Poems on Several Occasions Together with the Song of the Three Children Paraphras'd. By The Lady Chudleigh |
 |
 | THE SONG OF THE Three Children PARAPHRAS'D. |
 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
THE SONG OF THE Three Children PARAPHRAS'D.
Thus wing'd with Praise, we penetrate the Skie,
Teach Clouds and Stars to praise him as we fly;
The whole Creation, by our Fall made groan,
His Praise to Echo, and suspend their Moan.
For, that he reigns all Creatures should rejoice,
And we with Songs supply their want of Voice.
The Church triumphant, and the Church below
In Songs of Praise their present Union show:
Their Joys are full, our Expectation long;
In Life we differ, tho' we join in Song.
Angels and we, assisted by this Art,
May sing together, tho' we dwell apart.
Teach Clouds and Stars to praise him as we fly;
The whole Creation, by our Fall made groan,
His Praise to Echo, and suspend their Moan.
For, that he reigns all Creatures should rejoice,
And we with Songs supply their want of Voice.
The Church triumphant, and the Church below
In Songs of Praise their present Union show:
Their Joys are full, our Expectation long;
In Life we differ, tho' we join in Song.
Angels and we, assisted by this Art,
May sing together, tho' we dwell apart.
Waller.
Benedicite omnia Opera Domini Domino.
1
The Song of the Three Children Paraphras'd.
1.
Ascend my Soul, and in a speedy FlightHaste to the Regions of eternal Light;
Look all around, each dazling Wonder view,
And thy Acquaintance with past Joys renew.
Thro' all th' Æthereal Plain extend thy Sight,
On ev'ry pleasing Object gaze;
On rolling Worlds below,
On Orbs which Light and Heat bestow:
And thence to their first Cause thy Admiration raise
In sprightly Airs, and sweet harmonious Lays.
Assist me, all ye Works of Art Divine,
Ye wondrous Products of Almighty Pow'r,
You who in lofty Stations shine,
And to your glorious Source by glad Approaches tow'r:
In your bright Orders all appear;
With me your grateful Tribute pay,
Before his Throne your joint Devotions lay.
Ye charming Off-springs of the Earth draw near,
And for your Beauties pay your Homage here,
Let all above, and all below,
All that from unexhausted Bounty flow,
To Heav'n their joyful Voices raise,
2
When Time shall cease, and each revolving Year,
Lost in Eternity shall disappear,
The blest Employment ever shall remain,
And God be sung in each immortal Strain.
2.
O ye bright Ministers of Pow'r Divine,In whom the Deity in Miniature does shine;
Ye first Essays of his creating Skill,
Who guard his Throne, and execute his Will,
Adore his Goodness, whose unweary'd Love
Call'd into Act that great Design,
That kind Idea to Perfection brought,
Which long had lain in his eternal Thought;
Who, when of all Felicity possest,
And in himself supremely blest,
To make his wondrous Bounty known,
Was pleas'd to raise
From nothing mighty Monuments of Praise:
Such as convincing Evidences prove
Of the Benignity Divine,
And in their blissful State above
With a resplendent Lustre shine:
Forms much more beautiful than Light,
And full of Charms to us unknown,
Of Charms peculiar to themselves alone:
Adorn'd with Glory not to be express'd;
With Glory much too bright,
To be the Object of a mortal Sight.
Active as Air, as Æther pure,
Exempt from Passions, and from Pain secure,
From cumb'rous Earth, and all its Frailties free,
3
And knowing as created Minds can be.
Blessings like yours, extatick Euges claim;
Thro' the celestial Courts your Thanks proclaim;
In highest Raptures, loudest Songs of Joy,
And Hallelujahs, your Eternity employ.
3.
Ye glorious Plains of pure unshaded Light,Which far above the gloomy Verge of Night
Extended lie, beyond the sharpest Ken of Sight;
Whose Bounds exceed the utmost Stretch of Thought,
Where vast unnumber'd Worlds in fluid Æther roll,
And round their radiant Centers move,
Making by Steps unequal, one continu'd Dance of Love:
Extol his Wisdom, who such Wonders wrought,
Who made, and like one individual Soul
Fills ev'ry Part, and still preserves the Mighty Whole.
4.
Ye Products of condensing Cold,Ye Clouds, who liquid Treasures hold,
Who from your wat'ry Stores above,
(Where wafted by concurring Winds you move)
On the glad Earth your Bounties pour,
And make it rich with each prolifick Show'r:
Not so you fall, as when you were design'd
To punish the rebellious Race of human Kind:
Then, with impetuous haste stupendous Cataracts fell;
Descending Spouts, ascending Torrents met;
4
Nature could not their mighty Force repel;
Beauty and Order from her Surface fled,
While o'er the Ball the liquid Ruin spread:
Now in mild Show'rs you make your kind Descent,
Refresh the Earth, and all our Wants prevent;
From lofty Mountains in Meander's slide,
And roll by grassy Banks your Silver Wealth along;
Let those celestial Springs from whence you are supply'd
Their silent Homage pay;
And till that fatal Hour the grateful Task prolong,
When fierce devouring Flames shall force their dreadful Way,
And make this beauteous Globe their Prey;
From which sulphureous Steams shall rise
And chase the congregated Vapors from the Skies.
5.
Ye blest Inhabitants of Light,Who from your shining Seats above,
Are often sent on Embassies of Love:
To distant Worlds you take your willing Flight,
And in the noblest Charity delight:
From the blest Source of Good, like Rays you flow,
And kindly spread your Influence below:
In vain the Great their mighty Deeds proclaim,
And think the highest Praise their Due,
And to themselves ascribe that Fame
Which wholly owing is to you:
In vain the grave considering Wise
Unto themselves Applauses give,
And think they by their own Endeavours rise,
And rich and honour'd live:
5
From it each prosp'rous Turn, each blest Event doth flow:
That tender Care, which over all presides,
And for the common Good of Man provides.
Your high Prerogatives with Joy confess;
In lofty Strains your kind Creator bless:
In unforc'd, grateful, and exalted Lays:
You know him best, and ought him most to praise.
6.
Thou glorious Sun, bright Author of our Day,Whose dazling Beams around themselves display,
And to the frozen Poles thy needful Heat convey.
From their long Night the shiv'ring Natives rise,
And see vast Trains of Light adorn their Skies.
Before thy Fire the vanquish'd Cold Retires,
And Nature at the sudden Change admires:
Then their lost Verdure Woods and Fields regain,
And Seas and Rivers break their Icy Chain.
How blest are they who in Warm Climes are born!
Those happy Climes thy Rays do most adorn!
Where balmy Sweets their fragrant Off'rings pay,
And warbling Birds salute the rising Day:
Where vital Warmth does sprightly Thoughts inspire,
Thoughts brisk, and active as thy Rays:
Th' immortal Homer felt thy Fire,
That wondrous Bard! whom all succeeding Ages praise.
To the first Cause, the uncreated Light,
The radiant Source of everlasting Day,
The Center whence thy Glories flow,
Those dazling Splendors we admire below,
6
And thou, fair Orb, whose Beauties still invite;
Who with thy paler Beams of borrow'd Light,
Bring'st back the Solar Rays to bless our Night:
From thee reflected, on the Earth they shine,
And make the awful Prospect seem Divine:
Thy welcom Light the Northern Climates see,
Their tedious Night is pleasant made by thee:
From that exalted Walk above,
Where round our Globe thou solemnly dost move,
Admire and laud thy mighty Maker's Love.
7.
Ye glitt'ring Stars, who float in liquid Air,Both ye that round the Sun in diff'rent Circles move,
And ye that shine like Suns above;
Whose Light and Heat attending Planets share:
In your high Stations your Creator praise,
While we admire both him and you;
Tho' vastly distant, yet our Eyes we raise,
And wou'd your lofty Regions view;
Those immense Spaces which no Limits know,
Where purest Æther unconfin'd doth flow;
But our weak Sight cannot such Journies go:
'Tis Thought alone the Distance must explore;
Nothing but That to such a Height can soar,
Nothing but That can thither wing its Way,
And there with boundless Freedom stray,
And at one View Ten thousand sparkling Orbs survey,
Innumerable Worlds and dazling Springs of Light.
O the vast Prospect! O the charming Sight!
How full of Wonder, and Delight!
How mean, how little, does our Globe appear!
7
Is hardly seen amidst the Croud above;
There, like some shining Point, do's scarce distinguish'd move.
8.
Yet Man by his own Thoughts betray'd,Curst with Self-love, not with Reflection blest,
If of a great Estate possest,
Is to his Vanity a Victim made;
No longer he himself does know,
And looks with Scorn on all below:
But if by chance a Kingdom is his Share,
And he a Diadem does wear,
Full of himself, and heightned by his Pride,
He to Divinity does tow'r,
And from his visionary Sphere of Pow'r
Commands his Subjects with imperious Sway,
And forces them his Passions to obey:
Humor, not Reason, is most times his Guide:
Too great to be advis'd, by Vice and Folly led,
He will the dang'rous Paths of slippery Grandeur tread,
And rashly mount that steep Ascent he ought to dread.
Mistaken Wretch! what is this worthless All
Which does thy heated Fancy move?
If thou the whole thy own couldst call,
'Twere but a Trifle if compar'd with those above;
Which may, perhaps, the happy Mansions be
Of Creatures much more noble, much more wise than we.
8
9.
Ye Exhalations that from Earth arise,Whose minute Parts cannot be seen,
Till they're assembled in the lower Skies;
Where being condens'd, they fall again
In gentle Dews, or Show'rs of Rain.
To you we owe those Fruits our Gardens yield,
And all the rich Productions of the Field:
But Oh! how much are you by those desir'd,
Who are with scorching Sun-beams fir'd?
The swarthy Natives of the Torrid Zone,
Who live expos'd to the fierce burning Rays,
And wou'd in dazling Brightness waste their Days,
Did you not sometimes cast a Shade between,
And from their Sight th' excessive Glory skreen:
Your well tim'd Bounty they must ever own;
On them you annual Kindnesses bestow,
Their Air you cool, and all their Ground o'erflow.
As you descend, that God adore,
Unto whose Pow'r you owe your unexhausted Store.
10.
Ye blust'ring Winds, who spacious Regions sway,As thro' your airy Realms you force your Way,
High as the starry Arch your Voices raise,
And with loud Sounds your great Creator praise,
Whose wondrous Pow'r your Motion does declare:
Strange! that such little Particles of Air,
Such Nothings as escape our Sight,
With so much Strength, such wondrous Force shou'd move,
So pow'rful in their Operations prove!
9
You all the dreadful Marks of Fury show;
The Earth you shake, make mighty Cities reel,
And ev'ry Part the dire Concussion feel.
