A paraphrase on the Book of Job As likewise on the Songs of Moses, Deborah, David: On Four Select Psalms: Some Chapters of Isaiah, and the Third Chapter of Habakkuk. By Sir Richard Blackmore |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
| XXXII. |
| XXXIII. |
| XXXIV. |
| XXXV. |
| XXXVI. |
| XXXVII. |
| XXXVIII. |
| XXXIX. |
| XL. |
Ch. XL.
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| XLI. |
| XLII. |
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| LIII. |
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Ch. XL.
A paraphrase on the Book of Job |  |
Ch. XL.
Th' Almighty paus'd, Job (speechless struck) supprest,
All his Complaints and Anguish in his Breast.
Th' Almighty thus proceeded, tell me why
To my Demands, thou makest no reply?
Have not the Allegations I have brought,
Inlighten'd thee, and full Conviction wrought?
He that desires the Argument to State,
And would with God his Providence debate,
To those Objections must Solutions find;
And more, must answer Questions yet behind.
All his Complaints and Anguish in his Breast.
Th' Almighty thus proceeded, tell me why
To my Demands, thou makest no reply?
Have not the Allegations I have brought,
Inlighten'd thee, and full Conviction wrought?
He that desires the Argument to State,
And would with God his Providence debate,
To those Objections must Solutions find;
And more, must answer Questions yet behind.
Then humbly Job return'd: thy heav'nly Light
Shews me a wretched miserable Wight.
Confounded and amaz'd, I can't withstand
Thy Arguments, nor answer one demand.
The Words which I have spoken, tho' but few,
Too many are, and high presumption shew.
Prostrate before thy Footstool, I'll adore
Henceforth thy Greatness, but will speak no more.
Shews me a wretched miserable Wight.
Confounded and amaz'd, I can't withstand
Thy Arguments, nor answer one demand.
176
Too many are, and high presumption shew.
Prostrate before thy Footstool, I'll adore
Henceforth thy Greatness, but will speak no more.
Then did th' Almighty, from the hov'ring Cloud
In which involv'd, he did his Glory shroud,
Bespeak the pious Patriarch, and said,
Thou who desir'dst so much with me to plead:
Thou who so much thy Innocence didst boast,
Hast thou thy Courage and Assurance lost?
Gird up thy Loyns as for another task,
And answer Questions which I now shall ask.
Since I, O Job, did ever condescend
To all my lowest Creatures to extend
My Providential Care, canst thou suspect,
That I'll Mankind, my nobler Work neglect?
What cannot Job his Innocence maintain,
Unless unjustly he does God arraign?
Must I then be reproach'd to clear thy Fame?
To make thee guiltless, must I bear the shame?
To make thy Cause appear to others right,
Wilt thou, audacious Man! thy God indict?
Dost thou thy kind Creator thus requite?
In which involv'd, he did his Glory shroud,
Bespeak the pious Patriarch, and said,
Thou who desir'dst so much with me to plead:
Thou who so much thy Innocence didst boast,
Hast thou thy Courage and Assurance lost?
Gird up thy Loyns as for another task,
And answer Questions which I now shall ask.
Since I, O Job, did ever condescend
To all my lowest Creatures to extend
My Providential Care, canst thou suspect,
That I'll Mankind, my nobler Work neglect?
What cannot Job his Innocence maintain,
Unless unjustly he does God arraign?
Must I then be reproach'd to clear thy Fame?
To make thee guiltless, must I bear the shame?
To make thy Cause appear to others right,
Wilt thou, audacious Man! thy God indict?
Dost thou thy kind Creator thus requite?
Canst thou like God, thy mighty Arm extend,
To crush the Proud, the Humble to defend?
Canst thou the Heav'ns astonish with thy Voice,
And imitate the Thunder's dreadful noise?
Canst thou swift Lightnings on thy Errand send,
And will the Meteors thy Commands attend?
In massy Robes of State thy Limbs array,
Thy Triumph and Majestic Pomp display.
Thy dazling Crown and costly Purple wear,
And on thy Throne Magnificent appear.
Let Throngs of humble Princes on thee wait,
And numerous Guards express thy Royal State;
That by unrival'd Glorys, thou mayst draw
Men's admiration, and excite their Awe.
Around thee Storms of vengeful Fury throw,
Let thy destructive Rage oppress thy Foe;
On all the Haughty in Displeasure frown,
And make them hang their troubled Faces down.
Again I say, let proud Oppressors struck
With Terror, tremble at thy angry look.
With thy fierce Rage oppress the wicked Race,
Who in their Wealth and Power their safety place:
Do these great things, and I my self will grant,
That independant Job does no Assistance want.
To crush the Proud, the Humble to defend?
Canst thou the Heav'ns astonish with thy Voice,
And imitate the Thunder's dreadful noise?
177
And will the Meteors thy Commands attend?
In massy Robes of State thy Limbs array,
Thy Triumph and Majestic Pomp display.
Thy dazling Crown and costly Purple wear,
And on thy Throne Magnificent appear.
Let Throngs of humble Princes on thee wait,
And numerous Guards express thy Royal State;
That by unrival'd Glorys, thou mayst draw
Men's admiration, and excite their Awe.
Around thee Storms of vengeful Fury throw,
Let thy destructive Rage oppress thy Foe;
On all the Haughty in Displeasure frown,
And make them hang their troubled Faces down.
Again I say, let proud Oppressors struck
With Terror, tremble at thy angry look.
With thy fierce Rage oppress the wicked Race,
Who in their Wealth and Power their safety place:
Do these great things, and I my self will grant,
That independant Job does no Assistance want.
But now to humble and amaze thee more,
To make thee in the Dust thy self abhor;
Remark thy fellow Creature Behemoth,
A Beast so strong, of such prodigious growth,
That if on Flesh he feasted, what supplys
For such a mighty Hunger would suffice?
His vast capacious Belly would consume
Whole Flocks at once, and numerous Herds entomb.
Such Desolation to prevent, and spare
The living World, it was the Maker's care,
That pleas'd with Herbs he should incline his Head,
And like the Ox, should graze along the Mead.
O Man, contemplate with a serious thought,
How firm and strong his Muscles all are wrought:
Not only of his Back and Loyns, but those
Which his prodigious Belly do enclose.
His wondrous Trunk he like a Cedar moves,
Or a tall Pine, that in the Mountain Groves,
Are by the Fury of a stormy Wind,
With mighty sway from side to side inclin'd.
The vig'rous Sinews of his Thighs, are bound
Like complicated Cords, all wrap'd and wound,
And knit so fast, that to the gen'rous Beast
They give such Strength, as ne'er can be opprest.
Bones firm as Brass sustain the pond'rous frame,
Or Bars of Iron, temper'd in the Flame.
Tho' midst the various salvage Brotherhoods,
That range the Mountains, and infest the Woods,
Are many Creatures that in Force excel,
Vast for their Bulk, for fierceness terrible;
Yet this chief work of mine, this mighty Beast,
Exceeds in Strength and Structure all the rest.
To wound his Foe, and guard himself from harms,
His wondrous active Trunk, his native Arms,
To this prodigious Beast his Maker gave,
Which he on high does as a Fauchion wave.
For Pasture he frequents the verdant Plains,
And grassy Hills, where he a Monarch reigns;
To which the Forrest Beasts in Troops resort,
And by the Huntsmen unmolested sport.
Thence to the Groves he does for Rest retreat,
Or to the Covert of a Reedy Seat.
He lies extended in the shady Wood,
Or by the Willows that adorn the Flood.
When to the Stream lie does his Mouth apply,
To quench his Thirst, he drinks the River dry.
When faint with toil, and panting with his drought,
He hastens to the Banks, he makes no doubt
But he can from its Channel Jordan draw
Down his wide Throat, to the deep Gulph his Maw.
What hardy Mortal can approach his Sight?
Who dares attempt a fair and open Fight?
By Violence whoever undertook,
To fasten in his Nose the servile Hook?
To make thee in the Dust thy self abhor;
Remark thy fellow Creature Behemoth,
A Beast so strong, of such prodigious growth,
That if on Flesh he feasted, what supplys
For such a mighty Hunger would suffice?
His vast capacious Belly would consume
Whole Flocks at once, and numerous Herds entomb.
178
The living World, it was the Maker's care,
That pleas'd with Herbs he should incline his Head,
And like the Ox, should graze along the Mead.
O Man, contemplate with a serious thought,
How firm and strong his Muscles all are wrought:
Not only of his Back and Loyns, but those
Which his prodigious Belly do enclose.
His wondrous Trunk he like a Cedar moves,
Or a tall Pine, that in the Mountain Groves,
Are by the Fury of a stormy Wind,
With mighty sway from side to side inclin'd.
The vig'rous Sinews of his Thighs, are bound
Like complicated Cords, all wrap'd and wound,
And knit so fast, that to the gen'rous Beast
They give such Strength, as ne'er can be opprest.
Bones firm as Brass sustain the pond'rous frame,
Or Bars of Iron, temper'd in the Flame.
Tho' midst the various salvage Brotherhoods,
That range the Mountains, and infest the Woods,
Are many Creatures that in Force excel,
Vast for their Bulk, for fierceness terrible;
Yet this chief work of mine, this mighty Beast,
Exceeds in Strength and Structure all the rest.
To wound his Foe, and guard himself from harms,
His wondrous active Trunk, his native Arms,
To this prodigious Beast his Maker gave,
Which he on high does as a Fauchion wave.
For Pasture he frequents the verdant Plains,
And grassy Hills, where he a Monarch reigns;
179
And by the Huntsmen unmolested sport.
Thence to the Groves he does for Rest retreat,
Or to the Covert of a Reedy Seat.
He lies extended in the shady Wood,
Or by the Willows that adorn the Flood.
When to the Stream lie does his Mouth apply,
To quench his Thirst, he drinks the River dry.
When faint with toil, and panting with his drought,
He hastens to the Banks, he makes no doubt
But he can from its Channel Jordan draw
Down his wide Throat, to the deep Gulph his Maw.
What hardy Mortal can approach his Sight?
Who dares attempt a fair and open Fight?
By Violence whoever undertook,
To fasten in his Nose the servile Hook?
|
Ch. XL.
A paraphrase on the Book of Job | |