if yet, if yet they wou'd repent:
To God's high Temple he th'Assembly leads,
And in their Ears the Law of Moses reads:
The King against a Marble Column stood,
The sacred Compact he with God renew'd:
Ah! wou'd the faithless Nation this maintain,
Jerusalem might still prolong her Reign,
And Babel's haughty Town might Arm her Sons in vain.
CCIV. 2 Kings, Chap. XXIII. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 20.
Josiah destroys Idolatry.
Nor longer his important Work delays;
But with the Temple wisely he begins,
Polluted by his Predecessors Sins:
Idols accurs'd, whose monstrous Forms invade
The sacred Mansion for Jehovah made,
And with their ruin'd Altars burn 'em there:
The Chemarims, and Idol-Priests abhorr'd,
Who Baalim, and the heav'nly Host ador'd,
Extirpated by his avenging Sword:
He cleans'd the City of their num'rous Fry,
And did their sable Cowls in sanguine die.
Those holy Strumpets who more Converts made,
Than cou'd their Priests, with all their juggling Trade
Of Lying Miracles, by Whoredom fed,
Are now dislodg'd and from their Convents fled,
By honest Labour taught to earn their Bread.
Tophet and Hinnom's Vale, deform'd of yore,
With impious Victims, and with human Gore;
Where Noise, and Horror, and Confusion dwell,
Or Hell it self, or else the Type of Hell;
The King defiles, their Altars over-turns,
In his own Fire he monstrous Moloch burns:
Those Steeds which long had rang'd in Pastures fair,
Sacred to Heav'ns broad Eye, and free as Air;
Obtend their ancient Royal Grants in vain,
Agen they champ the Bit, and own the Rein:
See their bright Masters lofty Chariots broke,
Their mouldring Wheels involv'd in Flames and Smoke;
How will he now his heav'nly Fire convey,
Or round his spatious Circle drive the Day?
And by their mighty Founder intercede,
Tumbled from their proud Mounts, and with the Blow
To Atoms crush'd in Kidron's Vale below:
What e're their fabling Priests the Poets tell,
That Gods before the Sons of Titan fell,
Dispeopled Heav'n and crowded Earth and Hell;
Never till now so vast a Ravage known,
When thund'ring Baal drops head-long from his Throne.
Old Jeroboam's Heifers plead in vain,
Their Trophies won thro' many an impious Reign,
Their Priests are now themselves for Victims slain;
With Bones and Carcasses their Altars spread,
And to the Dead they sacrifice the Dead.
Among the rest, intomb'd the Prophet there,
Who long before did these Events declare;
The pious Monarch bids his Ashes spare:
Thence to Samaria he his Progress makes,
Their helpless Idols from their Fanes he takes;
Their Priests, and Worshippers, and Altars burns.
And to Jerusalem triumphant he returns.
CCV. 2 Kings, Chap. XXIII. to Ver. 23. 2 Chron. Chap. XXXV.
Josiah's Passover. He's slain by Pharaoh-Necho. His Death lamented.
The pious Prince did Heav'ns Commands fulfil:
The Paschal Feast he kept with strict Regard,
While Aaron's Sons, each in their proper Ward,
By David fix'd of old, their Work discharge,
His Smiles were equal and his Bounty large:
Nor they alone his Royal Favour share,
To all his Subjects his paternal Care
Extends, and bids a Princely Feast prepare;
Of spotless Kids and of unblemish'd Lambs,
Three Myriads, sever'd from their careful Dams;
Three thousand snowy Beeves with Garlands crown'd,
Their threatning Horns with sacred Fillets bound,
While with their sounding Hoofs they spurn the Ground;
From Bashan, and from Sharon he provides,
The Princes gave with lib'ral Hand besides;
Nor since the First great Pasch was e're before
Like this observ'd, nor ever will be more:
The Priests and Levites here, and Porters there;
While Heman's Sons, and Asaph's fill the Quire,
These the sweet Psaltry touch, and these the heav'nly Lyre.
—But, ah! how soon their Mirth to Tears must turn!
How soon must they their Royal Patron mourn.
Why was he lent to Earth, or why so soon
Did angry Heav'n resume the mighty Boon?
Too Good to stay Life's Theatre he pass'd,
And to his native Stars again did haste:
Fates cou'd not strike while he remain'd below,
But o're th'Apostate Land suspend their Blow:
—See where he faces his unequal Foe!
How dear, alas! his fatal Courage cost,
His useful Life at once, and Judah lost:
O Judah mourn! let Salem's Daughters tear
Their festal Robes, and loose dishevel'd Hair!
Ye Prophets, and ye Priests! your Shield is gone,
Lament your Country's Ruin and your own!
Forgets its joyous Notes the warbling Lyre,
For festal Shouts, loud Shrieks to Heav'n aspire:
Songs are forgot—If any still remain,
They but in sad and mournful Notes complain:
Josiah! lost Josiah all their Sound,
While Hills and Dales, and Rocks and Caves his dear-lov'd Name rebound.
CCVI. The CHRONICLES.
And down to Babel bring the chosen Race.
From Father Adam they to Noah run,
And thence to Abr'am and his wond'rous Son:
Isra'l succeeds, but Isra'l must resign
To Twelve strong Nations branching from his Line.
Thence Judah forward shoots to Jesse's Stem,
And David, who adorn'd the Hebrew Diadem.
His Sons the sacred Pages next rehearse,
Whose Names refuse the gentle Laws of Verse:
Nor Solomon! shall we thy Race recite,
Where Profit will not mingle with Delight:
Nor what the faithful Annalist declares,
Of Jacob's Sons and their unnumber'd HEIRS,
Till he the Hebrew History resume,
Where Saul for his Transgression found his Doom,
And Jesse's worthier Son supply'd his room.
From hence we learn what else had slept unknown,
The Host of God that rais'd him to the Throne:
The Priests and Levites who with ready Will,
Convoy'd the sacred Ark to Sion's Hill:
The pious King's design an House to frame,
In Honour of the Great Jehovah's Name;
The Will accepted, tho' the Work deny'd,
For which uncounted Treasures they provide.
The Levites next are number'd and enroll'd,
The sacerdotal Lots and Service told:
The King and Princes then appoint the Quire,
Here Heman's Cornet sounds, there Asaph's tuneful Lyre.
(O envy'd Honour!) at th'Almighty's Gate:
The Peoples monthly Chiefs are next express'd,
The Son of Zabdiel, Dodai, and the rest:
The Priest Benaiah there, who well cou'd wield
The Sword and Axe, the Censor and the Shield.
Thy Buildings, Solomon! and glorious Reign:
Thy Fame, thy Wealth, thy Navy, and thy Throne,
Th'Almighty's stately Palace and thy own.
Proceeding thence the Work agen relates
Thy Royal Offspring and their various Fates;
Till Babel's King thy impious Line subdu'd,
And in their Blood his vengeful Sword embrew'd;
Level with Earth thy glorious Temple laid,
And to his Idol-Fanes the Spoils convey'd;
At once its sacred House and Nation did rebuild.
CCVII. 2 Chron. Chap. XI, XII. and 1 Kings, Chap. XIV. from Ver. 21. to Ver. 28.
Rehoboam's Reign. Shishak's Invasion, &c.
And only Two with David's House remain'd:
Judah, the Royal Tribe, in Blood ally'd,
And Benjamin by pow'rful Int'rest ty'd,
In Salem and its Coasts her Sons reside:
From these the King a num'rous Army draws,
Who take the Field to vindicate his Cause:
To these the Man of God Shemaiah came,
And thus bespeaks in his dread Master's Name:
With Civil Arms on a mistaken Foe?
Against your Brethren 'tis that you prepare
Your impious Swords, and move intestine War.
Return, return, nor tempt unequal Might,
'Tis all from me, and 'tis with Heav'n you fight:
While Death and Discord rag'd at their Defeat.
Each day by Peace some new Advantage gains:
His Frontier-Towns repairs, secures his Line,
And fills his Stores with Corn, and Oil, and Wine;
His Garrisons with Sword, and Shield, and Spear,
And all the glitt'ring Instruments of War;
But bless'd with what far more of Strength imparts,
His num'rous Subjects firm and faithful Hearts:
The Priests and Levites to his Party fell,
Whom Israel's sacrilegious Court expel;
Their Glebes purloin'd, their sacred Tithes deny'd,
Hungry Reforming Courtiers those divide,
And these to Bethel's Priests and Calves apply'd.
How small th'Usurper's Gains! his curs'd Design;
Entails a Curse on him, and all his Line;
While doubl'd Blessings favour'd Levi bring,
When they a Refuge found with Judah's King.
To these the pious Worshippers repair,
With these present their Sacrifice and Pray'r:
'Twas these, O Rehoboam! fix'd thy Throne,
More than thy Policy or Strength had done.
But who, alas! Can prosp'rous Fortune bear?
Her Gifts have Strings, and ev'ry Smile's a Snare:
Soon did the Prince his manlier Virtue lose,
And his uxorious Father's Steps pursues:
And both from Israel's God estrang'd his Mind:
To Mischief prone the People saw, who still
Will imitate their Prince—at least in ill.
Idols and Groves on ev'ry Hill they made,
Beneath each verdant Trees refreshing Shade:
Abominable Crimes in sight of Day
They dare, and Canaan cou'd not worse than they.
Nor this unpunish'd—with a num'rous Host,
Shishak ascends by Judah's Southern Coast:
Fear and Dismay their strongest Holds invade,
And for the Victor's Summons scarce they staid:
His Troops an undisputed Passage find,
Terror before, Destruction march'd behind.
From Judah's Hills the Crowd run breathless down,
Pour thro' the Gates and fill the sacred Town:
All was Confusion; Egypt some attend,
And wish the Presence of so Great a Friend,
And some wou'd yield, and some the Town defend.
At length Shemaiah comes, and with him bore
More dreadful News than all they heard before.
Since God forsaken by th'Apostate Land,
He them forsook and left in Shishak's Hand:
The King descended from his lofty Throne,
That God is Just his humbled Princes own,
By Penitence his kindled Wrath attone:
And of their Golden Shields, great Shishak eas'd the Guard.
CCVIII. 2 Chron. Chap. XIII.
Abijah's Victory over Jeroboam.
Short was his Reign, but fam'd for mighty Deeds:
Strongly he warr'd with Israel's Rival Crown,
And oft return'd with Conquest and Renown.
Four hundred thousand Combatants he led,
And Ephraim's Mount with firm Battalions spred;
But twice the Number Jeroboam brought,
When thus the brave Abijah e're they fought,
Who high on Zaaraim's Mount appear'd,
And thence with Ease by either Army heard.
—“Before the Sword already rais'd, descend
O Israel, with your faithless Prince attend!
Wilfully Ignorant, you ought to know
That God on David did the Crown bestow;
With him, and with his favour'd Royal Race,
A Compact made, which Time shall ne're efface:
The Servant dar'd invade his Master's Throne:
A Band of sanguine Ruffians with him joyn'd,
Fit Instruments for Ills by him design'd.
My Father young, unable to withstand
His full-grown Treason and a factious Land,
He snatch'd the Reins from his unpractis'd Hand.
Not so from God, who David's Line will own,
And fix his Sons on his well-order'd Throne:
Vain of your Idol-Gods and Idol-King:
The hallow'd Sons of Aaron you expel,
And Idol-Priests in their Possessions dwell:
For us, Jehovah for our God we take,
Him have not left, nor will he us forsake.
His Priests attend his Charge and Sacrifice,
With Clouds of grateful Incense fill the Skies:
See where they stand with holy Miters crown'd,
As Moses bids, the silver Trumps to sound,
To sound th'Alarm against you they prepare,
O do not fight, for God himself is there!
—Let him preach on, proud Jeroboam cry'd,
Whose Gods are strongest now will soon be try'd.
The wily Chief a num'rous Ambush laid,
Which Judah's Rear with dreadful Shouts invade:
Himself he charg'd their Front—they stood their Ground
To God they cry, his Priests the Trumpets sound;
Blind Terror, wild Affright, disorder'd Fear
On Israel's Host he scatter'd, soon they fled:
Behold the Hills, behold the Vallies spread
With Swords and Shields, and with th'unnumber'd Dead!
Thus weaker Judah humbled Israel's Pride,
Nor vainly they upon their Fathers God rely'd.
CCIX. 2 Chron. Chap. XIV, XV.
Asa's Reign and Victory. He destroys Idolatry, &c.
And ten fair Years their shining Circuit ran;
At length o're-cast, from East thick Clouds arise,
And with a low'ring Red deform the Skies:
A Thousand-Thousand Warriors Zerah brings,
Led by a Hundred Tributary Kings:
From either side th'Arabian Gulf he drew
His Troops, who to the fansi'd Conquest flew:
The Troglodytes from native Caverns run,
Burnt with immoderate Day they curse the Sun:
And these from fruitful Nigir's Sister-stream;
Swart Faces, and deform'd—
Nor cou'd their Numbers Asa's Virtue fear,
To Zephath's Vale he march'd and met the War:
His Father's God with pious Pray'rs address'd,
And thus his Faith and humble Hopes express'd.
How easie 'tis with Thee the Weak to aid!
Numbers with Thee are nothing, Strength is vain:
Help us, O Lord! our righteous Cause maintain!
On Thee we rest, and in thy Name we go,
To meet and fight th'invading barb'rous Foe.
Thou art our God, to thy Defence we flee,
O let not a proud Mortal conquer Thee!
They meet, they fight, the Cushite Host are slain,
And Myriads, heap'd on Myriads, load the Plain:
Vast was the Wealth, incredible the Spoil
Of Arms and Men that paid their glorious Toil.
The conqu'ring Host of God to Salem come,
With frequent Shouts and Triumphs welcom'd home,
At their Arrival met by Oded's Son,
He came from Heav'n, and thus inspir'd begun:
The Lord is with you while the Lord you fear!
But God will leave you, if your God you leave.
Long since the Law in Israel is no more,
Their Priests are dumb, they Golden Gods adore:
Nation by Nation, Friends by Friends are slain,
Discord, and War, and civil Fury reign:
Not so with you, nor shall they you molest,
Let no degn'rous Fears invade your Breast,
—Your Work shall with a sure Reward be bless'd.
Asa on his important Work proceeds:
Idols abhorr'd, he tumbles from their Throne,
In Ephraim's conquer'd Country and his own:
God's sacred Altar bids with speed repair,
His Spoils and num'rous Victims offers there,
While the glad People to Jehovah swear;
Their Father's solemn Compact swear anew,
And all who break it will to Death pursue.
Maachar, who still had Regal Honours paid,
Of old a Queen by Rehoboam made,
The King's Impartial Justice wou'd not spare
Nor longer with her Idol-Temples bear;
Depriv'd with Shame from high imperial State,
Nor her Astarte meets a milder Fate;
Her sacred Grove extirpated she mourns,
And then in Kidron's Vale th'Infernal Goddess burns.
CCX. 2 Chron. Chap. XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX.
Jehoshaphat's good Reign. His Enemies discomfited, &c.
His Father's Conquests stren'ously maintains:
His Father's God he serves, and him alone,
Who bless'd his People and confirm'd his Throne.
With vig'rous Mind fair Virtue's Paths he trod,
In God his Glory, his Delight in God:
From Court Itinerary Preachers sent
Instruct the Land, the Princes with 'em went:
How wide his Fame thro' Heathen Lands displaid!
Philistia, Peace, with humble Presents made,
Arabia's wand'ring Princes, Tribute paid:
No Faults but those of Goodness him disgrace,
Too closely joynd with Omri's fatal Race:
Almost too dear his new Alliance cost,
At Ramoth only not his Life he lost.
The King at his Return a Prophet meets,
And thus from angry Heav'n severely greets:
And should'st thou love the Men that hate the Lord?
For this, the Wrath of injur'd Heav'n, prepare,
Unless by Penitence remov'd, to bear!
Tho' gentle Mercy pleads thy virtuous Deeds,
And yet the better scale in weight exceeds.
And Heav'n appeas'd, agen his Friend he makes:
Distributes Justice with impartial Hand,
And to their God re-calls the wav'ring Land:
Thus all Abuses labours to Reform,
And thus provides against th'approaching Storm,
—Which now from Syria ward began to rise,
And in black threat'ning Clouds involve the Skies:
Ammon with Seir, and Moab's Sons combine;
T'extirpate Israel their accurs'd Design:
Numberless Numbers on Judea pour,
In hopes already Salem's Walls devour:
The Monarch prays, and to his Altar flees,
Who now not first in Trouble heard his Cries:
Of Asaph's tuneful Sons Jehaziel rose,
And fair Events from smiling Heav'n fore-shows:
They need not fight, but as in Egypt, wait,
And God's Salvation see, and see the Heathens Fate.
The joyful Tidings heard, the King ador'd,
With Harps and Voices Levi prais'd the Lord:
To certain Triumph marches, not to fight:
Agen the Priests their cheerful Voices raise,
Jehovah's unexhausted Goodness praise:
Heav'n takes the Signal, heav'nly Warriors stand,
With each his shining Falchion in his Hand;
Around the Paynim-Camp, and Guilt and Fear
And mingled Rage in ev'ry Face appear:
Ammon and Moab first on Eden rose,
With ease destroy'd by their united Foes;
Who next dispatch themselves by mutual Blows.
Not one surviv'd or from the Slaughter fled:
How vast the Treasures found among the Dead!
What Songs of Joy Jehovah's Praise proclaim,
And make his House resound their Saviour's Name!
Nor more were Judah's Sons with Wars oppress'd,
For God on ev'ry side had giv'n his People rest.
CCXI. 2 Chron. Chap. XXIII. from Ver. 10. to the End.
Athaliah destroys the Seed Royal. Joash preserv'd and crown'd by Jehoiada. Athaliah slain.
And his Alliance did too late repent:
His Mother sprung from Omri's Heathen Line,
Nor did she from their bloody House decline:
By Treason and by Murther mounts the Throne,
Destroys the Royal Offspring and her own:
Yet one to better Fortunes did remain,
Snatch'd from the gasping Crowd and Heaps of slain:
By fair Jehosheba, of Kingly Race,
Who thought a Priest's Alliance no Disgrace;
The great Jehoiadah's obsequious Wife,
She bless'd his nuptial Bed and bless'd his Life;
And in the Temple from the World retir'd,
Forgot the pompous Court she once admir'd,
Nor better Company than his and Heav'n's desir'd;
The Royal Infant here she safe conceal'd,
The Secret only to her Lord reveal'd:
Six Paschal-Moons had now adorn'd the Skies,
The seventh prepares with happier Beams to rise;
When forth his Royal Pledge the Pontiff brings,
The future Father, and the Seed of Kings:
The Loyal Priests his Valiant Guard du Cor':
He to the Laws, and they to him Obedience swore.
Without, compleatly arm'd the People stand,
With each his Weapon in his strong Right-Hand.
And the young Monarch by the Crowd descry'd;
And when the Priests the bright Regalia bring,
With Shouts they rend the Heav'ns, and cry, God save the King.