Chasms you cause, and helpless Mortals fright,
Who trembling sink int' everlasting Night:
With dying Accents on their Friends they call,
They hear, and in one common Ruin fall:
The pale Survivors panting fly,
And with loud Screeches rend the Skie;
To neighbouring Hills they take their hasty Flight,
But Hills, alas! can no Protection yield,
They can't themselves from the devouring Mischief shield:
Pursu'd by Terrors, lost in wild Amaze,
They on surrounding Horrors gaze:
With Sighs and Groans, and with repeated Cries,
They prostrate fall, and with imploring Eyes,
All bath'd in Tears, from Heav'n they beg Relief,
From Heav'n which sees, and only can asswage their Grief.
11.
Sometimes disturb'd, they ruffle all the Air,And neither Earth, nor Ocean spare:
The mounting Waves with loud Confusion roar,
And furious Surges dash against the Shore:
The stately Cedar bends her awful Head;
The meaner Trees can no Resistance make;
Their broken Branches all around are spread,
And all their leafy Honours shed:
The frighted Birds their shatter'd Nests forsake:
Their verdant Food the trembling Cattle shun,
And urg'd by Fear to gloomy Coverts run.
10
12.
Blest be that God who doth our Good design,Whose Kindness do's in each Occurrence shine:
Who makes the boist'rous Winds declare his Love,
And from our Air the noxious Steams remove,
Those pois'nous Vapors which would fatal prove.
By him restrain'd, they gently blow,
And friendly Gales bestow:
To sultry Climes Relief convey,
Where Sun-burnt Indians faint away,
And curse th' excessive Heat of their tormenting Day.
To them the Greedy, and the Curious owe
A Part of what they have, and what they know.
By them assisted, they new Seas explore,
And visit ev'ry foreign Shore:
Their Sails they fill; the Ships make speedy way,
And to wish'd Ports their precious Freight convey.
13.
Thou kind inlivening Fire,Which dost a needful Warmth inspire;
And Heat which does to all extend,
From Stars above, to Mines below:
Which does on Natures Works attend,
At once to cherish, and defend,
And make her tender Embryo's grow:
The whole Creation springs from thee,
Both what we are, and what we see,
Are owing to thy wondrous Energy.
Opprest with Cold, and void of Day,
The sluggish Matter stupid lay,
11
When thy invigorating Pow'r
Did first its self display:
Then Life and Motion soon begun,
And fiery Atoms form'd the Sun.
How various are the Blessings you bestow!
To that great God from whom they flow,
With us your Praises send;
Let them in purest Flames ascend;
To your bright Centre swiftly move,
Th' eternal Fountain both of Heat and Love.
14.
Ye kind Vicissitudes of Heat and Cold,Which thro' the Year a due Proportion hold;
As on the Wings of Time your Round you move,
Extol that wife Almighty Mind,
Who has your diff'rent Tasks assign'd;
And from his lofty Throne above
Instructs you when to warm, and when to cool,
And does your Order with an undisputed Empire rule.
Your grateful Changes Health and Pleasure give;
Blest with the dear Variety we live:
Variety which tempts us on
The painful Ills of Life to bear,
And when the cheating Vision's gone,
For us does new deluding Scenes prepare:
From Place to Place,
Fresh Pleasures we pursue,
And the delightful Toil renew,
Till Death o'ertakes us in our thoughtless Chase,
And puts an End to our phantastick Race.
12
15.
Ye Frosts and Ice, and you descending Snow,Adore that God to whom your Pow'r you owe,
While we, well-pleas'd, your chilling Cold endure,
And to the friendly Smart our selves inure;
And with the pure, the fresh, the salutif'rous Air,
The Mischiefs of the Summers Heat repair;
Then with new Pleasure wait th' approaching Spring,
And grasp those Blessings which th' increasing Year does bring.
But Oh! the Rigors of the Northern Air!
What Pains must those unhappy Mortals bear,
Who near the Pole, remote from Phœbus Rays
Wast in uncomfortable Darkness half their Days!
There, piercing Winds commence their stormy reigns,
And Icy Cold th' Ascendant gains:
There, Seas congeal, and Rivers cease to flow,
Where harden'd Earth doth firm as Marble grow,
And where both Hills and Vales are ever hid with Snow.
Nature to them penuriously does give;
They on a scant Allowance live:
Yet with contented Minds their Lot sustain,
Not knowing better, and inur'd to Pain.
16.
Ye silent Nights, who sacred are to Rest,Wherein th' afflicted, by their Griefs opprest,
Are with a short Cessation blest;
While in the downy Bands of Sleep they lie,
Sorrow can no Impression make,
Slumbers the absent Joy supply;
13
Where you command, an awful Quiet reigns;
Ev'n Nature seems the Blessing to partake.
On the smooth verdant Plains
The weary Beasts recline their Heads,
And fall asleep upon their grassy Beds:
The drowsie Birds sit nodding on the Boughs;
To all her Works she soft Repose allows.
E'er Darkness has her Veil withdrawn,
Or Light unbarr'd her radiant Gate,
Before the cheerful Morn begins to dawn;
While you march slowly on in solemn State,
With gentlest Whispers, Accents soft as Air,
The Praises of your bounteous God declare.
17.
And ye bright Days, who from the East arise,And with diffusive Glories gild the Skies,
With them your early Tribute pay;
While we by kindly Sleep refresh'd,
Rise gay and sprightly from our Rest,
And see, well-pleas'd, the Out-guards of the Night,
The gloomy Shades give way
To your victorious Light;
At whose Approach Joy spreads it self around,
Pleasures in ev'ry Place abound:
The busie Peasants their lov'd Toil renew,
And active Youths their noisie Sports pursue:
With loud-mouth'd Hounds the frighted Hare they chase,
And with his Spoils their Triumphs grace:
The harmless Flocks lie basking in your Beams,
And Birds awaken'd from their Dreams,
14
And their melodious Strains, in tuneful Notes renew.
18.
Let Darkness, whom th' infernal Pow'rs obey,And who e'er Time begun, with universal Sway
Thro' the wide Void its Empire did extend,
And still do's with its younger Sister Light
In its nocturnal Course contend,
And ancient Rights defend:
As round th' Almighty's Throne, with sable Wings display'd,
It forms a venerable Shade,
A Shade, which does from each celestial Sight
Such dazling Glories hide,
As did it not a needful Veil provide,
Wou'd with their prodigious Blaze
Attending Seraphims amaze;
For the high Honour thankful prove.
And thou, fair Off-spring of eternal Love,
Thou brightest Gift of Pow'r Divine,
Which thro' the happy Plains above
Didst with an undiminish'd Splendor shine:
From whence thou kindly didst descend,
And thro' the mournful Gloom thy cheerful Beams extend;
(Then beauteous Nature from the Chaos rose,
And did a thousand Charms disclose:
With wondrous Pleasure she receiv'd the Grace,
And blooming Joy sat smiling in her Face.)
To thy bright Fountain on retorted Rays
Send constant Tributes of unweary'd Praise.
15
19.
Ye transient Fires, who with tremendous LightRush thro' the dusky Horrors of the Night,
As with a dreadful Sound you force your way
Thro' those resisting Clouds where you imprison'd lay,
To Heav'n your Adoration pay;
While we your dang'rous Glories view
Glories, whose pernicious Blaze
Does the trembling World amaze:
Both Birds and Beasts with Haste retire,
And Men the Dictates of their Fear pursue;
From open Fields, and from th' enkindled Air,
They to the neighbouring Cliffs repair;
But who can shun your penetrating Fire?
The subtile Mischief spreads it self around,
And tumbles lofty Temples to the Ground;
Rocks feel its Pow'r, Marbles are forc'd to yield,
Nor can the Trees their shady Cov'rings shield:
Thro' closest Pores it makes its speedy Way,
And on the vital Stock does prey.
Unhappy Mortals, thus expos'd by Fate
To the fierce Rage of each impending Ill,
Find in their transitory State,
That Death has many Ways to kill:
The Treasure, Life, is kept with Pains and Cost,
And sometimes hardly seen, before 'tis lost.
20.
O let the Earth her great Creator bless,And all the Wonders of his Pow'r confess:
From Pole to Pole, let her resound his Praise;
16
Till they are echo'd by the neighbouring Skie:
To all the list'ning Worlds above
Let her proclaim aloud
The blest Effects of his transcendent Love,
Who out of nothing did her beauteous Fabrick raise.
O Prodigy of Art Divine!
The Deity did in the wondrous Structure shine!
Who can in sit Expressions the sublime Idea dress,
Or the stupendous Marvels of that Work express!
Angels themselves, whose Intellects are free
From those dark Mists which our weak Reason cloud,
Who things in their remotest Causes see,
Whose Knowledge like their Station's great and high,
Above the loftiest Flights of weak Mortality,
Astonish'd saw the rising World appear;
The new, the glorious, the transporting Sight,
So full of Wonder, and Delight,
With rapt'rous Joys fill'd each celestial Breast,
With Joys too vast to be exprest;
Such Extasies as here
We could not feel, and live;
They to our Beings wou'd a Period give:
The killing Pleasure wou'd be too intense,
And quite o'erwhelm our feeble Sense;
But they who are all Intellect and Will,
And what they please fulfil,
Whose Minds are pure, free from the least Allay,
Serene, and clear, as everlasting Day,
Imbibe the most extatick Joys with eager Haste,
Nor can th' immense Excess immortal Spirits waste.
17
21.
Zeal tun'd their Harps, by it inspir'd they sung;The charming Sound thro' all th' Empyrean rung:
Their God they with unweary'd Ardor bless'd,
And in their sacred Hymns his Praise express'd:
His Wisdom, Pow'r, and Goodness they admire,
These were the constant Themes of all th' Angelick Quire:
All these they saw on his new Work Imprest:
They saw his pow'rful Fiat soon obey'd;
He spoke, and streight that mighty Mass was made,
Where Earth and Water, Air and Fire,
Without Distinction, Order, or Design,
Did in one common Chaos join:
Stupid, unactive, without Form, or Light,
They lay confus'dly huddl'd in their native Night;
Till on the gloomy Deep his Spirit mov'd;
Th' Emanations of the Power Divine,
Did all its Parts with vital Influence bless,
And scatter'd thro' the whole their motive Energies.
Th' active Warmth did ev'ry Part impell,
The heaviest downward made their way,
And to a new made Centre fell,
Where, by their Weight together prest,
They did in one firm Body rest,
On which a Mass of Liquids lay:
The lucid Particles together came,
And join'd in one propitious Flame,
Which round the new-form'd Globe did Light and Heat convey,
And blest it with the welcom Birth of Day:
But to one Sphere the Fire was not confin'd,
18
Which thro' the Whole in due proportion went,
And needful Warmth to ev'ry Part was sent.
22.
