A paraphrase upon the canticles and some select hymns of the New and Old Testament, with other occasional compositions in English verse. By Samuel Woodford |
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| The VIII Great HYMNS of the Apocalyps. |
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 | A paraphrase upon the canticles |  |
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The VIII Great HYMNS of the Apocalyps.
I. HYMN. The Adoration of the XXIV ELDERS.
Gratias agimus tibi Domine Deus Optime.
Apoc. 11. 17.
I
Worthy Thou art all Honour to receive,Thrice Honour'd we, who may that Honour give,
Blest King, who in One undivided now,
The scatter'd Parts of Time collected, hast,
The Future, Present, and the Past;
And every Time and Age dost in one moment know.
II
We praise Thee', Almighty God, for that Thou' hast taneTo Thee thy great Power, and at length dost Reign;
Thou Reign'st, and tho the Nations troubled are,
Thy Wrath is come, and therewith come the Time,
When Thou wilt sentence every Crime,
And all the Dead shall for the Great Assize prepare.
III
Up shall they rise; and as their Works have been,Or Shame, or Glory, on all Brows be seen;
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And all who fear Thy Name, both small and great;
But Vengeance, from Thy Judgment Seat,
Th' Earths bold Destroyers shall eternally destroy.
II. HYMN. The Acclamation of Heaven, upon MICHAEL's overthrow of the Dragon and his Angels.
Nunc facta est Salus & Virtus, &c.
Apoc. 12. 10.
I
Now is Salvation, now is come the Hour,That long expected, never shall be done;
Now Reigns our God, with whom in equal Power,
And strength Enthron'd, sits his Anointed Son:
They Reign and Judg, and having Judgment past,
The Brethrens great Accuser, or'e the Bar have cast.
II
Both Night and Day the Brethren he accus'd,Heav'ns common Barrettor, with Charge unjust;
(Their Patience, and the Judges Grace abus'd)
Tho from them the forg'd Calumny they thrust,
And his false Evidence or'e-rul'd, bore down,
By the Lambs Blood in Court attested, and their own.
III
These were the Pleas whereby they overcame,And these the Witnesses call'd, and allow'd;
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And self-condemn'd, to the just Sentence bow'd:
Greater their Word was than could be deni'd,
But greater yet their Testimony, that they Di'd.
IV
For this, O Heav'ns, rejoyce, and ye who thereIn Sacred Bliss uninterrupted dwell,
Rejoyce, and a part with you let them bear,
Who from below shall of your Justice tell!
With joy shall Sing, how the' Dragon overthrown,
From Heav'ns high-top to th' Earth was tumbled down.
V
But wo worth you, to whom in wrath he's come,Of Earth and Sea the miserable 'out-cast,
On whom he'll seek to be aveng'd, the Doom
Was on himself, and curs'd Abettors past;
With rage he comes, and whole Hells last effort,
Fury incenst, because he knows his time's but short.
III. HYMN. The Happy Dead.
Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur.
Apoc. 14. 13.
I
Blest are the Dead who in the Lord depart,From henceforth Blessed write them down!
For Labours tho, and Pain they have known,
Of neither feel they more the irksome smart.
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II
So says the Spiri't; for but to' enjoy full rest,From all their Toils are they remov'd;
And of their Works, by God approv'd,
That follow close, in Bliss they are possest.
IV. HYMN. The Song of MOSES and of the LAMB.
Magna & Mirabilia sunt opera, &c.
Apoc. 15. 3.
I
Great are thy Works, and marvelous thy Praise,Lord God Almighty, just and true Thy Ways,
Blest King of Saints; who would not fear
In Thy dread Presence to appear,
Whom Angels, and attending Thrones revere?
II
Who would not Fear Thee, Lord, and GlorifieThat Name of Thine, which Thou hast rais'd so high!
Thy Holy Name by which Thou art known,
(For Holiness is Thine alone,)
But better, than each single Man by' his own.
III
Take then, Blest King, what is Thy proper due,And through all Lands and Coasts, Thy Right persue!
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Who wondring at thy Judgments stand,
May Worship Thee, and stoop to their Command.
V. HYMN. The Angel of the Waters Lauds.
Justus es Domine qui es & qui eras, &c.
Apoc. 16. 5.
I
Righteous art Thou, O God, who art, and wast,And shalt be, when all time is past,
The first who reignedst, and the last:
Righteous art Thou, who hast this Day,
Thy Kingdoms Justice to display,
Righteously judg'd, that Blood shall Blood repay.
II
Thy Servants Blood they without mercy shed,And to be' aveng'd of th' happy Dead,
Made by curst hands the Living bleed:
With big swoln Veins Thy Prophets stood,
Each Saint, the Genius of his Flood,
Pour'd from his opened Heart true streams of Blood.
III
For Blood they thirsted; and to drink have nowPure Blood, wherewith their Rivers flow:
So worthy they, so Righteous Thou!
Et audivi alterum dicentem, Etiam Domine.
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Who did Thy Saints, and Prophets slay,
For Blood to' have Blood, and Blood in Blood repay.
VI. HYMN. The holy Company of Heaven rejoycing at the overthrow of BABYLON.
Allelu-ja. Laus & Gloria & Virtus.
Apoc. 9. 1.
I
Hallelujah! To our King,Honour, Power, and Glory sing:
Laud and Worship to Him bring,
True and Righteous are whose Ways;
Both deserves, and has our Praise.
II
True and Righteous is his Doom,For in Judgment overcome,
Chain'd the great Whore stands, and Dumb:
Chain'd she stands, and Dumb withal,
Without Friend, or Voice to call.
III
Judg'd she is, who th' Earth did stainWith her Prostituted Train:
Justly judg'd to 'Eternal Pain,
And aveng'd the Blood she shed,
Dying ever, is never dead.
Et dixerunt iterum Halleluja.
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IV
Hallelujah; to our KingWorship, Laud, and Praises bring,
Glory, Power, and Honour sing!
Lo! how up her Smoke does rise,
Who dead ever, never Dies!
Ceciderùntque viginti quatuor Seniores, &c. & dixerunt Amen, &c.
V
Even so, Lord, be it so!That the Earth Thy Power may know,
And thence make Thy Praise to grow!
One bless'd Song with us may sing,
Halleluja to our King!
VII. HYMN. Epithalamium on the LAMBS Marriage.
Et vox de Throno exivit dicens, laudem dicite Deo, &c.
Apoc. 19. 5.
I.
Praise Him, ye Servants of th' Eternal King,To God your noblest Praises sing,
And make Heav'ns vault with the loud Eccho ring!
Praise Him, all ye, who fear his Name,
And o're th' Expanse his Lauds proclaim;
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And with one Heart and Voice adore our Lord!
Et audivi quasi vocem turbæ magnæ, & sicut vocem aquarum multaram & sicut vocem tonitruorum magnorum dicentium Alleluja! quoniam, &c.
II.
Hallelujah! Sing aloud!Lowder still th' harmonious Voice,
Till it drown a Thunders Noise,
And with gay Horror fill th' admiring Crowd!
For (Lo!) our God Omnipotent does Reign,
And to himself resumes the Rule again.
III.
Let us be glad now, and let us rejoyce,And give him due Honour, who made us this Day;
A Day that compensates for all our Annoys,
And Ages that we for its Coming did pray:
The Lamb's Marriage-day, which tho long e're it came,
We meet, and greet thus with our Songs purest flame.
IV.
'Tis come, and does with hallow'd Glory shine,So bright a Day in Heav'n did ne're appear,
(Tho ever Day, and bright 'tis ever there)
As this, illumin'd by the Sun Divine,
And for 'his own Nuptials made with high Design.
But yet how bright so e're it is,
His Bride new Lustre to it gives,
Who in her Glory waits Him, as He her in his.
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V.
See, where She stands array'd in Glorious wise,Second alone to Him, who ever lives:
Above the boldest flight wing'd Seraph strives,
Who ne're such Beauties with Immortal Eyes,
E're gaz'd on, save in Him whose is the Prize.
For beside what's Her proper Dower,
(Charms, which th' Almighty overcame)
Heav'n all its riches on Her Dress does pour.
VI.
Choice of rich Garments has She thence, and store,(Presented from the Wardrobe of the Lamb)
Of Gems that blaze with an Ethereal flame,
Enough all but the Wearer to devour,
And all but Heav'n to apprize them find too poor:
Choice of fine Linnen, clean and bright,
Beyond the skill of Mortal Art,
Washt in the Lambs pure Blood, and there made White.
VII.
These are Her Robes, and these Her Lord's delight,(Who from His Presence ne're will let Her part,
But thus Array'd, resigns to Her his Heart)
The Righteousness of th' Saints, with sacred Light,
Communicated from his own blest Sight.
Thrice happy they, thrice happy he!
Who when their Mortal Life is done,
The Bridgroom's Friends, to' his Supper call'd shall be!
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L'envoy.
Thrice happy I, my God, if I be one,One of the few, whom then Thou shalt invite!
No matter how Thou shalt dispose of me,
The meanest service Regal Honours does impart.
VIII. HYMN. The Exultation of Heaven, at the Descent of the New JERUSALEM.
Et audivi magnam vocem de Throno dicentem,
Ecce Tabernaculum Dei cum, &c.
Apoc. 21. 5.
I
Blest state of Innocence,When out of his just Makers Hand,
The first Man came, with sacred influence,
If what he might, he' had kept the' unhard Command!
But happier far that state,
To which he is restored, tho late,
By him, who, (made Man) Man did first Create!
II
A greater Work this was,(As to redeem it more did cost,
Than barely make;) the one by a Word did pass,
His Life, the WORD to' effect the other lost;
But there-with did provide,
What none could hope, or do beside,
That they should th' happiest be, for whom he Died.
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III
Happy were both, but theseBy this the more, that when God went
To Paradise, himself in' his Works to please,
And pleas'd to Heav'n strait took his great Ascent;
A longer stay below,
To make with his Redeemed now,
Heav'ns richest Grace he does on Earth bestow:
IV
For now (behold!) his TentWith Man is pitcht, and there Hee'l dwell,
Late to return; and I'm his Herald sent,
The mighty News to the whole World to tell;
That God to Man comes down,
With Man to dwell, as Man be known,
Whose Form assum'd, he keeps still joyn'd to' his own.
V
With them Hee'l dwell, and theyHis People, he their God will be;
Not as of Old alone, but in a way
Unthought, and of exalted Dignity:
Where each Relations Band,
By various Titles on each hand,
Made Indissoluble, fast knit does stand.
VI
God from their Eyes all TearsAway shall wipe, they in his Praise
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No sighs more tempests in their Brests shall raise:
Eve'n Death shall be no more,
Nor Sin, that to it op'd the Door,
Nor pain: for former things are all past or'e.
VII
Past o're they are, and gone,So says the Faithful and the True,
The High, the Holy God, who from his Throne
Pronounces thus, (Lo!) I make all things New!
And thou to whom it's made known,
O Man belov'd, The words write down,
Nor doubt; for he who does it, says, 'Tis done.
| A paraphrase upon the canticles | |