Curs'd Athaliah heard, and urg'd by Fate,
Hasts from her Palace to the Temple Gate:
She saw the Monarch by the Pontiff crown'd,
She saw the harness'd Warriors waiting round,
Heard the repeated Shouts and warlike Trumpet sound:
Ill-omen'd Fears her conscious Soul surprize,
And twice she shrieks, and twice she Treason cries.
Jehoiada commands, the Chiefs obey,
And force her from the sacred Courts away:
Blind to her Tears, and deaf to her Requast,
They plunge their Poniards in her faithless Breast:
Thus by their Fate ambitious Tyrants show
There is, there is a God that minds Affairs below.
CCXII. 2 Chron, Chap. XXIV.
Jehoiada's Death and Burial. Joash kills Zechariah. The Syrians spoil Jerusalem. Joash slain by his Servants.
Nor slow to follow what the Best advise.
This Truth to future Kings and after-Days,
The Fate of Azariah's Son conveys:
While his wise Foster-Father did remain,
How prosp'rous his Affairs, how bless'd his Reign!
But bent with Age he now to Fate must yield,
A Century and half almost fulfill'd:
Him to the Grave his grateful Country brings,
His Dust reposited with Judah's Kings:
With uncommanded Tears they all relate,
How great a Patron lost to Church and State:
By the young Monarch on his tott'ring Throne,
Too soon he's miss'd, his strong Supporter gone.
The pamper'd Nobles now might freely range,
They urge their wav'ring Prince his Faith to change:
He now his Empire first entire possess'd,
'Twas like a King to chuse what lik'd him best.
Must Judah only still of Gods be poor,
Confin'd to one, when all the World had more,
Rather like Them the heav'nly Host adore!
Shall they alone on Judah vainly shine,
No artful Image rais'd on glitt'ring Shrine,
Confessing regal Cost and worthy Pow'rs divine?
Too soon he yields, the Temple they forsake,
And sacred Groves they plant, and Idols make.
The great Jehoiada's undaunted Heir,
Who, not unworthy, fill'd his awful Chair:
From thence an Oracle like Thunder broke,
And thus he to th'Apostate Nation spoke:
“Why, O Ingrate! will you your Father's God despise,
“Neglect his dread Commands, and why believe in Lies?
“Your Ruin is your own, yourselves unbless'd you make:
“Since you forsake the Lord, the Lord will you forsake.
Too soon the Crowd enrag'd against him rise:
To Mischief prompt, with Shouts they fill the Air,
And from the Court the hallow'd Pavements tear;
With these the Pontiff near his Altar, stone,
Compos'd, and Great he fell, without a Groan,
All like himself, yet with his dying Breath,
Fore-told that Heav'n would soon revenge his Death.
Thus did the King his Father's Service own,
And thus requite him for his Life and Throne.
But Vengeance soon descends in sanguine Show'rs,
Hazael on Judah like a Tempest pours;
In vain the Princes on their Idols call,
By Syrian Arms they unlamented fall:
The Treasures from their pillag'd Mansions torn,
By the proud Victors to Damascus born:
Awhile his impious Court the King survives,
For greater Plagues reserv'd, in Torment lives:
Gnawn by Diseases, scarce prolongs his Breath,
And drags a weary Being, worse than Death;
At last untimely to the Grave descends,
And undesir'd, his Life and Reign by Treason ends.
CCXIII. 2 Chron. Chap. XXV.
Amaziah's Reign. He conquers Edom. Worships Idols, &c.
His vacant Station Amaziah takes:
With wav'ring Mind he Israel's God did fear,
Tho' right his Course he cou'd not steddy steer.
With Justice and with Piety begun
His Reign, as best became a King and Son:
The Regicides with Vengeance did pursue,
And those who slew his Father, justly slew;
But Mercy to their guiltless Race extends:
And from the Peoples Fury them defends:
Of Judah did a mighty Host provide,
Three hundred thousand Souls in Battel try'd,
The Shield they knew to grasp, th'unerring Spear to guide.
To these, Auxiliary Forces came,
Drawn by his Royal Bounty and his Fame,
From Ephraim's Coast, though they by God's command
Dismiss'd, enrag'd return, and spoil the Land:
To vindicate their Father Jacob's Cause
Against fierce Esau's Sons, who now had broke
With Fate to Foe their ancient galling Yoke;
The Salt-Sea Vale did with his Squadrons beat,
The Foe pursu'd his Conquest to compleat,
To Selah's craggy Rock, their last Retreat:
Their Lives Ten thousand Warriors dearly sell,
And with their Country not ignobly fell:
An equal Number from the lofty Keep,
Are head-long tumbled o're the dreadful Steep;
Ah! had their captive Gods but done the same,
Secure thy Conquest, and secure thy Fame.
O Judah's wav'ring King—but with thee born,
At once the Peoples Wonder and their Scorn,
They thy triumphant Car at first adorn:
What gawdy Nothings they! how proud, how brave!
Yet neither cou'd themselves nor their Adorers save:
Yet these in Chains their Conqueror did subdue,
And soon the Great Ten-thousand-Slayer slew:
Behold him kneel and cringe before their Shrine!
O blind and lost! Are these, Are these Divine?
Ev'n Israel does thy Shame with Blushes see,
And Bethel's self is Innocent to Thee.
On speedy Ruine obstinately bent,
The Prophet threaten'd who from Heav'n was sent,
To bid thee, e're 'twas yet too late, repent.
When valiant Joash forc'd thy Troops to beat:
Thy boasted Strength, thy baffled Army fled,
Thy self in Chains, inglorious Captive! led;
When freed, yet weaken'd with thy ill Success:
How few to Kings are Loyal in Distress!
When thou didst from thy Father's God decline,
Against thy Life is form'd a black Design:
To Lachish didst thou flee, but fled'st in vain,
By Treason there pursu'd, and unlamented slain.
CCXIV. 2 Chron. Chap. XXVI.
Uzziah's Reign. He's smitten with Leprosie for invading the Priest's Office.
Which stain'd with Blood his hapless Father leaves.
Too like him in his Errors and his Fate,
With dubious Hand he governs Judah's State.
While Zachariah liv'd, by Heav'n inspir'd,
For Isra'l's God he not in vain enquir'd.
Some Towns demolish'd there, and some reclaim'd:
Thro' Regions wide away his Valour fam'd:
Ramparts he built, and Engines did prepare,
But Agriculture was his darling Care:
The City by the Country liv'd, he knew,
And thence at need supply'd his Armies too,
Healthy and hardy Bodies thence he drew.
Almost impregnable his Royal Seat,
And wond'rous Strong he wax'd, and wond'rous Great;
Too Great, too Strong—for vain of his Success,
He God forgets and does his Laws transgress,
He dares to his forbidden Temple press;
The sacred Pontiff's Office dares invade,
And hallow'd Incense on the Censer laid:
O whither will the sacrilegious run?
Why in such luckless Haste to be undone?
Is Korah's Fate forgot, or Heav'n bereft
Of all its Arms, and not one Thunder left?
—Bold Azariah, with a num'rous Band,
Of valiant Priests th'assuming Prince withstand:
'Tis not for thee with that unhallow'd Hand,
He said, to offer Incense at the Throne,
Reserv'd by Heav'n to Aaron's Sons alone.
Redden'd with Rage when by the Priests withstood,
The haughty King, and fir'd his boiling Blood;
In low'ring Curls rejected from the Skies:
When thrice behold, th'invaded Altar shook,
And from the Throne the twisted Lightnings broke,
Signal of heav'nly Wrath—The Priests amaz'd,
As on the Monarch's alter'd Form they gaz'd,
A ghastly Paleness in his Face arose,
His ample Front one leprous Ulcer grows:
Th'Impure with Horrors from the Temple cast,
And thence himself he flies with conscious Haste:
Unapt for Rule, to lonesom Shades confin'd,
The Reins of Empire he to his Great Son resign'd.
CCXV. 2 Chron. Chap. XXVII, XXVIII.
Jotham's good Reign Ahaz's Apostacy, &c.
(Not so the People, still corrupt and leud:)
He, Ophel's Wall did to Perfection bring,
At once a Builder and a Warrior-King.
With Ammon's Natives he successful fought,
Who bent their Necks and annual Presents brought:
To please his God he did his ways prepare:
Too soon, alas! with all his Worth he dies,
And Ahaz, (how unlike!) his room supplies:
Ahaz, abandon'd Ahaz, who exceeds
The worst that went before in impious Deeds.
To Israel's and to Syria's Gods he pray'd,
His Sons to Moloch burnt, and Baalim made:
Syria and Israel both his Realms invade.
Vast was the Spoil they from his Country bore,
The Syrians share was much, but Israel's more,
Insatiate was their Thirst of human Gore:
An Hundred-thousand in one fatal Day,
Stretch'd on the Turf, and cold and breathless lay,
And dearly for their Disobedience pay:
Brave Maasiah fell, nor he alone,
On either side the Kinsmen to the Throne:
Double the Number slain were Captives made,
In triumph to Samaria's Walls convey'd:
Oded a Prophet of the Lord was there,
Who to the Victors thus did Heav'ns dread Will declare.
“—Because your Father's God did justly frown,
On Judah's Race, and for their Crimes disown;
An easie Prey their choicest Troops you found,
Whom you have slain with Rage that knows no bound:
You the Survivors have for Bondmen seiz'd:
But are there not as sanguine Crimes with you,
Which equal Plagues will unaton'd pursue?
Dismiss your Brethren then, whose Land destroy'd;
As you'd yourselves the Wrath of Heav'n avoid.
At once by Pity seiz'd, and conscious Fear:
The Host, tho' Conquerors, they'll not receive,
Till they their Spoils and num'rous Captives leave!
Refresh'd and cloath'd they to their Friends return'd,
Surpriz'd, as they their Loss despairing mourn'd.
—But Ahaz, still was Ahaz—his Distress,
No Change cou'd make; his Errors to confess
He scorns, and still improves in Wickedness.
No Grief or Penitence for Errors pass'd,
Tho' all his Neighbors round his Country waste:
At length his Reign expires, tho' long too late;
Unhonour'd, undeplor'd, unlov'd he yields to Fate.
CCXVI. EZRA.
When God his banish'd Isra'l wou'd reclaim;
Great Cyrus to th'important Task assign'd,
A Task long e're his Birth by Heav'n enjoyn'd,
Worthy the Hero's Fame and God-like Mind.
Proud Babel's King from God's high Temple bore,
Unto their ancient Seats he bids restore.
The joyous Pilgrims now (a feeble Host,
To what their num'rous Ancestors cou'd boast,
Till wasted by their Sins) with speed return,
Remember Sion's Songs, nor more their Labours mourn:
Almost they thought it all a golden Dream,
Till they again behold fair Jordan's stream.
Those Balsam-bleeding Trees agen they know,
Which odoriferous Health and Ease bestow:
When they at Salem's happy Fields arrive,
Their Hearts beat swift, their fainting Spirits revive;
God's Altar to rebuild, their earliest Care,
And offer num'rous Gifts and Victims there:
Next see the Temple from its Ruins rise,
Whose lofty Tow'rs agen salute the Skies:
By Israel's Foes the Work is stopp'd awhile,
Tho' finish'd at the last, the sacred Pile.
Ezra, a Priest of Holy Levi's Line,
Deeply instructed in the Laws divine,
From Babel next returns, and with him brings
No vulgar Presents to the King of Kings:
On him a Colony of Priests attends,
Which Iddo from the Royal Palace sends.
And Heathen-Wives begin a various Race:
The Great Assembly call'd, they fast, they mourn,
Their ill-match'd Consorts leave, and to their God return.
CCXVII. NEHEMIAH.
The various Fortunes of the rising State:
Their Foes how num'rous, and their Strength how small,
Sion a Heap, an Heap was Salem's Wall.
When first his Pray'r does angry Heav'n atone,
Both for his Country's Errors and his own;
In happy Hour by Persia's Monarch sent,
To his own Fields and native Walls he went:
Safely arriv'd, surrounds the Town by Night,
And by the silent Moons officious Light,
Did the demolish'd Tow'rs and Gates survey,
Which in their mighty Ruins bury'd lay;
Yet he to raise 'em from the Dust design'd,
An equal Task for his capacious Mind:
With Joy the Sanhedrim obey his Call,
They hear the wish'd Decree to build the Wall,
And on the Work unanimous they fall.
Bethesda's Gate their welcom Toil began,
Which round the Place in various Angles ran;
The Work grows warm, while part with busy Care
Dispose Machins, part lofty Scaffolds rear,
Or pond'rous Stones on groaning Axles bear:
And these, old Wounds with artful Hand cement:
Some from the Dust an airy Turret bring,
And stop the wond'ring Birds upon the Wing;
While others, both extremes prepare to joyn,
And close with joyful Shouts the vast Design.
Whose utmost Force and Fraud the Work oppose.
Sanballat and Tobiah first appear,
And false Arabian Geshem clos'd the Rear:
Now with vain Fears the Builders wou'd affright,
Now press 'em close, and offer real Fight.
The watchful Governor provides for all,
And these defend, and these repair the Wall:
Nor wanted who their Nations Counsels sold,
For tempting Sums of Ammonitish Gold;
By one unfailing Token these descry'd,
Tobiah still the Traitors magnify'd:
How Great, how Good, how Wise, how Brave, they tell,
Tho' base the Wretch as they, and false as Hell.
—But All in vain—for see the Work's compleat,
And Envy, Blush and Rage at her Defeat.
Heark, what repeated Shouts of Joy proclaim,
The Nation's Thanks, and Great Jehovah's Name!
Then in a sacred League they all combine,
Which Princes, People, Priests, unanimously sign.
CCXVIII. Nehemiah, Chap V.
The Jews complain of their Debt, Morgage, &c. Nehemiah causeth Restitution.
And Want, and loud Complaints their Steps pursu'd:
The Rich oppress'd the Poor, and curs'd Debate,
And heavy Debts obstruct the rising State:
Their Children some, and some their Lands engag'd
For Taxes and for Bread, and worse presag'd:
The Governor with Prudence and Success,
The growing Mischief did in time redress:
The Rulers all their morgag'd Lands restore,
And eating Usury exact no more:
The Register of Judah's small Remains,
They next review, return'd from Babel's Chains,
Conven'd unanimous with pious Fear,
From Ezra's Mouth the sacred Law to hear:
Th'Interpreters of Heav'n the Sence explain,
Which those oraculous ancient Leaves contain;
And gently still the People, who begin
To mourn their own and their Fore-fathers Sin.
Awhile they bid unbend from Grief and Care,
For festal Joys and sober Mirth prepare:
Of old, by Moses and by God enjoyn'd,
The verdant Mount from Olives nam'd, ascend
And from the Trees their leavy Branches rend:
The sailing Pine, the friendly Palm they bear,
Nor Olives, nor the Lover-Myrtle spare:
Almost disrob'd the triple Mountain stood,
And to the Town the Crowd transplant the Wood:
Of these they frequent shady Bowrs compose,
The City one continu'd Arbour grows;
Beneath whose chequer'd Roofs the many run,
Admit the gentle Air, and skreen the Sun:
With chearful Shouts and festal Songs proclaim
Their Gladness and their mighty Saviour's Name:
Nor long before their Feast to Fasting turn'd,
Their own and Fathers Sins sincerely mourn'd:
Their ancient Contract is with Heav'n renew'd,
And seal'd by all the trembling Multitude.
They swear to keep the Sabbath's sacred Day,
And Tithes and Off'rings to the Temple pay:
How soon forgot their Oaths and solemn Vows!
How soon forsaken God's tremendous House!
Their Dues unpaid, the Sons of Levi fled,
Their Tribe dispers'd around the Land for Bread:
Nor this the generous Tirshatha endures,
The Levites he recalls, their Rights secures:
The Sabbath's strict Religion he renews,
Profan'd alike by Heathens and by Jews:
Who with a Stranger's Blood Great Aaron's Line disgrac'd.
CCXIX. Esther, Chap. I, II.
Ahashuerus's Feast: Vashti dethron'd: Esther crown'd in her room.
And there the Great Ahashuerus reign'd,
(How wide his Empire, and how vast his sway!
More than an hundred Nations him obey.)
As he, adorn'd in all his barb'rous State,
High mounted on his Throne at Shushan sate;
Amidst his Court he there in Publick eats,
Persia's and Media's haughty Princes treats.
His God had half his annual Circuit run,
Before he saw the Royal Banquet done,
And where the First expir'd, a New begun:
Sev'n Days for all Degrees the Feast did hold,
The Royal Wine goes round, and shines in Gold:
To all a free and Princely Welcom shown,
As yet th'accurs'd Civility unknown,
By pledging others Healths to lose their own.
The Feast and Mirth grew high, the Monarch sends
For beauteous Vashti, who regales her Friends:
Her Company the haughty Fair deny'd:
Nor only was the heated King enrag'd,
His Nobles in the common Cause engag'd:
Their Ladies wou'd her Disobedience hear,
Their Husbands slight, nor their Commands revere:
The rest wou'd follow soon the courtly Train,
And Nature's stedfast Laws wou'd prove in vain;
These dire domestic Mischiefs to prevent,
The King his Royal Proclamation sent;
No Woman thro' his Empire shou'd presume,
To seize the Reins and fill her Husbands room:
The Men, as Nature wou'd, the House shou'd sway,
In silence, Women shou'd their Lords obey:
Unhappy Vashti must at once remove,
(A double Death!) from Empire and from Love;
For ever banish'd from his Bed and Throne,
And doom'd to wear her widow'd Hours alone;
A worthier Consort in her Seat is plac'd,
Fair Hester with the Royal Favour grac'd;
An Orphan from Judea, captive led,
With nicest Care by Mardochæus bred:
Nor she her Kindred to the Court reveal'd,
By her wise Foster-Father's Charge conceal'd:
See where she's in Imperial Robes attir'd,
Whil'st all the Lords their Monarch's Choice admir'd!
Tho' more he gave before, the Monarch gave his Heart.
CCXX. Esther, Chap. III. to X.
Haman promoted: He endeavours to destroy Mordechai and the Jews. He is hang'd, &c.
Their Honours oft how fatal to the Great!
This Haman found, by Persia's Monarch rais'd,
Of all the cringing Court admir'd and prais'd;
Of Amalek's devoted Nation he,
To Israel, e're his Birth, an Enemy;
Nor gen'rous Mordechai wou'd bend his Knee
To this Court-Idol, worshipp'd by the Crowd:
How easie is it to torment the Proud!
He storm'd, he rav'd, and deep Revenge he vow'd:
Devoted Agag's Fate was call'd to mind,
Beyond a single Murther he design'd,
And swore the Death of all the Hebrew kind.
The Royal Mandate gain'd, their Doom is pass'd,
The Day is fix'd, decreed to be their last.
And for himself and his lov'd Nation cries;
They fast, they mourn, with Pray'rs they pierce the Skies:
The Queen her rich Tiara casts away,
In Sack-cloth rob'd, in Dust and Ashes lay:
The circling Sun had thrice both Worlds survey'd,
Yet still she fasted, still she mourn'd and pray'd:
Then to the King, with Heav'n to Friend she goes,
For her lov'd Peoples Lives she does her own expose.