By Heat excited, Exhalations rose,And did the Regions of the Air compose:
The thicker Parts our Atmosphere did frame,
While the more subtil took a nobler Flight,
And fill'd with purest Æther the celestial Height,
Then Land appear'd; th' obsequious Floods gave way,
And each within appointed Bounds did stay;
But rude and unadorn'd the new Concretion lay,
Till by a sudden Act of Pow'r Divine,
Th' unshap'd Mass a beauteous Earth became;
Charming it look'd in its gay Infant Dress;
Goodness and Art at once did shine,
And both the God confess.
Thrice blest that Pair, who in the Dawn of Time
Were made Possessors of that happy Clime:
But wretched they soon lost their blissful State,
Undone by their own Folly, not their Fate.
23.
Serene and Calm those early Regions were,A constant Spring was always there,
And gentle Breezes cool'd the Air,
Rough Winds and Rains they never knew,
But unseen Showr's of pearly Dew,
(Aereal Streams) their Balmy Drops distill'd,
And with prolifick moisture the smooth surface fill'd.
19
With lovely Flow'rs embroider'd o'er.
Flowers so wondrous sweet, so wondrous Fair,
Ne'er grac'd our Earth, never perfum'd our Air,
Peculiar to those happier Fields they were;
Thro' which the winding Rivers make their Way,
The clear unsullied Streams with wanton Play
In Thousand various Figures Stray;
Sometimes concurring Waters make
A little Sea, a Chrystal Lake,
Where for a while in their soft Bed they rest,
Till by succeeding Currents prest,
To distant Parts they gently flow,
And murmur as they go,
As if they wish'd a longer Stay,
And ran unwillingly away:
On their enamel'd Banks were seen
Plants ever Beauteous, ever Green;
Plants, whose odoriferous Smell,
Did the since fam'd Sabæan sweets excell.
Nature profusely spread her Riches there,
The fertile Soil prov'd grateful to her Care,
The new unlabour'd Ground large stately Trees did bear,
Trees whose Majestick Tops aspir'd so high,
They almost seem'd to touch the Sky;
Loaden with Blossoms, and with Fruit at once they stood;
At once the Beauties of the Spring and Autumn crown'd the Wood:
At once they did the Bounties of both Seasons wear.
24.
Such was the Earth so Beautious and so Gay,Fresh as the Morn, delightful as the Day:
20
Where glorious Trees bire vegetable Gold;
Nor that whereof Mæonides has writ,
Alcinous Garden, which its Beauty ow'd
To that great Genius, that transcendent Wit,
Who could the lowest Subject raise,
And make the meanest things deserve Eternal Praise:
Such was Phæacia, 'till with wondrous Art
He 'mbelish'd ev'ry Part:
His Fancy the rich Dress bestow'd:
To future Times it had been little known,
Having no native Lustre of its own,
Had not his Muse enroll'd its Name,
And laid it up secure within th' Archives of Fame.
Nor these, nor yet those happy Plains,
Virgil describes in his immortal Strains,
Could equal the Perfections of that charming Place,
Which Nature had adorn'd with her exactest Care,
And furnish'd it with every Grace;
Her Skill did every where appear:
All that was lovely, all that lov'd Delight,
Might there be seen in its exalted Height:
In it conspicuously did shine
Th' inimitable Strokes of Art Divine,
The God was seen in every dazling Line.
25.
Such it continu'd, till deform'd by Sin:Guilt call'd down Vengeance from above,
And quickly spoil'd the Workmanship of Love:
Guilt on the Earth a dreadful Deluge brought;
In vain th' offending Race Protection sought,
In vain they from the liquid Mischief fled,
21
From Mountains Tops they saw the floating Dead:
Th' increasing Waters did their Steps pursue,
And none escap'd but the blest Fav'rite few:
Who rode in Triumph on the watry Waste,
Secure above the swelling Surges plac'd:
Amaz'd they saw the daring Billows rise,
They pass'd the Clouds, and mingl'd with the Skies:
High on th' exalted Waves they look'd around,
But no Remains of their dear Country found;
Th' insulting Floods had cover'd all the Ground:
With Pity they their Brethrens Fate deplore,
And then the Mercies of their God adore;
His Mercy, who such wondrous Diff'rence made,
And gave such pregnant Proofs how much he lov'd:
Who, when no human Pow'r cou'd aid,
Himself their kind Protector prov'd.
While thus employ'd, they saw the Sea subside,
Th' impetuous Waters gradually withdrew;
Nature for their Reception did provide;
And they cou'd once again their native Regions view.
26.
On some bleak Mountains Top they sighing stay'd,And thence the Horrors of the Plains survey'd:
Those pleasant Plains, once fill'd with all Delight,
Afforded only now a melancholy Sight:
There Trees lay scatter'd, all defil'd with Mud,
And finny Monsters flounc'd where spacious Cities stood:
The Ground with Heaps of Bones was cover'd o'er,
They ev'ry where found something to deplore:
Long on the sad Catastrophe they gaz'd,
22
And the vindictive Justice of their God rever'd,
That Justice, which so dreadfully appear'd.
At length embolden'd, and the Earth grown dry,
They from th' inhospitable Heights descend;
Th' aerial Kind disperse themselves around,
Their Steps the Flocks and Herds attend,
And seek their Food upon the slimy Ground,
The slimy Ground cou'd not their Wants supply;
Indulgent Nature pity'd their Distress,
And did the Fields with useful Herbage bless:
But Men, unhappy Men, were forc'd to toil,
To plough, to sow, and cultivate the Soil:
The stubborn Earth without their Care,
Nor Fruits, nor Corn, nor the rich Vine would bear:
They to their Labour their Subsistance ow'd,
And all their Plenty on themselves bestow'd.
27.
We, the curst Off-spring of that wandring Race,Are still condemn'd to this unhappy Place;
This Earth, where we with Tears are usher'd in,
And where our Griefs, do with our Years begin;
Where, without Labour, we can nothing gain,
And where the Purchase equals not the Pain;
Who wou'd with so much Toil th' Incumbrance Life maintain?
But we must live Probationers for Joy,
In noble Deeds our coming Hours employ;
That, when from this bad World releas'd by Fate,
We may be re-admitted to that glorious State,
Where our pure Souls possess'd supreme Delight,
And liv'd within the Verge of everlasting Light.
23
To leave your radiant Seats above?
Could mortal Bodies such Attractives prove?
Was Happiness grown your Disease?
Or were you surfeited with Ease?
O dreadful Lapse! O fatal Change!
Must you, who thro' the higher Orbs could range,
Survey the beauteous Worlds above,
And there adore the Source of Love,
Be here confin'd to Lumps of Clay,
To darksom Cells, remote from your Ætherial Day?
On this vain Theatre of Noise and Strife,
Must you be forc'd to act the Farce of Life:
Our Souls, Good God, to their first Bliss restore,
And let them actuate dull Flesh no more.
28.
'Tis granted; Hark! I hear the Trumpet sound,The mighty Voice dilates it self around,
And in its Clangor ev'ry lesser Noise is drown'd.
He comes! he comes! with a refining Fire,
The Clouds before him awfully retire:
The parting Skies with haste give way
And show to trembling Men the bright eternal Day:
Lightning and Thunder on his Triumph wait,
With all the fiery Ministers of Fate:
Ten thousand Meteors roll along the Air;
Hot Exhalations waste their Fury there:
And burning Mountains send their Flames on high;
Swift as our Thoughts the scorching Mischiefs fly:
Mixt with thick Smoak the threatning Terrors rise,
And fill with sooty Atoms the dark gloomy Skies:
The Earth does shake, by fierce Convulsions rent,
24
Hark! how the troubled Sea does roar!
Its scalding Waters beat against the Shore:
The Fishes leave their oozy Bed;
With Haste they swim to Land,
But find no Rest upon the burning Sand:
Both Land and Water equally they dread,
And on the glowing Beach in mighty Sholes lie dead.
The feather'd Kind forsake their lofty Heights,
And from the sultry Regions of the Air,
By speedy Flights
For Refuge to the Earth repair,
Where, with sing'd Wings they gasping lie;
The lowing Herds fall panting by,
And Beasts of Prey with strugling Fury die.
The brute Creation one great Holocaust is made,
And altogether on the burning Altar laid.
29.
By flaming Horrors ev'ry where pursu'd,From Place to Place, poor frighted Mortals run;
Where e'er they go, their Danger is renew'd,
They can't the swift Destruction shun:
Tortur'd with Heat they fainting fall,
And cast despairing Glances round;
The Children on their Parents call;
The wretched Parents sighing lie,
And see their tender Off-spring die:
With loud Complaints they fill the Air;
The heav'nly Vault returns the Sound,
And spreads the mournful Accents round:
In vain they groan, in vain they cry,
In vain their Screeches pierce the Sky,
25
The common Vengeance all must share,
And with the Earth, the fiery Trial bear;
Both rich, and poor, must leave their mingl'd Ashes there.
30.
See! see! she's now a Sea of Fire,A vast enormous Blaze!
The neighb'ring Worlds the Prodigy admire,
And on the new-form'd Glory gaze:
The Fire has all her Dross calcin'd,
Ev'ry Part is now refin'd:
Justice appeas'd, to Love gives way,
Love will once more its Pow'r display,
And the Foundations of a second Fabrick lay.
'Tis done! 'tis done! an Earth does rise,
Encompas'd round with purer Skies;
An Earth, much better than the first,
Than that, which for our sake was curst:
Much more beauteous, much more fine,
Much more of Skill Divine
Does in the charming Texture shine:
No inequalities of Air,
No noxious Vapors govern there;
The brighten'd Skies unclouded Lustre wear.
31.
There Plenty spreads her Wings around,And broods upon the fertile Ground:
Without Expence, or Toil, or Care,
The fruitful Ground does all things bear:
It has an unexhausted Store;
26
Sparkling Gems, and golden Oar,
Useful Corn, and gen'rous Wine,
Woods of Cedar, Oak, and Pine,
And lofty Groves for ever green,
With Beds of fragrant Flow'rs between;
Pure chrystal Springs, sweet cooling Streams,
Such as were once the Poets Themes.
See! see! melodious Birds are there;
They please the Eye, and charm the Ear;
And inoffensive Beasts their Pleasure mind,
Neither for Labour, nor for Food design'd:
They do not on each other prey,
But new, and better Laws obey;
Both Lambs and Lions there together play.
32.
O ye celestial Race!By Providence design'd,
The blest Possessors of this happy Place,
You who like us did earthy Bodies wear,
Like us did human Frailties share,
And all the painful Ills of ling'ring Life did bear:
But now to nobler Posts consign'd,
Have left your cumbrous Flesh behind;
And now are cloth'd with radiant Light,
With Bodies active, pure, and bright;
Admire and praise that wondrous Love
Which has for you such Joys in Store:
When landed on that glorious Shore,
You'll think of your past Griefs no more:
Divine Munificence will prove
27
And still exert your most exalted Pow'rs.
