 | A Collection of Original Poems |  |
A Paraphrase on the 146th Psalm.
In heav'n's high King alone my hopes I'll place,
My guide his law shall be, my wealth his grace;
'Twas he who taught th' enliven'd world to move,
This earth below, yon circling spheres above;
Creation rose beneath his fost'ring hand,
And all things bow to his supreme command.
My guide his law shall be, my wealth his grace;
'Twas he who taught th' enliven'd world to move,
This earth below, yon circling spheres above;
Creation rose beneath his fost'ring hand,
And all things bow to his supreme command.
Vain man! renounce the shadowy support
Of treach'rous grandeur, or the flatt'ring court;
Light are our hopes, and vain in them our trust,
As marks imprinted on the faithless dust;
Air-drawn delusions, that appear at most,
A meteor's fire in mazy vapours lost;
What more the great than fortune's titled slaves?
Ah! what is all their wild ambition craves,
When their pomp sickens, and their glories fade,
When in the unrelenting grave they're laid?
Fall, fall they must—the conquests of a day—
And all their pageantry be turn'd to clay—
Their visionary dreams of empire die,
Their schemes drop frustrate, and their pleasures fly.
Happy who in th' Omnipotent confide,
Whom no proud thoughts, no impious passions guide;
Who shields the just from proud oppression's wrong,
Nor heeds the shafts of slander's venom'd tongue.
Of treach'rous grandeur, or the flatt'ring court;
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As marks imprinted on the faithless dust;
Air-drawn delusions, that appear at most,
A meteor's fire in mazy vapours lost;
What more the great than fortune's titled slaves?
Ah! what is all their wild ambition craves,
When their pomp sickens, and their glories fade,
When in the unrelenting grave they're laid?
Fall, fall they must—the conquests of a day—
And all their pageantry be turn'd to clay—
Their visionary dreams of empire die,
Their schemes drop frustrate, and their pleasures fly.
Happy who in th' Omnipotent confide,
Whom no proud thoughts, no impious passions guide;
Who shields the just from proud oppression's wrong,
Nor heeds the shafts of slander's venom'd tongue.
With health the Lord our feeble frame sustains;
Dispels surrounding care, and lulls our pains;
He from the bosom drives each anxious fear,
Sooths the sad groan, and wipes the falling tear.
He bids the soft, the trembling heart, be brave,
And sinks th' exulting victor to a slave:
His searching eye exalts the humble croud,
Awes the bold menacer, appals the proud;
In him a father helpless orphans find,
A spouse the widow, and a guide the blind:
He can alone o'ercome the wily foe,
And from his servant shield the threaten'd blow.
From him is all; from his appointment springs
Alike the fate of kingdoms and of kings:
His wide-extended pow'r determines all,
And at his nod whole empires rise and fall:
Ruler supreme! thy throne shall ever be—
Thy empire boundless as eternity!
Dispels surrounding care, and lulls our pains;
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Sooths the sad groan, and wipes the falling tear.
He bids the soft, the trembling heart, be brave,
And sinks th' exulting victor to a slave:
His searching eye exalts the humble croud,
Awes the bold menacer, appals the proud;
In him a father helpless orphans find,
A spouse the widow, and a guide the blind:
He can alone o'ercome the wily foe,
And from his servant shield the threaten'd blow.
From him is all; from his appointment springs
Alike the fate of kingdoms and of kings:
His wide-extended pow'r determines all,
And at his nod whole empires rise and fall:
Ruler supreme! thy throne shall ever be—
Thy empire boundless as eternity!
| A Collection of Original Poems | |