Sublime he sate on his tremendous Throne,
And like the Sun his boasted Sire, he shone:
The dazling Honours of his Head he shook,
Scarce cou'd the beauteous Queen sustain his awful Look.
His unrebated Eyes she dares not meet,
And faints, or seems to faint, beneath his Feet.
But suff'ring Beauty has resistless Charms,
And Love at once, and Fear the King disarms:
From his bright Throne he leaps with eager haste,
And in his Arms the fainting Queen embrac'd:
His Golden Scepter on her Head he laid,
With gentle Words reviv'd, with mild Regards survey'd.
Whatever Suit she to the Crown prefers,
Tho' half his Realm, before 'twas nam'd, 'twas Hers.
She only asks his Presence at her Feast,
And favour'd Haman for a second Guest.
Agen she ask'd, agen the same she gain'd:
Nor more her grand Request delay'd to move,
When Persia's Monarch warm'd with Wine and Love:
She spake, while on her Lips the Graces hung,
And soft Persuasion us'd her charming Tongue.
“If Love dwell there, and any Charms are here;
“My Life, your Esther's Life's my first Request,
“And if my Peoples gain'd, I'm doubly bless'd:
“—For both, to speedy Ruin, both are sold,
“Our Names in bloody Characters enroll'd:
“Had Slavery been all we had to Fear,
“Our Wrongs had ne're disturb'd the Royal Ear:
“Tho' small Advantage cou'd th'Exchequer boast,
“So many useful Hands and Loyal Subjects lost.
Against his own curs'd Life to fix the Doom?
All deadly pale fierce Shushan's Lord replies,
When with unwonted Anger in her Eyes;
His Empress thus—That impious Wretch is there,
'Tis he, th'ungrate, that does my Banquet share:
'Tis Haman, only Haman, has design'd,
To murther me at once, and all my Kind.
And his broad Nostrils thick and loud respir'd;
With hasty Strides he to the Garden goes,
When from the Banquet Haman trembling rose;
As meanly servile now as proud before,
And did at Esther's Feet for Life implore;
And had perhaps prevail'd in his Request,
Revenge so great a Stranger to her Breast;
But that self-moment Persia's Prince returns,
And fann'd with Jealousy his Anger burns:
“And dares th'Audacious, dares the Wretch, he cries,
“Insult the Queen herself before my Eyes?
The Monarch stamps, the Mutes soon fill the Place,
And at the Signal cover Haman's Face:
Swift is his Fate, he's in a moment rear'd
On a tall Tree for Mordecai prepar'd:
His Children by resembling Death's expire,
Expos'd on Crosses round their impious Sire:
The Jews commission'd all their Foes destroy,
And still in annual Feasts transmit their Nations Joy.
CCXXI. Job, Chap. I.
Job's Character: His Riches and Children: His Misfortunes: Patience, &c.
There dwelt a Man for spotless Faith renoun'd:
Pious and Just, as far as Mortals can,
He fled from Ill, and liv'd a Perfect Man.
Job was his Name, a num'rous Offspring bless'd
His nuptial Bed, his Substance still encreas'd,
And none so Great of all the wealthy East.
Sev'n princely Sons by turns each other treat,
Their three fair Sisters at the Banquet-Seat.
Their Father, lest in Heat of Mirth and Wine,
Some Thought which might offend the Pow'r divine
Had there intruded, when the Feast was o're,
Sev'n free-neck'd Bullocks kill'd, and Pardon did implore.
Returning from their weighty Charge abroad,
Stood Hymning: That invet'rate Foe to Good,
Who tumbled from the Stars, amongst 'em stood:
Hurry'd by darling Mischief and Despair
Hast thou been wandring?—Swoln with Rage and Pride,
From my appointed Task, the Fiend reply'd,
In walking round this habitable Globe:
And saw'st thou there, said God, my Servant Job?
Perfect and Just—not e'en thy envious Eye,
Cou'd in so fair a Life a Blot espy.
'Tis Int'rest all—thus did the Fiend reply;
So Strong a Fence hast thou around him made,
As I, and all my Legions can't invade:
But should'st thou once thy heav'nly Guards displace,
And touch his Wealth, he'd curse thee to thy Face.
Agen, th'All-High—thy envious Wish enjoy,
His Person safe, his Goods thou may'st destroy.
The Tempter, meditating Mischief went
From Heav'n, and on his welcom Task intent,
To trembling Uz, his snakey Footsteps bent:
The Patriarch's eldest Blessing now receives
The rest in course, and gen'rous Welcom gives:
When loe a panting Messenger arrives,
And thus to Job—Thy Herds are all a Prey,
By fierce Sabæan Robbers driv'n away:
Unarm'd thy helpless Servants strove in vain,
And all, besides my single self, are slain.
The Fire of God thy Sheep and Servants slew,
I only 'scap'd—when strait a Third relates,
The Camels loss, their murder'd Keepers Fates,
By three Chaldean-Bands; The Fourth and last
While yet he spake, springs in with breathless Haste,
And thus—A Tempest from the Desart flew,
Thy Eldest Son's fair Palace overthrew,
Whose hideous Ruins all thy Children slew:
—Unmov'd and calm the Patriarch heard the rest,
But Nature now gave way—with Grief oppress'd
He rose, his Robes he rent, his Loss deplor'd,
His Head he shav'd—But still his God ador'd:
Naked, says he, to Life at first I rose,
And naked must in Mother-Earth repose:
'Twas God who gave, 'tis God who takes again,
His Name be bless'd—Thus far did Job remain
Exempt from Sin, his suff'ring Virtue shin'd,
Nor weakly murmur'd once, nor once at God repin'd.
CCXXII. Job, Chap. II. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 11.
Satan obtains permission to afflict the Person of Job: His Wife reviles him, &c.
And scales the Crystal Walls of heavenly Day:
He wanders round the Regions once his own,
And, impudent, advances near the Throne.
That awful Pow'r whose Thunder shakes the Sky,
The former Question asks, and meets the same Reply.
And hast thou now, agen th'Almighty said,
With curious Eyes my Servant Job survey'd;
Sincerely Pious, in his Suff'rings Great,
His Faith and Resignation are compleat;
Tho' thou against him hast employ'd the Pow'r
Which my Commission gave, and still would'st him devour.
When thus th'Artificer of Fraud reply'd,
At Distance only yet has Job been try'd:
Himself is next himself, tho' Friends are near,
Tho' all for Life the Ransom were not dear.
But cou'd I greater Length of Pow'r obtain,
Might I his tender Flesh afflict with Pain;
If then he wou'd not curse thee, curse me more
If possible, than thou: hast done before!
Thou may'st torment, says God, but shalt not him destroy.
And gladly leaves the hostile Realms of Day.
Wrapt in a suffocating Cloud he fled,
And to the suff'ring Saint his Journey sped;
O're waste Arabia, and the torrid Zone,
With those curs'd Regions pleas'd, so like his own:
Sulphureous burning Vapours thence he takes,
And sucks the pois'nous Steams from standing Lakes.
With these his bloated odious Form extends,
These with his own infernal Breath he blends:
When thus prepar'd, he to his Quarry fled,
And pours the mingled Mischief o're his Head;
Whose Scalding Drops with noisom Biles infest
His crusted Skin, and banish Ease and Rest:
From Head to Feet one frightful Ulcer grown,
A Stranger to his Friends, and to himself unknown.
Silent he sits, with Ashes cover'd o're,
And with a Potsheard scrapes the festring Shore.
—Yet have I, cries the Foe, one Torment more:
What neither I my self nor Biles can do,
Shall She alone attempt and conquer too:
—He says, and then his Wife against him plays,
Whose Tongue did soon a louder Tempest raise
With all the Fury in her Voice and Eyes,
Where are thy Pray'rs, and where thy Sacrifice?
Where are thy Sons, and where thy Daughters now?
Go for their Safety, Go and pay thy Vow!
Their hapless Mother's fruitless Pangs and Throes,
My short-liv'd Blessings, my redoubled Woes:
Thou, like thy self, art on the Dunghil plac'd,
With crawling Worms for thy Attendants grac'd:
But no Misfortunes are to JOB severe;
What has a Stock like him, to do, but bear?
I cannot, will not tamely keep the Bounds,
And praise the Pow'r that me unjustly wounds.
To what am I by thy Alliance come?
A Slave, a Vagabond without a Home:
—Thy stupid Piety no more retain,
Nor longer feed thy self with Hopes in vain,
But him that Plagues thee Curse, and End at once thy Pain.
As Waves are dash'd to foam against a Rock:
He calm returns—Thy Words how fond, how base!
How like the foolish and the impious Race!
Since Good and Ill alike from Heav'n are sent,
Let's thank for both, and go away Content:
A rare Example! still Jehovah's Name be bless'd.
CCXXIII. Job Chap. II. Ver. 12, 13: and Chap. III.
Job's Friends come to condole with him: He curses his Birth-day, &c.
The Holy Man's Misfortunes soon were spred:
Some Friends he has, who still Compassion take,
And tho' they censure, will not him forsake:
Wise Eliphaz, the mighty Esau's Heir,
Who did a Ducal Crown in Teman wear:
Bildad, who ancient Shuah's Scepter sway'd,
And Zophaz, whom fair Naamah's Sons obey'd:
To fruitful Uz at once their Steps they bend,
To comfort and condole their ancient Friend.
Approaching him at distance they survey,
O how transform'd! as in the Dust he lay:
Scarce was he known, and yet too much they knew,
More sadly certain on a nearer View:
O're their dishonour'd Heads they Ashes threw;
Aloud they weep, aloud his Fate lament:
'Twas all they cou'd, for Words refus'd to flow,
The mean Expressions they of vulgar Woe:
A Week of Days ran by e're either spoke,
When Job at last the stubborn Silence broke;
O'rewhelm'd with Cares in weak Complaints began,
And thus at length the Saint confess'd the Man.
JOB III.
For ever be forgot that hated Night
Which gave me Birth—Let gloomy Clouds invade
That fatal Day, dark, as Death's Iron Shade!
O let not God regard it from above,
And backward let the Sun affrighted move!
Raze, Raze that Night! Disjoyn it from the Year!
For ever blot it from the Kalendar!
Let horrid Silence, hellish Darkness stain
That Night, nor Joy disturb their peaceful Reign!
Curs'd, ev'n by those who hate and curse the Day,
Whose Charms can lead the frighted Moon astray;
At mid-night Sabbaths whom the gloomy Fiends obey.
And quench'd its Stars in everlasting Night.
Never, no never let the Day appear,
Nor smiling Dawn expecting Mortals chear!
Because the teeming Womb it did not close,
Nor gave my Eyes from Grief a long Repose.
Why dy'd I not when first to Life I rose?
Why did the Knees prevent with cruel Care,
Why did th'officious Breasts my Food prepare!
How still and quiet shou'd I now have laid,
O envious Death! wrapt in thy peaceful Shade;
With Kings and mighty Nothings, fam'd of old,
For Heaps of Silver, and for Hoards of Gold;
Who splendid Tombs and Pyramids have rais'd
In Desart Sands, for labour'd Follies prais'd;
Like Embryo-Forms that ne're the Light had seen,
Then had I been as one that had not been:
The wicked there compell'd from troubling cease:
The weary there enjoy unenvy'd Peace:
No cruel Tyrants there the Pris'ners fear,
No Creditor's tormenting Voice they hear:
Levell'd the Small and Great, the Rich and Poor,
And Servant there, and Master is no more.
On those who wear their Days in Pain and Woe?
Still cramm'd with Life, which they abhor and hate,
Still lingring by the Malice of their Fate.
Death is the dear, the only Boon they crave;
They dig in vain, but cannot find the Grave:
Death is their Hope, their Wealth, their Joy; How bless'd,
When in the silent Tomb they find eternal Rest.
CCXXIV. Job, Chap. XXXVIII. from Ver 1. to 7. and Ch. XXXIX. from Ver. 19. to 25.
God answers Job out of the Whirl-wind. The Description of the Horse.
With Thunder charg'd, to Job th'Almighty spoke:
His Wisdom vaunt, or vie his Strength with mine?
Exert thy self, be all the Man displaid!
When solid Earth's Foundations first I laid,
When the bright Stars their Maker's Praise confess'd,
The Sons of God their Joy with Shouts express'd;
Where wert thou then, whate're thou know'st declare!
What were thy Thoughts, and thy Employment there?
Upon the gen'rous HORSE his matchless Strength bestow?
His Neck with Thunder cloath, and fierce Disdain,
Or to the Winds diffuse his flowing Main?
Will he thy Hand like a weak Locust fear,
Or trembling at thy Presence, disappear?
He breaths a Storm, and Lightning in his Eye.
Proud of his Strength, behold him rage and bound,
And stamp with clatt'ring Hoofs the putrid Ground!
He Arms, and Men disdains, nor knows to fear
The rattling Quiver, or the glitt'ring Spear:
—Sound, sound a Charge! the Trumpets call from far,
He hears with Joy the distant gath'ring War:
Fiercely he flies th'advancing Foe to meet,
Trembles the hollow Ground beneath his Feet.
—And now the less'ning Plain is grown a Line,
The deadly Piles are cast, the Battles joyn.
With thund'ring Shouts the Warriors rend the Skies,
He Thunders too—Aha! Aha! he cries:
Swift as a Shaft from Parthian Archer flies,
He shoots away, the narrow Champain cross'd,
He breaks the thickest Ranks, and in the Fight is lost.
CCXXV. Job Chap. XLII. from Ver. 1. to the End.
Job's Happiness.
And thus with humble Heart and Voice he said:
Thine be the Glory, and be mine the Shame!
To will and to perform's the same with you.
How blind, how ignorant, how bold, how vain,
Have I presum'd to censure and complain!
O hear a suppliant Sinner, who implores
Thy pard'ning Goodness, and thy Pow'r adores!
Something before of God I heard and knew,
But now my dazled Eyes thy Glory view:
The more I know, the more I must lament,
Abhor my self, and in the Dust Repent.
The suff'ring Saint, as roll'd in Dust he lay:
Enough, he said, thou shalt no longer mourn,
I turn the Scale, and bid thy Fortunes turn.
While thro' the Clouds his Voice in Thunder broke,
And thus he his unfriendly Friends bespoke:
How false your Reas'nings, and your Eyes how blind!
My Servant Job, afflicted and distress'd,
Far juster Notions has of me express'd:
Then fly to him, before my Anger rise,
Which he'll prevent with Pray'r and Sacrifice!
They did—Behold the Patriarch intercede
And plead for those who did against him plead!
Nor was his Suit in vain to Heav'n prefer'd,
For them and for himself his Pray'rs are heard:
Not his Misfortunes came so quick before:
How bless'd a Change! what bright Reverse of Fate!
And now what Crowds of Friends his Levee wait?
What num'rous Gifts they bring, what Sums untold?
(He that has Gold shall still have more of Gold.)
Why had he not before their Friendships try'd?
Not one but wou'd have all his Wants supply'd:
He knew 'em all, yet civil Thanks express'd,
His alter'd Consort came among the rest:
Unkind, imperious, murm'ring now no more,
As when she vex'd his righteous Soul before;
His Pardon did at once and Heaven's implore:
He all forgot, with Tears of Joy confess'd
Reviving Love, and clasp'd her to his Breast:
The num'rous Offspring which before he mourn'd
Were all agen by bounteous Heav'n return'd:
Sev'n princely Sons agen his Table grac'd,
And near 'em were three lovely Daughter's plac'd;
Whose pleasing Names their Virtues did display,
As Cassia fragrant, and as fair as Day.
Three Ages still the Patriarch did survive,
And did of all the Joy and Wonder live:
Satiate with worldly Good, did then remove
To try more lasting Bliss, and purer Joys above.
CCXXVI. The PSALMS.
While the Great Spirit did Jesse's Son inspire,Thus sung the Bard and touch'd his heav'nly Lyre:
Of Bad and Good he sings the diff'rent Fate,
And next Messiah's glorious Reign and State;
Three Mournful Songs his Grief and Faith explain,
His Penitential Thoughts the Sixth retain.
The next of Saul, and proud Goliah treat,
And blame th'abhor'd Oppressions of the Great;
Who shall in Sion's sacred Mountain dwell,
The Saviour's Conquest over Death and Hell.
With Heav'n he pleads his injur'd Innocence,
And grateful Songs repays for Heav'ns Defence:
Nature and Revelation next he shows;
Proud Syria's Arms are broke, and God's and David's Foes.
The Saviour's Suff'rings shadow'd in his own,
His Trust in God; the Ascension then fore-shown:
His Sins and Sorrows then his Soul torment,
To Heav'n he cries when into Exile sent.
In lofty Hymns the Thunderer's Praise express'd;
Amidst his Friends his Name the Psalmist bless'd,
And then with contrite Heart his Sins confess'd.
Praise.—Achish.—Dreadful Threatnings on th'Unjust;
And tho' they prosper, we in God must trust:
His Sins and Sorrows: Life's a fleeting Shade:
He waits. The Traitor Judas is displaid.
The Nations Spoil describ'd in mournful Songs:
But soon Messiah's glorious Loves we find,
And Peace and Conquest down to future Days consign'd.
Death equals all. God will to Judgment come:
David for Pardon sues. Fierce Doeg's doom.
Sheba. The Ziphites, and false Gilonite:
David in Gath—from Saul his hasty Flight.
Ill Counsellors. He prays against his Foes:
Aram and Edom smites—To Exile goes.
His Trust in God: In Desarts he complains.
Curs'd Plots. He blesses Heav'n for kindly Rains.
For Conquest, Praise. God and the People bless'd:
Messiah's Triumphs next in lofty Hymns express'd.
Salvation ask'd. In God he puts his Trust,
Solomon crown'd. Prosper'd awhile th'Unjust.
The Temple fir'd: Th'Assyrians Horns are broke:
The Psalmist groans beneath th'Almighty's Stroke:
God's Wonders told. His Holy Place defil'd;
His Vineyard trampled and his People spoil'd.
The Feast of Trumpets. Earthly Gods advis'd:
Jehaziel's Psalm. The Temple lov'd and priz'd.
Captives restor'd. For Health the Psalmist sues;
Sion describes—and then his Plaint renews.
God leaves his King. From Moses learn to Pray!
The Good are safe.—This for the Sabbath Day!
God Reigns.—Revenge is his. Twice come and sing!
For Clouds and Darkness round Heav'ns awful King.
Victorious Praise. The Lord exalted reigns.
Praise him whose Truth no bound of Time contains!
Kingly Resolves. Th'afflicted God will raise:
And all his Works their Great Creator praise.
What Wonders to ungrateful Israel shown:
God's Providence from kind Afflictions known.
Messiah's Footstool, his inveterate Foes.
Two Festal Hymns by the GREAT HALLEL clos'd.
Divine Instructions artfully compos'd.
David in Kedar mourn'd—From Heav'n his Aid:
He pray'd for Peace—and for Salvation pray'd.
Escap'd, he praises God—In him his Trust.
The Sorrows and the Triumph of Just.
The Lord must build. Who fears his Name is bless'd.
The Righteous oft afflicted. Sin confess'd.
