Poems and Translations By Christopher Pitt |
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The Song of Moses, in the 15th Chapter of Exodus, paraphras'd.
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 | Poems and Translations |  |
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The Song of Moses, in the 15th Chapter of Exodus, paraphras'd.
Then to the Lord, the vast triumphant Throng
Of Israel's Sons, with Moses, rais'd the Song.
Of Israel's Sons, with Moses, rais'd the Song.
To God our grateful Accents will we raise,
And every Tongue shall celebrate his Praise:
Behold display'd the Wonders of his Might;
Behold the Lord triumphant in the Fight!
With what immortal Fame and Glory grac'd?
What Trophies rais'd amid the watry Waste?
How did his Pow'r the Steeds and Riders sweep
Ingulph'd in Heaps, and whelm'd beneath the Deep?
And every Tongue shall celebrate his Praise:
Behold display'd the Wonders of his Might;
Behold the Lord triumphant in the Fight!
With what immortal Fame and Glory grac'd?
What Trophies rais'd amid the watry Waste?
How did his Pow'r the Steeds and Riders sweep
Ingulph'd in Heaps, and whelm'd beneath the Deep?
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Whom should we fear, while He, Heav'n's awful Lord
Unsheaths for Israel his avenging Sword?
His outstretch'd Arm, and tutelary Care,
Guarded and sav'd Us in the last Despair:
His Mercy eas'd Us from our circling Pains,
Unbound our Shackles, and unlock'd our Chains.
To Him our God, our Fathers God, I'll rear
A sacred Temple, and adore Him there,
With Vows, and Incense, Sacrifice and Pray'r.
Unsheaths for Israel his avenging Sword?
His outstretch'd Arm, and tutelary Care,
Guarded and sav'd Us in the last Despair:
His Mercy eas'd Us from our circling Pains,
Unbound our Shackles, and unlock'd our Chains.
To Him our God, our Fathers God, I'll rear
A sacred Temple, and adore Him there,
With Vows, and Incense, Sacrifice and Pray'r.
The Lord commands in War; his matchless Might,
Hangs out and guides the Balance of the Fight:
By Him the War the mighty Leaders form,
And teach the hov'ring Tumult where to storm.
His Name, O Israel, Heav'n's Eternal Lord,
For-ever honour'd, reverenc'd, and ador'd.
Hangs out and guides the Balance of the Fight:
By Him the War the mighty Leaders form,
And teach the hov'ring Tumult where to storm.
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For-ever honour'd, reverenc'd, and ador'd.
When to the Fight from Ægypt's fruitful Soil,
Pour'd forth in Myriads all the Sons of Nile;
The Lord o'erthrew the Courser and the Car,
Sunk Pharaoh's Pride, and overwhelm'd his War.
Beneath th'encumber'd Deeps his Legions lay,
For many a League impurpling all the Sea:
The Chiefs, and Steeds, and Warriors whirl'd around,
Lay mid'st the Roarings of the Surges drown'd.
Pour'd forth in Myriads all the Sons of Nile;
The Lord o'erthrew the Courser and the Car,
Sunk Pharaoh's Pride, and overwhelm'd his War.
Beneath th'encumber'd Deeps his Legions lay,
For many a League impurpling all the Sea:
The Chiefs, and Steeds, and Warriors whirl'd around,
Lay mid'st the Roarings of the Surges drown'd.
Who shall thy Pow'r, thou mighty God, withstand,
And check the Force of thy victorious Hand?
Thy Hand, which red with Wrath in Terror rose,
To crush that Day thy proud Ægyptian Foes.
Struck by that Hand their drooping Squadrons fall,
Crowding in Death; one Fate o'erwhelms them All.
And check the Force of thy victorious Hand?
Thy Hand, which red with Wrath in Terror rose,
To crush that Day thy proud Ægyptian Foes.
Struck by that Hand their drooping Squadrons fall,
Crowding in Death; one Fate o'erwhelms them All.
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Soon as thy Anger, charg'd with Vengeance came,
They sunk like Stubble crackling in the Flame.
At thy dread Voice the summon'd Billows crowd,
And a still Silence lulls the wond'ring Flood:
Roll'd up, the Crystal Ridges strike the Skies,
Waves peep o'er Waves, and Seas o'er Seas arise.
Around in heaps the list'ning Surges stand,
Mute and observant of the high Command.
Congeal'd with Fear attends the watry Train,
Rous'd from the secret Chambers of the Main.
They sunk like Stubble crackling in the Flame.
At thy dread Voice the summon'd Billows crowd,
And a still Silence lulls the wond'ring Flood:
Roll'd up, the Crystal Ridges strike the Skies,
Waves peep o'er Waves, and Seas o'er Seas arise.
Around in heaps the list'ning Surges stand,
Mute and observant of the high Command.
Congeal'd with Fear attends the watry Train,
Rous'd from the secret Chambers of the Main.
With savage Joy the Sons of Ægypt cry'd,
(Vast were their Hopes, and boundless was their Pride)
Let us pursue those Fugitives of Nile,
This servile Nation, and divide the Spoil:
And spread so wide the Slaughter, till their Blood
Dyes with a stronger Red, the blushing Flood.
Oh! what a copious Prey their Hosts afford,
To glut and satten the devouring Sword!