33.
No more with Trifles you'll be then in Love,No more your former vain Pursuits approve:
No more endeavour to be rich and great;
And to your Cares a Prey,
In anxious Thoughts employ the Night,
And in Fatigues the Day:
No more such needless Toils repeat;
No more in Luxury delight:
No more be wretched by your Passions made,
Nor by your Appetites betray'd:
From all your Follies you'll abstain,
No more penurious be, nor vain,
Nor will you ever more complain:
Your former Pleasures will insipid prove,
No more than Dreams your waken'd Reason move;
New Objects wholly will ingross your Love:
Objects of which we can't Ideas frame,
And Joys, for which we cannot find a Name.
34.
Such Joys as here from Contemplation spring;That best, that noblest Pleasure of the Mind,
Which keeps the Soul upon the Wing,
And will not be to any Place confin'd;
But range at large, as unrestrain'd as Thought, or Wind.
To you Delights 'twill ever yield:
'Twill lead you into Nature's boundless Field;
To you her various Beauties shew,
28
The Scenes of Providence display,
Before you all the Machines lay;
The whole Oeconomy Divine,
Where Art does in Perfection shine,
And where amaz'd you'll find
Wisdom and Goodness, with Almighty Pow'r combin'd:
Shew you the past Occurrences of Time,
From Natures Birth, to her Decay,
From the rude Chaos, to that last concluding Day,
Which sweeps both Men and all their vast Designs away:
Sights such as these, so wondrous, and sublime,
Will highest Transports raise,
And prove fit Matter for eternal Praise.
35.
There, with each other you'll with Joy converse,And all the Warmth of sacred Love express:
Each Breast will with a holy Ardor flame,
Your Souls unite, and ever be the same:
Without Reserve, without Disguise you'll live,
No Artifice, no sep'rate Int'rest know;
You Heart for Heart will freely give,
And pay the Kindness which you owe.
That Friendship which from Virtue springs,
Immortal as its Cause does prove;
With it, Ten thousand Joys it brings,
Such Joys as Death cannot remove:
They will beyond the Grave remain,
And solace us above;
Where, for the Good we lov'd below,
We our Affection shall retain;
29
Shall still more fervent grow,
And like the Glory of the Skies,
Shall no Decay, no Diminution know.
36.
Ye lofty Mountains whose aspiring HeightsStop rising Vapors in their airy Flights;
Where when condens'd, from thence they flow,
And water all the Plains below.
To you, the mightiest Rivers owe their Birth,
And the most precious Treasures of the Earth:
Silver, and Gold, those Darlings of Mankind,
We in your wealthy Bowels find:
On us, you Copper, Iron, Lead and Tin bestow,
And there, both shining Gems, and useful Min'rals grow.
When from your airy Tops we look around,
On ev'ry side are pleasing Objects found,
Yonder, large Plains their verdant Beauties show,
And there, with noisie haste resistless Torrents flow:
Here, various Animals, and Herbs invite,
There, Towns we see, here Forests yield Delight,
And there, the mighty Ocean bounds our Sight.
As high above the Clouds your Heads you raise,
The wondrous Pow'r of your Creator praise;
Let thund'ring Blasts spread the loud Accents round,
And let each Hill return the joyful Sound.
37.
Ye lovely Greens, who cloath the Earth,30
All you that are for use design'd,
The Pride of Meadows, where the bleating Cattle find
Enough their Hunger to suffice,
And still are blest with fresh Supplies:
Ye tender Herbs, who beauteous Flow'rs produce,
And ye, enrich'd with balmy Juice,
Who are with healing Virtues blest,
And you who for Delight were made,
For Ornament, or Shade,
With all th' odoriferous Kind:
To Heav'n from whence your Beauties came,
Your Thanks in pure Effluviums send;
Thither let all your Praises be addrest;
In plenteous Steams let them ascend,
And with an eager Swiftness fly
Thro' the soft yielding Skie.
Ye towring Trees, do you the same;
You, that with verdant Honours crown'd
Cast your wide spreading Branches round,
And from the Sun's too fervent Heat
Afford a welcom cool Retreat.
O ye lov'd Groves! my early dear Delight!
You to a thousand Joys invite:
Joys known but to a thoughtful Mind,
Which can within true Satisfaction find;
And needs no Foreign Help to make it blest,
But all-sufficient in its self can rest.
38.
Come all ye Fountains your due Tribute pay,And let each River as it rolls along;
The universal Call obey,
31
Thro' all the bright Expanse above,
The boundless Theatre of Love,
Let the melodious Noise resound,
And spread the grateful Transports round:
Let Nature too her Homage pay
In ev'ry charming Lay.
Hear, O ye Seas! th' inviting Sound,
Let all your boistrous Roarings cease,
And let your watry Subjects taste the Sweets of Peace.
See! they attend! a sacred Silence reigns,
And Quiet sits triumphant on the liquid Plains.
Ye list'ning Waves, with a low murm'ring Voice,
Express your Thanks, and with the rest rejoice:
With you we'll join, and the great Subject raise:
Almighty Goodness claims the highest Praise.
39.
Ye Monarchs of the finny Race,Who in the Northern Seas delight;
Where your huge Bodies fill a mighty Space,
And show like living Islands to the wond'ring Sight;
As you your Heads above the Waters raise,
Speak by your Gestures your Creator's Praise:
With you let ev'ry lesser Fish combine;
Such as in scaly Armour shine,
With those that near the Surface play,
And to the pleas'd Spectator's Sight,
Their beauteous Forms, and glitt'ring Finns display;
All such as in the Depths delight,
And thro' the weedy Lab'rinths stray;
Those who themselves in muddy Coverts hide,
32
With those that in the Rivers live,
Far distant from th' incroaching Tide;
Let all by Signs their Plaudits give;
Before his Throne their mute Devotion lay,
And, as they can, their silent Adoration pay.
40.
Ye pretty Rangers of the Air,Who, unconfin'd, can at your Pleasure fly
Thro' the wide Regions of the lower Sky:
And in pursuit of fresh Delight,
Or weary'd with your towring Flight,
Can to the Earth with Ease repair,
And feed on tempting Viands there;
And thence to silent Groves retire,
Where, undisturb'd, you sit and sing,
And welcom back the flow'ry Spring;
Or at the Summer's Warmth rejoice;
That Warmth, to which you owe the Fire
Which does harmonious Strains inspire.
Well-pleas'd with your delightful Choice,
From Bough to Bough you warbling fly;
While neighb'ring Hills return the Voice,
And to each charming Note reply.
As thus your happy Minutes glide along,
To Heav'n melodious Off'rings pay:
With you an equal Share
Let the whole Species bear;
The wild and tame, the beauteous, swift and strong;
Let all contribute to the Song:
And each in his peculiar way
33
With cheerful Haste his vocal Tribute bring.
41.
Come all ye Beasts, your Homage pay,You of the fierce devouring Kind,
Who chiefly live on Prey;
And all the Night intent on Spoil,
Range up and down with restless Toil,
Where if by chance you wretched Trav'lers find,
Who are by Fate your Prey design'd,
On them without Remorse you seize,
And with their Blood your craving Stomachs please;
But when returning Day
Has chas'd the dusky Shades away,
Back to your Dens with Fear you run,
At once pursuing Men, and hated Light to shun:
And you, whose Innocence, and Use,
Keep you secure from all Abuse;
Ye harmless Flocks, who grace the Field,
And you, that milky Treasures yield:
All you that on the Mountains breed,
And you, that in the Vallies feed:
You, who on craggy Rocks reside,
And you, that in the Earth abide:
Let ev'ry individual Beast,
As well the largest, as the least,
Before their bounteous God rejoice,
And pay their Thanks with an united Voice.
42.
Ye Sons of Men, ye chosen Race34
You, who depend on his Almighty Pow'r,
And taste his Bounty ev'ry Hour;
Return those Thanks which are his Due,
And let the brutal Kind be all out-done by you:
Exert your Reason, ev'ry Thought improve,
And let your Faculties be all employ'd on Love:
That Love, to which our all we owe,
And which takes Pleasure freely to bestow.
When first this beauteous World was wrought,
While we existed but in Thought,
Love, even then our Good design'd,
Even then in ev'ry Part it shin'd:
Each Place had something to invite,
The whole was crouded with Delight.
The Air was calm, the balmy Spring
Did all its fragrant Treasures bring:
The Beasts rejoyc'd, and void of Strife,
Enjoy'd a pleasant, easie Life:
Sung the glad Birds, and all conspir'd
To make the Earth a Place desir'd,
A Paradise, that cou'd not be enough admir'd!
43.
When thus prepar'd, Love smiling came,And did our happy Parents frame:
Beauteous they were as dawning Light,
Their Understandings clear and bright.
To you, said he, this Earth I give;
Amidst unnumber'd Pleasures live.
Prove but obedient, and your Bliss shall be
As lasting as my own Eternity.
He spoke; they listen'd to the joyful Sound,
35
Where e'er they gaz'd, they some new Wonder found.
Ah! thoughtless Pair! how soon were you undone!
O cou'd you not the fatal Tempter shun!
Accursed Pride! thou Ruin of our Race,
Thou black Inhabitant of Hell,
How durst thou enter that forbidden Place,
And prompt them to rebel?
O 'twas the vain Desire of knowing more,
Of adding to your intellectual Store,
Which made both you, and all your wretched Off-spring poor.
44.
Too late, alas! they their sad Change lament,And to the Woods their fruitless Sorrows vent.
Its dire Effects their Guilt displays,
For Innocence once lost, Content no longer stays:
Pursu'd by Vengeance, of themselves afraid,
They were a Prey to ev'ry Terror made:
The Fear of Death, that unknown worst of Ills,
Their sad desponding Souls with black Ideas fills:
Where e'er they look'd, a dismal Horror reign'd,
And ev'ry Creature in its turn complain'd:
Full of Despair, they shun the hated Day,
And in dark Shades sigh their sad Hours away:
But they, alas! in vain retire;
Shades cannot hide from Wrath divine;
That all-consuming Fire
Will thro' the thickest Covert shine:
Nor subterranean Vaults, nor an Egyptian Night
Are Proof against the searching Rays of pure Æthereal Light.
36
45.
Offended Justice comes to try their Cause,And from their close Recess the trembling Wretches draws.
Struck pale with Horror, self-condemn'd they stood,
And for themselves some vain Excuses made:
Deceiv'd they were by a pretended Good,
And all the Blame on the false Tempter laid:
The Judge incens'd, their Follies wou'd not hear,
The weak Results of Shame and Fear.
