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Poems on Several Occasions

With Anne Boleyn to King Henry VIII. An Epistle. By Mrs. Elizabeth Tollet. The Second Edition
  

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PSALM XCI.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


209

PSALM XCI.

Who in Retirement of the Highest dwells,
Him with impervious Shade th' Almighty veils.
Thee I invoke, my Refuge! my Defence!
Unshaken Tow'r of firm Omnipotence!
On him my Trust I place, whose guardian Care
Is fix'd to free me from the Fowler's Snare;
And dire Contagion of the tainted Air.
Thee, hov'ring o'er thy Head, his Plumes shall hide;
Secure shalt thou beneath his Wings abide:
His Truth shall drive thy Dangers all repell'd
By the broad Orb of her protecting Shield.
Thy peaceful Mind no Terror shall affright,
When the wan Spectres glide along by Night:
Nor thee the formidable Shafts which fly
To carry Fate thro' the diurnal Sky.
Nor thee the Venom of the direful Pest,
Whose gloomy March ensanguin'd Clouds invest:
From Realm to Realm tho' swift Destruction run,
And Crowds expire beneath the noon-tide Sun.
A thousand by thy Side shall heap the Plain,
At thy right Hand shall fall ten thousand slain;
Thou, only thou, inviolate remain.
Yet shall thy Eyes the heav'nly Vengeance view:
The Retribution of the impious Crew:

210

For on the Lord thy constant Hope rely'd,
Within his rocky Fortress to reside.
Rest thou secure no adverse Chance to meet:
No wasteful Plague shall reach thy happy Seat.
He, with distinguish'd Charge expressly given,
Consigns thee to the Ministry of Heav'n:
With watchful Diligence to tend thy Ways;
Thee gently wafted in their Arms to raise,
Lest, prominent above the level Ground,
The pointed Stone thy tender Foot shou'd wound.
Beneath thy Foot the drowsy Asp shall lye,
And regal Basilisc with baneful Eye;
Bold shalt thou tread, beneath thy Steps impress'd,
The Lion's brindled Mane, and Dragon's turgid Crest.
His faithful Heart my heav'nly Love respires,
With holy Ardor, and with pure Desires:
For this will I relieve, and raise to Fame,
This pious Vot'ry of my sacred Name.
Invok'd by him with supplicating Cry,
I chear his Sorrows with a prompt Reply:
My Presence in his dubious Toils is known
An Aid confess'd; the Benefit I crown
With sure Deliv'rance, and with high Renown.
To Nature's full Demand shall he be blest
With long extended Days and peaceful Rest.
 

Super Aspidem et Basiliscum ambulabis, et conculcabis leonem et draconem. Vers. Vulg. V. B.