(Vast were their Hopes, and boundless was their Pride)
Let us pursue those Fugitives of Nile,
This servile Nation, and divide the Spoil:
And spread so wide the Slaughter, till their Blood
Dyes with a stronger Red, the blushing Flood.
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To glut and satten the devouring Sword!
As thus the yawning Gulf the Boasters past,
At thy Command rush'd sorth the rapid Blast.
Then at the Signal giv'n, with dreadful sway,
In one huge heap roll'd down the roaring Sea;
And now the disintangled Waves divide,
Unlock their Folds, and thaw the frozen Tide.
The Deeps alarm'd call terribly from far
The loud, embattled Surges to the War;
Till her proud Sons astonish'd Ægypt found,
Cover'd with Billows, and in Tempests drown'd.
At thy Command rush'd sorth the rapid Blast.
Then at the Signal giv'n, with dreadful sway,
In one huge heap roll'd down the roaring Sea;
And now the disintangled Waves divide,
Unlock their Folds, and thaw the frozen Tide.
The Deeps alarm'd call terribly from far
The loud, embattled Surges to the War;
Till her proud Sons astonish'd Ægypt found,
Cover'd with Billows, and in Tempests drown'd.
What God can emulate thy Pow'r Divine,
Or who oppose his Miracles to thine?
When joyful we adore thy glorious Name,
Thy trembling Foes confess their Fear and Shame.
The World attends thy absolute Command,
And Nature waits the Wonders of thine Hand.
That Hand extended o'er the swelling Sea,
The conscious Billows rev'rence and obey.
O'er the devoted Race the Surges sweep,
And whelm the guilty Nation in the Deep.
That Hand redeem'd Us from our servile Toil,
And each insulting Tyrant of the Nile:
Our Nation came beneath that mighty Hand,
From Ægypt's Realms, to Canaan's sacred Land.
Thou wert their Guide, their Saviour, and their God,
To smooth the Way, and clear the dreadful Road.
The distant Kingdoms shall thy Wonders hear,
The fierce Philistines shall confess their Fear;
Thy Fame shall over Edom's Princes spread,
And Moab's Kings, the universal Dread;
While the vast Scenes of Miracles impart
A thrilling Horror to the bravest Heart.
As thro' the World the gath'ring Terror runs,
Canaan shall shrink and tremble for his Sons.
Till thou hast Jacob from his Bondage brought,
At such a vast Expence of Wonders bought,
To Canaan's promis'd Realms and blest Abodes,
Led thro' the dark Recesses of the Floods.
Crown'd with their Tribes shall proud Moriah rise,
And rear his Summit nearer to the Skies.
Or who oppose his Miracles to thine?
When joyful we adore thy glorious Name,
Thy trembling Foes confess their Fear and Shame.
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And Nature waits the Wonders of thine Hand.
That Hand extended o'er the swelling Sea,
The conscious Billows rev'rence and obey.
O'er the devoted Race the Surges sweep,
And whelm the guilty Nation in the Deep.
That Hand redeem'd Us from our servile Toil,
And each insulting Tyrant of the Nile:
Our Nation came beneath that mighty Hand,
From Ægypt's Realms, to Canaan's sacred Land.
Thou wert their Guide, their Saviour, and their God,
To smooth the Way, and clear the dreadful Road.
The distant Kingdoms shall thy Wonders hear,
The fierce Philistines shall confess their Fear;
Thy Fame shall over Edom's Princes spread,
And Moab's Kings, the universal Dread;
While the vast Scenes of Miracles impart
A thrilling Horror to the bravest Heart.
149
Canaan shall shrink and tremble for his Sons.
Till thou hast Jacob from his Bondage brought,
At such a vast Expence of Wonders bought,
To Canaan's promis'd Realms and blest Abodes,
Led thro' the dark Recesses of the Floods.
Crown'd with their Tribes shall proud Moriah rise,
And rear his Summit nearer to the Skies.
Thro' Ages, Lord, shall stretch thy boundless Pow'r,
Thy Throne shall stand when Time shall be no more:
For Pharaoh's Steeds, and Cars, and warlike Train,
Leap'd in and boldly rang'd the sandy Plain.
While in the dreadful Road, and Desart Way
The shining Crowds of gasping Fishes lay:
Till all around with liquid Toils beset,
The Lord swept o'er their Heads the watry Net.
He freed the Ocean from his secret Chain,
And on each hand discharg'd the thund'ring Main.
The loosen'd Billows burst from every Side,
And whelm the War, and Warriors in the Tide;
But on each hand the solid Billows stood,
Like lofty Mounds to check the raging Flood;
Till the blest Race to promis'd Canaan past
O'er the dry Path, and trod the watry Waste.
Thy Throne shall stand when Time shall be no more:
For Pharaoh's Steeds, and Cars, and warlike Train,
Leap'd in and boldly rang'd the sandy Plain.
While in the dreadful Road, and Desart Way
The shining Crowds of gasping Fishes lay:
Till all around with liquid Toils beset,
The Lord swept o'er their Heads the watry Net.
150
And on each hand discharg'd the thund'ring Main.
The loosen'd Billows burst from every Side,
And whelm the War, and Warriors in the Tide;
But on each hand the solid Billows stood,
Like lofty Mounds to check the raging Flood;
Till the blest Race to promis'd Canaan past
O'er the dry Path, and trod the watry Waste.
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