Their Wills were free, and they had Pow'r to chuse;
The Good they knew, and might the Ill refuse:
Felicity was theirs; and if they'd pleas'd
The glorious Treasure had been still their own;
They cou'd not be by Fraud, or Force disseiz'd:
Their Loss was owing to themselves alone:
Their Disobedience to the Law divine
Made Death, eternal Death, their Due:
In vain they at their Punishment repine,
Th' impartial Judge will no Compassion shew.
Their future Race with them must bear a Part,
Involv'd both in the Guilt, and in the Smart.
46.
Love look'd with Pity on their lost Estate,And strove to mitigate their rig'rous Fate:
But its Attempts all unsuccessful prove.
Relentless Justice nought could move:
'Twas deaf to all the soft Remonstrances of Love.
When it in vain all other Ways had try'd,
It put on Flesh, and for the Guilty dy'd:
37
And did a willing Victim fall.
O wondrous Goodness! Kindness all Divine!
The God does in the bounteous Action shine!
47.
See, he appears! he leaves his glorious Throne!Puts off his Robes of dazling Light
And all alone
He downward takes his Way
To Realms remote from his eternal Day!
Where all those Splendors which our Eyes invite,
Are if compar'd to those above,
Like Lunar Beams, or wandring Fires,
And all as mean, as transient Pleasures prove.
He comes! he comes! our Nature wears!
And all our sinless Frailties shares,
And all our Sorrows, all our Suff'rings bears!
Each Angel at the Sight admires,
And stooping low, with wondring Eyes,
Into th' awful Myst'ry pries.
Gaze on, gaze on, O holy Quire!
And as you gaze, his Praises sing;
Such wondrous Love you can't enough admire,
A Love which only cou'd from boundless Pity spring:
48.
But stay a while, your heav'nly Musick cease,Behold a Scene your Wonder will increase:
A Scene, that wou'd, cou'd you be touch'd with Grief,
The deepest Sorrow in your Breasts excite,
38
A Prodigy beyond Belief!
A God surrounded by insulting Foes,
And meekly yielding to their barb'rous Rage,
Condemn'd, despis'd, and scourg'd by those
For whose lov'd sakes he this hard Treatment chose!
With cruel Men, infernal Pow'rs engage,
And the Variety of Torments try:
No common Suff'rings can their Wrath asswage,
He must with complicated Tortures die.
View him! O view him on th' accursed Wood,
His tender Hands and Feet all stain'd with Blood,
Bending beneath an ignominious Fate,
The dire Result both of their Guilt and Hate.
49.
See, by his Cross, the Virgin Mother standsWith streaming Eyes, and lifted Hands:
Fixt on the mournful Object she appears,
And only speaks by Sighs and Tears.
Thou wondrous Pattern of maternal Love!
Cou'd Grief like thine no Pity move?
Such Sorrow might ev'n hungry Tigers charm,
And fierce Barbarians of their Wrath disarm:
But the more savage Jews were Strangers grown
To those soft Dictates Nature does inspire;
They did all tender Sentiments disown,
And were by Hellish Malice set on Fire:
But oh! our Sins strike deeper than their Rage,
And in their Cause, celestial Wrath ingage:
They pierc'd his Soul with Sorrows more intense,
Than ever since were felt by human Sense.
39
Withdrew his Light,
That he the dismal Sight might shun;
Darkness, great as their Crimes, the World o'erspread,
And ev'ry Ray back to its Center fled.
While they are wondring at the sudden Night,
His dreadful Agonies increase,
Our Sins disturb'd his inward Peace:
With loud Complaints, and strong pathetick Cries,
He tow'rds his Father's Throne cast his expiring Eyes,
To him resigns his Soul, and full of Anguish dies.
50.
See! O thou holy Mourner! see!Commiserating Nature joins with thee!
The trembling Earth resounds thy Moans,
And answers ev'ry Sigh with loud redoubl'd Groans:
The Beasts refuse their Meat, the Birds complain,
And with sad Notes fill each adjoining Plain;
The neighb'ring Hills return the mournful Sound,
And spread the melancholy Musick round:
The Rivers with condoling Murmurs flow,
And crystal Fountains Signs of Sadness show:
The Rocks are rent,
And the rough Soldiers wear
Th' unusual Badge of Sorrow and of Fear:
Full of Compassion each retires;
The moving Sight so vast Concern inspires.
All, but the cruel Jews relent;
Their harden'd Hearts cannot of Ill repent.
40
51.
The kind Redeemer in his Grave is laid;For us he has a mighty Ransom paid,
And for our Sins full Satisfaction made.
With liveliest Colours in our Thoughts we'll paint
The buried Son, and the lamenting Saint;
By him she sits, with num'rous Woes opprest,
And wrings her Hands, and beats her snowy Breast:
With Sorrows, such as she ne'er felt before,
And Floods of Tears, she does her Loss deplore;
Fain wou'd she speak, but Words can find no way,
She must the Motions of her Grief obey,
And only by her Sighs her Thoughts convey.
Those thronging Dolors which her Soul molest,
Are much too great to be exprest;
They can't in sad Complaints a Passage find;
By their Excess, unhappily confin'd,
They still remain within, the Burthen of her Mind.
52.
Oh! who can see the holiest of her Kind,With humble Duty to her God resign'd,
Bear such Afflictions with a Patient Mind,
And not with conscious Shame
Their own ungovern'd Tempers blame?
Ah! blessed Virgin, let us learn from thee
To live from all our sinful Passions free:
Let us no more at Providence repine,
But yield a calm Submission to the Will Divine:
Like thee all Injuries, all Losses bear,
And be contented when they're most severe.
41
And to thy Honour lasting Trophies raise:
Where e'er thy Son extends his Heav'nly Laws,
And with his saving Precepts vicious Mortals awes;
Thy dear Remembrance ever shall remain,
And thou a mighty Veneration gain:
Thy blest Example shall our Pattern be,
We'll strive to live, to love, to grieve, like thee.
53.
Now cease to weep, thy Task of Grief is done;Attend the Triumphs of thy conqu'ring Son:
He shall no longer in the Grave remain,
With Ease he breaks Death's adamantine Chain;
O'er it, and Hell, see him victorious rise,
And once again
Restore himself to thy desiring Eyes;
Make hake, make haste, with eager Raptures meet
Th' ascending God, and breath thy Transports at his Feet:
Make known thy Troubles, there thy Griefs repeat,
And let thy Joys, be like thy Sorrows, great.
54.
The holy Dead re-visit Earth again;Those who whole Ages in their Graves had lain,
Awake from their long silent Night,
And croud to see the joyful Sight:
With them, the faithful Few on their dear Saviour gaze,
And lose their Reason in the blest Amaze:
With doubting Minds on his lov'd Face they look;
42
At once with Joy and Wonder strook,
They trembling stand, and disbelieve their Eyes;
Till his known Voice dispels their Fear,
That Voice, with Transports they were wont to hear
Go, my lov'd Followers, graciously he said,
Go, and the sinful World persuade;
I will my self your kind Endeavours aid:
First to the Jews my righteous Doctrines preach,
And then the Heathen Nations teach;
To them my sacred Laws make known,
I will by Miracles your Mission own:
Go, fearless on, and my Commands obey,
And slight those Dangers which obstruct your way.
Pursue those Paths which I have trod,
And boldly share the Suff'rings of your God:
Eternal Glory your Reward shall prove,
The dear-bought Purchase of your Master's Love.
55.
These charming Accents their glad Souls elate,And reconcile them to their coming Fate;
To honour him who for their sakes had dy'd,
They Death, and its preceding Ills, defy'd:
Resolv'd they wou'd the cruel Jews oppose,
And preach Repentance to his barb'rous Foes:
They to remotest Countries dauntless go,
Thro' burning Sand, and chilling Snow:
No Pain, no Labour spare,
But ev'ry where
His sacred Truths declare:
Those sacred Truths which Souls refine,
43
The most obdurate Sinners save.
While fill'd with Pleasure all Divine,
They gaz'd on the transporting Sight,
He his Blessing to them gave;
And then before their wond'ring Eyes
Return'd to his deserted Skies,
And re-assum'd his Regal State.
They saw him mount cloth'd with refulgent Light:
Th' incircling Air, made by Reflexion bright,
They saw with dazling Splendor shine.
And now above the Reach of Fate,
Beyond the narrow Verge of Time,
By his pleas'd Father's side he sits sublime;
With him ador'd, encompass'd round
With num'rous Crouds, who his due Praise resound:
There, he for ever will his Merits plead,
And with unweary'd Kindness intercede,
For such as here his just Commands obey,
And at his Feet their darling Int'rests lay.
56.
While the Disciples with attentive EyesFixt their Regards on the resplendent Skies,
And view'd those distant Tracts of Light
Which their dear Lord had left behind,
Two glorious Forms appear'd before their Sight,
And with fresh Wonder fill'd each Mind:
Beauteous they were as new created Day,
And did resistless Charms display:
Ætherial Splendors compass'd them around,
And they with glitt'ring Beams were crown'd:
With wondrous Grace, and a majestick Air,
44
Why, O ye Galileans, stand ye gazing here,
By too much Love betray'd
To groundless Fear?
He is not lost, for whom you mourn;
You shall once more see him return:
From Heav'n he shall descend again
Attended by a pompous Train:
Myriads of Angels, than the Sun more bright,
Clad all in Robes of shining white,
Shall on his radiant Chariot wait,
Resounding Trumpets shall proclaim his coming State,
While bending Clouds their glorious Weight disclose,
And show th' avenging God to his despairing Foes.
57.
That God whom they did once despise,Shall then become the Terror of their Eyes:
With swiftest Haste they'll his dread Presence shun,
And to dark Caves, and closest Caverns run:
With deaf'ning Clamors to the Hills they'll call,
And wish the Mountains on their Heads wou'd fall;
Beneath the mighty Ruins they wou'd hide,
Or in unfathomable Depths abide:
As They with Horror, so the Good with Joy,
Shall on the bright Appearance gaze,
And meet their God with cheerful Songs of Praise:
He comes! he comes! exultingly they'll sing,
He comes the wicked to destroy!
Those long since dead, and those that yet remain,
He dooms! he dooms! to everlasting Pain:
45
From their long Sleep his injur'd Servants wake;
They shall a Part of the resplendent Triumph make:
In pure, immortal Bodies they shall rise,
And mount, all-glorious mount the Skies:
Where free from Sin, from Pain, from Fear,
They shall the welcom Euge hear;
Well done, well done, shall their pleas'd Saviour say;
Come, and receive a Recompence from me;
You've been my Foll'wers in the rugged Way,
And now shall taste of my Felicity.
Go, these important Truths make known;
His Resurrection joyfully declare;
Not to the Jews alone;
Let the whole World in the glad Tidings share.
They said; and as a transient Flash of Light,
With Swiftness glances on Spectators Sight,
And in a moment mingles with the Air,
And loses all its Splendor there;
Such was the quick Appearance, such the quick Remove,
Of those bright Forms, those Ministers of Love.