The humble Mind. The wandring Ark does rest.
Bless'd Union! Those who God's high Temple guard,
How bless'd! The Service is its own Reward.
The morning Hymn: The festal Anthem sung,
When the full Quire with Hallelujah's rung.
Unlearnt at Babel, where their Harps unstrung:
Not David's thus, who the Creator sings,
To listning ANGELS and to listning Kings:
To God appeals. Unbosoms all his Grief,
And from his Sins and Foes implores Relief.
What makes a Country happy then displays:
The next his own peculiar Psalm of Praise.
With heav'nly Hallelujahs all the rest,
Bless his tremendous Name, whose Name be ever bless'd!
CCXXVII. The Proverbs of Solomon.
From Solomon, true Wisdom to discern:
He shows 'tis plac'd in Piety alone,
That the Foundation, that the Corner-Stone;
Then thus the Royal Moralist goes on.
Regard thy Parents sage Advice, my Son!
Ill Company and bad Examples shun!
When Sinners thee to Ruin wou'd entice,
Rather attend to Wisdom's kind Advice!
Ah, foolish Boy!—concern'd and loud she cries,
How long wilt thou in Vice's Mazes rove!
How long thy Folly and thy Ruin love!
Turn e're too late, O turn when I reprove;
Lest I thy gasping Pray'rs refuse to hear,
Laugh at thy Mis'ry, and deride thy Fear:
But if thy Soul to Wisdom thou incline,
And search, as Silver in the secret Mine;
God will the Knowledge of himself impart,
Which with unfading Joys shall fill thy Heart:
Of wicked Men 'twill teach thee to beware,
And guard thee from the lewd deceitful Fair,
Whose Eyes are Traps, and every Word a Snare.
Her Lips like Honey from the Rock distill'd;
But O, as Wormwood, bitter is her End:
Her Lovers to the Shades of Death descend.
Will Fire within the Bosom rest disarm'd?
Can any walk on burning Coals unharm'd?
More fondly blind, more madly desp'rate he
Whose Soul defil'd with base Adultery:
The worst of Thieves, curs'd and abhorr'd his Name,
Nor ever curable his wounded Fame.
Beware an injur'd Husband's jealous Rage,
Which less than Life there's nothing can asswage.
What potent Charms, what well-known guiltless Arts
The Syrens use to snare unguarded Hearts?
As from my Window once I cast mine Eye,
Full of himself, a Youth walk'd careless by;
Near a lewd Woman's Den, too near he pass'd;
A furious Tyger makes not half the haste;
When urg'd by hungry Stings, to seize his Prey
As she to him, from where she ambush'd lay;
With harden'd Face she to her Quarry ran,
Attack'd with Harlot Smiles, and thus began:
Since at the last so dear a Friend I gain:
Long have I languish'd for this happy Hour,
When with these greedy Eyes I thee devour:
From that dear Man, who long has charm'd my Heart.
All, all is ready; all that may invite
Thy am'rous Youth to taste of stoln Delight:
Till the Day dawn, and envious Sun shall shine,
Be Drunk with Love, and pledge full Bowls of mine,
Nor on my Dotard-Husband think for Shame!
'Twill pall our Joys that odious Thing to name:
The Wretch is gone to some rich Mart or Fair,
His faithful Spouse ne're ask'd, and cares not where.
If long enough he stay; nor will he haste,
Till his long Bag of Gold begin to waste:
Till then—she said, he's fast within her Toils,
Her flatt'ring Tongue his heedless Youth beguiles:
So the dull Ox to Slaughter tamely goes,
So to the Snare the Bird, but neither knows
That Death is there; so He, till in his Heart,
He feels (and writhes in vain) the fatal Dart.
Her House the Grave from whence no Guests return,
Down, down they sink to Hell, and there for ever mourn.
CCXXVIII. ECCLESIASTES.
And learn from him that worldly Joys are vain:
What is has been before, there's nothing new,
Satiety does all our Bliss pursue:
Laughter is only Madness, Mirth but Noise,
And Wine can give but false and short-liv'd Joys:
Fair Gardens, Palaces, and num'rous Train,
Silver and Gold, and Musick's self is vain.
I had my Wish, and gave my Soul the Rein:
Thro' Pleasures winding Paths did freely range,
Wisdom for Folly, and for Madness change:
Thus Labour after Labour did repeat,
All, all I found Vexation and Deceit.
Yet Wisdom's Paths are still serenely bright,
Excelling Follies as the Shades the Light.
O weary Life! ev'n Life it self is vain:
My Days are Sorrow, and my Wisdom Pain:
Despair my Heart! since thou no Rest canst find,
Nor know'st to whom thy Labours left behind.
Awful Tribunals I survey'd and saw,
The Poor undone by specious Forms of Law:
To please the Great, and ruin Innocence.
I saw the Tears of such as were oppress'd
By lawless Pow'r: The Dead I prais'd and bless'd.
Beyond the Living: Happier far is he,
An Embryo-Form who ne're the Light did see,
Nor yet experienc'd what a Pain to Be.
Where e're exalted Virtue single stood,
And dar'd appear distinguishingly Good,
By Envy's Sons it fell, who fear and hate,
That shining Worth they cannot imitate.
I saw that avaritious Wretch who spares,
To load with Wealth his distant spend-thrift Heirs,
Nor Son, nor Brother to possess his Store,
Yet still he starves himself and longs for more;
And still is WISE and GOOD—How vain, how blind!
How stupidly perverse! What Beasts are all Mankind!
Then seize the flying Moments while we may.
By all my Searches this at last I find,
Since we our Wealth and Goods must leave behind.
With modest Mirth let still thy Bowl be crown'd,
Freely let that, tho' not thy Head go round:
Dress, eat and live well, and profusely shed,
The rich and gen'rous Oil around thy Head:
To her who claims thy Vows, and claims thy Heart.
With that DEAR ONE thy happy Hours improve,
And Riot, if thou canst, in virtuous Love!
'Tis all thou hast on Earth—when all is done,
'Tis all that's worth a Thought beneath the Sun.
And since thou know'st that Life's a fleeting Shade,
What Good thou dost, with all thy Vigour do,
And thus fair Fame a noble Chace, pursue:
Thus thou thy self shalt from Oblivion save,
Since there's no Work, nor Wit, nor Wisdom in the Grave.
CCXXIX.
The Preacher warns the young Man to think of Old Age, Death and Judgment.
The Royal Preacher thus to Virtue forms:
Thou, whom the tempting Spring of Life invites
To taste of Mirth and Joy, and gay Delights;
Indulge thy Wishes, give thy Soul the Reins,
And laugh at Consciences and Virtues Charms!
But know, fond Youth! Ah know, and always mind
A strict, a just Account remains behind.
Remember, who must then pronounce thy Doom;
And long uncomfortable Years to come:
Before the lusty Sun of Youth decline,
The Moon and Stars with feeble glimm'rings shine:
Before Heav'ns azure Face is sought in vain,
While Rain succeeds the Clouds, and Clouds the Rain.
E're the strong Guardians of thy House give way,
Tremble thy Thighs, thy sinewy Arms decay:
Thy Tongue forget to taste, thy Teeth to grind,
And thy dim Eyes no more the Light shall find.
Birds of ill Omen then shall hover o're
Thy Roof, and joyous Songs shall be no more:
Each Hill shall seem to nod its threatning Head,
Dismay and Terror all around thee spread:
Thy hoary Hairs shall hastning Death fore-show,
The smallest Weight a sinking Burthen grow:
What is there now in Life that's worth desire?
The Mourner's Torch prepares to light thy Fire;
Thou must to thy long silent Home, the Grave, retire.
The golden Lamp of Life must burn no more:
The great Machin no longer now must play,
Ev'n thy strong Vitals to the Foe give way,
And conqu'ring Death breaks in, and claims the all his Prey.
Thy Spirit shall to th'World of Spirits aspire,
And trembling stand before its great immortal Sire.
O Fear th'Almighty, and his Laws obey;
For thou before his awful Throne must stand,
Where every Thought and every Action scann'd:
The Good shall Bliss, and vast Rewards attend,
The Bad are doom'd to Shame and Pain that knows no End.
CCXXX. The Canticles, or Song of Solomon.
And only warm you at a painted Fire,
Look here, and raise your Souls to more sublime Desire!
While David's Son in Numbers worthy Kings,
The Churches Loves, and then the Saviour's sings.
In the chast Turtles kindest, softest Kiss!
Thy Love, my Flame! transporting and divine,
Imparts a stronger, nobler warmth than Wine:
Thy fragrant Name Ambrosial Sweets respires,
And fills the Virgins Breast with chast and fair Desires.
To love so rustic and so mean a Face?
Yet since he's pleas'd to like it, I am Fair,
And, Salem's Daughters! can with you compare.
As e're resembling Passion warm'd thy Breast;
Tell me, too lovely Shepherd! tell me where
Thou dost at Noon to cooling Shades repair;
Tho' cooling Shades will scorch, when thou my Sun, art there.
Thy happy Flocks thou dost both feed and guide.
Why shou'd I wander thence? For, who can be
Or bless'd without thee, or unbless'd with thee?
If thou thy Lover's Walk desire to find;
Go where the bleating Train are wont to pass!
See where their num'rous Footsteps print the Grass!
Nor shalt thou there his Presence long prevent,
Thy Kids the while may graze besides the Shepherd's Tent.
Brought from the Bosom of the rising Morn,
Which at a Kingdom's Rate we justly prize,
Look dim, or borrow Lustre from those Eyes:
The Gold does but by thy Reflexion shine,
Nor can the Silver grace a Form like thine.
And only Good my ravish'd Soul admires,
Sits at his Table, fann'd by gentle Gales,
My flowing Nard its balmy Sweets exhales:
—But with his Breath what Spices can compare!
The blooming Spring less sweet, less sweet th'Arabian Air:
While on my Bosom he securely rests,
His Head reclining on my panting Breasts;
And nothing Sweet but him, and nothing Fair I call.
CCXXXI. Canticles, Chap. II.
The snowy Lily that adorns the Vale:
And as th'unsulli'd Lilies Beauty shows,
Which in a Brake of churlish Brambles grows;
So shines my spotless Love, beyond compare,
So she the fairest Thing of all that's Fair.
And gain from every Rival Fruit the Prize;
So he I love (how bless'd if lov'd agen!)
Is fairer far than all the Sons of Men.
How vast my Bliss when safe beneath his Shade!
No Sun cou'd reach me there, no Storms invade:
I reach'd the bending Fruit with eager haste,
Of heav'nly Odor, of Ambrosial Taste:
He brought me to his Banquet, richly spread,
Love his triumphant Banner o're my Head.
O give me Air! those kind, those killing Eyes remove!
A Cordial give with speed! I faint, I die for Love!
And with his kind Right-Hand he me embrac'd.
Disturb my Love's Repose, indulge his Ease,
Nor break his Slumbers till himself he please!
My busie Heart fore-told my Love was near:
The craggy Hills in vain his Course wou'd stay,
The cloudy Mountains can't obstruct his Way:
A Roe or Hart his beauteous Feet excel,
For Love can draw more swift than Fear compel.
What need of Art where all was His before?
He near some ruin'd Wall in ambush lies,
And half is seen, and half himself denies:
I heard his Voice, tho' still his Face he hides,
And thro' my secret Soul each charming Accent glides.
Arise my Love! my Fair, and come away!
A Love like mine admits of no Delay!
The stormy Winter's Rage at length is o're,
And Heav'ns sweet Face is veil'd in Clouds no more.
Soft vernal Air the gentle Pleiads bring,
The gentle Pleiads warn the welcom Spring:
The Flow'rs around the painted Fields appear,
Nor more the burning Frost and envious Winter fear.
How wild, how charming all their mingled Notes!
The murm'ring Turtle on the Green-wood Spray,
Courts his chast Mate, upbraiding our Delay.
The struggling Buds from Nature's Store-house come,
Distend their pregnant Gems, and crowd for room:
The Vines revive, their tender Grapes appear,
And promise Blessings to the rising Year:
Native Perfumes uncall'd the Sense delight,
And Odour rivals hearing and the sight.
Were these but known, How would'st thou blame thy stay?
Arise, my Love, my Fair, and come away!
In secret Shades indulge soft Rest no more!
The Morning calls, we'll trace the Mountains o're;
Thro' Hills and Dales, a long and cheerful Chace,
Pursue the Fox with all his prolling Race:
For all their nightly Thefts they now shall pay,
For brouzing all our tender Vines by Day.
Thou dearer than my Soul, and all my Soul is thine.
Cover'd with Lilies in the Woods he lay,
By his own Light disclos'd, and fairer far than they:
—Behold the beauteous Morn! behold the rising Day!
Nor can they bear the Light of such a Sun.
Make haste my Love! with all thy Joys appear!
Nor leave me to despair and languish here!
Swift as the Roe-buck which out-strips the Wind,
Swift as the Royal Hart, when the hot Chace behind.
CCXXXII. Canticles, Chap. III.
Still was the Night, and all in Sleep lay drown'd,But watchful Cares the Lover's Head surround;
And oft they start, and oft in Dreams they view
The dear lov'd Object and their Pain renew:
Thus while I slept, my busy wakeful Thought
Of him I lov'd, the pleasing Image brought:
Too strong th'Impression was for Rest to bear,
I sighing wak'd, and clasp'd but empty Air:
When from my widow'd Bed my self I threw,
And round the silent Streets distracted flew:
For him I lov'd, I sought, alas! in vain,
Nor cou'd I find the Cause of all my Pain.
Wand'ring thro' Paths unknown, the Watch I found,
Who thro' the City walk'd their nightly Round:
For him who is my panting Soul's desire.
Still I go on, and tempt without Affright,
(So bold is Love!) the Dangers of the Night:
Nor long before my Labour richly paid,
I found my Love, I seiz'd, I grasp'd, I staid,
And to my Mother's Chamber him convey'd.
Chap. IV. Ver. 8, &c.
My more than Sister! and my more than Friend!
Where Amana's and Shenir's Mountains rise,
And Hermon's hoary Head invades the Skies,
And see beneath an earthly Paradise!
Nor fear the Lions or the Leopards there,
Those Eyes will charm their Rage, nor can they hurt the Fair.
Those Eyes have stoln my Heart, no longer mine,
How far excels thy Love the Joys of Wine!
O how reviving is thy rich Perfume,
Diffusing Paradise all round thy Room!
Thy Lips, my Fair! with more of Sweetness fill'd,
Than the live Honey from the Rocks distill'd.
How soft thy Words! inimitable Grace
Adorns thy Lips, and Eden's in thy Face!
A Cherub guards the Gate with watchful Care,
A Spring shut up, a Fountain seal'd my Fair.
Pomgranats there their od'rous Sweets bestow;
Crocus and Nard, and fragrant Shrubs and Trees.
Thro' flow'ry Walks exhale a spicy Breez.
Blow on my Garden all the gentle Winds!
—And loe they hear, and loe kind Zephir brings
The mingled Treasures of a Thousand Springs,
A Thousand Sweets upon his balmy Wings!
They call their Kindred Sweets, they wake, they rise,
In odorif'rous Clouds, and fill the wondring Skies.
CCXXXIII. Canticles, Chap. V, VII, VIII.
Is firmly pledg'd—my Sister and my Spouse!
My Friends I've in my Garden entertain'd,
But for my Love this happy Moment gain'd:
For what are Friends to thee? I left 'em there,
My Feast, my Fruits, my gen'rous Wines to share
All, all, and more, are Thou, my charming Fair!
But, ah! my panting Heart has no Repose!
I know his Voice, the Voice of him I love,
“Why thus unkind, my fair, my spotless Dove!
“So long I wait till dewy Night has shed
“Its cold unwholsom moisture o're my Head.
Must I my Feet, new-wash'd, defile anew?
Agen he calls and does for Entrance sue:
My conscious Heart, tho' now too late, was mov'd,
Ah, how unkind my Sloth to him I lov'd!
I rose, I ran, I flew with eager haste,
My Hopes already had their Lord embrac'd:
But he was gone and left me to Despair:
With loud Complaints I wound the gentle Air,
With loud Complaints which scatter'd into Wind,
And call him false, and cruel, and unkind.
Hurry'd by Passion thro' the Streets I flew,
But whither, neither did regard nor knew:
Agen, I by the churlish Watch was found,
My Veil they rudely take, and me they wound.
My lovely Fugitive you chance to see,
Tell him, what may perhaps his Pity move,
Tell him I languish and I die for Love.
We all the rivall'd Palm of Beauty yield!
Describe the dear, the happy Swain you love!
Beyond Expression, and beyond compare:
The white and manly Red his Face adorn,
Gay as those Beams that dress the rising Morn.
His Head like polish'd Gold, but far more fine
Like Ravens glossy Plumes his curling Tresses shine,
But O, his Eyes, his Dove-like Eyes are all Divine.
On his lov'd Face a Bed of Spices grows,
Blushes the Lily and looks pale the Rose,
When shown with him, and with majestic Grace,
All Lebanon is open'd in his Face.
Who then, what Words can speak, what Tongue can tell
The Charms that on his Lips for ever dwell?
Lovely all o're, himself in every part:
—This, Virgins, this is he that charms my Heart.
Chap. VII. Ver. 10.
Yet he is mine: agen of me possess'd,Agen he strains me to his panting Breast:
Soon, soon my Love, the noisie Town forsake!
To our sweet Country Shades a Journey make!
To where the verdant Fields our Loves invite,
And where no envious Eye controls our chast Delight.
Before the Sun on dewy Hermon rise;
I'll to the Vineyards with my Love repair,
Together will we taste sweet Vernal Air;
To see the mantling Vine its Gems disclose,
And how to Life the tender Cluster grows:
To see the purple Granats forward press
Their dawning Buds, and in that calm recess
Shalt thou my Loves and all my Soul possess.
Chap. VIII. Ver. 13, 14.
The flow'ry Gardens are thy happy Choice,Where thy Companions hear thy tuneful Voice:
And why to me deny'd thy charming Song!
O do not, do not thy Return prolong!
Haste, as the Royal Hart or nimble Roe
Shoot o're the flow'ry Hill where bloomy Spices grow.
CCXXXIV. Isaiah, Chap. V.
God's Vineyard.
Thy Vineyard claims my Voice, and claims my Lyre.
And thence the cheerful Sun directly fac'd,
His kind meridian Beams did largely taste.
Of Weeds, and Shrubs, and Stones, he clear'd the Ground;
The noblest Vines he sought with nicest Care,
No niggard of his Cost, and planted there:
A lofty Turret rais'd, a Wine-press made,
And hop'd the Fruit wou'd all have richly paid.
But, ah th'Ungrate! when due Return he sought,
Harsh only were the Grapes, and wild it brought.
And who degen'rate Judah's remnant guide
With equal Votes betwixt us both decide!
What cou'd I do for my lov'd Vineyard more?
How have I there exhausted all my Store.
No grateful Fruit my Cost and Care repaid!
