The Life of Our Blessed Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ An Heroic Poem: Dedicated to Her Most Sacred Majesty. In Ten Books. Attempted by Samuel Wesley ... Each Book illustrated by necessary Notes, explaining all the more difficult Matters in the whole History: Also a Prefatory Discourse concerning Heroic Poetry. With Sixty Copper-Plates |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
 | The Life of Our Blessed Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ |  |
115
'Tis pleasant, when the rugged Storm is o'er,
To see the Waves expiring on the Shore:
Like some new World, at distance to behold
The Silver Hills all Flame with heav'nly Gold:
The chiding Winds all hush'd, the Sky look fair,
The Fields in Smiles new clad, Sea, Earth and Air
A diff'rent Face put on, a diff'rent Dress,
And Mother Nature's self her Joys express:
So shin'd the Son of God, whose Love to Man,
His Conquests in his Suff'rings thus began;
Tho press'd with weight he still more pow'rful rose,
And, when he pleas'd, shook off th' infernal Foes;
Who, when they his unequal Might assay'd,
In vain so many a furious Onset made,
Slunk desp'rate back to their own conscious Shade:
Nor long remov'd, e'er brighter Guards were there,
Wafted, Triumphant thro' the yielding Air.
Hymning their Head, the heav'nly Host descend,
Who did before their needless Aid suspend,
And hov'ring high the VVars event attend:
Nor unconcern'd Spectators, had they staid,
But each in their own glitt'ring Arms array'd;
Indignant, saw the Fiend our Lord assail,
And o'er what Mortal was, so far prevail:
Saw the foul Spirit him mild and patient bear,
From place to place wide hurry'd in the Air;
Unfir'd, their dreadful Bolts cou'd hardly keep,
Oft had they sunk the Rebel to the Deep,
And Thunder-nail'd him there—
Oft had their ancient Valour on him shown,
Had they receiv'd Commission from the Throne;
Nor durst beyond their Line one step proceed,
Nor did our Lord th' officious Kindness need;
Nor did their Loyal Aid and Love refuse,
In Triumph, which in VVar he wou'd not use;
Tho' all the while he knew and mark'd 'em there,
And beckons now away; thro' yielding Air
They instantaneous glide, as Thoughts can fly,
Untrack'd, from East to West, from Earth to Sky:
Manna, Ambrosial-food, before him lay'd,
And VVine in beauteous Eden newly made;
Who tasts of these will regal Boards despise;
Such Angels, such the bless'd in Paradise:
No dregs they leave, nor earthly rellish know,
Nor ever tempt to these vain Joys below;
But Hope, and Peace, and heav'nly Love inspire,
And warm the Soul with pure immortal Fire:
While these our Lord upon the verdant ground
Refresh'd, his shining Train kept Guard around:
Some chearful wait, i'th' Air some hov'ring hung;
And thus his mighty Deeds in mighty Numbers Sung.
To see the Waves expiring on the Shore:
Like some new World, at distance to behold
The Silver Hills all Flame with heav'nly Gold:
The chiding Winds all hush'd, the Sky look fair,
The Fields in Smiles new clad, Sea, Earth and Air
A diff'rent Face put on, a diff'rent Dress,
And Mother Nature's self her Joys express:
So shin'd the Son of God, whose Love to Man,
His Conquests in his Suff'rings thus began;
116
And, when he pleas'd, shook off th' infernal Foes;
Who, when they his unequal Might assay'd,
In vain so many a furious Onset made,
Slunk desp'rate back to their own conscious Shade:
Nor long remov'd, e'er brighter Guards were there,
Wafted, Triumphant thro' the yielding Air.