58.
Replete with Joy, by flaming Ardor sway'd,The pleas'd Disciples their lov'd Lord obey'd:
With prosp'rous Haste his holy Faith they spread,
And in his Name restor'd the Sick, and rais'd the Dead;
That awful Name from which the trembling Devils fled!
Th' opposing World they for his sake defy'd,
46
Thrice blest are you who still obey his Voice,
And make this dang'rous Proof of Zeal your Choice:
Who, by a Love for your dear Lord inspir'd,
And by diffusive Goodness fir'd,
Cross Seas unknown, thro' pathless Desarts go,
And no Concern for your own Safety show;
Intrepid, and untir'd, no Toils decline
That may advance your great Design:
Contemning Dangers, still pursue your Way,
And far as the remotest Bounds of Day,
The glorious Ensign of your Suff'ring God display.
59.
Let Israel, that distinguish'd Race,Those Darlings of Almighty Love,
Whom Heav'n has bless'd with his peculiar Grace,
To their great Benefactor thankful prove:
To him, who in their infant State,
When they, expos'd and helpless, lay,
To ev'ry threatning Ill a Prey:
Obnoxious to the Storms of Fate,
And their insulting Neighbours Hate,
Kept them from all approaching Harms
Secure, in his all-pow'rful Arms:
And who in their mature Estate,
When they Egyptian Fetters wore,
And cruel Pressures bore,
Then, even then, their Good design'd,
Midst all their Streights his Kindness shin'd,
And when resolv'd to set them free
By Methods All-divine,
He brought about his great Design;
47
That while he multiply'd their Pains,
And faster strove to tie their Chains,
He but his own Destruction wrought,
And on his Land a speedy Ruin brought.
60.
The fav'rite People safe remain'd,While Plagues among his Subjects reign'd;
Such Plagues as with amazing Haste
Laid all his fruitful Country waste:
His fertile Nile with Blood made flow,
The sanguin Mischief thro' its Channels spread;
While from th' infectious Stench the poison'd Fishes fled,
And on the putrid Mud in noisom Heaps lay dead:
The Crocodiles their watry Haunts forsake,
And to the Land for Shelter go;
Where, all defil'd with Gore, they wall'wing lie,
And stretch'd at length, the bulky Monsters die:
The wretched Natives of these Ills partake;
Quite parch'd with Thirst, they all the Land survey'd,
Thro' ev'ry Field, and ev'ry Desart stray'd;
With wishing Eyes they search'd around,
But wholesom Streams they no where found:
In this Distress, upon their Gods they call;
Before their Shrines the fainting Suppliants fall:
They to their Isis, and Osiris cry'd,
But all in vain; their Wants were not supply'd.
48
61.
Frogs in vast Numbers from the Rivers came,And with loud Crokings their Ascent proclaim:
With hideous Clamors they the Land invade,
The Temples fill'd, and in the Royal Chambers stay'd:
While on their loathsom Guests the People gaze,
Succeeding Wonders heighten their Amaze:
Dry earthy Particles prolifick prove,
Each animated Dust does move:
On Men and Beasts the eager Insects seise,
And with a bloody Feast their hungry Stomachs please:
These soon were follow'd by vast Swarms of Flies,
Which fill'd the Earth, and darken'd all the Skies;
In Triumph rode the Circuit of the Air,
And play'd, and wanton'd there,
And neither Pharaoh, nor his Gods revere.
62.
A deadly Ill does on their Cattle seise;They faint, they sink, they yield to the Disease:
From th' unerring Shaft 'twere vain to fly,
They in the Fields, and at the Altars die:
The small Remain with grievous Boils were seis'd:
Nor were the harmless Beasts alone diseas'd;
With them th' infectious Ill their Masters share,
With them, the noisom Sickness bear:
As they were murm'ring at their Fate,
And cursing their abhorr'd Estate,
They saw new Plagues preparing in the Air,
49
Loud Thunders roar, and forky Lightnings fly
With glaring Terror cross the darken'd Sky,
Vapors congeal'd, in mighty Hail descend,
And certain Ruin did its Fall attend:
Nor Men, nor Beasts its Fury cou'd avoid;
The Fields it spoil'd, and ev'ry Herb destroy'd;
The Trees it rob'd of all their native Green,
And nothing round their Roots but scatter'd Boughs were seen:
The frighted Peasants with Amazement strook,
With trembling Haste their rural Cares forsook,
To closest Caves, and sacred Vaults they fled,
And there, remain'd secure, among the happier dead.
63.
At all their Ills Pharaoh remain'd unmov'd,His flinty Heart more hard than Marble prov'd:
He still resolv'd the Hebrews to detain;
And for their sakes was plagu'd again:
With fatal Haste vast Flights of Locusts came.
Their Prince, the suff'ring People blame;
And see with Grief, the quick Devourers shar'd,
That little which the Hail had spar'd.
Thick darkning Vapors from the Earth arise,
And with their clammy Atoms fill all th' ambient Skies;
So vast their Numbers, not one Ray of Light
Cou'd penetrate the Shades of that black horrid Night:
Three Days they sate hid from each other's view,
And all their Sighs, their Tears, their sad Complaints renew.
50
God did on them a greater Judgment bring:
While with soft Sleep they strove to calm their Grief,
And hop'd to find in Slumbers some Relief,
To ev'ry House he the Destroyer sent,
And bid him all the First-born kill;
With Haste he on the dreadful Errand went,
And did the dire Command fulfil:
Amaz'd, and griev'd the sad Egyptians rise,
And with shrill Screeches, and loud dismal Cries,
Proclaim their Loss, and to their King repair,
And beg he wou'd his mourning Subjects spare:
They saw impending Dangers threaten from on high,
And fear'd they shou'd like their dear Off-spring die:
With Horror struck, they their sad suit renew'd:
Mov'd by their Prayers he did at length relent;
And by their Sighs and Tears subdu'd,
From Egypt he the joyful Hebrews sent.
64.
Their great Preserver now their Guide became;By Night he led them with a bright auspicious Flame;
By Day a Cloud did their Conductor prove,
Thus were they still the Care of his unweary'd Love.
Th' Egyptian Tyrant soon his Rage renew'd,
And with a num'rous Host the frighted Jews pursu'd:
On th' Erythræan Shore they trembling stay'd,
And thence the Sea, and their approaching Foes survey'd:
Inclos'd with Dangers, to their God they cry'd,
51
When thus distrest, he bid the Sea retire;
Th' obsequious Sea with Haste obey'd,
And at an awful Distance stay'd,
While they were thro' its Depths from all their Fears convey'd:
With joyful Speed amid the Shades of Night,
They follow'd their directing Fire,
And by its glorious Light,
View'd all the Wonders of the new-form'd Way,
And saw their God his mighty Pow'r display.
The rash Egyptians still their Steps pursu'd,
And thought they might be now with Ease subdu'd;
Onward they went, push'd forward by their Fate,
And saw no Danger till it was too late.
65.
When the safe Shore the Israelites had gain'd,The Sea no longer was restrain'd,
But with tumultuous Haste its ancient Ground regain'd.
From Place to Place the lost Pursuers fled,
And vainly strove th' impetuous Waves to shun,
Each Path to some new Danger led,
They could not from surrounding Waters run:
Strugling and weary to their Gods they cry'd,
And full of Horror, and Confusion dy'd:
The joyful People, when returning Day
Had chas'd the melancholy Shades away,
Saw on the Shore the dead Egyptians lie,
With Arms and Horses scatter'd by;
Thick as Autumnal Leaves they lay,
To ev'ry rav'nous Bird, and ev'ry Beast a Prey.
52
66.
Those mighty Men, whom they so lately fear'd,Now Objects of Contempt appear'd:
With Joy they gaz'd, and as they gaz'd, they sung;
The Heav'nly Arch with cheerful Accents rung:
With thankful Hearts they their Protector bless'd,
And in sweet moving Strains their Gratitude express'd.
Then forward march'd, by the same Kindness led,
Secur'd from Dangers, and divinely fed
With Angels Food, with pure celestial Bread:
Thus favour'd, they thro' trackless Desarts went,
Where from hard Rocks reviving Streams were sent:
Continu'd Mercies fill'd each circling Hour,
The rich Productions of unbounded Pow'r!
In vain against them warlike Nations rose,
In vain 'gainst them combine,
In vain their conqu'ring Arms oppose;
In vain was ev'ry deep Design:
Without Success, their Stratagems they try,
Without Success, to lawless Arts they fly:
In vain did Moab Altars raise,
In vain desir'd the Prophet's Aid,
In vain that he wou'd curse them pray'd:
In vain the Seer to curse the Blest essay'd:
An inward Force, a Pow'r Divine,
Turn'd his intended Curses into Praise:
Compell'd, their Triumphs he foretels,
Long on the hated Subject dwells.
Thus blest, and prosper'd by Almighty Love,
In sacred Pomp their Forces onward move;
And full of Glory, reach'd the happy Soil,
53
The promis'd Canaan; where, the fruitful Ground
Did with rich Nature's choicest Gifts abound,
And where, their Wishes were with full Fruition crown'd.
67.
Ye sacred Priests, who at the Altar wait,And there, well-skill'd in Rites Divine,
His wondrous Passion celebrate,
In whom unprecedented Love did shine:
Extol his Name, enlarge upon his Praise,
And as it merits, the great Subject raise:
With Zeal, and Clearness, holy Truths relate;
And strive by Reason to convince the Mind:
Let useless Subtilties, those Tricks of Pride,
Those Masks that Ignorance does chuse
Her Sloth, and her Deformity to hide,
No Place in your Discourses find:
For solid Notions, banish empty Shews,
And in the noblest Cause your Rhet'rick use:
No more in vain Disputes engage;
No more a War with diff'rent Parties wage,
But make it your whole Bus'ness to reform the Age:
With Vice alone the Combat try,
To vanquish that your Skill apply;
And with a Courage dauntless and sublime,
A Courage, worthy of your Faith, and you,
Exert your utmost Strength the Hydra to subdue.
Preach Justice to the Great, to such as climb
With guilty Haste the dang'rous Heights of Fame,
And wade thro' Blood to Grandeur and a Name.
Tell them a Nemesis Divine,
Does all the Actions of Mankind survey,
54
And tho' Oppressors prosper for a while,
And Fortune seems on their Attempts to smile,
Yet in the last impartial Day,
God with eternal Vengeance will their Crimes repay.
68.
Tell those whose Bliss is to their Wealth confin'd,Virtue's the greatest Treasure they can gain,
A Treasure which for ever will remain.
Persuade them with a bounteous Mind
To be to the deserving Needy Kind,
And like that God to whom they all things owe,
Their Riches freely to bestow.
