A Collection of Miscellanies Consisting of Poems, Essays, Discourses & Letters, Occasionally Written. By John Norris ... The Second Edition Corrected |
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The 139 Psalm Paraphrased to the 14 Verse.
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 | A Collection of Miscellanies |  |
The 139 Psalm Paraphrased to the 14 Verse.
I
In vain, great God, in vain I tryT' escape thy quick all-searching eye.
Thou with one undivided view
Dost look the whole Creation through.
The unshap'd Embryo's of my mind
Not yet to Form or Likeness wrought,
The tender rudiments of thought
Thou see'st, before she can her own Conception find.
124
II
My private Walks to thee are known,In Solitude I'm not alone;
Thou round my Bed a guard dost keep,
Thy eyes are open, while mine sleep.
My softest Whispers reach thy ear:
'Tis vain to fancy secrecy;
Which way so e're I turn thou'rt there,
I am all round beset with thy Immensity.
III
I can't wade through this Depth, I find,It drowns and swallows up my mind.
'Tis like thy immense Deity,
I cannot fathom that, or thee.
Where then shall I a refuge find
From thy bright comprehensive eye?
Whither, O whither shall I fly,
VVhat place is not possest by thy all-filling mind!
IV
If to the heavenly Orbs I fly,There is thy Seat of Majesty.
If down to Hell's Abyss I go
There I am sure to meet thee too.
Should I with the swift wings of Light
Seek some remote and unknown Land,
Thou soon would'st overtake my flight,
And all my Motions rule with thy long-reaching hand.
V
Should I t' avoid thy piercing sight,Retire behind the skreen of night,
Thou canst with one celestial ray
Dispel the shades, and make it day.
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The force of thy clear, radiant sight
Depends not on our grosser light,
On Light thou sitt'st enthron'd, 'tis ever Day with thee.
VI
The Springs which Life and Motion giveAre thine, by thee I move and live.
My Frame has nothing hid from thee,
Thou know'st my whole Anatomy.
T' an Hymn of Praise I'le tune my Lyre;
How amazing is this work of thine!
VVith dread I into my self retire,
For tho the Metal's base, the Stamp is all divine.
| A Collection of Miscellanies | |