—Well,—'tis resolv'd—no longer I'll delay
To fix its Doom: it's Hedge I'll take away,
And leave it to the brouzing Herd a Prey;
Trampled and trod, with Brambles cover'd o're
All waste, and curs'd—I'll prune it now more,
No more will dig the vitious Soil in vain,
The Clouds no more thereon shall waste their kindly Rain.
Judah his Plant; How pleasant and how fair!
He look'd for Judgment, but Oppression found,
His Ears the Poor's Complaint did daily wound.
Until alone the Mighty Robbers plac'd!
Wo to th'Intemp'rate, who with Morn arise,
And till the stooping Sun has left the Skies,
In Luxury and Wine consume the Day,
While at their Feasts the Harp and Tabret play:
But none regards, there's none that understands
The wond'rous Works of God's Almighty Hands,
As, useless like themselves th'Eternal Mind,
Were in the Circle of the Skies confin'd.
And Hells unmeasurable Jaws are spread:
Their Glory and their Pomp must soon have End,
And thither all their Pride and short-liv'd Joy descend.
CCXXXV. Isaiah, Chap. VI.
Isaiah sees the Glory of God. A Seraph touches his Tongue, &c.
This wond'rous Vision was to Esay sent:
His bright angelic Train the Temple grac'd:
The favour'd Seraphim attend above,
Six Wings has each compos'd of Fire and Love:
With Two they veil'd their Face, their Feet with Two,
With the remaining Pair sublime they flew:
Th'Archangel then their best-lov'd Anthem sung,
While with the Sound the vaulted Temple rung:
O Holy! Holy! Holy! thrice he cries,
Thy boundless Glory fills both Earth and Skies:
Trembled the solid Pillars at the Noise,
And Heav'n and Earth repeat th'Archangel's Voice:
The House was fill'd with smould'ring Flames and Smoak,
Which from the broad-leav'd Gates incessant broke:
I'm lost, for ever lost, the Prophet cries,
Jehovah seen with these polluted Eyes:
Who in a Nation dwell of Lips profane:
When loe a Seraph singled from the Quire,
Snatches a Coal from th'Altars hallow'd Fire;
This on his trembling Lips unhurt he laid,
Henceforth be clean, thy Sins are purg'd he said.
A louder Voice ('twas God himself that spoke)
Thus from the Throne with dazling Splendor broke:
“Who shall of all her Sons, to this bad Land be sent,
“To warn 'em of their Crimes, if yet they can repent!
With humble Boldness did the Saint reply,
And not decline th'ungrateful Embassy:
Go then, said God, and tell th'Apostate Land,
Hearing they hear but will not anderstand:
Their Hearts they harden, and they close their Eyes,
Blind to their Welfare, Deaf to sound Advice:
Afraid lest they their Darling Sins shou'd leave,
And close their Wounds, and Life, and Health receive:
Obstinate to their Ruin; ripe for Fate;
Nor longer shall my injur'd Patience wait:
Their Cities shall be waste, their Land be desolate.
Yet shall a Tenth my Portion still remain,
And to their happy Seats return again;
And Earth with its dishevell'd Honours spread:
While its strong Heart the Winter's Rage defies,
Entrench'd within, the vital Vigor lies,
And waits a kinder Heav'n and milder Skies;
Till welcom Spring its Beauty shall restore,
And spread its leavy Shade more ample than before.
CCXXXVI. Isaiah, Chap. XIV. from Ver. 4. to Ver. 23.
An Elegy on the King of Babylon.
His mighty Ruins, spread how wide abroad!
Gone is that lofty glitt'ring Head of Gold,
In Dust and Death, and dim Oblivion roll'd:
The King of Tyrants hated Reign is o're,
He sinks in long-long Night, to rise no more.
Tall as its Brother Cedars of the Wood;
Whose vast enormous Weight did Blood and Bones confound,
And in whole Bodies scarce cou'd find a single Wound;
Worthy a wicked Tyrants arm to wield;
That Staff that laugh'd at Sword, and Spear, and Shield;
How is it shiver'd like a feeble Rod,
By the strong Arm of Israel's mighty God!
How is the dreadful Iron Scepter broke,
Which late a Nation bruis'd at every Stroke!
The Tyrant's faln, the groaning World's at rest:
Ye stately Firs of Lebanon rejoyce!
And O ye Cedars there lift up your Voice!
His Axes shall no more against you rise,
But fell'd himself on Earth a lifeless Trunk he lies.
What means this Tumult in the Realms of Death?
'Tis all for Thee—the mighty Ghosts prepare,
At thy Arrival to salute thee there:
From burning Iron Thrones with Scorpions crown'd,
The Tyrants cast their gloomy Eyes around:
Nimrod and Ninus, Sanherib profane,
With him who perish'd in th'Egyptian main;
Caius and Herod glare across the Shade,
Both by their cringing Slaves like thee, IMMORTAL made;
Great Maximin, and Greater Nero see,
And Attila, the Scourge of God like Thee:
Each shall arise, forsake his glowing Chair,
And crowd the broad-leav'd Gates, and groan thy Welcom there.
Thus shall they at thy Entrance, thee upbraid;
—Art thou like us a weak and empty Shade?
Where is thy Pomp, thy Trumpets warlike Noise,
And thy adoring Peoples shouting Voice?
The Dust and crawling Worms around thee spred,
'Tis all the Purple that adorns the Dead.
How art thou fallen from thy high Estate!
How wide the Gulf thro' where thy Legions fell?
From those sweet Realms of Joy to these black Shades of Hell.
Clear as the Morning once thy Beauty shin'd,
Tho' blasted now and wither'd with the Wind:
'Twas Pride transform'd the Cherub to the Fiend,
Thus didst thou say—“I will to Heav'n ascend;
Above the Stars I will exalt my Throne,
And claim the sacred Mount of God my own!
If not surmount, I'll Rival the most High,
And with him share his Empire of the Sky:
Yet art thou whirl'd to Hell, thy lofty Head
And Breast with never dying Worms are spred,
Thou reign'st a gloomy King among the Dead.
Whose awful Nod alone cou'd Kingdoms shake,
Who Towns to Heaps, and Earth to Desarts turn'd,
Whose Pris'ners in eternal Durance mourn'd?
Of Marble built, and squalid all with Gold;
Thy last, thy Fun'ral Honours are unpaid,
Expos'd to Heav'n thy putrid Carcass laid:
Like those who in the Heat of War expire,
Deform'd with griesly Wounds, and trampled in the Mire.
No mournful Friends thy loath'd Remains intomb:
Foe to Mankind, of all abhorr'd and bann'd!
Thou hast thy Subjects slain, THOU HAST DESTROY'D THE LAND!
Nor shall thy viperous Race like Thee, be crown'd;
Thy impious Seed shall never be renoun'd:
Prepare! prepare! for all his Sons prepare,
Slaughter, and Ruin, and eternal War!
Their Fathers Crimes shall sink his hateful Brood,
Shall sink 'em in a Sea of Guilt and Blood:
In vain his Thefts and Conquests shall they claim,
In vain assume a Monarch's empty Name:
New Mountains still their Father's curse supplies,
And sinks 'em, never, never more to rise.
Both Root and num'rous Branches I'll destroy,
Nor Son, nor Nephew shall his scatter'd Realms enjoy.
The boasted Spoils from plunder'd Nations born!
Thou too must meet a Fate severe as just,
Thou too must fall and tumble in the Dust.
Hoarse Bitterns, shrilling Owls, that hate the Light,
And all the wing'd ill Omens of the Night,
Their Mansions undisturb'd in thee shall take,
While swept of Men, thy Streets a standing Lake.
Who can reverse his Doom, or who resist his Hand?
CCXXXVII. Isaiah, Chap. XXVI; and XXVII. Ver. 1.
A Song inciting to Confidence in God.
—Strong is our City, our Defender strong!
Pow'rful Salvation will our God prepare,
Himself the Walls, himself the Bulwarks there.
The pious Crowd without for Entrance waits;
Who Gods misnam'd, and Idols vain abhor,
And only Israel's awful Pow'r adore:
He firm and perfect Peace ordains for those,
Who on his everlasting Arms repose.
Proud Babel's lofty Walls will he confound,
And lay her airy Turrets on the Ground:
Nor shall the Just uprightly walk in vain,
For God does weigh their Paths, and will their Paths maintain.
To thee, O righteous Lord, our Souls aspire,
To thee, and to thy Name is our Desire;
For thee we wait in dark Affliction's Night,
And seek thy Favour with the dawning Light.
The trembling World will own and fear their God:
Yet still an impious Race obdurate grown,
Ev'n in thy Sacred Land will thee disown;
Nor to thy amiable House repair,
Tho' often call'd, to see thy Glory there:
Yet shall they with Confusion own thy Pow'r,
When thy avenging Fire shall them devour.
With Smiles return, and bless the happy Land,
Our Triumphs, all the Work of thy Almighty Hand.
Enslav'd by Tyrants long we bore the Yoke,
Which thy strong Arm has from our Shoulders broke,
Tho' far too weak ourselves, ourselves to free,
And all the Glory we ascribe to Thee:
To thee, O God, when chasten'd and distress'd,
To thee we still our gasping Pray'rs address'd:
As teeming Mothers when the Birth is near,
Cry out at once for Pain and anxious Fear:
Such, such have been our Pangs, and such our Pain,
Tho' hopeless yet alas, and all in vain:
Our ling'ring Throes have yet produc'd but Wind,
We no Deliv'rance, no Salvation find.
Our Conquests, and our ancient Wonders lost.
And those who dwell in Dust arise and sing:
Come, my lov'd People! from the Vengeance fly,
That stands prepar'd and hov'ring in the Sky!
Till the rough Storm be pass'd your Chambers close,
And there enjoy a sure and calm Repose!
For God will from his holy Place appear,
While trembling Earth is struck with conscious Fear.
Nor can she longer hide her sanguine Stain,
Nor in her secret Caves conceal her slain.
Chap. XXVII. Ver. 1.
Then will the Lord his dreadful Sword unsheath,For Slaughter furbish'd, and prepar'd for Death:
Leviathan who boasts his Scales in vain,
And fearless takes his Pastime on the main:
Ev'n he shall fall, transfix'd by Wrath divine;
Behold in vain the crooked Reptile twine!
In vain he wounded seeks the reedy Shore,
And plunging wasts his Strength, and dies the Waves with Gore.
CCXXXVIII. Jeremiah, Chap. XXXV. from Ver.5. to Ver. 10.
The Prophet persuades the Rechabites to drink Wine.
Thus saith the Lord: The Sons of Rechab take,
Unto the Chambers of my House repair,
And with full Bowls of Wine regale 'em there.
With speed the Prophet Heav'ns Command obeys,
And to the House of God his Guests conveys:
No sooner they in Order seated round,
When the full Goblets came, with gen'rous Liquor crown'd.
In vain to Rechab's Sons the sparkling Wine,
Did in its Walls of massy Silver shine;
Yet civilly the Proffer they decline,
And thus their Cause of Abstinence declare,
—JEHONADAB, the wealthy Rechab's Heir:
And Father of our Race, did thus enjoyn
Ten Ages since elaps'd, to all his Line:
“—Avoid my Sons! Avoid the tempting Wine!
“Nor you, nor yours the luscious Poyson taste,
“Your Labour, or your Wealth in Building waste!
“Nor harmful Vineyards fondly plant, nor tear
“Your Mother Earth with a vexatious Share!
“Prolong a simple, calm and easie Life!
This we, with strictest Duty have obey'd,
Till the Chaldeans did the Land invade;
At whose approach we hither fled for fear,
And sought a safe Retreat and Refuge here.
—Agen a Word unto the Prophet came,
Which God to Judah bids him thus proclaim.
'Tis God that speaks—Will you not Audience give?
The Words of Jonadab are still perform'd,
No Wine his pious Sons has ever warm'd:
But I at early Dawn my Prophets sent,
And warn'd in vain, and cry'd in vain, Repent!
Nor this unpunish'd will I longer bear,
Thus does the Lord of Hosts himself declare;
The threaten'd Evils on your Land shall fall,
Because I call'd, but none regards my Call;
While Rechab's House who still with pious Care,
Their Father's Charge obey, shall never want an Heir.
CCXXXIX. Jeremiah, Chap. XXXVIII. from Ver. 6. to Ver. 13.
Jeremiah cast into the Dungeon; taken out by Ebedmelech. Is brought to the King, &c.
To Judah's Race with heavy Tidings went,
And warn'd in vain, and cry'd in vain, Repent:
Too late believ'd when Babel's King came down
And press'd on ev'ry side, the sacred Town:
Their Iron Sinew yet refus'd to bend,
In vain they their devoted Walls defend;
Ambitious of their Ruin scorn'd to yield,
But dar'd with Heav'n itself maintain the Field;
In Dungeons deep its faithful Herald thrown,
By whom their Crimes and hast'ning Fate foreshown:
When by the milder King from thence he's brought,
His Life is by the haughty Princes sought:
Afraid he with too much of Ease shou'd die,
Escape their Rage, and cheat their Cruelty.
They drag him to Malchiah's dismal Cave,
A Den profound and dark beyond the Grave.
The Sun enthron'd in his meridian height,
Cou'd ne're dispel or reach its stubborn Night.
Tho' now themselves extinct for want of Air:
Unwholsom Damps from hollow Vaults arise
In pestilential Fogs, and scale the Skies:
Hither the Prophet cast, no bottom found,
A Bog of putrid Mire deny'd the Ground:
Calm as the Bless'd, and all to Heaven resign'd:
Nor by the best of Friends forsaken there,
Who from that dire Abyss regards his Prayer:
By whom inspir'd good Ebed-melech goes,
And not in vain for him did interpose:
The King persuaded of his Innocence,
Grants the Petition, and remands him thence:
Behold him leave the squalid Realms of Night!
Scarce cou'd his Eyes endure returning Light:
From thence he to the Royal Prison goes,
A Palace to the Dungeon whence he rose:
To God's bless'd Court in private him they bring,
Once more in vain to warn the wav'ring King.
He moves, he prays, by all that's dear he sues,
He wou'd no more the proffer'd Grace refuse:
With Heav'ns unchang'd Decrees we strive in vain,
And still the more we strive, the less we gain:
Seize the white Lot, and fix the Hinge of Fate!
Bloodshed prevent! a noble City save!
Oblige your self! oblige the Fair and Brave!
How dire a face of Things must else succeed!
How wide, how vast a Ruin is decreed!
Thy Wife's a Prey to Babel's Lord design'd,
Nor thou thy self a milder Fate shalt find,
—And worse, far worse remains untold behind.
Where the bright Temples Flames invade the Skie!
Behold, unhappy Prince!—Thou canst no more:
Those ills I can't prevent, I must deplore.
And the remaining God kept struggling in his Breast.
CCXL. Jeremiah, Chap. XXXIX.
Jerusalem taken by the Babylonians. The Temple burnt. Zedekiah brought to Nebuchadnezzar. His Eyes put out, &c.
For two long Years in vain their Fate delay'd:
Without, the Babylonian Army press'd,
Within they're by a stronger Foe distress'd,
Expos'd to Famine's keen insatiate Rage,
Th'impartial Conqu'ror spares nor Sex nor Age:
Like Ghosts the Warriors to the Ramparts goe,
The Laughter and the Horror of the Foe,
When e're they strike they tumble with the Blow:
So feeble grown they can't the Breach repair,
But with their Bodies fill, and drop with Hunger there.
This saw the Foe who from their Works look'd down.
And unresisted storm the famish'd Town:
The Chaldee Chiefs of dreadful Face and Name,
Triumphant from their proud Pavilions came:
Nergal-Sharezer, Shamgar-Nebo sate,
With Rabsaris, and Rabmag in the Gate:
All, all is lost, my Liege! he faintly cries,
Then at his Sovereign's Feet he drops and dies.
Thro' secret winding Ways the Monarch fled,
His small Reserve of Guards he with him led:
Swift, as Revenge cou'd urge, his Foes pursue,
And soon their Royal Quarry had in view:
Broke and dispers'd his heartless Troops with ease
Around the Plain, th'unhappy King they seize;
And turning saw the Flames the Town invade;
Above the Gates, above the Walls aspire,
The Palace and the Temple shine with Fire.
Behold him thence the haughty Victor's Scorn
To Babel's angry King at Riblah born:
Before his Throne he with his Sons appears,
And something worse than Death the Father fears:
Ah! how unlike himself when lately crown'd,
His splendid Court and Guards attending round!
Behold him with unseemly Fetters bound:
Too weak his Change of Fortune to sustain,
And scarce the Tracks of Majesty remain:
See the Chaldean Monarch sternly stand
On his proud Throne, his Scepter in his Hand,
The trembling Captives brought at his Command:
The Fathers Eyes his Children's Slaughter view,
The last sad Office they must ever do;
Then roll'd in Blood their Orbs forsake the Light,
And set in Darkness and eternal Night:
From thence they to a Dungeon him convey,
Now equal with the brightest Noon of Day:
His Life the Victor's cruel Mercy spares,
His hated Life he there in hopeless Thraldom wears.
CCXLI. The LAMENTATIONS.
Amidst its lamentable Ruins sate;
And thus did in soft Elegies deplore
Salem that lately was, but Salem now no more.
Where is the Crown that late adorn'd thy Head?
Sion, a Queen thro' Nations wide renown'd!
But now her Glory's level'd with the Ground.
A solitary Widow she appears,
Her beautious Cheeks are all deform'd with Tears:
Deserted by her Lovers and her Friends,
There's none that now addresses, none pretends:
Cold and indifferent all the Traitors grow,
Nor only her forsake, but joyn her Foe.
Her Feasts forgot, her Houses desolate,
Her Priests lament, and bitter is her Fate:
Her Virgins sigh, themselves and her deplore,
Their Princes slain, their Beauty is no more.
How just are all the Woes thy Sons have born!
What Leudness did thy Robes and thee defile!
Nor would'st thou, tho' so often warn'd, amend,
Nor once reflect, nor once regard thy End.
How wond'rous was thy Fall! how wide thy Wound!
No Balm for that, for this no Comfort found.
To God at length she flies, (Ah, why so late!)
And thus complains, and thus she mourns her Fate.
Regard with Pity from thy radiant Throne!
Behold the Foe! behold his impious Pride,
And Rage, and Thirst of Blood, unsatisfy'd!
And shall he thus thy Holy Place defile?
Shall Heathen Lands thy once-lov'd Temple spoil?
Behold how mean, how base I now am grown,
Secure thy People's Honour and thy own!
And thus agen in moving Accents mourns.
Has soft Compassion never touch'd your Breast?
Was ever Grief like mine? Was ever known
Who by so vast a Ruin overthrown;
When angry Heav'n did all its Vengeance shed,
And pour unmix'd its Vials o're my Head?
Full at my Breast its forky Lightning play'd,
Lick'd up my Blood and did my Bones invade.
Where e're I turn, my Sins and Plagues I meet.
The Yoke of my Transgression's firmly bound,
Whose Iron-wreaths my weary Neck surround.
I sink, I fall, in vain I strive to rise,
O'rewhelm'd by my unequal Enemies.
—'Tis God himself my fainting Soul has crush'd,
And laid my Strength and Beauty in the Dust:
Against my Walls is the Destroyer sent,
My Walls and Ramparts languish and lament.
From God's own Hand, is lost, for ever lost.
His own Anointed he does now despise,
In its vast Ruins sunk his glorious Temple lies.
CCXLII. Ezekiel, Chap. I.
Ezekiel's Vision.
“A happy Captive, and enjoys his Chains.
By Chebar's Streams he wond'rous Visions saw,
Some Angel did Heav'ns azure Curtains draw:
From the black North a furious Tempest came,
The Wind a Cloud, the Cloud involv'd a Flame;
Which on its amber Center rolling round,
Is with unsufferable brightness crown'd:
With fainter Beams the fire-wing'd Seraphs shine,
The Glory of God was there, the Sechina divine.
Four wond'rous radiant Forms from thence appear,
Confess'd to view, which human Likeness wear:
Four lovely Wings their Sides and Shoulders grace,
And each adorn'd with a quaternal Face:
The First a Man's, which awful Sweetness bore,
The next a Lion's, arm'd with Terror, wore:
The Fourth an Eagle's, tow'ring in the Skies.
Each on Cherubic Feet supported stands,
And underneath their Wings were human Hands:
Like Lamps, or burning Coals severely bright
Their Forms, and flash'd intolerable Light.
By these, behold a wond'rous Chariot shine,
Ineffable the Frame, the Work divine:
High as the spatious Orbit of the Spheres,
Each Wheel its vast tremendous Circle rears,
With Eyes as large as Suns around emboss'd,
Beneath the Moon they reach'd, their Tops in Ether lost.
Forward they roll'd, and knew not to retire,
What mov'd the glorious Forms, did these inspire:
One Soul, one Motion did of both dispose,
With these they mete the Globe, with these sublime they rose.
A Canopy of State above their Head,
The vast Expanse like shining Crystal spread:
But when they mov'd, their Wings amazing sound,
Like Thunder shook this universal Round:
As Waves by Tempests dash'd against the Shore,
Or vex'd to civil Fury, storm and roar;
As when the Sons of God in Fight contend
With rebel Spirits, with Shouts the Heav'ns they rend;
Or as, all-powerful Logos! thy tremendous Voice!
Above th'Expanse and crystal Pavement rais'd
Behold a Saphir Throne sublime appear,
The Heav'n of Heav'ns itself was not so clear.
Who then, what Man, what Angel can declare,
How luminous the Form who seated there?
Like Man he seem'd, but more than Angel fair;
The Glory of God, the Flame and Amber Light,
Center'd in him, but more distinct and bright.
—See, from his heav'nly Face far stronger Lustre flow,
Then all the beautious Beams that dress the radiant Bow!
The Prophet dropp'd to Earth, he cou'd sustain no more,
And did the present God in silence there adore.
CCXLIII. Ezekiel, Chap. XXVI. from Ver. 7. to the End; and Chap. XVII.
The Pride and Destruction of Tyre.
By Babel's pow'rful Arms, is thus fore-told.
Fierce as the Waves that wash thy sounding Shore.
Levell'd thy Walls and ev'ry lofty Tow'r,
Thy offspring shall the vengeful Sword devour:
From Babel shall the King of Kings arrive,
See from the North his rattling Chariots drive!
Their Noise like Thunder shall thy Ramparts shake,
Such Clouds of Dust shall his deep Squadrons make:
As born by Winds shall troubled Air invade,
And thy devoted Town like Flights of Locusts shade.
Behold his Mounts, like Lebanon, arise!
Behold his warlike Engines fill the Skies!
The fatal Breach is made, thy Warders fled,
With brazen Hoofs thy Sons his Coursers tread,
And fill thy ample Streets with the polluted Dead.
How vast the Spoil! how numberless the Prey!
Uncounted Riches shall they thence convey,
And in the Waves thy mighty Ruins lay.
Thy Songs shall cease, thy Lyre no more shall sound,
The num'rous Tributary Isles around,
Shall shake to hear thy Fall, to see thy ghastly Wound.
The Princes of the Sea their Thrones shall leave,
When they from far the dismal News receive:
Their Purple, brought from thy proud Walls, lay by,
And all their useless Marks of Royalty.
Their Mother-Town is faln, and ancient Tyre's no more.
Clasp'd in the Bosom of the raging Deep:
The Port, the Joy of all the World beside,
Of matchless Beauty and of matchless Pride!
Fair, as thy Ships that plough the stormy Main,
And find each Year new Worlds in search of Gain:
Thy Planks of Senirs stately Firs are made,
Thy Masts from neighb'ring Lebanon convey'd;
As tall as when in native Seats they stood,
As numerous they appear, a floating Wood.
Thine Oars of Oak in Bashan's Forest sought,
From Chittim's Isles thy Ivory Benches brought:
Thy Sails, embroider'd Silk in Egypt bought.
Thy Canopies, to taste the gentle Air,
And screen the Sun of blue and purple were:
From Zidon came each skilful Mariner,
Arvad ally'd, and Zidon's Sister-Town,
Thy Rival once in Trade and in Renown;
But thy sagacious Pilots, all thy own.
From Gebal's Antients thy strong Caulker's came,
From Persia, by thy Bounty and thy Fame;
From Phut and Lud the Sons of War allur'd,
Thy Armies fill'd, thy Garrisons secur'd;
Thy Walls adorn'd, and all the Pomp of War.
Thy stately Tow'rs and Battlements so high,
So far they borrow'd from the wond'ring Sky;
The tallest Warriors and of amplest Limb,
To those who gaz'd below, but Pygmies seem:
Silver and Iron, wealthy Tarshish brought,
And Tin, from Worlds unknown, and distant Albion sought:
Tubal the Souls of Men with Meshech bear,
And fill with Brass and beauteous Slaves thy Fair:
Horses and Mules Togarmah's Sons impart,
Which neigh and proudly Bound thro' all thy spacious Mart.
Ebony, black as Raven's glossy Plumes,
And Iv'ry, which to match the Snow presumes,
Rich Dedan's princely Merchants thee present,
While Purple, Coral, Agates, Syria sent.
Judah and Israel choicest Wheat import,
With Honey, Oil and Balm to thee resort:
Damascus, Fleeces sit for Purple brings,
And Wine of Helbon's growth, well worthy Kings.
Arabia's wandring Sons to thee repair,
And crowd with Flocks and bleating Lambs thy Fair.
Sheba and Raamah Caravans of Spice,
And Gems they bring and Gold of meaner Price,
—But soon thy Wealth, thy Fairs, thy Merchandice,
Shall in thy Ruins sink, shall sink to rise no more.
CCXLIV. Ezekiel, Chap. XXVIII.
The Pride and Fall of the King of Tyrus.
“And dares assuming Dust to Heav'n aspire?
A feeble Mortal share the Throne with me,
And Thunder, and affect Divinity!
How secret are thy Counsels and how wise!
Not Heav'n-lov'd Daniel's self cou'd thee advise!
What Princes Cabinet to thee unknown?
To all impervious but thy self, thy own.
The Sun himself no other Lord can see,
And thinks he only ripens Gold for thee:
In vain it lurks within its secret Mine,
Tarshish and Ophir, East and West are thine.
Like Solomon's thy wealthy Flotas come,
And from new Worlds convey thy Treasures home:
(For this his Reign his Subjects most did prize,
For had he not been Rich, h' had ne're been counted Wise.)
Thy Trade increas'd, thy numerous Navy, more
Than all thy Predecessors knew before:
And by thy self and Slaves thou hence art deify'd.
Nor this, unpunish'd, shalt thou longer dare,
But for my Vengeance not unwarn'd, prepare!
A Stranger Nation, terrible and brave,
(Nor shall thy Wisdom thee, nor Splendor, save,)
Shall draw their Swords, which never draw in vain,
And thou thy self shalt fall among the slain;
Still call thy self Immortal if thou can,
Tho' he that kills thee sure shall find thee Man.
Thou shall not, Tyrus! unlamented fall!
Thus saith the Lord—With thee what Mortal dare
In Glory or in Wisdom once compare?
In God's own beauteous Eden hast thou been,
And things unutterable heard and seen:
Cover'd with Gems beyond an Empire's price,
Which grow like common Stones, in Paradise.
Th'anointed Cherub thou, thy Feet have trod
Sublime upon the Holy Mount of God;
Secure did to Heav'ns crystal Walls aspire,
And walk untouch'd amid the Stones of Fire.
From thy Creation with Perfection crown'd,
Till in thy Ways at length Perverseness found;
With fraudful Arts and base Injustice stain'd
And brutal Force, see what thy Crimes have gain'd!
Nor shalt thou in my Holy Mountain dwell:
No more shalt hover o're the Throne, no more,
Apostate Cherub! guard fair Eden's Door:
Thy Beauty and Wisdom both did Pride confound,
And both with thee I'll trample on the Ground;
That haughty Tyrants may thy Ruin see,
And own a God, and learn their Fate from thee:
Astonish'd Nations shall thy Fall deplore,
A Terror to th'Unjust, when thou shalt be no more.
CCXLV. Ezekiel, Chap. XXXVII.
The Resurrection of the dry Bones.
Unto a spacious Plain unknown before:
It seem'd the mournful Region of the Dead,
With Sculls and human Bones around 'twas spread:
A Dust they seem'd, no moisture did remain,
As of an Host long since in Battel slain:
Can these dry Bones, said God, to Life arise?
O Lord! thou only know'st, the Saint replies:
Go prophesie agen, Jehovah said,
To these forgotten Reliques of the Dead,
And bid 'em live!—They shall thy Voice obey,
And breath, and move, and taste the chearful Day.
His Message tells—when loe! a wond'rous Noise!
Earth shakes beneath, and Ecchoes to the Sound,
Trembled the Bones and clatter'd on the Ground.
Each to his Fellow makes, and moves along,
Nor any lost nor wilder'd in the Throng:
Their antient Seats, tho' long forgotten find,
Exactly to their well-known Cells rejoyn'd.
The Sinews first are firmly strung within,
Next the strong Joynts, and all inclos'd with Skin.
That spring of Action, a self-moving Soul.
Go call the Winds, said God, the Winds shall blow,
And on th'Organic Bodies, Life bestow.
—He call'd—the Winds from their four Hinges ran,
And breath'd upon the slain, the slain began
To feel and move, at once new Breath they found,
At once they leapt to Life and left the Ground:
A num'rous Army they, equipp'd for fight,
Cov'ring the Plain, and stretch'd beyond the Sight.
These Bones the House of Israel represent:
They cry, their Hopes are lost, their Life is fled,
Their Bones are dry, and mingled with the Dead:
Thus saith the Lord, I'll open Israel's Grave!
Thence will I call you, thence my People save:
To your own Land my Spirit shall you restore,
To constant Seats, nor shall you wander more.
And Israel's Name inscribe, and Judah's there.
Then joyn in one—for thus, says God, I'll joyn
My favour'd People's long divided Line;
To Canaan's happy Fields agen I'll bring,
And David's promis'd Son shall be their Prince and King.
CCXLVI. Daniel, Chap. I, II.
Daniel declares Nebuchadnezzar's Dream, and the Interpretation.
And of the Royal-Seed had Captives made;
From these the Youths of fairest Mind and Face,
They chose their Monarch's Court and Throne to grace.
But Daniel and his Friends the fore-most there,
At once their Governor's Delight and Care:
Yet Idol-Banquets they refuse to share,
Water and Pulse their humble wholsome Chear,
Yet none so lively, none so fair appear;
Knowing beyond their Age, and deeply read
In all the Learning of the mighty Dead:
But Daniel did to human Science joyn
Peculiar Gifts and Wisdom more Divine;
Dearly belov'd of God, th'Almighty's Friend,
He knew what others but in vain pretend:
Visions sublime, and Dreams of deep Portent,
For Dreams and Visions both from Heav'n are sent:
Hence that which did to Shinar's Lord appear,
And fill'd his Breast with deep Concern and Fear;
The Figure's gone, tho' still the Tracks remain,
Whose fleeting Forms he wou'd recall in vain:
But tho' the Stars and Heav'n their Tribe obtends,
If ought they know 'tis from delusive Fiends:
On pain of Death the King his Dream demands,
Surpriz'd and pale the whole Assembly stands;
The immortal Gods cou'd this declare alone,
To Demons and to human Art unknown:
Furious the Monarch rose with alter'd Face,
Commands th'Impostors from the Throne to chase,
And signs the Death of all their cheating Race.
To favour'd Daniel and his Hebrew Friends,
Tho' guiltless of their Fraud their Fate extends:
Daniel to Heav'n in his Distress repairs,
And with his three Companions joyns his Pray'rs:
To him the Vision's in a Vision shown,
Which to the Sages and the Prince unknown:
The God of Heav'n he for the secret bless'd,
Then thus proud Babel's angry Lord address'd:
Long live the King!—Can none thy Dreams declare,
Nor tell thee what thy nightly Visions were?
Where is the wondrous Skill the Magi boast?
Is ancient Wisdom in Chaldea lost?
Yet there's a God in Heav'n who all things knows,
And great Events unto the King fore-shows:
Thus was thy Dream—A wondrous Image rose.
Too terrible its Form for mortal Eyes:
His Legs of Gold, with silver Arms; his Thighs
Of Brass, his Legs of Iron, strong and bright,
And Clay and Iron in his Feet unite:
So long my Lord the dreadful Figure view'd,
Till from a Mountain's side a Stone was hew'd,
Tho' not by mortal Hands, the Feet it struck,
Clay, Iron, Silver, Brass and Gold were broke;
Giv'n all to Fate, no Atom left behind:
The Stone which did this monstrous Form disperse,
A Mountain grows and fills the Universe.
Such was thy Dream, now hear the Fates intent,
And what was by th'important Vision meant!
And Men, and Beasts, and Birds thy Pow'r obey:
Thou art this Head of Gold which shines so bright,
The next arises with inferior Might:
The Third of Brass, how large that Monarch's Pow'r!
He'll conquer all the World, yet sigh for more.
Yet shall a stronger Reign than his ensue,
Whose Iron force shall all the rest subdue;
Yet, mix'd with Clay shall boast its Strength in vain,
An ill concerted, and divided Reign:
Not so the FIFTH, which God himself shall raise,
No Bounds his Kingdom knows, no End of Days:
All Worldly Pow'rs shall this at length consume,
And reach beyond the universal Doom.
At Heav'n-lov'd Daniel's Feet himself he throws,
Then thus—'Tis Israel's God is God alone,
And Lord of Kings, to him are Secrets known:
The Prophet he with ample Gifts rewards,
His Seat the Chief amongst his favour'd Lords;
At his Request prefers his wise and virtuous Friends.
CCXLVII. Daniel, Chap. III.
Nebuchadnezzar's Golden-Image. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego cast into the fiery Furnace, &c.
Projecting far away its ample Shade;
On Dura's Plain, and sacred there did place,
To Bel the boasted Founder of his Race.
To Babel's Tow'r in height it only yields,
Enwrapt in Clouds its Head surveys th'etherial Fields;
More rich the Matter, more august the Mould,
An Idol form'd of Mortal-Idol, Gold.
His Peers, his Gen'rals, all his high Estates,
When this the haughty Founder dedicates,
Are thither call'd, around his God they stand,
An Herald thus proclaims his dread Command:
“The Signal gives, fall prostrate on the Ground:
“This Hour he in the fiery Furnace dies.
His Idol much, but more the Tyrant fear:
Behold the Plain with cringing Suppliants spead!
Behold the Living-Stocks adore the Dead!
Nor sooner was the pompous Service pass'd,
When to the Monarch with malicious haste
Approach th'ungrateful Magi, and accuse
(An ill Return for Life!) the faithful Jews,
Who dar'd their Homage to his Gods refuse!
Conven'd the three undaunted Youths appear,
Their Words no Guilt confess'd, their Eyes no Fear.
Are these Returns for all my Favours paid?
Enrag'd, the Babylonian Tyrant said.
Adore my sacred Image, or expire,
The Choice is short, within his sacred Fire!
Can for our Safety, if he please, provide!
That as he please, who orders all—but know
We will not to thy golden Idols bow!
The Monarch heard, like Lightning flash'd his Eyes,
Or Sparks which from his fiery Furnace rise;
His Visage all the Tyrant now confess'd,
And Pow'r unmix'd with Just and Good express'd:
To what they merit!—I their Lives will spare,
If still their boasted God can save them there.
His Guards he on the fatal Errand sent,
They bind and bring 'em to the dreadful Vent:
In ruddy Globes the Sparks and Flames arise,
As from some Volcan belch'd against the Skies:
As Winds in Earth, in Clouds the Thunder roar,
As Waves by Tempests urg'd against the Shore,
Into its gaping Mouth the spotless Victims cast:
The Flames enrag'd, still more tempestuous grew,
Upon the Tyrant's Ministers they flew,
Sent by a greater Pow'r, and seiz'd, and slew.
He left his Throne, he gaz'd, agen he gaz'd:
Of doubtful Faith, he scarce believes his Eyes;
Amidst the Flames the three bless'd Youths he spies
Unbound, unhurt, but what did more surprize
He sees a Fourth with more than mortal Grace,
Larger his Form, ineffable his Face,
He seem'd, and more than seem'd, of heav'nly Race.
With trembling Steps approaching near the Flame,
He calls the gen'rous Confessors—they came:
The crowding Court with Wonder them survey'd,
On whom the Flames had no Impression made;
Unsing'd their Hair, their Robes remain'd entire,
No Track, nor Sear, nor Odour of the Fire.
When thus the King—Ador'd be his dread Name
Who sav'd his faithful Servants from the Flame.
With what Contempt of Death, how calm, how brave
They met their Fate, and scorn'd their Lives to save;
Be then our Will to all our People known,
Whoever dares their pow'rful God blaspheme,
Or speak a Word against that One Supreme;
He speaks his last, that impious Wretch shall die,
His House and Name consign'd to endless Infamy,
CCXLVIII. Daniel, Chap. IV. to Ver. 27.
Nebuchadnezzar's Second Dream. Daniel's Interpretation.
To Daniel thus did Shinars Lord relate:
Methought I saw a spatious Tree arise
Whose Root the Centre touch'd, whose Head the Skies:
From East to West it shot its ample Boughs,
Beneath whose Shade did all the Forest browze:
Fair were its Leaves, its lovely Fruits entice
The Sight and Smell like those of Paradice:
The Fowls of Heav'n, of various Note and Wing,
Within its Branches rest, and feed, and sing:
I saw, till in the Visions of my Head
An heav'nly Watcher came, and thus he said:
On ev'ry Branch, and spread the groaning Ground:
Shake off its Leaves and Fruit!—Ye Beasts, away!
Nor, O ye Fowls! within its Branches stay!
Yet the strong Root shall still in Earth remain,
Fix'd with a brazen Band and Iron Chain:
O're the broad Stump the Dew of Heav'n shall pass,
His Portion with the Beasts among the Grass:
With Reason and with Mind no longer grac'd,
To brutal Sense his nobler Soul debas'd:
Sev'n rolling Years shall o're his Head proceed,
For thus 'tis by the heav'nly Pow'r decreed;
That ev'ry Breather round the spatious Ball
May know 'tis the Most High disposes All:
He gives the Kingdom, he dethrones agen,
And sinful Realms where-e're he please, and when,
Plagues with the basest and the worst of men.
'Tis more than all th'Astrologers can do.
And long he fix'd his Eyes upon the Ground:
Delay not, said the King; I nothing fear!
Whate're th'Event, but stand prepar'd to hear.
The Dream to those that hate thee, he replies,
Th'Interpretation to thy Enemies!
Whose Empire only with the World confin'd:
O what a Change! From Men thou shalt be driv'n,
Expos'd to all th'Inclemencies of Heav'n:
Companion with the Herd, the Grass thy Feed,
For Sev'n long Years thy Punishment decreed:
Till this to mind severe Reflexion brings,
That God alone's Supreme and King of Kings.
Then shalt thou to thy self return and see
Thy Kingdom and thy Lords return to Thee,
With double Glory, double Majesty.
And learn at length how Kingly 'tis to' amend!
Relieve the helpless Poor with liberal Hands,
And break the mournful Captives slavish Bands.
Repent! repent! if 'tis not yet too late,
And thus at least protract, if not reverse thy Fate!
CCXLIX. Daniel, Chap. IV. from Ver. 28. to the End.
Nebuchadnezzar's Transformation and Recovery.
And cheer'd each Tropic with his kind Embrace:
His Vision Babel's King no longer heeds,
But in his Pride and Tyranny proceeds.
As chanc'd, he to his Gardens did Repair,
Stupendious Work! and rais'd aloft in Air:
His Palace-Roof their deep Foundations stay'd,
Thence he his proud Metropolis survey'd;
Built by the warrior-Queen, by him repair'd,
Who equal Glory with the Founder shar'd:
Vain of his Pow'r the King forgets the Man,
And casting round his haughty Eyes, began.
—Is not the stately Town I here behold,
Whose Walls with Marble grac'd, whose Roof with Gold;
Whose lofty Palaces like Cities stand,
High as the Pyramids, and num'rous as the Sand,
Is it not mine, and all the Work of my Right-Hand!
Worthy my Kingdom 'tis, and worthy me,
It speaks the Builder's Pow'r and Majesty.
A Voice was heard which thus pronounc'd his Doom:
“To thee, O King! this Word from Heav'n is sent,
“And what Heav'n orders, how can Man prevent!
“Thy Kingdom is no more, they'll thee expel,
“From Mens abodes, and thou with Beasts must dwell;
“Till thou at length by dear Experience know,
“'Tis God that orders all things here below,
“'Tis He, not thou, proud Dust! does Crowns bestow.
Remov'd from Men, sustain'd with Herbs and Grass,
He commons with the Brutes, almost the same,
Behold him there! behold his alter'd Frame;
Erect no more, a Quadruped he bends,
And with his Kindred-Herd to Earth descends:
That Head which did a proud Tiara wear,
While rich Assyrian Unguents grac'd his Hair;
Now all deform'd, his matted Tresses hung
Adown his Shoulders, and like Eagles Feathers clung.
That Hand which late a Scepter did sustain,
And strongly grasp a pow'rful Empire's Rein;
Mishap'd and foul, as stretch'd on Earth he lay,
His Nails the Talons of some Bird of Prey.
His glimm'ring Reason of his State enquir'd,
And what, and where he was, at first admir'd.
Then starting from the Turf, no longer prone,
He rais'd his Eyes, and view'd the Almighty's Throne,
And did his Pow'r at once and Justice own;
Whose Kingdom only stable and secure,
And to eternal Ages must endure:
The feeble reas'ning Dust, which MEN we call,
The num'rous Natives of this scanty Ball;
They were before this Universe's Frame;
All things in Heav'n and Earth his Word obey,
None can dispute his Will, and none his Hand can stay:
His Works are Truth, and Judgment all his Ways,
And those who walk in Pride he can with Ease abase.
Nor sooner thus th'Almighty he ador'd,
When to his perfect Sense agen restor'd;
His Princes and his Peers their Sovereign own,
With double Splendor seated on his Throne.
“May equal Tyrants equal Fortunes have!
“By tamer Beasts instructed, learn to graze,
“Till they superior Pow'r adore and praise,
“And know 'tis only God can Kings dethrone or raise.
CCL. Daniel, Chap. V.
The Hand-writing against Belshazzar interpreted by Daniel. Belshazzar slain.
While him the Grave, his Son the Crown receives:
With Riot he his Idol-Gods adores,
And bids a Feast for all his Lords and W---
The sacred Bowls in Salem's Temple found,
With Wines of noblest Gust profusely crown'd,
Oft empty'd, oft replenish'd, still go round.
While in loud Bacchanals their Gods they praise,
And mighty Bel's and Nebo's Glory raise,
See where a Hand appears (prodigious Sight!)
And slowly on the Wall begins to write,
The Sense, the Words, the Character unknown,
In vain to the confounded Sages shown;
In vain the King does vast Rewards propose,
His alter'd looks his inward Horror shows:
His Heart was sunk, his trembling Loins were loos'd,
His quiv'ring Knees their wonted Aid refus'd:
The Bowls were quiet now, the Peers amaz'd,
Upon the dire Portent with silent Horror gaz'd:
And thus to her astonish'd Lord began.
For Ills as yet unknown his Royal Breast!
A Man there is who in thy Father's Reign,
Divinely Wise, cou'd every Doubt explain;
DANIEL his Name, and cou'd with Ease, if here,
Discypher Fate's mysterious Character:
He came, no vulgar Gifts the King propos'd,
If he the Writing read, the Sense disclos'd:
Unbrib'd he will the Prodigie unfold.
And fearless thus began,—'Twas the most High,
Who gave thy Father Pow'r and Majesty;
All Nations trembled at his awful Nod,
He kill'd, he kept alive—an earthly God:
But when his Heart in Pride obdurate grown,
Had him forgot who rais'd him to the Throne;
Head-long he tumbled from his lofty Seat,
(How slipp'ry are the Stations of the Great!)
With Beasts the Forest rang'd, with Beasts the Grass did eat.
Nor thou, his Son, art by his Fall grown wise,
Adoring Stocks and Stones and sensless Deities;
To Idol-worship, Sacrilege dost joyn,
And doubly thus affront the Pow'r divine,
The sacred Vessels of his House profane,
To the leud Feasts of Bel and Nebo ta'n;
Hast robb'd him of his tributary Praise,
Who gives thee Breath, and whose are all thy Ways.
Hence this tremendous Message to thee sent,
Dreadful the warning is, but more th'Event,
These are the Words, and this their deep Intent.
MENE—thy Reign has reach'd its utmost date,
TEKEL—thy mounting Balance wants of weight,
PERES—the golden Head must lose its Pride,
The Medes and Persians shall thy Realms divide.
One Kingly Act perform'd, but that his last.
Tho' hard the Message, he the Bearer prais'd,
In Purple cloath'd amidst his Nobles rais'd:
Swift moves his Fate, nor were those Omens vain,
That Night, that very Night the King was slain:
As Heav'n decreed, Darius fill his Place,
First of his Line, and sprung from Media's Royal Race.
CCLI. Daniel, Chap. VI
Daniel cast into the Den of Lions, &c.
By private Envy or the publick Hate:
But shining Worth must in all Reigns succeed,
At least such Favourites good Princes need;
And such Great Daniel was, exalted more,
Darius! in thy Reign, than all before;
A hundred Satrapies thy Empire grac'd,
Three Presidents to these Superior plac'd;
Daniel the First, such Virtues in him shine,
So clear a Soul and Wisdom so divine;
And greater Honours did his Prince design;
Thro' all his fair and spacious Realms obey'd:
—But Envy saw and strove to blast his Fame,
Nor cou'd his Rival Peers his Conduct blame;
Th'Exchequer full, the Subjects not oppress'd,
Belov'd at Court and by the People bless'd,
A moderate Fortune only he possess'd.
One Way was left which they resolve to take,
His gen'rous Piety his Crime they make:
The Sovereign they persuade a Law to sign,
That none from Earth, or from the Pow'rs divine
Shou'd ask a Boon till thirty Days were pass'd,
Or if he this presum'd shou'd ask his last,
Into the Den of Lions head-long cast.
Nor this cou'd Daniel's Piety affright:
At early Morn, at Noon, and every Night
He, as his wont, his pure Devotions paid,
And to his Father's God incessant pray'd;
To Salem ward his Window open wide,
To where his Father's God did once reside;
His gen'rous Constancy but not his Pride.
His Foes with curious and malicious Eye
Conven'd, into his close Retirements pry;
Surpris'd ith' Fact they to their Lord accuse,
Tho' he a Stranger, of the captive Jews,
He dar'd the Medes and Persians Laws defie,
And thrice a Day address his Deity:
His Rashness now, tho' now too late, Repents;
To save his favour'd Friend in vain he try'd,
Th'Accusers urge the Laws, and will not be deny'd.
Unwillingly the King at last gave way,
And to th'unshaken Hero thus did say:
The God by thee ador'd with constant Care,
Tho' in the Lion's Den, will save thee there.
Their Muzzles stain'd with tepid human Gore,
They gnaw and crash the BONES, and hope for more:
They ramp aloft, and hang almost in Air,
To meet their Prey, for Rage the Ground they tear;
They mark the massy Grates with fruitless Wounds,
And lash their ample Sides—the hollow Cave resounds.
—But when the Prophet came, design'd their Prey,
As gentle Lambs around the Shepherd play,
See where their new and wond'rous Guest they greet,
And lick his Hands and crouch beneath his Feet!
A weary wakeful Night his Sovereign pass'd,
The Sun preventing with his eager haste;
With loud and lamentable Voice he cry'd,
And has thy God in whom thou dost confide;
Has he been able, Daniel! thee to save
From the fierce Lions, from their Living Grave?
For ever Live the King!—the Saint replies!
My God has sent his Angel from the Skies
To shut their Mouths—God, who my Soul did see
As Innocent to him, as true to thee.
Too mighty was the Joy to be express'd,
That fill'd, at these glad Sounds, the Sovereign's Breast:
At his Command they draw him from the Den
Unhurt and whole, and in his room the Men
Nor they entire unto the bottom go,
Seiz'd in their Fall, no room for Shrieks or Groans,
The Lions rend their Limbs and crash their Bones:
Satiate at length with Death, distended lay,
And lick their sanguine Bones, and grumble o're the Prey.
CCLII. HOSEA.
Thus saith the Lord, a Wife of Whordoms take;
For thou thy self shalt for a Signal stand,
Thou and thy House to this adult'rous Land!
Thy Children's Names shall bear thy Peoples Fate,
Now mine no more, they Mercy plead too late;
A shameless Prostitute their Mother grown,
The Scandal and the Nuisance of the Town:
The Wine and Flax I gave for better Ends,
Sh' has lavish'd on her Lovers and her Friends.
And spread her rampant Lewdness o're her Face?
Ah, how shall I the just Revenge refuse!
Ah, how cou'd the a Love like mine abuse!
Her loss of Honour and of Virtue mourn;
My deep Resentments, and my Rage repress'd,
Yet—yes, ev'n yet I'd clasp her to my Breast.
—O Israel hear, and my just Anger dread,
Knowledge, and Truth, and Mercy all are fled:
Murder and Falshood, Theft and Lewdness come,
Dire Faces and deform'd, to fill their room:
The Land shall mourn, and all that dwell therein,
The mute Creation for their Master's Sin.
I'll now for an impartial Vengeance call,
Prophet and Priest, Mother and Son shall fall:
None shall reprove his Neighbour, none shall blame,
I give them up, their Glory chang'd to Shame.
My Holy House and Altars they despise,
And on the Tops of Mountains sacrifice:
Incense they burn beneath the pleasing Shade,
By Oaks, and Elm-lov'd Vines, and Poplars made;
Backsliding Ephraim Idols will adore,
Let him alone! I'll him reprove no more.
Or thee, O Israel, to Destruction give?
How shall I thee as curs'd Gomorrah make,
And all thy Land as Sodom's mournful Lake?
How often does my wounded Heart relent,
And now pronounce thy Doom, and now repent!
With humble Words and Tears thy Follies mourn!
So all thy pass'd Back-slidings I'll remove,
And freely thee, and tenderly will Love.
So will I like the gentle Dew distil,
On Lebanon's fair Cedar-bearing Hill:
So shall thy fruitful blooming Branches spread,
Like Olives shalt thou raise thy fragrant Head:
No brouzing Foe thy loaded Vine invade,
But Nations rest secure beneath thy peaceful Shade.
CCLIII. JOEL.
Ye Ancients hear what ne're before was done;
Or by your Father's Father seen, shall you
With equal Terror and with Wonder view.
The great Event transmit with strictest Care,
And down to long succeeding Times declare.
Shall seize with double Plagues the guilty Land:
The Wrath of Heav'n on all your Fields shall bring
Locusts of various Kind, and various Wing:
They come, they come, a dreadful dusky Show'r,
And what the former leaves the latter shall devour.
Ye Friends of Wine, for your lov'd Idol weep!
Your Vine is lost, 'tis wither'd, 'tis no more,
Ye Husband-men your Trees and Fields deplore;
The Fig-trees bark'd, the lovely Apples bare,
The virtuous Palms no more their Heads can rear,
But sink beneath their Weight, and languish in Despair:
The Tillers Pains no grateful Harvest yield,
The Wheat and Barley's vanish'd from the Field:
And Joy is wither'd from the Sons of Men.
Ev'n God's High-Altar cold and empty lies,
No Off'rings to attone the vengeful Skies:
Ye Ministers of Heav'n lament and mourn!
Your Feasts to Fasts, your Robes to Sack-cloth turn!
To loud Complaints each joyous solemn Sound,
Deform'd with Dust, and prostrate on the Ground.
Between the Porch and injur'd Altar plead,
And thus for guilty Israel intercede!
—“O spare thy People, boundless Pity, spare!
“Remove thy Plagues, thine Heritage forbear!
And, you Repenting, will himself repent:
The Years by Locusts eaten will restore,
Their hostile Troops shall vex the Land no more:
Their Van shall plung'd in Eastern Waves appear,
While the great Western Sea devours their Rear:
Be glad, bless'd Land! resume thy tuneful Voice!
The Meads agen shall laugh, the Fields rejoyce.
The gentle Rain in kindly Show'rs distil,
With Corn the Floors, with Oil the Vats shall fill:
But more, the Dews of my reviving Grace
Shall drop on you, and all your favour'd Race;
Your Youth inspir'd with warm prophetic Rage,
With wond'rous mystic Dreams your wiser Age:
No Sex exempt, no Order or Degree,
But all that breath shall my Salvation see;
Before portentous Signs the World affright,
Before the Sun denies its sickly Light,
And guilty Nations see, and dread eternal Night.
CCLIV. AMOS.
By mingled Sycamines and Cedars made,
As AMOS sate, the brouzing Herds to guard,
Amid the trembling Leaves a Voice he heard;
The Voice of God, which sends him far away,
And bids him thus to list'ning Nations say.
A Stranger to the College, meanly read
In all the Learning of the mighty Dead;
My Care, the bloating Flocks and lowing Herd,
Till call'd by God, and to this Work preferr'd;
Upon the great important Message sent,
To bid the lost degen'rate Land repent.
As a fierce Lion rouz'd from Jordan's Shore:
Tremble the Vallies at the dreadful Noise,
And Carmel's verdant Top shall wither at his Voice.
Thy Captives never, never shall return:
Nor antient Tyre shall save her tott'ring Wall.
Who his did in his Brother's Blood imbrue.
In conquer'd Gilead spar'd nor Sex nor Age:
They, to her last Recesses Nature chase,
And seize and murther all the coming Race.
Thus Rabbah wou'd her Fields enlarge in vain,
Too weak her ancient Limits to maintain:
Behold her Walls and stately Houses flame!
Heark! what loud warlike Shouts her Sack proclaim!
Tempestuous Whirlwinds round her Turrets roar,
Her King, her haughty Princes are no more.
Just Plagues attend her, and an equal Fate:
O Kirioth! see thy Flames invade the Sky,
And Moab shall with Shouts and Tumults die.
Nor will the Lord from his fierce Anger turn:
And like their Fathers follow after Lies.
Ingrate, unjust, intemperate and profane,
They trust their Bow, their Horses trust in vain,
SAMARIA falls; fair Sion's lofty Tow'r,
Behold, her Doom is fix'd, behold just Flames devour!
CCLV. OBADIAH.
What was, or is, or what shall come to pass,
Just OBADIAH sees, and does relate
The Wrath of Heav'n, and haughty Edom's Fate.
See a dread Herald from the Lord of Hosts
Summon to Battel all the Nations round,
And bids 'em raze it, raze it to the Ground:
In vain the Cliffs and craggy Rocks her Trust,
Swift from the Clouds she falls and tumbles in the Dust.
'Tis vanish'd all, and Strength in Teman lost.
Basely betray'd by those who Love pretend,
And wounded by the worst of Foes—a Friend.
O righteous Heav'n! how just, yet how severe!
Did Esau his afflicted Brother spare,
Or found he kind Relief and Refuge there?
In every Pass th'unnat'ral Kinsmen stood,
The Stragglers glean'd, and dy'd the Roads with Blood.
Whom from the Sword their cruel Mercy sav'd,
Betray'd, and to the barb'rous Foe inslav'd:
In Flames, the glorious Temple tumbling down!
How cruelly officious to destroy!
They shar'd the Plunder, and they shar'd the Joy.
The Day is hast'ning which they cannot shun,
As they have done, must now to them be done.
A Cup, a deadly Cup of Wrath divine,
Large is the Draught, and sanguine-Red the Wine,
For them and all the Heathen is prepar'd,
The Dregs of what before my People shar'd:
But strong Salvation then shall Sion bless,
And Israel shall their ancient Seats possess:
The Kingdoms of the World, the World's dread Lord obey.
CCLVI. Jonah, Chap. I.
Jonah commanded to go to Nineveh: He flees from the presence of the Lord: Is swallow'd by a Whale, &c.
Tho' his Pavilion he in Salem place;
The Nations too their Maker's Goodness share,
Nobly diffusive as the Sun or Air;
His Grief to punish, his Delight to spare.
For this to Nineveh was Jonah sent,
To bid their vast unnumber'd Crowds repent:
A hopeless Task! when Israel won't believe,
How shou'd the faithless Heathen him receive?
A Tyrian Bark the wayward Prophet bore
A different Course, for the Tartessian shore.
In vain he from the Omnipresent flies,
The Winds and Waves in Arms against him rise,
And stop the Fugitive, nor Oar, nor Sail
Can stem the Storm, nor nautic Art prevail:
All Hope is gone, for now the Sailors pray:
On Moloch these, and these Astarte call,
On Dagon some, and some on mighty Baal;
Deaf to their Pray'rs, and helpless Idols all.
Jonah alone did still his Cabin keep,
(O how cou'd Jonah's Guilt so calmly sleep!)
Till rouz'd, among th'affrighted Crew he goes,
At once the Danger and the Cause he knows.
Glory he gave to Heav'n, and thus he said,
—I serve the Hebrews God, from him I fled:
Cease your mistaken Pray'rs and causless Fear,
This Storm, his Messenger, arrests me here.
Me, me, devoted to the raging Seas,
An Off'ring cast, you'll soon their Wrath appease:
Unwillingly they his Request perform,
They heave him o're, and with him lose the Storm:
—Nor is he yet beyond th'Almighty's Care,
Th'Almighty did a monstrous Fish prepare;
Which seiz'd him falling, whose capacious Womb,
Three dismal Days and Nights his living Tomb.
—Vain Grecian Poets hence, of after-date,
By Tyrian Hercules the Fact relate,
And steal their Hero's Fame from Jonah's wond'rous Fate.
CCLVII. Jonah, Chap. II.
Jonah's Prayer. He's cast out from the Whale's Belly.
Imprison'd Jonah sues not here in vain:
Nor did he in this horrid Gaol despair,
But thus to Heav'n directs his fervent Pray'r.
—When sinking deep beneath the briny Wave,
Th'unfathom'd Ocean my untimely Grave:
To thee, O God, I cry'd, nor cry'd too late,
Thou sav'st me from the gaping Jaws of Fate.
Beneath the wat'ry World confin'd I lay,
Where rolling Waves forbad the sight of Day:
The Floods begirt, the Seas besieg'd me round,
My fainting Head with weedy Fillets bound.
The strong Foundations of the Mountains steep,
The wealthy Chambers of the aged Deep,
The massy Bars that Earth's huge Frame support,
The Mother-Water's unfrequented Court,
Secrets to mortal Eyes before unknown,
Thou hast, O God! to me thy Servant shown:
Yet still I live, and hope for happier Days,
My God in his High Temple hope to praise:
Let others fondly trust in Idols vain,
The stupid World adore the Gods they feign;
Leave Truth and Mercy, and believe in Lies;
To thee alone, my God! I'll sacrifice;
Admiring Crowds shall hear my joyful Songs,
Salvation only to the Lord belongs.
He bids his monstrous Gaoler set him free;
Who dares detain his sacred Guest no more,
But gently casts him out upon the Oozy Shore.
CLVIII. Jonah, Chap. III.
Jonah preaches to Nineveh: Their Repentance, &c.
He dares no longer weak Excuses frame,
War, War does from the Lord of Hosts proclaim.
Their lofty Tow'rs, said he, that threat the Skies,
These Walls, that with the Pride of Babel's rise,
It must be so, their Doom as sure as just,
Shall soon transvers'd, be buri'd in the Dust:
Thy Judge allows thee Forty Days Reprieve,
Prepare, fair Town! thou hast no more to live!
Terror and Guilt in every Face appear:
Their trembling Monarch from the Throne descends,
His Crown laid by his purple Robes he rends,
A mournful Court their Suppliant Prince attends.
See where the Royal Penitent appears!
Behold the Dress his untaught Sorrow wears!
With Sackcloth cover'd, Ashes on his Head,
And Dust beneath for Tyrian Carpets spread.
A strict and gen'ral Fast he bids proclaim,
To God the Glory give, to Man the Shame:
Around the spatious Streets—Repent or Die!
Who knows but Heaven may from its Anger turn,
And boundless Pity comfort those that mourn!
Where thron'd in Glory undisturb'd he reigns:
Yet not unmov'd at wretched Mortals Cares,
He with a gracious Ear regards their Pray'rs:
The Angels of his Vengeance, who prepare,
To spread their wrathful Vials round the Air,
Mild Mercy pleads, and he recalls their Doom.
A Day's Repentance thus may save an impious Age.
CCLIX. Jonah, Chap. IV.
Jonah's Gourd, &c.
(His Faith, the Saint, his Passions shew'd the Man,)
—And must I bear a base Impostor's Name?
This, this was what I fear'd before I came:
I knew thy Nature to Compassion prone,
To those indulgent who thy Pow'r disown:
How oft thou lett'st the sentenc'd Sinner live,
How slow to Wrath, how easie to forgive!
O take my Life—my hatred and disdain!
When Honour vanish'd Life itself's a Pain!
—Thus did Amittai's angry Son complain;
Then quits the Town, a leavy Booth he made,
And sate repos'd beneath its short-liv'd Shade:
Wither the Boughs, and on his Temples beat;
When God a Gourd of speedy Growth prepares,
Which o're his Head a pleasing Arbor rears;
Beneath whose verdant Canopy he lay,
Enjoy'd the Breez and shunn'd the scorching Day:
A feeble Worm the with'ring Gourd destroys.
And pours directly down his golden Streams;
As on his burning Equinox he rides,
And equal Rays to both the Poles divides:
Enrag'd the fainting Prophet gasps for Breath,
His Gourd is gone, he asks the Shades of Death:
When thus that Goodness which the Best forbears,
And Sinners till full ripe for Vengeance spares;
And shall not God for Nineveh relent!
The Beasts themselves the common Makers Care,
Shou'd he regardless them forget to spare,
Myriads of Innocents wou'd plead for Mercy there.
CCLX. MICAH.
Th'important Fates of Empires and of Kings.
Nations attend, and thou, O Earth, give Ear!
The Lord will from his holy Place appear,
The Hills shall melt as he descends in State,
The rifted Vales confess th'unequal Weight:
So, at the Fire does Wax in drops distil,
So falls a loud Cascade from some old hoary Hill.
For Judah's Crimes is Sion captive led:
Prophet and Priest are cruel and unjust,
Yet in the Lord with vain Presumption trust:
Where Salem was they ruin'd Heaps shall show,
And Corn shall in the Streets of Sion grow:
Yet a new Race of Times and Men shall rise,
When Sion's holy Hill shall reach the Skies:
Thither shall Nations like a Deluge flow,
And to thy House, O God of Jacob! go.
The Law shall thence proceed, and circling round,
Extend to wond'ring Natures utmost Bound.
The Lord shall judge the World, while wide abroad
Strong Nations bend beneath his Iron Rod:
And Mother-Earth with fruitful Labour tear.
Their murd'ring Spears shall peaceful Sickles grow,
And reap the Harvest which the Sword did sow:
He to the groaning World shall Peace restore,
The Trade of Blood, and Art of War no more.
Beneath their mantling Vines supinely laid,
Or the broad Fig-trees cool refreshing Shade
Shall peaceful Nations rest, of none afraid.
Yet doom'd to share a Scepter and a Throne!
His lov'd, his chosen Flock to rule and feed:
Who always was thro' boundless Ages past,
Whose glorious Kingdom shall to endless Ages last.
CCLXI. NAHUM.
By Heav'n to favour'd Nahum thus reveal'd:
Wo, wo to his unequal Enemies?
Yet slow to Wrath, unwillingly severe,
His Pow'r can reach, tho' long his Goodness spare.
Before his Face tempestuous Whirlwinds meet,
The Clouds like Dust flie swift beneath his Feet.
He dries the Seas, he dries fair Jordan's Bed,
Sweet Carmel languishes, and droops its Head,
And, whither Lebanon! are all thy Glories fled?
Tall Mountains shake, their mouldring Tops retire,
And run a dreadful Stream of liquid Fire.
Or bear the Weight of his avenging Hand?
Yet Mild and Good! a Fortress to the Just,
He favours all who in his Promise trust;
Whose desp'rate Madness dares his Strength oppose;
With utter Darkness over-whelms his Foes.
Thy Passes guard, and meet the coming War!
Behold thy Streets with crowding Warriors spred,
Red are their Shields, their dreadful Arms are red:
Behold thy glitt'ring Chariots scowr along
On brazen Wheels, and jostle in the Throng;
Arm'd with keen Death, a dreadful-comly Sight,
Like flaming Torches seen thro' gloomy Night.
So Lightning flashes when the Clouds it rives.
Muster thy Strength in vain, thy Warriors call!
In vain they march to guard thy tott'ring Wall,
With luckless haste, they stumble and they fall.
The Rivers ample Gates are open flown,
The Street's a Pool, thy Palace over-thrown:
Proud Nineveh's no more, they run, they fly,
Her Tow'rs are won—stand! stand! in vain they cry,
The base and brave alike inglorious die.
How infinite the Spoil! what Sums untold!
What Mines of Silver, and what Loads of Gold!
How empty now, how waste her Streets appear!
Tremble the Knees, and melts the Heart for fear;
All Loins are pain'd, and every ghastly Face
The depth of Horror and Despair betrays.
No more is heard the kingly Lions roar,
His Whelps must range the Forest now no more:
No more he for his Lioness shall slay,
Or fill his Dens with Ravine and with Prey:
The Lion's Whelps shall by the Sword expire,
The Chariots all consum'd in Clouds of Smoak and Fire.
CCLXII. HABAKKUK.
To HABAKKUK, this heavy Weight of Woes:
—O Lord! how long shall I, how long in vain,
Of Grievance and of Violence complain?
Justice has left the World, and in her place
Rapine and Wrong appear with open Face.
What scarcely will obtain Belief when heard;
So strange, so wond'rous strange, will I perform,
The Chaldees come, and driving like a Storm,
Bitter and wide, the guilty Land o're-thrown,
Shall revel in the Dwellings not their own.
Swifter than spotted Pards their Horses spring,
Swifter than Eagles shooting on the Wing.
Fiercer than Evening Wolves, they rage and bound,
And with unnumber'd Squadrons beat the Ground.
Thy awful Voice, and not dissolve for fear!
Revive thy Work, thy pard'ning Pow'r proclaim!
Thy Truth and boundless Goodness still the same.
From Paran Hills appear'd the Lord of Hosts:
From Pole to Pole amazing Splendor broke,
And conscious Earth with dire Convulsions shook.
The Plague and Fire, his dreadful Ministers,
When he with unrepenting Mortals wars,
Fly swift before, from East to West he strode,
The groaning World beneath confess'd the God.
The Nations fled like Dust before his Face,
And Everlasting Hills forgot their Place.
I saw th'afflicted Tents of Cushan mourn,
Did God his Wrath against the Rivers turn,
Or did old Father Ocean him displease,
That thus he smites the Rivers and the Seas?
He on the Chariots of Salvation came,
His Chariots wheel'd, his Horses wing'd with Flame;
Drove thro' the hizzing Waves, the Waves retire,
And Fear and Wonder at th'invading Fire.
Thy Bow did naked in the Heav'ns appear,
Like some red Comet shone thy long protended Spear:
Thy poignant Arrows flew, how dreadful Bright!
And cast a mingled Gleam of Shades and Light.
The solid Mountains first the Signal saw,
And trembled as unknowing Nature's Law.
The Moon, as thro' a Silver Cloud she dives,
Stop in mid-Heav'n, a Breach unknown before,
And thought their endless Circuit now was o're:
Trembled my Bowels when I heard the Noise,
Quiver'd my Lips at thy tremendous Voice:
So shall I in the Day of Trouble rest,
When hostile Troops the wasted Land infest.
Tho' the broad Fig-tree shou'd deny to bear,
And Olive but deceive the Planter's Care;
The widow'd Fields lament their blasted Corn:
Tho' strange Diseases sweep the Desert-Fold,
And empty Stalls no lowing Heifers hold;
Yet I'll in God my Strength, and Saviour, joy,
And his high Praises shall my tuneful Harp employ.
CCLXIII. ZEPHANIAH.
O Son of Cushi, Heaven-lov'd ZEPHANIE!
I'll sweep the Sea and Air, and sweep the Land:
Vain Idols with their Worshippers shall fall,
Nor Dagon shall escape, nor thund'ring Baal.
The Name of Chemarim shall be no more,
All who the glitt'ring Host of Heav'n adore,
Who have by me, alike, and Moloch sworn,
Who curs'd Apostates from my Altars turn;
Whose Wealth, or Pleasure is their God alone,
Who serve too many Gods or serve not one;
The Day of God, the dreadful Day's at hand;
Jehovah has prepar'd his solemn Feast,
Already bidden every trembling Guest:
Princes alike, and Peasants great and small,
These for Deceit, and those for Pride shall fall.
What dismal Yells invade us from afar!
What crashings from the Hills and Gates are heard!
He comes, he comes, his Vengeance is prepar'd,
To search for those who his just Wrath defie,
Those Wretches who his Providence deny.
A Day of Wrath, of Trouble and Distress!
Of Desolation, Darkness, Gloominess!
Heark how the clanging Trumpets brazen Sound,
Does from the Walls and lofty Tow'rs rebound!
The Walls and lofty Tow'rs shall strike the Ground.
What Ravage Sin has made in human Kind!
They grope at Noon, and stumble like the Blind:
Their Blood is in the Streets like Water shed,
Their Fields, like Dung, with Carcasses are spred.
The glitt'ring Ore from distant Tarshish sought,
And cross the Seas in dang'rous Voy'ges brought;
Or rough, or vex'd in Mints and purging Flame,
And forc'd to wear its Master's Stamp and Name,
Despis'd and trampled in that wrathful Day,
When none shall for his Life a Ransom pay:
Gaza and Ashkalon a Desart then,
Nor Ekron more shall know the Steps of Men:
The warlike Crethites shall be captive led,
And peaceful Flocks in their strong Mansions fed:
Moab and Ammon, who my Land revile,
Like Sodom and Gomorrah's cursed Soil;
Chemosh and Milcom then in vain shall frown,
In vain shall lean their hungry Nostrils down:
No fuming Odour from the Sacrifice:
The Lord himself shall reign from Shore to Shore,
And Islands yet unknown, his Sov'reign Pow'r adore.
CCLXIV. HAGGAI.
To great Zerubbabel, Salathiel's Son;
Who Judah's princely Lion firmly bore,
And Joshua who the sacred Miter wore.
How long will this unthankful People say,
'Tis yet too soon, the Temple yet may stay:
Why shou'd such needless Haste and Care be shown,
To build the House of God, when scarcely built our own?
In Houses floor'd with Cedar to reside,
While God's bless'd House neglected lies, and waste,
Its ancient Honours in the Dust defac'd?
And count the Gains of your profane Neglect!
Much have ye sown with unavailing Toil,
For all is lost on an ungrateful Soil:
You eat, but still desire, your Food accurs'd,
You drink in vain, for still you gasp for Thirst:
Nor Cloaths nor Wages usual Succour grant,
For still unwarm'd, unbless'd you pine and want:
The wrathful Heav'ns deny refreshing Dews,
While Earth does her expected Fruit refuse:
I call'd a Drought to plague the guilty Land,
It heard, it came with speed at my Command:
It came, the grassy Spires no more adorn
The blasted Hills, the Wine, and Oil, and Corn;
And Beasts, and Men, and thirsty Earth in vain,
Look up to angry Heav'n, and gasp for Rain.
Ascend your Olive-bearing Mountains side!
Hew down the Pines, and with repeated Strokes,
Th'eternal Cedars fell, and aged Oaks:
Late, tho' it be, my slighted House repair,
And I agen will place my Glory there.
As when the Law from trembling Sinai came:
This House, tho' there no Gold or Silver shine,
This House shall, Solomon! out-rival thine,
Adorn'd by me with Glories more divine:
The PRINCE OF PEACE shall to his House repair,
And longing Nations see the Great Messiah there.
CCLXV. Zechariah, Chap. I, II.
And did these deep mysterious Truths proclaim:
When loe! these visionary Scenes arise,
And chase the Shades, and strike my wond'ring Eyes.
Red was his Steed, and Red its flaming Mane:
At length he stopp'd, confess'd to fuller View,
Behind him Coursers praunc'd of various Hiew:
What these, and their Employments I enquire,
An Angel thus complies with my Desire.
Who all this habitable Globe survey:
The News they bring from off their spatious Round,
That still as Death, and Quiet all they found:
The Seraph thus—and from my bless'd Employ,
No Tidings yet of long expected Joy?
How long must Sion mourn, which drown'd in Tears
Has born the Wrath of Heav'n for Seventy rolling Years?
And to the heav'nly Guardian thus replies:
Nor unconcern'd I view the sacred Town;
Long has it suffer'd under Heathen Rage,
Which neither Time nor Miseries asswage;
But I to Salem am with Peace return'd,
My House shall there be built, I'll comfort those that mourn'd;
What Colonies shall thence increasing spread,
Like plenteous Streams from some large Fountain's Head?
My Heritage to scatter and destroy:
Jerusalem shall raise her Head agen,
And see beneath unnumber'd Beasts and Men;
No Gates or Walls for her Defence desire,
God will her Glory be, and God her Wall of Fire.
CCLXVI. Zechariah, Chap. III, IV.
When more surprizing far and strange arose,
Which his bright Guardian to the Prophet shows.
Joshua the Pontiff shows, but mean and poor,
And far unlike the Character he bore.
While near him, (ah too near!) insulting stood,
Th'Eternal Foe to him and all that's Good:
To whom Great Michael, calmly thus severe,
—The Lord, who his Jerusalem will spare,
The Lord rebuke thee Satan! and thy Rage,
Which dares his sacred Priest with impious Arms engage;
Who late from Babel's cruel Bondage came,
Sav'd like a Brand snatch'd from the crackling Flame;
Those misbecoming Vestments take away!
His Body with the purest Linen grac'd,
And a fair Miter on his Brow be plac'd!
—'Tis done—Agen the Watcher silence breaks,
And thus the Son of Josedech bespeaks.
Thou still wilt tread, and still my Laws obey;
Thou shalt on my Tribunal sit, and thence
Impartial Justice to my Land dispense:
But fix thy blissful Habitation there.
Thou and thy Brethren of Great Aaron's Race,
Who with sweet Incense fill my Holy Place:
How much admir'd! What Wonders will I do,
For my twice-ransom'd People, and for You?
Behold the promis'd BRANCH of Jesse's Stem,
It shoots, it blooms, to wear the Diadem.
My sev'n Archangels who the World survey,
Protect the Good, and my Commands obey;
With watchful Eyes shall o're my House preside,
And Great Zerubbabel its faithful Builder guide.
CCLXVII. MALACHI.
The Harbinger before the King of Kings.
Last of the mystic Prophet's sacred Line,
E're Law to Gospel, Shades to Light resign.
Rejoyce ye Just, he cries, ye Impious, fear!
A Day like that on cursed Sodom came,
I see its Dawn, how red with vengeful Flame!
This crystal Vault shall like a Furnace glow,
All dismal, as the Lake of Pain below.
Like stubble fully dri'd before th'Almighty's Face;
Lewd Atheists then shall own a God too late,
Trembling with Horror of approaching Fate.
Lift up your Heads, lift up with Joy your Eyes!
And see the Sun of Righteousness arise!
He comes, he comes, th'expected Saviour brings
Peace and Salvation underneath his Wings;
At length the dark, the tedious Night's expir'd,
The happy Day's arriv'd so long desir'd:
I number'd all your Sighs, and knew your Pain:
My Jewels you, whom near my Breast I'll wear,
You, as a Father spares his Son, I'll spare.
Mingled no more amongst an impious Crowd,
The scorn of Fools, and laughter of the Proud.
Loose from their Chains shall you, triumphant go,
And trample like the Dust on each insulting Foe!
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