Th' unthinking Proud unto themselves make known;
Tell them they've nothing they can call their own:
Those things they boast, may soon be snatch'd away,
They can't insure their Bliss for one short Moment's stay.
Wealth may be lost, and Beauty will decay:
Titles are vain, and what they Honour call,
Does often to the Share of the unworthy fall:
Inconstant Fortune blindly does bestow
Promiscuous Favours with a careless Hand;
Sometimes she lifts the Mean on high,
And Sons of Earth again insult the Sky;
On the bright airy Heights of Pow'r they stand,
Prais'd and ador'd by all below;
While such as merit Empires, live obscure,
And all th' Indignities of Fate endure.
55
69.
Persuade all such as of their Knowledge proud,Cast scornful Glances on th' illiterate Croud,
To look within, and let each haughty Thought
Be to the Test of sober Reason brought:
Tell them their Pride from Ign'rance flows,
He's ever humblest who most knows:
Those whose rich Souls are always bright,
Who live encompass'd round with intellectual Light,
Do in their Minds a thousand Errors see,
And seldom are from their own Censures free:
Their Wisdom adds but to their Pain,
And they by their Researches gain
Only uncertain Notices of Truth:
When they to outward Objects turn their Sight,
They find them all involv'd in Night;
Like fleeting Shadows they escape their view:
If at th' Expence of Health, of Ease, and Youth,
They the thin airy Forms pursue,
Themselves they tire with the long toilsom Race,
And lose at last the Phantoms which they chase:
The World of Learning none could yet explore;
The most laborious only coast it round the Shore;
View Creeks, and Bays, and distant Mountains see,
The rest is hid from Human Industry.
70.
Teach the luxurious with a noble ScornTo look on all the glitt'ring Trifles here below:
Tell them they were for higher Bus'ness born,
And on their Minds should all their Thoughts bestow;
56
Tell them the Pomp of Life is but a Snare,
Riches, Temptations which they ought to fear,
Empire, a Burthen few have Strength enough to bear.
The true, substantial Wealth is lodg'd within;
'Tis there the brightest Gems are found:
Such as wou'd great and glorious Treasures win,
Treasures which theirs for ever will remain,
Must Piety and Wisdom strive to gain:
Those shining Ornaments which always prove
Incentives to Respect and Love.
Virtue its Splendor ever will retain,
And Wisdom still an inward State maintain;
Still in the Soul with a Majestick Grandeur reign.
In vicious Minds they Admiration raise,
What they won't practice, they are forc'd to praise:
With gnawing Envy they their Triumphs view,
But dare not their malignant Rancor shew,
Nor undisguis'd the Dictates of their Spite pursue:
Like Birds obscene they shun th' offensive Light,
And hide themselves beneath the gloomy Veil of Night.
Thrice blest are they who're with interior Graces crown'd,
Whose Minds with rational Delights abound,
With Pleasures more delicious, more refin'd,
Than the voluptuous can in their Enjoyments find;
Such Pleasures as ne'er yet regal'd their Sense,
Which Earth can't give, nor mightiest Kings dispence,
And whose Description far exceeds the Pow'r of Eloquence.
57
71.
To th' Intemperate, Abstinence commend,Tell them what Mischiefs vicious Lives attend:
How soon Excesses will their Health destroy,
That chiefest Blessing here below;
That unexhausted Spring of Joy,
Without which, all things else insipid grow.
Tell them tho' now they kind Instructions slight,
And their unhappy Conduct praise;
Yet when they're to Diseases made a Prey,
They'll then for their retrieveless Follies mourn,
And in Repentance languish out each painful Day.
To please the Taste is but a mean Delight;
The Bliss of Beasts, and not of Men:
And all those Arts by which their Appetites they raise,
Are only finer, more compendious Ways
Destructive Poisons to convey.
How happy shou'd we be, if we agen
To the first Rules of Living cou'd return,
By Nature, the best Tut'ress taught,
Her just and easie Laws obey,
Like those she on th' early Stage of Action brought?
Who to few Things their Wishes could confine,
On Herbs and Fruits contentedly cou'd dine;
To quench their Thirst of crystal Springs cou'd drink;
Pure crystal Springs the want of Wine supply'd:
No harmless Beast t'appease their Hunger dy'd.
From Bough to Bough Birds unmolested flew.
They sought no Pomp, no Delicacies knew
Nor Wealth admir'd,
58
Nor glorious Palaces desir'd;
But underneath some pleasant Shade,
Strangers to Toil, to Care and Strife,
Did sweetly sleep, or calmly think;
To one another kind Discourses made,
With Cheerfulness their Consciences obey'd,
And to their God a joyful Homage paid.
72.
Temp'rance is still Companion of the Wise;They only can those Snares avoid,
By which th' Imprudent are with so much Ease destroy'd:
They only taste those Pleasures which from Abstinence arise;
Those pure Delights, those Banquets of the Mind,
Which from enlighten'd Reason spring:
Reason, when from the Dregs of Sense refin'd,
From all those Steams, those darkning Vapors freed,
Which from Excess proceed;
When no thick Damps of Earth retard its Flight,
Or make it flag the Wing,
Will boldly soar on high,
Above the Atmosphere,
Where all is calm, and all is clear,
And there, at Pleasure fly,
Bless'd with a free, distinct, unclouded Sight
Of all those Glories which adorn the happy Realms of Light.
Our Faculties will all awake,
And each will sprightly grow,
Exert its Pow'r, and its whole Force will show:
Th' Imagination quick and active prove,
59
Collect bright Images, from them Ideas make,
From ev'ry Object some new Hint will take,
And with them entertain the Mind,
And Bus'ness for the Understanding find:
The Understanding more sublime will grow,
We shall more accurately think, and much more fully know.
73.
To the Revengeful teach the gen'rous Way,With Kindness, Inj'ries to repay:
Tell them 'tis great, and shews a noble Mind,
To pass Affronts regardless by,
And look on Contumelies with a careless Eye:
The brave an inward Firmness find;
They will not from their State descend:
Like Rocks they dare the Tide and Wind,
Themselves from ev'ry Storm defend.
Reproaches from the Earth like Vapors rise,
And fill with Noise the lower Skies.
But cannot to superior Regions fly:
They are above the Sphere of their Activity.
What we call Wrongs would not be so,
Nor the least Impression make,
Did we our selves not aid each Blow.
'Tis from Opinion we our Measures take;
And often rage, complain and weep
For things, which of themselves would no Offences prove,
Wou'd not our Indignation move,
If we but judg'd aright,
And view'd them in their true and proper Light.
Reason, did we its help desire,
60
Wou'd us impassive keep,
Or from Attacks defend:
With pious Sentiments wou'd us inspire,
Tell us 'tis glorious to forgive;
Bid us all angry Thoughts expel,
And by the best of Patterns live;
The suff'ring JESUS, who lov'd those so well,
From whom he did the utmost Scorn sustain,
By whom revil'd he liv'd, and was unpity'd slain,
That in th' extremest Agonies of Death,
He pray'd for them with his departing Breath.
74.
Thou blest Example of transcendent Love!O may we in thy shining Footsteps move!
By thee instructed, to our Foes be kind;
With their Mistakes, their Frailties bear;
And with a mild commiserating Mind,
The guilty Sallies of their Passions see,
Yet keep our selves from the Contagion free:
Good, for their Evil let us still return,
And for their Sins, and Follies mourn:
Our selves to them by friendly Acts endear;
Not only make our Patience to appear,
But them with gen'rous Tenderness pursue,
To them repeated Favors shew,
With their Aversion thus a War maintain,
And not leave off, till we the Conquest gain;
Till all their Enmities and Quarrels cease,
And we enjoy the Halcyon Calms of Peace.
61
75.
Sincerity and Truth to this bad Age.With all your Rhet'rick recommend;
You cannot in a nobler Cause engage,
Nor more the Word befriend:
Tell false designing Men, 'tis much below
Th' exalted Creature Man, such little Tricks to show:
To fawn, deceive, and cringe, for sordid Ends,
For worthless Gold, or for the Bubble Fame,
For Grandeur, Pow'r, or for the Trifle call'd a Name.
Heroick Souls such Meannesses despise,
They scorn to circumvent their greatest Enemies,
And wou'd much sooner die than once delude their Friend;
Honour and Conscience are to them more dear,
Than all the Gifts which Fortune can bestow,
Themselves they more than all the World revere,
Still to themselves the highest Def'rence pay,
And Reason as their Lord obey:
Unworthy Actions they disdain to do,
Are just to others, to themselves are true;
One uniform, direct, and steady Course pursue;
Intrepid and unmov'd, still onward go,
And no Concern for Censures, or Applauses show;
Desire no Gain, but what from Virtue springs,
Nor wish for any higher Praise, than what she brings.
62
76.
Thus to your Auditors their Duty shew,Teach them their Passions to subdue,
To shun each Vice, and ev'ry Good pursue:
And that your Precepts may successful prove,
Practice those Virtues you wou'd have them love:
Strict blameless Lives, will more than Words, persuade;
We're by Examples chiefly sway'd:
Like beauteous Pictures they invite;
At once they fix, and entertain the Sight,
And yield us both Instruction and Delight.
Hapyy! O happy they
Who like the lucid Spring of Day,
At once both Life and Warmth convey;
Who to Mankind such pious Lessons give,
And universal Blessings live:
Their holy Labours due Rewards shall find,
And Wreaths of Glory their immortal Temples bind.
77.
Ye Servants of the Lord your Homage pay;To your great Master thankful prove,
Before his Throne th' expected Tribute lay
Of Gratitude and Love:
Observe his Laws, and let each stubborn Thought
Be a Submission to his Precepts taught:
In your Discourses praise his holy Name,
And let your Actions at his Glory aim:
Since all that's yours you to his Bounty owe,
63
No other Good, no other Joy, no other Bus'ness know.
78.
Ye holy Souls, who from your Bondage free,Have reach'd th' inmost Mansions of the Skie,
And there, those dazling Glories see,
Which lie
Beyond the utmost Ken of a weak mortal Eye:
Adore his Goodness who has broke your Chains,
And put a Period to your Pains;
And gives you leave in Vehicles more fine,
More active, more divine,
To live at large in the soft balmy Air,
And feast on ev'ry Pleasure there;
Pleasures adapted to your nobler Taste,
And such as will not in th' Enjoyment waste,
How vastly diff'rent is your present State,
From that which you once liv'd below!
Here, Sickness did your Joys abate,
And Disappointments, Injuries and Fears,
Render'd uneasie your long tedious Years;
With Toil you gain'd that little you did know;
Laborious was the Task, and your Advances slow:
But now your Understandings are refin'd;
Your Reason strong, your Knowledge unconfin'd;
Vast is your Prospect, and enlarg'd your Sight,
At once you view this Earth, and all the Worlds of Light.
64
79.
But yet your Happiness is not compleat;There are reserv'd for you Joys much more great;
Felicities proportion'd to a higher State:
To that blest State to which you shall ascend,
To that blest State which shall your Wandrings end:
Where you no more shall Revolutions see,
But live from Dangers, and Temptations free:
Whither in glorious Bodies you shall go;
Not such as you inform'd below;
But in immortal Bodies, which shall ever be
From Pains, from Death, and all Disorders free:
Which shall be Proof against th' Attacks of Fate,
Against th' Assaults of Envy and of Rage,
And all th' Efforts of dull deforming Age:
Whose Beauty still shall in its Bloom appear,
Which still Ten thousand Charms shall wear;
Like Suns shall ever, ever shine,
But be than Suns more bright, their Lustre all Divine:
With these lov'd Part'ners you shall ever stay,
And with the beatifick Vision blest,
Employ your everlasting Day
In Transports much too vast to be exprest;
In Pleasures which from boundless Goodness flow;
Which boundless Goodness only can bestow,
And which none but the blest Possessors of those Regions know.
65
80.
Those happy Seats, where Love DivineDoes with refulgent Brightness shine:
Where, the great Suff'rer sits inthron'd,
And is with universal Plaudits own'd:
Where his blest Mother her Reward has found,
And by him stands, with beamy Glories crown'd:
Where, on their golden Harps rejoicing Angels play,
And in melodious Strains their pleasing Homage pay:
Where, ev'ry Object Extasies do's raise,
And where, with them, you'll sing your bounteous Maker's Praise.
O blest Employment! O supreme Delight!
O wondrous Place! and O more wondrous Sight!
81.
Look, dearest Saviour, with a pitying Eye,On those for whom thou didst with so much Kindness die:
Raise our dull Souls above the Joys of Sense,
Above those Trifles Earth can give:
And when by Death we're summon'd hence,
Let us for ever in thy Presence live;
In thy lov'd Presence, where is all Delight,
All that can charm the Mind, or please the Sight,
All, all that can the most aspiring Soul invite:
And ye blest Spirits who have liv'd below,
And who our Miseries by your own Experience know,
Add your Requests, and beg that we may share
66
Then we'll together join in Hymns of Praise,
Together Trophies to our dear Deliv'rer raise,
Together at his Feet our Joys make known,
And with one Voice his unexampl'd Kindness own.
82.
Ye holy Men, whose humble Hearts are freeFrom swelling Pride, and childish Vanity:
Who know your selves, and all those Arts despise,
Which others use, to make themselves thought wise:
Who own your Faults, and without Anger bear
Reproofs, and never think them too severe:
Who judge your selves, and still employ'd within,
Have neither Leisure, nor Desire,
To censure those with whom you live:
Their Failures, Pity in your Breasts inspire,
And you Allowances for human Frailties give:
The vicious you with Kindness strive to win,
And in the softest Language tell them of their Sin;
But while you their immoral Actions blame,
You with the nicest Care conceal their Shame,
Their Persons you esteem, and still preserve their Fame:
O praise that God from whom these Virtues flow;
Him, for your heav'nly Tempers bless;
Discharge some Part of that vast Debt you owe,
In fervent, and unweary'd Thankfulness.
67
83.
Ye Jewish Heroes, whose unshaken ZealWas Proof against the strong Efforts of Pow'r;
Who in that trying Hour,
When the Assyrian Monarch menac'd high,
And Death stood threatning by,
Would not your holy Faith conceal:
Before the Idol you refus'd to fall,
And wou'd not on the glorious Nothing call.
With noble Scorn you to the Tyrant spoke,
And did his utmost Rage provoke:
Seize them he cry'd, and let them feel that Pain,
And meet that Fate which they so much disdain:
Heat hotter yet the Furnace they despise,
And let its Flames with frightning Horror rise:
You dauntless saw the dire Command obey'd,
And by his mightiest Men were to the Fire convey'd,
By those, who with their Lives, for their Obedience pay'd.
84.
Safe in the burning Furnace you remain'd,And walk'd unmov'd, and calmly there:
The Fire on your impassive Bodies gain'd
No more Advantage than on fluid Air:
The lambent Flames incircling Glories prov'd,
Round you the waving Splendors play'd;
And that th' admiring Croud might see
How much you were belov'd,
The God you serv'd, whose Laws you still obey'd,
Did to your Aid a glorious Angel send,
68
Th' obsequious Minister of Light
Did from superior Joys descend,
And hither came your Triumphs to attend:
Th' astonish'd King beheld the dazling Sight,
And wonder'd at a Form so bright:
With eager'st Haste he call'd you from the Fire,
And did th' amazing Pow'r of your great God admire.
85.
O bless, for ever bless his holy Name,From whom your wondrous Courage came:
That Courage, which was your Support
Amid the tempting Glories of a vicious Court:
Which kept you firm, when both the Great, and Wise,
Were by their Fear, to mean Submissions led;
You did ev'n then the Tyrant's Threats despise,
And brav'd those Dangers they so much did dread:
Life, on vile impious Terms you did refuse,
And, unconcern'd, did all your Honours lose:
Inclos'd with Terrors, you intrepid stood,
And durst amidst a guilty Croud be good.
Now you the Purchase of your Faith enjoy,
And in a State Divine,
Among the blest Confessors shine,
In grateful Retributions all your Time employ:
Recount with Joy the Wonders wrought for you,
And with continu'd Zeal the pleasing Theme pursue;
His Favours to admiring Saints rehearse,
And cloth your Raptures in harmonious Verse;
With charming Numbers their Attention move,
And loudly sing the Triumphs of his Love.
69
86.
To GOD the FATHER let us Glory give,Unto th' immortal King,
The great Original of all,
In whom we center, and in whom we live,
With never ceasing Ardor sing:
The Benefits which he bestows,
For constant Praises call,
A gen'rous Soul no higher Pleasure knows,
Than paying what he owes.
Let narrow Minds, let grov'ling Sons of Earth,
Stick to that Dirt from whence they have their Birth;
On glitt'ring Dust let them with Transports gaze,
And never their dull Eyes to nobler Objects raise:
While we by better Principles inspir'd,
Will learn to think aright;
And having a due Sense of things acquir'd,
To the all-bounteous Giver turn our Sight:
The distant Streams we'll pass regardless by,
And to the Source of Blessings swiftly fly,
There quench our Thirst, and then replete with Joy,
In Hallelujahs all our Hours employ.
87.
Th' eternal SON let all the World revere,With his great Father let him equal Glory share:
And let us still, with thankful Hearts, retain
A grateful Sense of Favours past,
Long as our Lives, may the Remembrance last.
O Love, thou sweetest Passion of the Mind,
70
Where didst thou ever find,
A kinder welcom, a more noble Seat,
Than in his Breast, who by Compassion led,
And by the tender'st Sentiments possest,
Left undesir'd, his everlasting Rest,
Left that bright Place, where Light Divine has spread
Its glitt'ring Beams around,
Where all that's charming, all that's good is found,
And where unutterable Joys abound:
Left it for us, when all deform'd with Sin,
And for our sakes with Patience did sustain
Th' intensest Sorrow, and the sharpest Pain.
O who, unmov'd, such Goodness can repeat!
Or who enough the dear Obliger praise!
Such wondrous Kindness a Return does claim,
And in us equal Flames should raise.
Of all the Virtues we can boast,
'Tis Gratitude becomes us most,
It gives a Grace, a Varnish to our Fame,
And adds a Splendor to the brightest Name.
But where, O where, can it a Subject find!
Like this among the Race of human Kind:
Who ever did such Obligations lay!
O let us strive the mighty Debt to pay:
Let meaner Objects now no more delight,
Nor lesser Favours entertain the Mind,
For to our Love he has a double Right,
Both by his Merit, and by being kind.
88.
To that blest Spirit who does us inspireWith every grateful, every good Desire,
71
And with attentive Heed, and reverential Fear,
His holy Motions entertain,
And all his gentle Whispers hear:
Now he his Gifts in secret does convey;
On Minds prepar'd, like Morning Dews they fall;
Thro' unresisting Air they make their silent Way,
And unobserv'd, Admittance gain:
Not so of old th' Inspirer did descend;
Then wondrous Pomp his coming did attend;
With a loud rushing Sound amidst the faithful Few
The God his bright Appearance made,
And on each sacred Head the glorious Vision stay'd:
The num'rous Gazers trembl'd at the Sight,
An awful Horror seiz'd on all,
But 'twas a Horror mingl'd with Delight;
At once their Pleasure, and their Fear they shew'd,
And with fixt Eyes the dazling Wonders view'd.
89.
But O, how great was their Surprize,To what a Height did their Amazement rise,
When by the blest Apostles they were told
Important Truths till then unknown,
In Languages peculiarly their own!
Parthians and Medes, and those whose fruitful Land
Betwixt Euphrates and swift Tygris lies;
With those who heard the stormy Euxine roar;
Natives of Asia, and Pamphylia's fertile Soil,
With such as dwelt nigh the Ægean Shore,
Near that fam'd Place, where Ilium stood of old,
And where, by flow'ry Banks, divine Scamander roll'd:
72
Who liv'd in Tents amid the barren Sand;
With those who breath'd scorch'd Lybia's sultry Air,
Where fond of Toil,
And pleas'd with rural Care,
They dwelt secure; of Ease and Peace possest,
Envy'd by none, and with Contentment blest:
Inhabitants of Rome, that august Place,
That glorious Seat of independent Sway,
Which to the prostrate World gave Law,
And still does Sovereign Princes awe,
And the most haughty makes obey:
All these they taught; to each themselves addrest;
And with a sudden Elocution blest,
In ev'ry diff'rent Tongue, their flowing Notions drest.
90.
O let such Glory still be givenTo these eternal THREE,
This great united ONE,
By the Possessors both of Earth and Heav'n,
As was by Infant Nature pay'd
As soon as Time begun to be,
And God, no longer pleas'd to live alone,
His mighty Pow'r had shown,
And for his Honour noble Creatures made;
Creatures, design'd to celebrate his Fame,
To build immortal Trophies to his Name,
And make his Service their immediate Aim:
And such as is by all the grateful here,
And by the num'rous Hosts above,
Who think they never can enough revere
Amazing Goodness, and unbounded Love,
73
And such as shall, when Time shall be no more,
But vast Eternity, like some high swelling Flood,
Shall pass its long confining Shore,
Pass all those Banks which its Insults withstood;
And o'er the whole extend its mighty Sway,
And sweep both us, and all our towring Thoughts away,
The joyful Bus'ness prove
Of those blest Souls, who in the Realms of Light
Shall on the beatifick Vision gaze,
And then with Transports of Delight,
In one harmonious Song combine,
And in the noblest Flights of Love and Praise,
Employ with an unweary'd Zeal, their everlasting Days.
FINIS.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |