 | A Collection of Poems on Various Subjects |  |
378
Right ZEAL.
Behold the Zeal of high Immortal Race,
In Whose bright Charms, you may its Lineage trace,
Admire this Fervour, and sublime Degree
Of Love Divine and generous Piety,
Which quickens Minds grown stupid, and imparts
An active Ferment to Religious Hearts;
Gives to faint Virtue, Force and blooming Grace,
And sheds fresh Beauty on her sickly Face.
It works not out in Froth, nor will it vent
In furious Heats its inward Discontent;
For Trifles, never will to Blood contend,
Nor all its Warmth in Noise and Censure spend;
But meek and peaceful, as the Sacred Dove,
Do's on the Soul in gentle Breathings move.
It smooths rough Nature, sweetens eager Blood,
Expels the vicious Part, and saves the Good.
In Whose bright Charms, you may its Lineage trace,
Admire this Fervour, and sublime Degree
Of Love Divine and generous Piety,
Which quickens Minds grown stupid, and imparts
An active Ferment to Religious Hearts;
Gives to faint Virtue, Force and blooming Grace,
And sheds fresh Beauty on her sickly Face.
It works not out in Froth, nor will it vent
In furious Heats its inward Discontent;
For Trifles, never will to Blood contend,
Nor all its Warmth in Noise and Censure spend;
379
Do's on the Soul in gentle Breathings move.
It smooths rough Nature, sweetens eager Blood,
Expels the vicious Part, and saves the Good.
It will its Rise and high Extraction prove,
By Charity refin'd, and boundless Love,
While it enlarges and extends a Mind
To the strait Compass of a Sect confin'd,
Till it embraces those of diff'rent Name,
And finds ev'n for an Enemy a Flame.
With Pity it reduces those that stray,
By mild and gentle Methods, to their Way;
But makes no Storms of Thunder break on those
Whose Errors less Important Truths oppose:
Nor do's with Racks or Fire the Stubborn tame,
Employing none but its own lambent Flame.
By Charity refin'd, and boundless Love,
While it enlarges and extends a Mind
To the strait Compass of a Sect confin'd,
Till it embraces those of diff'rent Name,
And finds ev'n for an Enemy a Flame.
With Pity it reduces those that stray,
By mild and gentle Methods, to their Way;
But makes no Storms of Thunder break on those
Whose Errors less Important Truths oppose:
Nor do's with Racks or Fire the Stubborn tame,
Employing none but its own lambent Flame.
If it Reforms, it will some Faults endure,
And not enrage the Wounds, it seeks to cure.
It pleads for Peace, and strives on Mercy's Side,
Controuls fierce Rage, and checks ambitious Pride.
By such heroick Energy inspir'd,
And by this pure celestial Passion fir'd,
Men for Religion's sake and Publick Good,
Will shed their own, but not their Neighbour's Blood.
And not enrage the Wounds, it seeks to cure.
380
Controuls fierce Rage, and checks ambitious Pride.
By such heroick Energy inspir'd,
And by this pure celestial Passion fir'd,
Men for Religion's sake and Publick Good,
Will shed their own, but not their Neighbour's Blood.
This heav'nly Zeal most Heat has always shown
For our Great Maker's Honour, not our own:
Insults and Wrongs, it can with Patience bear,
Provok'd forgive, unask'd th' Offender spare.
How sick without it, Piety appears?
What lean, what pale consumptive Looks it wears?
Its Beauty faded, and its Vigour lost,
It seems departed Virtue's Meagre Ghost.
This Zeal alone can make it fresh and fair,
Restore its Charms, and all its Wounds repair.
Such Courage springs from this victorious Grace,
As can the various Shapes of Terror face.
It makes us lay our Lives with Pleasure down,
For Bliss unseen and Triumphs yet unknown,
And with Delight perform the various Tasks,
Which Heav'n prescribes, and our own Safety asks.
For our Great Maker's Honour, not our own:
Insults and Wrongs, it can with Patience bear,
Provok'd forgive, unask'd th' Offender spare.
How sick without it, Piety appears?
What lean, what pale consumptive Looks it wears?
Its Beauty faded, and its Vigour lost,
It seems departed Virtue's Meagre Ghost.
This Zeal alone can make it fresh and fair,
Restore its Charms, and all its Wounds repair.
Such Courage springs from this victorious Grace,
As can the various Shapes of Terror face.
381
For Bliss unseen and Triumphs yet unknown,
And with Delight perform the various Tasks,
Which Heav'n prescribes, and our own Safety asks.
This Zeal is wary, not inflam'd with Pride,
And walks not but with Knowledge for its Guide.
When it grows warm, its Lights are always true;
And when 'tis doubtful, 'tis as modest too.
Blest Zeal! how pure, how spiritful and clear,
Those Souls, that feel its active Pow'r, appear?
How much such godlike Heroes us condemn,
Whom they excel, as much as Angels them?
And walks not but with Knowledge for its Guide.
When it grows warm, its Lights are always true;
And when 'tis doubtful, 'tis as modest too.
Blest Zeal! how pure, how spiritful and clear,
Those Souls, that feel its active Pow'r, appear?
How much such godlike Heroes us condemn,
Whom they excel, as much as Angels them?
| A Collection of Poems on Various Subjects | |