Hymning their Head, the heav'nly Host descend,
Who did before their needless Aid suspend,
And hov'ring high the VVars event attend:
Nor unconcern'd Spectators, had they staid,
But each in their own glitt'ring Arms array'd;
Indignant, saw the Fiend our Lord assail,
And o'er what Mortal was, so far prevail:
Saw the foul Spirit him mild and patient bear,
From place to place wide hurry'd in the Air;
Unfir'd, their dreadful Bolts cou'd hardly keep,
Oft had they sunk the Rebel to the Deep,
And Thunder-nail'd him there—
Oft had their ancient Valour on him shown,
Had they receiv'd Commission from the Throne;
Nor durst beyond their Line one step proceed,
Nor did our Lord th' officious Kindness need;
Nor did their Loyal Aid and Love refuse,
In Triumph, which in VVar he wou'd not use;
Tho' all the while he knew and mark'd 'em there,
And beckons now away; thro' yielding Air
They instantaneous glide, as Thoughts can fly,
Untrack'd, from East to West, from Earth to Sky:
Manna, Ambrosial-food, before him lay'd,
And VVine in beauteous Eden newly made;
Who tasts of these will regal Boards despise;
Such Angels, such the bless'd in Paradise:
No dregs they leave, nor earthly rellish know,
Nor ever tempt to these vain Joys below;
But Hope, and Peace, and heav'nly Love inspire,
And warm the Soul with pure immortal Fire:
While these our Lord upon the verdant ground
Refresh'd, his shining Train kept Guard around:
Some chearful wait, i'th' Air some hov'ring hung;
117
Hail, Son of God! announc'd, confest, approv'd!
Saviour of Man, and Head of Angels hail!
Thee thus ador'd we sing; thus cast our Crowns,
With trembling aw, at thy triumphant Feet:
Before all Worlds, who, from the Mount of God,
When Lucifer had half dis-peopled Heav'n,
“Ledst forth th' embattel'd Seraphim to fight;
Met at the Head of his rebellious War,
Didst seize th' Arch-Traitor, all his Bands disperse,
And crush 'em underneath thy flaming Wheels.
We saw 'em from the top of Heav'ns high-Wall,
We saw 'em tumbl' abrupt, and Chaos wide,
Struck with a dreadful Flash of unknown Light,
Shrink back its sooty Waves, and inward roll
To find a new Abyss; till wheeling down,
Like falling Stars, th' Exile Spirits of Heav'n
On its black Bosom hiss'd, thick sprinkled o'er
With scatter'd Drops of dying sulph'rous Flame:
They, deep confin'd, thou, O Eternal Word,
Didst will this beauteous World from the dark Void:
High Hills, rich Dales, sweet Springs, Sea, Earth and Sky,
And those Eternal Lamps which flame above
To light the Lord of the Creation, Man;
The best, the last Essay of Wit divine;
Whose Godlike Form thou didst with Soul inspire,
Thee not unapt to Know and Love, design'd
To fill those Seats th' Apostate Angels lost,
And plac'd him happy in sweet Paradise:
Envious th' Arch-Fiend beheld, his Iron Teeth,
Vexatious, gnash'd with rage and rancour fell,
That Man shou'd Lord it o'er so fair a VVorld:
Shot up thro' Chaos and the frighted Deep,
On dang'rous Expedition bent, t'explore
His Rival's Force; then grapple and subdue,
And Captive drag t'his own Eternal Night;
Who, ah! too far prevail'd; nor cou'd weak Man,
The Woman and the Fiend, when leagu'd, resist:
He eat, he fell; the sick Creation groan'd,
And sympathiz'd with their lost Master's Fate:
We sighing saw the ruins of the World;
So wide the Breach we knew no Remedy;
Nor all our Wisdom Methods cou'd invent,
T'attone thy justly anger'd Father's Wrath,
Punish th' Arch-Fiend accurst, and Man restore:
Till in deep Consult of th' Eternal Three,
Thou didst stand forth and chuse the mighty Task;
The weight of heav'nly Vengeance chuse to bear;
Which feeble Mortals wou'd have crush'd to Hell:
The old Red-Dragon met, O spotless Dove!
By thy unequal Arms is doom'd to fall,
Tho' thou no Thunder in the Fight wilt use,
But naked Virtue, and pure Innocence.
Thou the chast Womans-Seed, O Virgin-born!
The mighty Serpent's vainly-threatning Head
Shalt crush beyond retrieve; while Spirits enrag'd,
And Life at once, and yellow Venom flow
From his wide Mouth, that open Sepulchre:
In long volum'nous Folds outstretch'd he lies,
The Wonder and the Burden of the Earth:
Hell's Principality thou shalt destroy,
And stoln Dominion here; while Thunderstruck,
And hurl'd headlong, the grinning Fiends forsake
Their Temples and fallacious Oracles:
What tho' their Malice, desp'rate, may prevail,
Permitted, o'er thy frail Humanity?
The God's still safe, and smiles at their weak rage;
While they their own Confusion only gain.
Hell's Masterpiece is Ill from Good to draw,
The Art of Heav'n Good from the worst of Ill:
Thy Death the Life of Man, a Ransom paid,
To thy just Father's Wrath for the lost World:
Which from his Bosom thou in mortal Clay
Didst come, first to instruct, and then to save.
Thy Triumphs here begin, O Son of God!
The Tempter foild with all his boasted Arts:
He no uxorious Adam found in thee,
No vain-consenting Eve—Salvation, Pow'r,
And Strength and Might, and Thanks, and Praise, and Love,
We thus ascribe to thee, O spotless Lamb!
Thus Allelujah! Allelujah sing.
Saviour of Man, and Head of Angels hail!
Thee thus ador'd we sing; thus cast our Crowns,
With trembling aw, at thy triumphant Feet:
Before all Worlds, who, from the Mount of God,
When Lucifer had half dis-peopled Heav'n,
“Ledst forth th' embattel'd Seraphim to fight;
Met at the Head of his rebellious War,
Didst seize th' Arch-Traitor, all his Bands disperse,
And crush 'em underneath thy flaming Wheels.
We saw 'em from the top of Heav'ns high-Wall,
We saw 'em tumbl' abrupt, and Chaos wide,
Struck with a dreadful Flash of unknown Light,
Shrink back its sooty Waves, and inward roll
To find a new Abyss; till wheeling down,
Like falling Stars, th' Exile Spirits of Heav'n
On its black Bosom hiss'd, thick sprinkled o'er
With scatter'd Drops of dying sulph'rous Flame:
They, deep confin'd, thou, O Eternal Word,
Didst will this beauteous World from the dark Void:
High Hills, rich Dales, sweet Springs, Sea, Earth and Sky,
And those Eternal Lamps which flame above
To light the Lord of the Creation, Man;
The best, the last Essay of Wit divine;
Whose Godlike Form thou didst with Soul inspire,
Thee not unapt to Know and Love, design'd
To fill those Seats th' Apostate Angels lost,
And plac'd him happy in sweet Paradise:
Envious th' Arch-Fiend beheld, his Iron Teeth,
Vexatious, gnash'd with rage and rancour fell,
That Man shou'd Lord it o'er so fair a VVorld:
Shot up thro' Chaos and the frighted Deep,
On dang'rous Expedition bent, t'explore
His Rival's Force; then grapple and subdue,
And Captive drag t'his own Eternal Night;
Who, ah! too far prevail'd; nor cou'd weak Man,
The Woman and the Fiend, when leagu'd, resist:
He eat, he fell; the sick Creation groan'd,
And sympathiz'd with their lost Master's Fate:
118
So wide the Breach we knew no Remedy;
Nor all our Wisdom Methods cou'd invent,
T'attone thy justly anger'd Father's Wrath,
Punish th' Arch-Fiend accurst, and Man restore:
Till in deep Consult of th' Eternal Three,
Thou didst stand forth and chuse the mighty Task;
The weight of heav'nly Vengeance chuse to bear;
Which feeble Mortals wou'd have crush'd to Hell:
The old Red-Dragon met, O spotless Dove!
By thy unequal Arms is doom'd to fall,
Tho' thou no Thunder in the Fight wilt use,
But naked Virtue, and pure Innocence.
Thou the chast Womans-Seed, O Virgin-born!
The mighty Serpent's vainly-threatning Head
Shalt crush beyond retrieve; while Spirits enrag'd,
And Life at once, and yellow Venom flow
From his wide Mouth, that open Sepulchre:
In long volum'nous Folds outstretch'd he lies,
The Wonder and the Burden of the Earth:
Hell's Principality thou shalt destroy,
And stoln Dominion here; while Thunderstruck,
And hurl'd headlong, the grinning Fiends forsake
Their Temples and fallacious Oracles:
What tho' their Malice, desp'rate, may prevail,
Permitted, o'er thy frail Humanity?
The God's still safe, and smiles at their weak rage;
While they their own Confusion only gain.
Hell's Masterpiece is Ill from Good to draw,
The Art of Heav'n Good from the worst of Ill:
Thy Death the Life of Man, a Ransom paid,
To thy just Father's Wrath for the lost World:
Which from his Bosom thou in mortal Clay
Didst come, first to instruct, and then to save.
Thy Triumphs here begin, O Son of God!
The Tempter foild with all his boasted Arts:
He no uxorious Adam found in thee,
No vain-consenting Eve—Salvation, Pow'r,
And Strength and Might, and Thanks, and Praise, and Love,
We thus ascribe to thee, O spotless Lamb!
119
Here ending, they their Lord triumphant bore,
To Jordan's reedy Banks, not long before
Bless'd with his sacred Feet, where lately he,
Baptiz'd by the great Son of Zachary,
All Righteousness fulfill'd—The Crowd, who mourn'd
His Loss, surpriz'd with Joy when he return'd.
Nor sooner him agen the Baptist spy'd,
When loud, 'tis he! Extatic all, he cry'd:
See Israel, see the Lamb of God, design'd
To purge your Sins, your heavy Chains unbind!
Him his great Father from the Clouds confest,
And I, th' attesting Dove my self attest:
He, the Messiah, freely I disclaim,
That next to our unutterable Name!
Me, tho unworthy, did high Heav'n prefer,
E'er his approach, to be his Harbinger;
That Israel him might with due Honours meet,
Unworthy e'en to kneel and kiss his Feet:
Tho' after-born, existing long before;
Shou'd we thro vast Eternal Ages soar,
His Birth we cannot reach—
He still must Live, while I to Dust descend;
His Kingdom and his Glory know no end.
To Jordan's reedy Banks, not long before
Bless'd with his sacred Feet, where lately he,
Baptiz'd by the great Son of Zachary,
All Righteousness fulfill'd—The Crowd, who mourn'd
His Loss, surpriz'd with Joy when he return'd.
Nor sooner him agen the Baptist spy'd,
When loud, 'tis he! Extatic all, he cry'd:
See Israel, see the Lamb of God, design'd
To purge your Sins, your heavy Chains unbind!
Him his great Father from the Clouds confest,
And I, th' attesting Dove my self attest:
He, the Messiah, freely I disclaim,
That next to our unutterable Name!
Me, tho unworthy, did high Heav'n prefer,
E'er his approach, to be his Harbinger;
That Israel him might with due Honours meet,
Unworthy e'en to kneel and kiss his Feet:
Tho' after-born, existing long before;
Shou'd we thro vast Eternal Ages soar,
His Birth we cannot reach—
He still must Live, while I to Dust descend;
His Kingdom and his Glory know no end.
He said, agen our Lord himself withdrew,
Tho' closely followed by a faithful few:
Who learn'd what Arts to use, what Methods take,
Others as happy as themselves to make:
Envious of none; more Rivals they desir'd,
Each Day, each Hour their Master more admir'd.
Thro' Galilee's wide Coast soon spread his Name,
His Auditors encreasing with his Fame:
Thick rolling Crowds promiscuous far and near,
Attend, the way to Life and Bliss to hear:
For ev'ry Ill mirac'lous Ease they find,
All Maladies of Body and of Mind.
Tho' closely followed by a faithful few:
Who learn'd what Arts to use, what Methods take,
Others as happy as themselves to make:
Envious of none; more Rivals they desir'd,
Each Day, each Hour their Master more admir'd.
Thro' Galilee's wide Coast soon spread his Name,
His Auditors encreasing with his Fame:
Thick rolling Crowds promiscuous far and near,
Attend, the way to Life and Bliss to hear:
For ev'ry Ill mirac'lous Ease they find,
All Maladies of Body and of Mind.
An easie Hill there is, whence looking down
Tiberias here, there fair Bethsaida's Town,
At equal distance seen; our Saviour there,
Did first entire his Father's Will declare.
Well pleas'd, around the plenteous Harvest saw;
And further still t'advance the Sacred Law,
Twice six did from his constant Foll'wers chuse,
Who might the same thro' the vast Globe diffuse.
The Noble, Great and Learn'd he did not take,
Poor Fishers most, who on the neighb'ring Lake,
In honest Industry their Lives had spent,
Equally Ignorant and Innocent:
Barjonas first, still eager to engage
In the fair Cause, and first in Zeal and Age;
Firm as a Rock, he bold our Lord confest,
Thence Cephas nam'd, by him who knows him best.
His Brother Andrew, of unspotted Fame,
The next, both from Bethsaida's Villa came:
Thence Philip, who Nathanael did invite,
Approv'd an undissembling Isra'lite:
Matthew, who freely did the VVorld forsake,
Fair Seat, and gainful Office on the Lake,
Near proud Capernaum: the lesser James,
Who justly honourable Kinred claims,
With our Lov'd Lord; Simon, whom Cana names,
His Brother Jude—All three did Mary bear
To Cleophas: next Jude our Treasurer;
Iscariot from his Birth-place styl'd; and he,
Whom his glad Mother in her Arms did see
But half a Birth—
We, more than all the rest of that high Grace,
Unworthy, fill the last and humblest place:
Zebedee's Sons, o'th' Galilean Race.
Tiberias here, there fair Bethsaida's Town,
At equal distance seen; our Saviour there,
Did first entire his Father's Will declare.
120
And further still t'advance the Sacred Law,
Twice six did from his constant Foll'wers chuse,
Who might the same thro' the vast Globe diffuse.
The Noble, Great and Learn'd he did not take,
Poor Fishers most, who on the neighb'ring Lake,
In honest Industry their Lives had spent,
Equally Ignorant and Innocent:
Barjonas first, still eager to engage
In the fair Cause, and first in Zeal and Age;
Firm as a Rock, he bold our Lord confest,
Thence Cephas nam'd, by him who knows him best.
His Brother Andrew, of unspotted Fame,
The next, both from Bethsaida's Villa came:
Thence Philip, who Nathanael did invite,
Approv'd an undissembling Isra'lite:
Matthew, who freely did the VVorld forsake,
Fair Seat, and gainful Office on the Lake,
Near proud Capernaum: the lesser James,
Who justly honourable Kinred claims,
With our Lov'd Lord; Simon, whom Cana names,
His Brother Jude—All three did Mary bear
To Cleophas: next Jude our Treasurer;
Iscariot from his Birth-place styl'd; and he,
Whom his glad Mother in her Arms did see
But half a Birth—
We, more than all the rest of that high Grace,
Unworthy, fill the last and humblest place:
Zebedee's Sons, o'th' Galilean Race.
This past, to us he his bless'd Law reveal'd,
Which from the Wise and Prudent is conceal'd:
What Noble Paradoxes did he teach?
Above what humane VVisdom e'er cou'd reach;
As much beneath his Worth is our Esteem;
Sure never Man e'er spake, or liv'd like him!
He all false Eloquence, all Colours he
Of Grecian, or of Roman Sophistry
Disdain'd; nor Popularly low he bow'd,
To beg, or steal Applauses from the Crowd:
His Truths in their own native Beauty shine,
Deliver'd with Authority divine:
They pierc'd the secret Soul where e'r they came,
And warm'd each conscious Breast with heav'nly Flame:
Hear Fathers part of what he then express'd!
And, O that you from him wou'd learn the rest!
Which from the Wise and Prudent is conceal'd:
What Noble Paradoxes did he teach?
Above what humane VVisdom e'er cou'd reach;
As much beneath his Worth is our Esteem;
Sure never Man e'er spake, or liv'd like him!
He all false Eloquence, all Colours he
Of Grecian, or of Roman Sophistry
Disdain'd; nor Popularly low he bow'd,
To beg, or steal Applauses from the Crowd:
His Truths in their own native Beauty shine,
121
They pierc'd the secret Soul where e'r they came,
And warm'd each conscious Breast with heav'nly Flame:
Hear Fathers part of what he then express'd!
And, O that you from him wou'd learn the rest!
| The Life of Our Blessed Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ | |