University of Virginia Library

I, II. [Volumes I, II.]

TO THE QUEEN.

THE HISTORY OF THE Holy Bible,

In Verse, with Sculptures.

I. Genesis, Chap. I. to Ver. 14.

II. Genesis, Chap. II. from Ver. 4. to Ver. 22.

III. Genesis, Chap. III. to Ver. 14.

O Happy-Pair! —But Ah! how short your Bliss?
How soon the Foe has enter'd Paradise!
A crested Serpents speckled Form he wears,
In Mischief skill'd his Guileful Arts he shares:
Where is the Guard of Seraphs, that secures
Endanger'd Nature's tott'ring Fate, and yours?
—You make your Fate: stand now, you always stand!
The Terms of Life are no severe Command:
That Tree, that deadly Tree alone forbear,
The rest with Blessing, and with welcome share.
—'Tis pass'd, the Serpent has on Eve prevail'd:
Strengthned with such Allies he rarely fail'd:
She eats, she gives our Sire, it pleas'd his Eyes,
The tempting Flavor pleas'd, he tasts, he dies.
Groan'd the Creation, shook the Poles; and all
Convulsive Nature trembled at their Fall.
Hence all those Ills which God's fair Work deface,
Hence Sin, and Death, and Pain entail'd on all their Race.

IV. Genesis, Chap. III. Ver. 12. to the last.

V. Genesis, Chap. IV. from Ver. 2. to 8.

VI. Genesis, Chap. IV. from Ver. 9. to 14.

Thus impious CAIN unveil'd the first sad Scene,
And taught his mournful Sire what Death did mean:
Where is thy Brother, GOD in Thunder cries;
I neither know nor care, the Churl replies.
Am I his Keeper, that thou me dost charge?
My Fields are narrow, but his Walks are large:
O Wretch, he cries, thy Crimes thou canst not hide;
In vain to him, who all things sees, deny'd:
What hast thou done? From Earth unto the Skies
Thy murder'd Brother's Blood for Vengeance cries:
Accurs'd art thou, and Earth thy Curse shall bear;
The barren Soil ungrateful to thy Care.
Trembling and fearful thou in vain shalt run
From Man's dear Face. Thy self thou canst not shun.
When thus the moody Murd'rer in Despair
“My Punishment I cannot, will not bear.
“I'm from my Father's Pious House disjoyn'd,
“And banish'd from the Face of Human-Kind.
“If any me a helpless Exile find,
“They soon the trembling Fugitive will slay,
“Or he to wild and ravenous Beasts a Prey.

VII. Genesis, Chap. VI. Ver. 4. Chap. VII. to the End.

Nor this nor Cain's, nor Lamech's Blood suffice,
To purge a guilty World orewhelm'd in Vice:
The Wicked Seed prevail, their monstrous Race
With Rapes and Murthers cover Earths sad Face:
Noah alone his Innocence retain'd,
Of Millions, only Noah, Just, remain'd
And stemm'd a World; nor this to him unknown
Who all surveys from his Celestial Throne:
His injur'd Patience wou'd no longer wait,
His Justice seals the hardned Rebels Fate;
But righteous Noah he resolves to spare,
And bids him a capacious Ark prepare
T'embark the future World, and save it there.
Of every Species, thus had Heav'n enjoyn'd,
Of either Sex, still to preserve the Kind
He to the Ark conveys, of all that breath,
And rescues from th'approaching Watry Death.
—Which now from injur'd angry Heav'n descends,
While the vex'd Earth with dire Convulsions rends:
And Old Abyss, which round the Center lay
Reveals her hidden Stores to wondring Day.
Rivers their Banks, the Sea forgets her Shore
Her Waves by God's Decree restrain'd no more:
Higher the Waters climb, and still more high,
To Trees and Hills in vain the Wretches fly,
For only there a short Reprive they found,
The Trees and lofty Hills themselves are drown'd:
Whatever breath'd is lost; in Oceans Caves
Their Bodies whelm'd, or floating on the Waves:
Noah, the Universal Wreck survives,
By the Great Pilot steer'd, his feeble Vessel lives.

VIII. Genesis, Chap. VIII. Ver. 3. 18. to the End.

IX. Genesis, Chap. IX. Ver. 1. to 13.

As those who scap'd from Shipwrack, trembling stand,
And view the Billows from the distant Land:
Fear and Distraction drawn in every Face:
So look'd our Second Sire, and all his Race.
Earth to replenish, what Delight or Joy,
Which wrathful Heav'n might soon agen destroy,
Or numerous Beasts their feeble Race orepow'r,
Or lawless Force, and mutual wounds devour?
But that Almighty Love which knows no bound
Provides a speedy Cure for every Wound:
Give to the Winds your causless Fears, he said,
Not You the Beasts, but they their Lords shall dread:
The Kingly Lion at your sight shall flie,
Fierce Wolves, and spotted Pards glare trembling by:
Murder and Thirst of Blood shall Laws restrain:
Who slays another shall himself be slain.
Love, and increase! your numerous Sons, disperse,
And Colonize the spacious Universe.
If you a Second Deluge vainly fear,
Look up and see this friendly Token here;
This radiant Bow which in the Clouds I place,
Nor more shall Floods destroy your new reviving Race.

X. Genesis, Chap. XI. Ver. 1. to 9.

XI. Genesis, Chap. XII. 5. 6. XIII. 5. 6. 11. 12. XIV. 1. 11. to the End.

From Harans Fields to Canaan Abram went
And in the Plains of Moreh pitch'd his Tent:
His wealthy Nephew Lot, he with him bears,
His God he worships and his Fortunes shares:
Their Substance great, their Flocks and Herds so large
When joyn'd they the depastur'd Land orecharge:
But Lot removes to where fair Jordan falls,
And graz'd his Flocks by Sodoms impious walls;
Too near Ill-Neighbours whom a Vengeance waits
Worthy their Crimes, almost he shar'd their Fates:
For raging War, and Thirst of Blood begins,
Treaties are broke, and Sins are plagu'd with Sins.
Fierce Chedorlaomer his Vassals arms
And o'r Phœnicia pours unumber'd Swarms:
Luxurious Sodoms Prince resists in vain,
With Fire and Blood they cover all the Plain:
Among the Captives, Lot; when Abraham knew
With his Allies he to his Rescue flew:
Heav'n on his side engag'd; the Victors fled,
And their Captivity he captive led:
On whose Return thro' Shaveh's royal Dale
Grateful Refreshments his tir'd Host regale:
The Great Melchizedech, of Race unknown,
Who wore a Miter, tho' he fill'd a Throne,
To Heav'ns Ally did these kind Presents bring,
Himself a wondrous Prophet, Priest, and King.
Low at his Feet did the glad Patriarch fall,
His Blessing there receiv'd, and gave him Tythes of all.

XII. Genesis, Chap. XVI. Ver. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Good Servants shall their Masters Blessing share,
Ev'n wandring Hagar's worth an Angel's care.
From her imperious Ladys Face she fled,
The way that to her native Regions led:
At length a Well she saw, but on the Brink
Sinks fainting down, and wants the Pow'r to drink:
Here, by her kind celestial Guardian found,
When just expiring on the Desert Ground:
He bids her to her Mistress strait repair,
Confess her Faults and make submission there,
And adds the Promise of a joyful Heir;
Ishmael his name; He Beasts and Men shou'd chase
The Father of a bold unnumber'd Race.
She heard, and did th'All-seeing Goodness bless,
Who Pity'd and Reliev'd her in Distress:
The Place preserves the wondrous Action's Fame,
And thence to distant Ages wears its name.
—She rose reviv'd, and to her Lady came;
And of her ripen'd Burthen soon releas'd
She with a welcome Son her Master's house increas'd.

XIII. Genesis, Chap. XVIII. Ver. 1. to 10.

XIV. Genesis, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 17. to the End.

XV. Genesis, Chap. XIX. Ver. 12. to 29.

XVI. Genesis, Chap. XXI. Ver. 2. 3.

Tho' Heav'n a while delays, it can't deceive,
And those are not impatient, who believe:
An Hundred rolling years without an Heir,
Had Abraham pass'd but wou'd not yet despair;
At length the welcome promis'd Blessing came,
A Son is born, and Isaac is his name:
Beyond her Hopes the joyful Sarah bless'd,
To see the smiling Infant at her Breast.
Which when he now forsook, a splendid Feast
For all his cheerful Friends the Patriarch made,
And Victims on the smoaking Altars laid,
Doubly a Father double Thanks he pay'd.
But mortal joys are unsincere and vain,
And all our Pleasure soon allay'd with Pain:
Ishmael with Scoffs insults th'intruding Heir,
Nor Sarah, haughty Sarah this cou'd bear;
Hence with the Slaves, she said, let both away,
Nor shall they to affront my Isaac stay.
Agen sad Hagar wanders thro' the wild,
Loaden with Grief, and with her exil'd Child:
The Water now was spent she with her bore,
And in the thirsty Sands what Hopes of more?
Her Tears the only moisture to supply
Her fainting Son, tho' ev'n her Eyes grew dry
Parch'd and exhaust; nor cou'd she see him die:
One Kiss she gave, that Kiss she thought her last,
And then beneath a Bush the Child she cast:
With much of Pain he rais'd his fainting Eyes,
And for his Mother calls with feeble cries.
That boundless Pity who does all survey,
Who not disdains to aid our mortal Clay,
Tho' Angels serve him, saw their deep distress,
Nor unregarding saw, but did redress.
He bids the mournful Mother cease her Fears,
For God had heard his Voice, had heard her Tears.
Arise, said he, agen thy Ishmael take:
Of Ishmael I'll a mighty Nation make.
When near her she a Crystal Well perceives,
And with recruited Stores herself and Him relieves.

XVII. Genesis, Chap. XXII. Ver. 1. to 3. 6. to 12. 16. to 18.

XVIII. Genesis, Chap. XXIV. from Ver. 17. to 20.

XIX. Genesis, Chap. XXV. Ver. 21. to 26.

XX. Genesis, Chap. XXVII. 1. to Ver 23.

XXI. Genesis, Chap. XXVII. from Ver. 30. to 41.

XXII. Genesis, Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 10. to 15.

XXIII. Genesis, Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 18, to the End.

The Pious Pilgrim struck with sacred Aw,
And deep revolving what he heard and saw;
While yet the Sun did scarce his Beams disclose
Thus to himself, as he from Earth arose.

XXIV. Genesis, Chap. XXIX. Ver. 10. 14.

XXV. Genesis, Chap. XXIX. Ver. 18 to 20.

XXVI. Genesis, Chap. XXXI. 17. 20. 21. 23. 24. 25. 44. to 51.

XXVII. Genesis, Chap. XXXII. Ver. 3. 6. 9. 13. to 15. 22. 24. to 28.

This Storm no sooner pass'd but others rise,
And with new Tumults fill the angry Skies;
For now proud Selabs craggy Rock appears
And Edoms Realms; the conscious Jacob fears;
Fears his Supplanted Brother's Arms, and sent
The distant gath'ring Mischief to prevent:
His Messengers ungrateful Tidings bring
Returning swift—(Ill news is on the Wing,
The Good comes slow behind with lazy Feet:)
Fierce Esau with Four Hundred Men they meet,
All on full march his Brother's Camp to find,
Panting they come, and think him close behind.
The Patriarch's with the doubtful news distress'd,
And various Passions struggled in his Breast:
First Heav'n by Pray'r did on his Side engage,
And then to melt his injur'd Brother's Rage
Large Droves of Oxen, Sheep, and Camels brings,
When joyn'd, a Present not unworthy Kings:
Then o'r the Ford his num'rous Houshold sent,
He only stay'd behind, and kept his Tent;
And as he storms high Heav'n with pious Pray'r,
In Human Form an Angel enters there;
Whom Jacob seiz'd, the heav'nly Warrior press'd,
Nor wou'd he let him go, himself unbless'd:
The Angel thus—I grant thee thy Request:
Jacob no more, thy name shall Israel be,
For thou with God and Man hast gain'd the victory.

XXVIII. Genesis, Chap. XXXIII. Ver. 1. 8. to 11. 16.

XXIX. Genesis, Chap. XXXIV. Ver. 1. 2. 25. 26. 30. 31.

XXX. Genesis, Chap. XXXV. Ver. 16. 19. 20.

“BEAUTY and LOVE are in this Vault enshrin'd,
“While he who lost 'em both stays languishing behind.

XXXI. Genesis, Chap. XXXVII. Ver. 5. to 11.

XXXII. Genesis, Chap. XXXVII. Ver. 12. to 28.

Near Shechem's ruin'd Walls the Patriarchs led
Their Father's Flocks, and there securely fed;
From thence, (the Fields depastur'd) farther drive
Till they at Dothan's fertile Plains arrive:
Young Joseph goes, commanded by his Sire
To find the Ten, and of their Health enquire;
Discern'd at Distance, they his Death conspire:
He comes, they cry, our future Lord let's kill,
And see if then he can his Dreams fulfil.
Reuben, of Nature merciful, and mild,
Allays their Rage, and seeks to save the Child:
Into a Pit the Innocent they cast,
And careless seat themselves to their repast:
As chanc'd a Band of Ishmaels Sons came by
With Spices, Balm, and Myrrh, approching nigh,
Thus Judah to his listning Brethren said:
What Gain if each upon his guilty Head
Our Brother's Blood we draw? Our selves let's clear
To these we'll sell the Youth, nor need we fear
Of him or of his Dreams again to hear.
The motion pleas'd, he's sold, the Price is pay'd,
And thro' the Deserts he to Mizraims Realms convey'd.

XXXIII. Genesis, Chap. XXXVII. from Ver. 31. to 35.

The Breth'ren now with Fraud their Fact disguise,
And their Injustice must conceal with Lies:
His Coat of various Colours richly made,
Distain'd with Blood is to his Sire convey'd:
The Coat too well he knew, with Grief o'rpow'rd,
'Tis his, 'tis his, he cries, my Son's devour'd,
My Joseph is no more—Behold him tear
With loud Laments his Garments and his Hair!
His goodly Robes he into Sackcloth turns,
Cover'd with Dust in deep Despair he mourns.
His num'rous Sons and all his House arise
And strive to ease his Cares; too late, he cries,
And Hope and Comfort now alike defies:
Ah my Lov'd Son! shall I thy Loss survive?
When Joseph is no more shall Jacob live?
Heavier ye Griefs! make haste ye ling'ring Cares.
And quickly press to Earth these Hoary Hairs:
As fast as an Old Man can move, I'll come,
And meet thee once agen, my Joseph, in the Tomb.

XXXIV. Genesis, Chap. XXXIX. from Ver. 7. to 20.

Vice always is a Slave, but Virtue's free:
Joseph, tho' sold, enjoys his Liberty:
His Master loves his Industry and Truth,
His Lady views too oft his blooming Youth;
Too soon a lawless Fire inflames her Breast,
Which robs her Mind of Peace, her Eyes of Rest:
She looks, she sighs, she languishes in vain,
The lovely Youth regardless of her Pain:
In vain her Sex's well-known Arts she tries;
He dares not trust himself, nor trust her Eyes,
But shuns her sight, and conquers whilst he flies.
She still persists, so wild her Passion grown,
Till Shame, the last Reserve of Virtue's gone:
She seiz'd the Youth, attacks with Syrens Tears,
And tells him what's unfit for virtuous Ears:
In vain he Gratitude and Conscience press'd,
Blind to her Charms, and Deaf to her Request,
And twin'd at last the Serpent from his Breast.
With other Fires the slighted Beauty burns,
Defeated Lust to Hate and Vengeance turns:
Seize, seize the Ravisher, aloud she cries,
Resolv'd the guiltless Youth to sacrifice:
Silent he stood, yet bold, with no Defence
Besides his Conscience, and his Innocence;
Enrag'd his Lord commands; they drag him thence;
Loaden with Chains to Dungeons deep convey,
Remov'd from Heav'ns sweet Light, and least approach of Day.

XXXV. Genesis, Chap. XLI. Ver. 14. to 36.

XXXVI. Genesis, Chap. XLI. from Ver. 37. to 45. 50. to 52.

XXXVII. Genesis, XLI.

XXXVIII. Genesis, Chap. XLIII. XLIV.

XXXIX. Genesis, Chap. XLV. Ver. 1. to 16.

No longer Joseph cou'd himself refrain,
But struggling Nature broke th'uneasie Chain:
He bids 'em clear the Room, the Crowd obey,
And none besides his Wond'ring Brethren stay;
Then—I am Joseph, said, nor needed more,
Tho' humbly prostrate on the Earth before,
They'd now have farther gone, and wish its Womb,
And darkest Shades their kind immediate Tomb:
Agen with gentle words their minds he chears,
And with reviving Smiles dispells their Fears:
The Youngest first embrac'd with friendly Tears,
Then all the Rest; he bids their Grief forbear
For God to save their Lives had plac'd him there
Five dreadful Years of Famine yet remain,
No Harvest shou'd requite the Tiller's Pain:
Return, my aged Father bring with hast,
I'll feed you all until the Dearth be pass'd:
Of Egypt's Dainties he a Present sends,
And bids 'em on the way continue Friends.
Arriv'd they to their aged Sire relate
His Joseph's Glory and his alter'd Fate:
Too big th'unwieldy Joy, too vast the News,
Long did his fainting Heart, Belief refuse:
But when he saw the Carriages appear,
And did his pious Sons kind message hear;
Forgotten Joy shines in his lightn'd Eyes,
And thus the aged Sire in Extasies:
“Shall these chill Veins new Life and Warmth receive,
“And does my lost lamented Joseph live?
“Tho' long the Journey, all my Strength I'll try
“To see and bless my Son, my Joseph, e'r I die.

XL. Genesis, Chap. XLVI. XLVII. to Ver. 11.

For Zoan's Fields, and deep retentive lay
Old Jacob thro' the Desert takes his way;
Agen he sees his much-lov'd Joseph's Face
Who from his Chariot leaps and runs with Tears to his Embrace:
Then brings to Court the Venerable Sire;
The Nobles press to see him, and admire,
Ev'n Pharaoh not disdains to ask his Age:
—Evil and short has been my Pilgrimage,
A Century and Half t'has not surpass'd,
Tho' longer far my Ancestors did last.
He said, and bless'd the King, and from him went,
And Joseph next his Brethren did present;
Five of the Tallest and of graceful Mien,
By Pharaoh not unworthy to be seen:
He asks 'em, what their way of Life had been?
—They—We from our Youth were humble Swains,
And us'd to feed our Flocks in Canaans Plains,
But all our Pastures now are scorch'd and burn'd,
And like Arabia's Sandy Deserts turn'd:
To You, Great Sir! we all for Refuge fly,
Without your Aid, our famish'd Flocks must die,
In Goshens fertile Fields we beg to rest.
The Monarch hears, and smiles, and grants 'em their Request.

XLI. Genesis, Chap. XLVII. from Ver. 29. to the End of Chap. XLVIII.

XLII. Genesis, Chap. XLIX.

One Labour for the Patriarch yet remains
E'r Death must loose exhausted Nature's Chains;
He calls his Sons, and thus their Fates explains.
REUBEN, my Might, my Strength! but Reuben fell;
Unstablehe as Water, can't excell:
His Youth with shameful Incest did abuse
His Father's Bed, and must his Birthright lose:
Which LEVI and fierce SIMEON hope in vain,
Their Swords in Blood, and guilty Hands they stain:
'Tis JUDAH shall that envied Honour gain.
Nor, Judah! shall thy regal Race expire
Till the Great Shiloh come, the Nations long Desire.
From Sea to Sea shall ZEBULON extend,
At ancient Sidon shall his Border end.
Rich ISSACHAR! be rather Safe than Brave!
Inglorious Ease he'll chuse, a Wealthy Slave.
The Sacred Rod of Justice, DAN shall wield,
By Art prevail, too Weak for open Field.
The wand'ring Sons of Ishmael GAD shall quell:
In Royal Dainties ASHER shall excel:
Soft Words for NAPHTHALI his Freedom gain,
Like a Swift Hind he shoots across the Plain.
JOSEPH! thy Branches like a fruitful Vine
Shall shade the Walls, and round the Cedars twine!
Deep, deep thy Root, as is th'Abyss below,
And o'r th'Eternal Hills shall thy fair Branches go:
Not famish'd Wolves dart keener at their Prey
Than BENJAMIN his trembling Foes shall slay,
Thus his enlightn'd Mind their Fates express'd,
Then loos'd from mortal Chains she wings for endless Rest.

XLIII Genesis, Chap. L. Ver. 1. to 13.

On Israel's Face the pious Joseph fell,
And dear Remains of him he lov'd so well.
Then for his Stately Funeral Pomp prepares,
And him, embalm'd, to native Canaan bears.
Due Honours to his Herse the Nobles pay,
And o'r the Sandy Deserts him convey:
Fair Jordan's Streams disturb'd with Tears they pass'd,
In Palestina's Fields arriv'd at last,
Near Atad's Floor in regal state he lay,
And thence to Ephron's Cave they him convey:
In Solemn Ranks the vested Mourners go,
Joseph the Chief: silent they march and slow:
How sad a Scene! how vast a Pomp of Woe!
The wond'ring Natives crowd, and ask the cause
So large a Troop from Mizraim's Regions draws:
The Place's name preserves the Great Event,
Which down from thence unchang'd to distant Ages went.

XLIV. Exodus, Chap. I. Ver. 6. 8. 16. II. 1. to 10.

Ev'n Kings are Dust nor all their Pow'r can save
Themselves or dearest Fav'rites from the Grave:
Pharaoh is dead, and Joseph is the same,
Ungrateful Egypt soon forgets his Name:
A King arose a Foe to Israel's Seed,
As soon as born their Sons are doom'd to bleed.
MOSES of Levi's Race, divinely Fair,
Did his sad Mother then to Amram bear:
A while the lovely Infant did conceal,
At length left envious eyes shou'd him reveal,
Did in an Ark of Bulrushes inclose,
And to the Mercy of the Waves expose:
The Waves themselves than Tyrant-Man more mild,
Safe on their Bosoms waft the lovely Child.
As Pharaoh's Daughter did to Nile repair
To pay mistaken Adorations there,
The Infant she among the Rushes spies,
Nor him beholds with unrelenting Eyes:
To his glad Mother him commits unknown,
And when he past his tender Childhood grown
Adopts the envy'd Youth a Kinsman to the Throne.

XLV.

This Rising Sun attracts the Courtiers Eyes,
Who Wisdom's shar'd at once, and Beauty's Prize,
Yet all their gawdy shows he cou'd despise.
Afflicted Virtue meanly to disown
He thinks too dear a Rate to gain a Throne:
His Hebrew Brethren now no more unknown,
Tho' for their Thraldom he cou'd only grieve,
And mourn the Wrongs he cou'd not yet relieve.
Pharaoh he left, he left the pompous Court,
And to th'afflicted Hebrews did resort:
He found 'em faint beneath their servile load,
The Desart sprinkled with their Tears and Blood.
Compassion in his gen'rous Soul did rise,
And just Resentment sparkled in his Eyes:
Too many miserable Objects there
His Temper try'd, but One he cou'd not bear:
He saw a cruel Master seize his Slave,
Resisting tho' unarm'd, and vainly Brave:
Mov'd by the sacred Sp'rit his Sword he drew,
And to his injur'd Brother's rescue flew:
Deep in th'Invader's Breast the Weapon drives,
And his warm Heart the deadly Point receives:
Cursing he falls, and kicks the Sandy Ground,
And his black Blood and Soul rush mingled thro' the Wound.

XLVI. Exodus, Chap. II. Ver. 15. to 21

XLVII. Exodus, Chap. III. Ver. 2. to 8.

XLVIII. Exodus, Chap. V. from Ver. 1. to 21.

XLIX. Exodus, Chap. V. Ver. 22. VI. 2 3. VII. 1. to 12.

L. Exodus, Chap. VII. Ver. 20. 21. Chap. VIII. Ver. 3. to 6.

Egypt their helpless Gods in vain may pray,
Their helpless Gods are plagu'd as much as they.
Ev'n Nile, their Jove, if whose rich Streams o'rflow
No Thanks th'Ungrateful think to Heav'n they ow,
Stagnates, and stinks, and all its sev'n-mouth'd Flood,
Direful Portent! rolls with a Sea of Blood:
Satiate with what they did so long desire
The cruel Natives now for Thirst expire:
Nor this alone; what e'r in Mystic Stile:
They dream of Creatures from the Slime of Nile,
See now its animated Waters roll,
And every Drop swell with imperfect Soul!
Myriades of Frogs from thence at Heaven's command
March from the River, and invade the Land:
For Nature's slow Production will not stay,
Born in a Moment, perfect in a Day.
To Pharaoh's Court they press, and slight his Guard;
Like factious Crowds they swarm, and will be heard:
Importunate, as hungry Courtiers, grown,
His Levee wait, and croak around the Throne;
On his Rich Beds their slimy Members place,
“A Luxury unknown before to all their watry Race.

LI.

LII.

A dreadful Murrain next infects the Air,
And when Beasts die, their Masters must prepare.
The gen'rous Steed, ready equipp'd for Race,
Pawing the Ground, and eager of the Chace,
Swallowing the distant Goal with alter'd Eyes
Unwilling to forego th'expected Prize
Beneath th'incumbred Rider falls, and dies.
The lab'ring Oxen, as they sweating come,
And bring the Plough with weary Footsteps home
With doubled Knees drop on the printed Clay,
And in deep murmurs groan their Souls away.
The painful Camels lose their Masters hire,
The milky Mothers o'r the Pails expire.
The Ass, which late his Lady proudly bore
Sinks in his Stall, and loves the Crib no more:
Vex'd Air he with his quiv'ring Hoofs does wound
As his strong crested Shoulders strike the Ground.
The Sheep, their wealthy Masters envy'd store
Which Wool well worthy Tyrian Purple bore,
Struck with the sudden Plague forget to graze,
Their sunk dim Eye, their inward Pain betrays:
Each staggers from the next; in vain he tries
His wonted wholsome Herbs, and bleating dies.
Their Masters scarce escape, the pois'nous Air
Infects their Blood, but yet their Lives did spare:
Tortur'd with noisom Blains no ease they find,
Forerunners of the Plague that yet remain'd behind.

LIII. Exodus, Chap. VIII. IX.

LIV. Exodus, Chap. IX. Ver. 27. to End. Chap. X. Ver. 13. to 15.

LV. Exodus, Chap. X. Ver. 21. to 23.

LVI. Exodus, Chap. XII. Ver. 3. to 28.

LVII. Exodus, Chap. XII. 29. to 33.

LVIII. Exodus, Chap. XIV. Ver. 5. to 15.

Can Pharaoh late repriev'd so soon rebel?
He can, he does he grows too ripe for Hell.
(When respite once a perjur'd Tyrant gains,
Nothing can hold him but infernal Chains.)
Leviathan the Great enrag'd, pursues
The Prey he seem'd e'rwhile content to lose:
Chariots, and Horse which knew not to retire
(But how can Stubble face consuming Fire?)
He leads, defenceless Israel to oppress,
Entangl'd in th'impervious Wilderness.
The Sea in Front, their Flanks huge Mountains lin'd,
And Pharaoh's num'rous Army press'd behind,
The servile Crowd, base as the Chains they wore
Envy the Bondage which they mourn'd before:
In vain the fiery Column now may shine,
Dumb Idols fear'd above the Pow'r divine.
Moses to God for speedy Succour flies,
And God to Moses from the Cloud replies:
Let not the Hours in weak Complaints run waste,
But give the word to march, and forward haste!
March for the sounding Shore without delay,
And he that bids you go will make, or find the Way.

LIX. Exodus, Chap. XIV. from Ver. 21. to 29.

Behold, stretch'd out before the Hebrew Host
The Rod which had not yet its Virtue lost!
The Sea divides, and every shouldring Wave
His Neighbour pressing, easie passage gave:
Old Ocean's secret Chambers open lay,
Its Pearls and Gemms expos'd an easie prey;
Pale Coral blush'd to see th'invading Day.
The rescu'd Hebrews tremble now no more,
But wall'd with Floods attempt the distant Shore.
Th'Egyptians with Revenge and Fury blind
Pursue the Track, and press 'em close behind:
The Cloud and Fiery Pillar interpose,
And Israel shield from their devoted Foes:
What mortal Force Heav'ns angry Looks can bear,
Which in a Moment frowns it to Despair?
Terror, Confusion, Horror, and Dismay
Their Army seize; their Horses disobey
The Master's Voice; unwheel'd their Chariots flag,
And thro' the Sand, a pond'rous Load, they drag:
Too late the Wretches now their Error see;
From Israels God too late attempt to flee:
Moses agen his fatal Rod extends,
The Ocean sees, and from its Walls descends:
On every side its watr'y Troops appear,
And charge at once their Front, their Flank, and Rear,
The gen'rous Coursers rear, and plunge in vain
To break the Studded Harness, and the Rein,
And like Sea Monsters float upon the Main.
Nobles and Peasants, Princes and their Slaves
Fall undistinguish'd in the roaring Waves:
Pharaoh the last, tho' high above the rest,
Like Lucifer his Looks, his Pride confess'd:
Cursing he from his lofty Chariot fell,
His Carcass sunk to Earth, his faithless Soul to Hell.

LX. Exodus, Chap. XV.

LXI. Exodus, Chap. XV. from Ver. 22. to the End.

LXII. Exodus, Chap. XVI. Ver. 3. 4. 10. 12. 14. 15.

LXIII. Exodus, Chap. XVII. from Ver. 8. to the End.

LXIV. Exodus, Chap. XIX. and Chap. XX.

LXV. Exodus, Chap. XXV. Ver. 8, 9, 10. 17, 18. 22. Chap. XXVII. to the End.

LXVI. Exodus, Chap. XXXII.

LXVII. Leviticus, Chap. VIII. from Ver. 5. to 10. Chap. IX.

LXVIII. Leviticus, Chap. X. Ver. 1. to 7.

LXIX. Leviticus, Chap. XXIV. Ver. 10. to 23.

LXX. Numbers, Chap. I. II. Chap. X. Ver. 35. 36.

LXXI. Numbers, Chap. XI. Ver. 1. to 6.

LXXIII. Numbers, Chap. XI. Ver. 31. to 34

LXXIV. Numbers, Chap. XII.

Moses , on Earth the meekest Man in vain;
The more he bears, the more the Crowd complain:
The Foe to Goodness moves domestic Strife
Betwixt his haughty Sister and his Wife:
Ambition, Pride, and restless Female Rage,
Three pow'rful Fiends did on his side engage:
Place, and Preeminence, (which cou'd they chuse
What Woman wou'd not rather die than lose!)
The weighty Causes of their mutual Jarrs;
This no Superior, that no Rival bears.
Miriam too weak, her Brother Aaron draws
Against their Sister to espouse her cause:
Moses for his unhappy choice they blame,
A Cushite she, their Stocks and Nations shame:
Silent he stood, nor in their Fewds engag'd,
With weightier Thoughts employ'd—the more enrag'd,
At length they into open Faction brake,
The Lord by them, as well as Moses spake:
Nor this th'All-high, who from his radiant Throne
Regards the Meek, and still their Cause will own:
His well-known Glory in the Cloud appears,
Far off the whole Assembly kneels and fears:
A Voice from his Majestick Presence went,
Which Aaron call'd, and Miriam from their Tent:
Trembling they came, when thus Jehova said:
And were you not, audacious Pair! affraid
Against my Servant Moses to repine,
And with th'accursed murm'ring Crowd combine?
If You the Great Prophetic Office share
In Dreams and Visions I'll my will declare;
But Face to Face with Him I'll speak, and he
Shall only my unclouded Glories see.

LXXV. Numbers, Chap. XIII.

In Canaans Southern Bounds glad Israel stand
And of their Rulers send to search the Land:
By ancient Hebrons Tow'rs they took their way
And those tall Hills which round proud Jebus lay;
Thence to delightful Jericho they came,
The City' of Palm-Trees, widely known to Fame:
O'r Kishon's Foords, near Tabor's Mount and Fields,
Kishon, which to fair Jordan only yields,
The sounding Shores of Cinnereth survey;
Their Journey thence to Jordan's Fountains lay,
Which under hoary Libanus arise,
Whose Ridges bound the Land, and threat the Skies.
Returning they to fruitful Eshcol came,
Thence Eshcol stil'd, before unknown to Fame:
'Twas now the Time when Nature in her Pride
That happy Land with gen'rous Fruits supply'd:
With Golden Cheeks the rich Pomgranates shine,
And tempting Grapes load each luxuriant Vine.
Of these they a vast Cluster with 'em bear,
Th'enormous weight Two of the Strongest share:
Brought on a knotty Staff with Sweat and Pain,
The knotty Staff cou'd scarce the the Load sustain,
Full Forty Days expir'd at length they come
In an unlucky Hour to Paran home.
The Land, they must confess, was rich and good
Exuberant every where with Fruit and Food,
And all the needs of Life; But still they must
In their Accounts impartial be, and just,
And not betray the Peoples weighty Trust:
They were not fond of War, nor wish'd to try
The Force of their unequal Enemy:
Their Garisons were strong, their Walls were high,
Their num'rous People Bold and Warlike were,
Anak the Great, with his fierce Sons were there:
Proud Amalek the Southern Border fills,
The Hittite and the Amorite the Hills,
Themselves as Tall; bold Jebus Sons the rest,
The Canaanite the Shore and Jordan's Coast possess'd.

LXXVI. Numbers, Chap. XIV.

It was a mournful and a tedious Night:
The fiery Pillar shot no friendly light,
A Pannic fear the trembling Camp invades,
Attack'd by Legions of infernal shades:
Discord and Malice, Discontent and Care
Ingratitude, Sedition, and Despair,
And Faction, fowlest Fiend of Hell were there.
Amid the Croud in close Cabals they lay
Preparing for the Mischief of the Day:
With sullen Gloom the luckless Day arose,
And did the Counsels of the Night disclose,
Gath'ring in Globes see the Tumultuous Crowd,
Pour'd from their Tents their Treasons vent aloud:
Nor only Moses now, but God accuse,
Both did deceive 'em, both their Faith abuse;
To Canaan's hungry Sword their Host betray,
Their Wives and Children doom'd the Victor's prey:
This was too much, nor longer cou'd be born;
What they cou'd yet prevent they vainly mourn,
A Captain made to Egypt they'll return.
Joshua and gen'rous Caleb stood their Ground,
Of all the Spies, these only loyal found:
In vain they strive the heated Crowd t'appease.

LXXVII. Numbers, Chap. XVI.

LXXVIII. Numbers, Chap. XVI. Ver. 19, 21. 22. 25. 28. to 34.

LXXIX. Numbers, Chap. XX. from Ver. 1. to 12.

LXXX. Numbers, Chap. XXI. from Ver. 4. to 9.

LXXXI. Numbers, Chap. XXI. Ver. 21. to the End.

LXXXII. Numbers, Chap. XXII. Ver. 4. to 35.

When Heav'n will blast a lofty Tyrant's reign,
His Cunning and his Force are all in vain:
In vain he strives against its strong Decree,
His Hopes are Wind, his End is Infamy.
This, Balak Lord of faithless Moab found,
When Israel's Sons approach'd his Eastern Bound:
When human Succours fail, to Hell he goes,
With curs'd Enchantments to confound his Foes.
To Balaam, thro' the East too widely known,
By Magic infamously famous grown;
Who by strong Charms, and many a secret Spell,
The servile Gods cou'd to his Aid compel:
No vulgar Embassy the Tyrant sends,
Of Moab's Lords, and Midianitish Friends:
T'enquire of Heav'n the Sorcerer pretends.
But to the Fiends in dead of Night he goes,
And asks their Counsel to destroy their Foes.
In vain obsequious to his Charms they come,
His Threats in vain, their Oracles are dumb.
When lo! a heav'nly Light the Room invades,
And chases thence the foul infernal Shades:
They durst not stay, for God himself was there,
Concern'd for Israel, his peculiar Care;
Beware, he crys, audacious Wretch beware,
Move not a Foot, thou canst not hope success,
Nor canst thou curse the Man whom God will bless,
Trembling he heard, unwillingly obey'd,
And Balak's Lords return'd, behind 'em stay'd.
But when a second Embassy he sent,
The wav'ring Wizard rose, and with 'em went.
The Wages of Unrighteousness he chose,
But see a Mighty Angel him oppose:
His Ass at first the shining Form espy'd,
And started oft, and oft he turn'd aside.
In vain he strikes, and works her to the Road,
Till down she sinks beneath her impious Load.
With silent Looks complaining of the Wrong,
When Heav'n, (What cannot Heav'n!) unloos'd her Tongue.
With human Voice form'd in her secret Breast,
She the mad Prophet's brutal Rage repress'd;
Whose eyes unseal'd, he sees the Angel stand,
A flaming Sabre in his vengeful Hand,
Pointed against his Breast; to Earth he falls,
And half a Penitent, for Mercy calls.
The Angel lets him still pursue his way,
But bids him only what high Heav'n shou'd dictate, say.

LXXXIII. Numbers, Chap. XXII. 39. 41. XXIII. 1. 5. 7. to 10. 21. to 24.

LXXXIV. Numbers, Chap. XXIV.

LXXXV. Numbers, Chap. XXV.

LXXXVI. Numbers, Chap. XXXI.

LXXXVII. Deuteronomy, Chap. XXVII.

Im Moab's Borders now the People stand,
Whom Moses thus accosts by Heav'ns command:
When Jordan pass'd, you seize the Promis'd Land;
Two hanging Rocks you'll see with equal Pride
Thrust out their rugged Fronts on either side:
Like some huge Arches distant Ruins show,
Whose mould'ring Walls affright the Vale below:
Be half the People plac'd on Ebal's Brim,
The other on the cloudy Gerizim:
When Levi thus the Curses shall repeat
Which GOD's just Laws on harden'd Sinners threat.

LXXXVIII. Duteronomy, Chap. XXXIV.

LXXXIX. Joshua, Chap. I. Ver. 1. 2. Chap. II.

XC. Joshua, Chap. III. Ver. 1. to 17. Chap. IV. Ver. 5. to 18.

The Host of God, a mighty Host, remain,
Near Jordan's Banks decamp'd from Shittim's Plain:
With longing Eyes they view'd, unsatisfy'd,
Their promis'd Fields that grac'd his Western side,
Still to their Wishes and their Vows deny'd;
For Jordan now his slimy Banks o'reflows,
And broad as Father Nile, or Ganges grows.
In vain, for Nature to her Lord gives way:
When Seas divide, can Rivers not obey?
The Priests, in Stoles of purest Linen, bear
The dreadful Ark, and to the Brink repair;
Nor sooner on the utmost Rivage tread,
When, lo! the Waters saw, and backward fled,
Their ancient Course forgot, and Oozy Bed;
Far, far away to Adam's distant Strand,
And furl'd on Heaps like Icy Mountains stand:
While those below fail from the Salt-sea Plain,
Whose thirsty Soil expects their cooling Waves in vain.
This great Event the trembling Guards perceive,
From Jericho, and scarce their Eyes believe:
Thick on the Walls and Battlements they stood,
To their chill Hearts retir'd the curdling Blood:
They saw the ransom'd Flock come safely o're,
And with glad Shouts salute the welcom Shore:
Twelve weighty Stones from Jordan saw them take,
And Signals of their wondrous Passage make:
Nor sooner had the Priests the Channel pass'd,
Who as they enter'd first, ascended last:
The Firm no sooner by their Sandals press'd,
And on the sedgy Banks the Ark did rest;
When Jordan breaks with burst of Thunder's roar,
Like some fierce Eagre sweeps each sounding Shore,
And shoots its foaming Waves as widely as before.

XCI. Joshua, Chap. V. Ver. 13. to the End.

Now Israel's Army Jericho invest,
And with a strong Blockade 'tis closely press'd:
Alone the fearless Joshua walks the round,
To view the Place, if any weakness found,
Or to surprize, or storm from advantageous Ground.
Thoughtful he stood, reclining on his Spear,
When lo! he sees an awful Form appear.
Mortal he seem'd, yet more than mortal Grace,
And Splendor terrible adorn'd his Face.
A Sword he grasp'd, as bright as it were made,
Of a portentous Comets flaming Blade:
When thus the General of the chosen Host,
The Great unknown undaunted did accost.
“From whence, and whose? What art thou, soon declare,
“For Canaan or for Israel, Peace or War?
Michael am I, the shining Form reply'd,
Sent from the Throne the Host of God to guide:
Prostrate the General falls, and prints the Sand,
And waits for his Superior's dread Command;
He bids, to loose his Sandals not disdain,
Nor with irreverend Steps the hallow'd Place profane:
Joshua obeys, new Orders he receives,
Whom, mounting to the Clouds, the heav'nly Visions leaves.

XCII. Joshua, Chap. IV. Ver. 20. to 23.

XCIII. Joshua, Chap. VII. and VIII.

XCIV. Joshua, Chap. IX. and X.

XCV. Joshua, Chap. XXIII. and XXIV.

XCVI. Judges, Chap. I. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 8.

To Shiloh's Oracle the Tribes repair,
And wait for Orders to renew the War:
Warn'd by their murm'ring Fathers impious Rage,
They dare no more without Command engage:
Brave Judah's Sons the Posts of Honour gain,
Which with sev'n harness'd Myriads they maintain;
Their Royal Lion waving in the Field,
Unknowing to retreat, and less to yield:
Proud Bezek's spatious Walls with Turrets crown'd,
On ev'ry side the Host of God surround:
Too weak the Town to bear their first attack,
They push the Foe, they storm, they gain, they sack;
While Bezek's haughty Lord resists in vain,
Nor can his trembling Guards the Fight maintain:
Ignoble Flight with like Success he tries,
A short Reprieve with Shame too dearly buys:
Pursu'd and seiz'd, the same hard Fate he bore,
Which sev'nty Kings had done from him before;
Who glean'd their Meat beneath the Tyrant's Board,
The Footstools they of their imperious Lord;
Maim'd and abus'd—he still prolong'd their Breath,
As envy'ng them the Luxury of Death.
He owns his Fate is Just—and so must all,
Who as they trace his Crimes may share his Fall:
Stifled with Malice, Pride and Rage he dies,
To clear a Providence, and vindicate the Skies.

XCVII. Judges, Chap. I. Ver. 10. to 13.

XCVIII. Judges, Chap. IV. Ver. 1. to 22.

XCIX. Judges, Chap. V. from Ver. 2. to the End.

C. Judges, Chap. VI. Ver. 36. to the End.

CI. Judges, Chap. VII. Ver. 5. to the End.

Gideon reviews his Host on Harod's Plain,
Too num'rous yet the Victory to gain:
Three Myriads who at first the Hero joyn'd
Melt off, Three hundred only left behind:
By these, said God, too few their Strength to boast,
Will I discomfit Midian's num'rous Host:
This Night go down, in Moreh's Vale they lie,
And welcom Omens meet of Victory!
He goes, his faithful Phurah by his side,
They find their careless Army scatter'd wide;
They hear a Soldier no vain Dream relate
Of Israel's Conquest, and of Midian's Fate:
From thence return'd secure of wish'd Success,
The joyful News by Looks and Words express.
Gideon his Army, (scarce an Army) heads,
And not to Battel, but to Conquest leads:
Around the slumb'ring Camps they shout; The Word
Was Gideon's and Jehovah's vengeful Sword!
Horror and Guilt the Paynim Host affright,
Dread sounds their Ears, their Eyes a ghastly Light:
They ran, they cry'd, they fled; their Swords they drew,
And each did in his Fellows's Blood imbrew;
Manasseh, Asher, Nepthali pursue:
Fierce Ephraim seiz'd the Foords of Jordan's Flood,
And dy'd his Streams with Midianitish Blood:
Oreb and Zeeb in their Flight they meet,
Their bleeding Heads they bring, and cast at Gideon's Feet.

CII. Judges, Chap. IX.

Unworthy to supply Great Gideon's Place,
Abimelech arose of spurious Race:
Without Remorse his seventy Brethren slain,
He thought a Crown he still did cheaply gain:
To Shechem he his ill-got Empire ows,
Ally'd by Birth, yet they his secret Foes:
In narrow Passes they an Ambush lay,
And hope Abimelech himself their Prey;
Their plenteous Vintage home, well-warm'd they bring,
And by their Idol-Gods they curse their Idol-King:
Nor this cou'd Gideon's Blood, tho' base endure;
To crush his Rebels, and his Friends secure
He with a potent Army takes the Field,
To whose superior Force the double Traytors yield:
The Victor to the City them pursues,
Th'unwieldy Gates are clos'd, the War renews:
The wrathful King, impetuous, presses on,
Their ill-defended Gates and Walls are gone:
The Foe breaks in like an impetuous Flood,
Which tops the Banks that long its Course withstood,
The City's sow'd with Salt, and moisten'd with their Blood.
One Tow'r alone impregnable remain'd,
And Treaty they alike and Force disdain'd:
They trust their God, the Hold was nam'd from Baal,
But more they trust their firm and lofty Wall:
The Victor thinks the rest in vain was won,
Till Art compleats what Valour had begun:
Above the Town an hoary Mountain stood,
Whose venerable Head was crown'd with Wood:
The Firs and Pines thick Branches thence they rend,
And to the Tow'r, a moving Grove descend:
These to the Gates apply'd th'Assailants fire,
In vain within they from the Gates retire:
At once their dismal Shrieks ascend the Skies,
Their dying, and their Fun'ral Flames arise,
Never had Baal before so large a Sacrifice.

CIII. Judges, Chap. IX. Ver. 50. to 55.

Virtue alone can deathless Laurels boast;
She gains the Day when Life itself is lost:
What with'ring Joys deceitful Conquest yields,
From Cities sack'd, and from triumphant Fields!
How soon the giddy Globe of Fortune turns,
The Captive smiles, th'insulting Victor mourns!
This, Great Abimelech! from thee we learn,
(And future Warriors may their Fate discern:)
Now happy, if thou bear thy Ensign's back,
Nor Thebez Walls, with Stars averse, attack:
Fate draws thee on, and beckons from afar,
And Death, disguis'd like Glory, leads to War:
The Town is storm'd, the weak Defendants fled,
But in the Citadel again make Head;
Arm'd with Despair a brave Resistance make;
Again their well-known Fire th'Assailants take;
Tho' lately try'd, of wish'd Success it fails;
One Stratagem but rarely twice prevails:
Greedy of Fame, impatient of Delay,
To his warm Troops the Gen'ral leads the way;
Whom, at the Gates, to his despairing Foes,
His lofty Plume and glitt'ring Arms disclose:
—'Tis done, and from a Mill-stone's deadly weight,
A Woman, a weak Woman sends his Fate:
He feels the Stroke the Seat of Life confound,
His Helmet crush'd, his Head a single Wound;
Groaning he falls, reluctant strikes the Ground:
But his strong Heart still rises with Disdain,
“Can Gideon's Son by Female Hands be slain?
“Let some kind Sword the Stroke of Mercy lend,
“If near me either Enemy or Friend!
His faithful Squire, who oft in Battel try'd,
Had ne're unguarded left his Master's side,
This last kind cruel Office not deny'd:
Soon as the Sword its fatal Passage found,
He rises to the Point, and meets the welcom Wound.

CIV. Judges, Chap. X. Ver. 17, 18. Chap. XI. to 29.

CV. Judges, Chap. XI. from Ver. 30. to Ver. 39.

Fierce Ammon's num'rous Van appears in sight,
Glad Israel rose and shouted for the Fight:
Between both Armies valiant Jephthah ran,
His Spear to Heav'n he rais'd, and thus began;
“So may my Arms the God of Battles bless,
“And grant his own lov'd Israel wish'd Success;
“As when from War with Conquest I return,
“What e're I meet, a Sacrifice shall burn.

CVI. Judges, Chap. XIII. Ver. 2. to 23.

CVII. Judges, Chap. XIV. to Ver. 8.

CVIII. Judges, Chap. XIV. Ver. 7. to the End.

CIX. Judges, Chap. XV. from Ver. 3. to Ver. 15.

CX. Judges, Chap. XVI. Ver. 4. to 20.

How vainly Men their Strength and Conduct boast?
By Female Wiles, how often trapp'd and lost?
—We rave, but still they wind us back again,
In Destinies or Follies endless Chain:
But newly scap'd the beauteous Timnite's snare,
Nor yet cou'd Samson of her Sex beware:
He saw in Sorek's pleasant Vale retir'd,
False Delilah, he saw her and admir'd:
In lazy Luxury his Hours he past,
His matchless Might, and useless Life ran wast:
Philistia heard with false mistaken Joy,
And rouz'd that Virtue must themselves destroy:
Happy for them if still he there had stay'd!
To worse than Delilah he ne're cou'd be betray'd.
Yet her they bring vast Sums of tempting Gold,
What Kings, what Senates have for less been sold?
'Twas hers, if she his Counsels wou'd betray,
And shew wherein his Strength and Israel's lay:
Long he eludes her Arts, tho' hourly press'd,
And lock'd the fatal Secret in his Breast:
She frowns, she smiles, she all the Woman tries,
In vain, he still evades, or still denies:
The specious Syren baits his passive Ears,
Nor want soft sighs, or well-commanded Tears:
“Was't this, was't this, false Man! you did design,
“When at my Feet you vow'd your Heart was mine?
“How easie to my Ruin I believ'd?
“How soon the Viper to my Breast receiv'd?
“May every Maid your faithless Nation shun,
“And learn by me, forsaken, scorn'd, undone!
—He cou'd no more, his stubborn Heart gave way;
Doubly betray'd, he does himself betray:
Like easie Man the fatal Secret tells,
Which like true Woman Delilah reveals:
Robb'd of his sacred Locks, amidst his Foes
Th'insulting Traitress did her Lord expose:
In vain he rouz'd, in vain his Limbs he shakes,
And self-forsaken him his God forsakes:
Vanquish'd with Ease, a Captive, scorn'd and blind,
T'inglorious Pains, a publick Drudge confin'd,
Shorn of his boasted Strength, and yet compell'd to grind.

CXI. Judges, Chap. XVI. from Ver. 23. to Ver. 30.

CXII. Judges, Chap. XVII. Ver. 7. to Chap. XX. Ver. 46.

Unbounded Rule! How num'rous is thy store,
Of mortal Plagues? but Anarchies are more:
No Law, no Faith, no Wrongs in her redress'd
The Swords blind Chance of Right and Just the Test,
And every Man's a Lewis to the rest,
Each strolling Levite there a Priest will be,
Each House must have its diff'rent Deity:
Nor those secure, for Micah's Art and Cost,
His wooden Priest, and golden Gods are lost:
Murder and Rape avow'd, the Tribes engage
In civil Fury, and intestine Rage:
At Mizpeh met, they Gibeah's Walls assail,
Where Benjamin's fierce Offspring twice prevail:
Stretch'd on their Mother Earth four Myriads lay,
Whence ev'n degen'rate Israel learns to pray:
To Shiloh's slighted Oracle repair,
Near Bethel's Fields the Ark of God was there,
And still just Phineas did the Ephod wear:
They fast, they mourn, and from the Altar's Fire
Their grateful Odors to the Clouds aspire,
Then of propitious Heav'n agen enquire;
Which bids 'em go, and Promise adds to bless,
Their righteous Arms resum'd with wish'd success.
To Gibeah's well-known Leaguer they return,
Whose alter'd Fate her Children soon must mourn:
Flush'd with success they sally from their Hold,
And as an Herd of Wolves assault the Fold;
With hideous Shouts they Israel's Host attack,
With well-dissembled Fear retreating back:
But when to Gibeah's Walls their Ambush came,
Defenceless now; when thence th'ambitious Flame
Glar'd in mid-Heav'n, the Host the Signal knew,
And their amaz'd Pursuers soon pursue,
Trod down with ease; their Tribe at once they slay:
—By Lewdness, thus and Discord, States decay,
Thus many an Age's Growth is ruin'd in a Day.

CXIII. Ruth, Chap. I. Ver. 1. to 21.

While various Judges Israel's Scepter sway'd,
Whose Sons were free by turns, by turns obey'd;
A good old Sire, Elimelech his Name,
To Moab from his native Bethl'hem came:
His Wife, and two fair Sons did with him bear,
By Famine forc'd to seek a shelter there:
Nor long he stays before to Fate he yields,
His Bones inhum'd in Moab's friendly Fields:
The careful Mother for the Sons provides,
A pair of beauteous Moabitish Brides:
Nor long, alas! possess'd they their desire,
Their Nuptial Torch might light their Fun'ral Fire,
In Prime of Youth they childless both expire:
What Grief their Parent, what their Brides possess'd,
The Story says not, but with ease 'tis guess'd:
Nor long the widow'd exil'd Mother mourn'd,
E're she to bless'd Judeas Fields return'd;
Part of the Journey both her Daughters went,
Orpah, at her desire, was soon content
To take her leave, and back her Footsteps bent:
The Younger, Ruth, (whose memorable Name,
In Judah's future Annals place shall claim,
While History remains, consign'd to Fame;)
Her Mother's pressing Instances deny'd,
Nor wou'd while Life remain'd, forsake her side,
Nor ev'n shou'd envious Death their Dust divide:
In Weal or Wo her Fortunes press'd to share,
One Law, one God for Naomi and her.
(A rare Example of a pious Mind!
Equal Success may all such Daughters find!)
Arriv'd at Bethlehem, all the City come
T'admire their Neighbor, and to welcom home:
They scarce can credit what themselves they see,
And ask, if this the alter'd Naomi?
O call me by that happy Name no more,
She said, which while my Fortunes smil'd, I bore!
Forgotten Joy long since is out of date,
And Bitter be my Name, as bitter is my Fate!

CXIV. Ruth, Chap. I. Ver. 22. Chap. II. Ver. 2. to the End. Chap. IV. Ver. 13.

CXV. 1 Samuel, Chap. I. Ver. 11. Chap. II. Ver. 1. to 11.

CXVI. 1 Samuel, Chap. II. Ver. 12. to 33.

Old Eli now Great Aaron's Ephod wears,
Scarce equal to his Honours and his Cares:
Contempt alone his easie Goodness gains,
While with too slack a Hand he holds the Reins.
Two Sons he had, how happy had he none!
Whose Crimes their Country's ruin, and their own.
Those Sons of Belial wou'd not know the Lord,
They made his Off'rings, by the Crowd abhor'd,
Rapine and Lust for Deities ador'd:
Yet when reprov'd by their indulgent Sire,
Softly he touch'd the Wound which did require
The deepest Search, the Lancet and the Fire.

CXVII. 1 Samuel, Chap. III. Ver. 5. to 18.

CXVIII. 1 Samuel, Chap. IV. Ver. 10. to 19.

Unwilling to resume the servile Yoke,
Of Capthor's Sons, which valiant Samson broke:
The Tribes of Israel arm without success,
For how shou'd God a sinful Nation bless?
Baffl'd and beat, four thousand Warrior's slain,
Their Bones unbury'd lay on Aphek's Plain.
With stronger Forces they renew the War,
God's Ark they to the Camp from Shiloh bear:
But what avails his Ark when God's not there?
Trembled the Plains, the hollow Mountains ring,
When to the Camp that sacred Pledge they bring;
So loud a Shout the joyful Army gave,
Tho' neither that itself nor them cou'd save.
Their Enemy the Noise with wonder hear,
Which soon, th'Occasion known, is chang'd to Fear:
Wo to our Nation—thus alarm'd they cry'd,
Dangers like this, till now we never try'd:
Who, from these mighty Gods our Host shall save,
Which plung'd th'Egyptians underneath the Wave?
Philistia! now exert thy utmost might!
The Conquest gain, or fall in manful Fight!
They joyn, and long the Battel doubtful stood,
The Fields with Warrior's strew'd and dy'd in Blood:
Israel at last gave way, the Foe pursu'd,
But round the Ark agen the Fight renew'd:
Hophni the fainting Troops, and Phinehas chear,
And twice, when broke, they rally'd in the Rear;
(O! how cou'd Guilt like theirs, so brave appear?)
And might have turn'd the Fortune of the Day,
Had not their Sins their Laurels snatch'd away.
A third Effort with feebler Force they make,
But can't their sacred injur'd Charge retake:
Close by the Ark, oppress'd with odds they fell,
Happy their Deaths had they but liv'd as well!
Three Myriads more to Fate compell'd to yield,
Whose Limbs extended on the moisten'd Field:
A Benjamite escapes, Fear lends him Wings,
At close of Day the News to Shiloh brings:
The City gave an universal Groan,
Old Eli hears the Noise, the Cause unknown;
When thus the Messenger—“The People fled,
“Philistia triumphs, both thy Sons are dead,
“And more than all—the Ark is captive led.
He heard till then, till then he fill'd his Place,
But now the hasty Blood forsakes his Face:
Back to his Heart, thro' secret Channels flies,
Back from his Seat he falls, he backward falls, and dies.

CXIX. 1 Samuel, Chap. IV. from Ver. 19. to the End.

CXX. 1 Samuel, Chap. V. Ver. 3, 4.

Now Palestina's conqu'ring Sons proclaim,
In festal Hymns their mighty Fishes name:
Their barb'rous Joy scarce louder Triumphs made,
When dreadful Samson to their Lords betray'd,
Tho' short are these as those; for now they bear
To Dagon's Dome the Ark, and leave it there:
With Dagon now and God the Cause is try'd,
And which will win, 'tis easie to decide:
The Priests their Idol leave, whom they before
Glutted with od'rous Streams, and holy Gore:
Nor sooner gilds the Sun the Cretan shore,
When to their daily Task th'Impostors rise,
And haste to pay their morning Sacrifice:
But found their Monster-God more monstrous made,
Prostrate on Earth his helpless Trunk was laid,
As to the Ark he there his Homage paid.
His Hands and Head were sever'd from the rest,
His fishy Tail remain'd, and scaly Chest:
Nor this alone, their Idol thus subdu'd,
A shameful Plague his Worshippers pursu'd:
Affrighted Ashdod sends the Ark away,
Which next to Gath's proud City they convey,
Till Gath's great City plagu'd as much as they.
To Ekron last, but Ekron cries in vain,
Nor wou'd their sure Destruction entertain:
They shut their Gates, and from the Walls they cry,
The winged Plague did o're the Rampires fly,
The Streets with Corpses fill'd, and thousands die:
Thro' every House the dire Contagion spread,
The tortur'd Living envy ev'n the Dead.
The Lords of their five Satrapies advise,
With those who were, or who were counted wise,
How to appease the anger of the Skies:
Resolv'd, the Ark with Presents home they sent,
To glad Beshemesh that, and they to Ekron went.

CXXI. 1 Samuel, Chap. VII.

CXXII. 1 Samuel, Chap. IX. from Ver. 3. to the End. Chap. X. Ver. 1. to Ver. 17.

CXXIII. 1 Samuel, Chap. X. from Ver. 17. to the End.

To Mizpeh's Hills th'expecting Tribes repair
By Samuel call'd, to fix the grand Affair,
And thus the Rev'rend Sire accosts them there.

CXXIV. 1 Samuel, Chap. XI. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 13.

CXXV. 1 Samuel, Chap. XI. Ver. 15. Chap. XII.

CXXVI. 1 Samuel, Chap. XIII. Ver. 23. Chap. XIV.

Encamp'd at Michmas the Philistians lie,
Whose proud unnumber'd Fishes fill the Sky:
Saul, in far different State at Gibeah lay,
Each hour his heartless Army melt away,
Now scarce a Crowd, six hundred only stay
To guard their Prince, unarm'd and trembling these,
But no such base unmanly Passions seize
Undaunted Jonathan; his Squire he takes,
And from the Camp a bold Excursion makes,
To where secure th'uncircumcis'd remain'd,
And Israel both, and Israel's God disdain'd:
Two craggy Rocks, Bozez and Seneh nam'd,
For this Event to after Ages fam'd
Their Outguards held, a narrow Pass between,
Cut thro' the stubborn Stone was scarcely seen:
When from above the valiant Pair espy'd,
The Captain of the Guard insulting cry'd:
Come up, ye Hebrew Slaves, and quickly meet
That Fate your Treasons merit, at our Feet!
The Prince the welcom Omen understands
With Pain and Joy; upon their Knees and Hands
They clamber up the Hill, nor sooner there,
But their dread Message from high Heav'n declare:
In Heaps they fell, mow'd by the Prince's Sword,
And faithful Abdon glean'd behind his Lord:
Those who escap'd, to their main Body fly,
And tell'em all the Hebrew Host was nigh:
Scarce had they spoke, when swifter than the Wind,
Behold the eager Victors press behind:
They storm the Camp, where e're they reach, they kill,
And all with Terror and Distraction fill:
A panic Fear invades their Host from God,
Trembled the conscious Earth on which they trode:
Chariots, and Horse, and Foot confounded fly,
And by Philistian Arms Philistians die:
This saw from Gibeah's Hills the feeble Guard,
They saw them melt, the thickning Tumult heard:
Swift as before they fled, the Foes pursue,
Fell on their scatter'd Rear, and thousands slew:
The Slaughter reach'd abhorr'd Bethaven's Plain,
To Canaan's Gods Philistia prays in vain;
Till Night did o're the Heavens her Wings display,
And sav'd the broken Reliques of the fatal Day.

CXXVII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XV. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 34.

CXXVIII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XV. Ver. 34, 35. Chap. XVI. to Ver. 13.

CXXXIX. 1 Samuel, Chap. XVII. to Ver. 37.

CXXX. 1 Samuel, Chap. XVII. from Ver. 37. to the End.

The Monster rag'd, and with a furious Look
He hastens on, the Ground beneath him shook:
More happy haste the Youth to meet him makes,
And from his Scrip the fatal Stone he takes,
Then with unerring Aim against him threw,
Wing'd with sure Death, and hizzing as it flew:
In his broad Forehead deeply plung'd it lay,
His crashing Scull to Life's chief Seat gave way:
He falls, his Armour clanks against the Ground,
And Blood and Brains crowd mingled thro' the Wound:
The Hero ran, and from the Champion's side,
Drew his broad Sword, in Slaughter often dy'd;
One Blow his Head did from the Trunk divide.
Swift fled the fore-skinn'd Army at the sight,
Vain, as their Boasts before, now was their Flight:
Shouted the Hebrew Host, their Foes pursue;
Wading through Blood, and countless Thousands slew:
Scarce cou'd the Walls of Gath and Ekron shield
From their victorious Swords the Reliques of the Field.

CXXXI. 1 Samuel, Chap. XVII. Ver. 57. Chap. XVIII. to Ver. 4.

CXXXII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 8. to Ver. 11.

CXXXIII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 17. to the End.

The fair Ahinoam, whose unspotted Breast
Of every Grace and every Love possess'd,
Great Saul had with two beauteous Daughters bless'd.
Merab the first, of a Majestic Mien;
Conscious of her high Birth, she spoke and look'd a Queen:
Michal, the younger, milder Rays adorn;
Her Sister like the midday-Sun, she like the rising Morn.
From David's Arms the haughty Merab fled,
And head-long ran to wealthy Adriel's Bed:
Michal the Youth with juster Eyes survey'd,
Nor unconcern'd he view'd the Royal Maid:
They love, yet wou'd in vain their Love conceal,
(For what their Lips deny'd, their Eyes reveal:)
Their Passion, Gratitude and Duty name,
Yet soon the Court perceiv'd their growing Flame:
From Saul not hid, who with malicious Joy
Improves th'Event the Hero to destroy:
No Joynture for his Daughter he requir'd,
Tho' she by many a neighb'ring Prince desir'd:
Not all bright Ophir's Wealth by him was priz'd,
Like just Revenge upon th'uncircumcis'd:
A hundred Fore-skins of Philistian Knights,
Vanquish'd by him, and slain in single Fights
Was all he ask'd; they'd prove an easie Prey,
Goliah had already shown the way.
Arose the Youth, fill'd with a noble Flame,
Kindled at once by Beauty and by Fame,
And like a Torrent on Philistia came:
Two hundred of their choicest Knights he slays,
And in full Tale the bloody Dowry pays:
Not Ashdod more enrag'd, or Gaza mourn'd
Than Saul, when David with Success return'd:
Yet can't the Royal Promise be deny'd,
The charming Michal soon is made his Bride.
—But his unnat'ral Father still pursues,
His sacred Life, his thirst of Blood renews:
A Band of Ruffians round his Palace spread,
Which Idumæan Doeg cursing led,
A vast Reward to him, that brings the Traitor's Head:
But pious Michal thro' the conscious Night,
Conveys her Lord, and give him time for Flight:
The murd'rous Guards with honest Fraud deceives:
A well-dissembled Image only leaves:
Thus sav'd the future Grace of Israel's Throne,
And thus preserv'd a Life far dearer than her own.

CXXXIV. 1 Samuel, Chap. XX. Ver. 35. to 38.

CXXXV. 1 Samuel, Chap. XX. Ver. 24. to the End.

O happy Pair! which shall I most commend,
And which the braver Man, the better Friend?
The Palm to Jonathan is justly due,
True to his Friend, against his Int'rest true.
—Yes, O thou dearer than my self to me!
A Crown's a Trifle when compar'd to thee.
Thus said the Prince—'Tis thine by God's own Choice,
Confirm'd by Israel's loud according Voice:
Thy Foes impeach thy steady Fate in vain,
Which still moves on, nor will thy Friend complain,
Nor can I lose a Crown, if David reign.
Next, and but next to thee shall I have place,
And thou shalt Kindness shew to all my Race.
Part of his pious Hopes by Heav'n were sign'd,
But part, alas! were lost, and scatter'd into Wind.

CXXXVI. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXII. from Ver. 9. to the End.

Yet did th'orac'lous sacred Ephod shine
On just Ahimelech of Eli's Line:
Faintly it shone, its faded Beams portend,
The things concerning him must soon have end:
A plain good Man, he wore no double Face;
True to his Friend, and Virtue in Disgrace:
To God's anointed true, yet always free
From Courtiers Craft, and servile Flattery.
At Nobah was his pleasant humble Seat,
A sacerdotal College and Retreat:
As David from the jealous Tyrant fled,
Hither by Eli's Destiny he's led,
Goliah's Sword receives, and hallow'd Bread:
Doeg of Idumæan Race was there,
Who did too near rough Esau's nature share:
Salvage and brutish as the Herds he fed,
To Carmel's Hill, or Bashan's Pastures led:
As now before the Oracle he stood,
The Hero and the Priest oblique he view'd
With Rage and barb'rous Joy, and Thirst of Blood:
So glares the Felon-Wolf across the Plain,
When faithful Dogs his hungry Rage restrain,
And howls and licks his frothy Jaws in vain;
Yet hopes at length to seize th'unguarded Prey.
False Doeg so to Gibeah speeds his way;
To furious Saul he brings th'unwelcom News,
Of David's Flight, and does the Priest accuse:
When for Ahimelech the Tyrant sends,
Who soon with all his Father's House attends:
In vain his Innocence wou'd ward the Blow,
He must be guilty, Saul wou'd have it so:
Nor wou'd a single Murther please; on all
The sacred Priests he bids his Servants fall:
The generous Guards the hateful Work refuse,
Rather than take their Lives, their own they'd lose:
To Doeg next he turns, who pleas'd obeys,
The Priests unarm'd the valiant Murd'rer slays:
Their loud-tongu'd Wounds, emit a purple Flood,
Their holy Vestments roll'd in Dust and Blood:
Almost an Hecatomb resign their Breath,
Compos'd the Guiltless fell, and smil'd on Death.
From thence, unsated still, the Traitor flew
To trembling Nob, and all that breath'd he slew:
Abiathar alone escap'd the snare,
To David in the Desart did repair,
And found a safe Retreat, and gen'rous welcome there.

CXXXVII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXIII. to Ver. 14. 25. to 28.

The while Adullam's faithful Cave defends,
From Saul's fierce Rage the Hero and his Friends:
Who-e're in Want, or Debt, or Discontent,
To David as their sure Protector went:
Some few good Men his suff'ring Virtue drew,
To own his Cause, but those were always few:
His aged Parents, now his weightiest Care,
(He knew their Lives the Tyrant wou'd not spare,)
To Moab's Realms, almost a Native there
His pious Duty brings, and Refuge found,
And quiet Seats, to Judah's fertile Bound;
He with his faithful Servants takes his way,
And close conceal'd in Hareth's Forest lay:
But restless Fame upon her various Wings,
To his Retreat important Tidings brings:
That Keilah by Philistian Arms was press'd,
And all the forag'd Country round distress'd:
Nor this cou'd David's lively Virtue bear,
Yet Heav'n consults e're he begins the War:
Commission'd thence his valiant Band he heads,
And not to Battel but to Conquest leads:
Invades th'Invader's Host; part routed fly,
And part beneath the Victor's Swords they die:
Keilah reliev'd, and all the Spoil regain'd,
The Hero in th'ungrateful Town remain'd;
Who their Deliv'rer wou'd to Saul betray;
Their Embryo Treason, while it lurking lay
In its dark Causes, God to David shows;
To Ziph and woody Hachilah he goes,
But still betray'd, his Haunts the Tyrant knew,
And did to Maon's craggy Rocks pursue:
His doubtful Troops he in the Mountains found,
And with a num'rous Host encompass'd round:
Safe in his Toils the trembling Prey he thought,
Nearer, and still more near the Circle brought,
When see a panting Messenger appear,
Silent awhile he stood for Haste and Fear:
At length with scarce recover'd Breath he said,
“Great Sir! Philistian Troops the Land invade!
When Saul, the Tyrant left, the King indues,
And private Piques adjourn'd, the publick Foe pursues.

CXXXVIII. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXV. from Ver. 2. to Ver. 42.

CXXXIX. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXVI. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 17.

CXL. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXVII. Ver. 1. to 6. Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 3. to 20.

Lest Saul's weak Virtue shou'd not long endure,
David with Achish does himself secure;
To whom the Royal Bounty Ziklag gives,
Where happy with his Hebrew Friends he lives:
Not so proud Saul on his uneasie Throne,
Which totter'd, now its chief Support was gone:
Too well Philistian Lords his Weakness knew,
As David he of late, they him pursue:
To Gilboah, he a pow'rful Army draws,
Had but their Hearts been equal to their Cause;
But with his Crimes and hastning Fate oppress'd
Their guilty Gen'ral's Fear infects the rest:
Unwillingly to God he flies at last,
But 'twas too late, his Day of Mercy past:
Then desp'rate thus—Since Heav'n will not foretel
My Fate, 'tis time to seek Relief from Hell;
Almost defeated there, those Wretches slain,
Who with accursed Spir'ts did Leagues maintain,
(For God to Moses gave not Laws in vain.)
As Fortun'd, one her Sister-Hags surviv'd,
Who with her trusty Imp at Endor liv'd:
To her th'unhappy Monarch chose to fly,
To know the worst, and read his Destiny:
Disguis'd he did the trembling Sage accost,
And bids her raise him Samuel's awful Ghost:
With mystic Characters a Circle made,
Low-mutt'ring dire forbidden Words she said,
And pow'rful Spells repeating, backward pray'd.
But whilst her servile Fiends attempt to frame
Illusive Shapes, the real Samuel came:
The Witch his God-like Form survey'd, and knew,
'Twas more than all her boasted Charms cou'd do:
She knew the bless'd beyond her magic Call,
'Tis Samuel's self, she cry'd, and thou art Saul!
The Monarch saw, and knew the more than Man;
He bow'd to Earth, and Samuel thus began.
The Prince, the dismal Tidings can't sustain,
But drops to Earth, at length reviv'd in vain;
Unhappy to awake and die with greater Pain.

CXLI. 1 Samuel, Chap. XXIX. Ver. 1. and Chap. XXXI. to Ver. 4.

CXLII. 2 Samuel, Chap. I. from Ver. 1. to the End.

CXLIII. 2 Samuel, Chap. II. from Ver. 19. to Ver. 23.

Thus fell unhappy Saul, and in his stead
The promis'd Crown adorns young David's Head:
Brave Abner for a while resists in vain,
Divides, but can't prevent his fated Reign:
Weak Ishbosheth, who now, almost alone
Surviv'd, he plac'd on his Great Father's Throne:
His Fame did Israel to his Party bring,
And Abner rul'd, tho' Ishbosheth was King:
But Judah's pow'rful Tribe for David stood,
Pleas'd with the Choice of Heav'n (and with their Kindred-Blood.)
Weary of Peace, at length the Tribes engage
In civil Discord, and intestine Rage.
Abner, th'Aggressor—he to Gibeon went,
And first will he th'unequal War repent:
Fierce Joab hears with Joy; the Guards he heads,
And to repel the bold Invader leads:
Their Out-guards met, awhile suspended stood,
And their new Foes with sullen Silence view'd,
But soon in Blood their thirsty Swords embrew'd;
No Skill, no Fear, no Mercy there, but All
The desp'rate Champion's close, and mingled fall.
Nor these cou'd hungry Death suffice, for they
But Preludes to the Slaughter of the Day:
The Bodies joyn, with equal Fury fir'd,
By turns each other push'd, by turns retir'd:
Till Conquest saw at last the beck of Fate,
And threw in David's Scale her over-weight.
Nor Abner's self his tott'ring Host cou'd stay,
Himself he's in the Torrent born away:
Yet oft he stands, for he disdains to yield,
And heads the scatter'd Reliques of the Field:
Thus, press'd with Odds, the Lion sow'rly flies,
And glares on his rash Foes with Blood-shot Eyes;
If any reach his Paws, the bold Invader dies,
Thus forward Asahel far'd, who swift as Wind,
Pursu'd and press'd the Hero close behind:
Unarm'd the panting Warrior ran, and light,
As hasting to a Conquest, not a Fight:
Ah, heedless Boy! the gen'rous Abner cry'd,
Turn from thy hast'ning Fate—yet turn aside!
If thou thy unflesh'd Valour long to try,
Single a less unequal Enemy!
Closer he plies, and soon he hopes to share
The Gen'ral's Spoils, the noblest Prize of War:
Agen the Hero warns,—he presses on;
'Tis in the Fates, thy Fate thou canst not shun,
Great Abner sighing said—that 'tis not Fear
Which warns thee thus, learn from my faithful Spear!
Then struck—to Life's chief Seat the way it found,
And Blood and Soul rush mingled thro' the Wound.
So falls the lovely Lily, Natures Pride,
When ruthless Shares its Stem, and beauteous Head divide.
The furious Victors, who pursu'd before,
Now stand, to see him weltring in his Gore;
While Abner rallys after his Defeat,
And mournful Joab sounds a late Retreat:
All Night he march'd, the Host to Hebron come,
And bear his Brother's Corps with joyless Triumphs home.

CXLIV. 2 Samuel, Chap. III.

CXLV. 2 Samuel, Chap. IV, V.

CXLVI. 2 Samuel, Chap. VI. and 1 Chron. Chap XV.

Rever'd and lov'd at home, abroad renoun'd,
Cover'd with Laurels, and with Conquest crown'd,
Jessides sat, while to his working Thought,
Or Fate, or Choice, the dear Remembrance brought
Of God's bless'd Ark, which long, a Pilgrim grown,
Had sojourn'd in a Dwelling not his own:
Its Heart no Ease, no Rest his Eye-lids found,
Till for its Seat he mark'd the destin'd Ground;
Fair Sion's Holy Hill the bless'd abode,
And peaceful Mansion for the Ark of God:
The Flow'r of all the Tribes conven'd attend,
Three Myriads they their Course to Gibeah bend;
And from thy House, Aminadab! they bear
The sacred Pledge with inauspicious Care:
Two Sons, their aged Father's Hopes and Pride,
The Carriage, and the bellowing Oxen guide;
On Lutes and Harps the long Procession play,
And David led the Quire, and led the way:
But soon their Pomp to silent Sorrow turn'd,
And David griev'd, and all th'Assembly mourn'd:
The weari'd Oxen stumbled in the Road,
At Nachon's Floor, and shook their precious Load:
Bold Uzzah saw, nor longer cou'd refrain,
But touch'd the sacred Ark with Hands profane:
Nor this th'offended Pow'r, whose Laws he broke,
His Rashness punish'd with a mortal Stroke;
He drop'd to Earth and with a Groan expir'd,
The trembling Monarch from the Place retir'd;
Which Uzzah's Name to distant Ages bore;
The trembling Monarch dares attempt no more;
The dreadful Ark upon the Road he leaves,
Which Obed-Edom's House with Joy receives:
Three wexing Moons it with the Gittite staid,
Whose hospitable Kindness not unpaid;
With all his Houshold bless'd; when David heard
Resuming Courage, he agen prepar'd
With Joy to bring it thence, but warn'd before
The Levites now the sacred Symbols bore:
Asaph and Ethan with sweet Heman joyn,
To praise the Goodness and the Pow'r divine;
And strongly these the vocal Brass inspire,
These joyn their Voices to the tuneful Lyre,
The Monarch guides the Dance and guides the Quire,
With all his active Strength he play'd and sung,
While Sion's Walls with Hallelujah's rung:
This Michal saw, averse, with haughty Eyes,
And in her Heart his meaness did despise;
Nor wanted words sarcastic and profane,
Which not forgot, nor unreveng'd remain;
Accurs'd with Barrenness, she ne're cou'd claim,
Till Death had clos'd her Eyes, a Mother's joyful Name.

CXLVII. 2 Samuel, Chap. VIII. IX. X.

CXLVIII. 2 Samuel, Chap. XI. to Ver. 5.

How vain a Thing is Man! the Great and Brave,
How often some inferior Passions slave!
To bad the best, by native Bent inclin'd:
—O why was Pow'r bestow'd on human kind,
A harmful Pow'r to make themselves unblest?
—But vainly we with righteous Heav'n contest:
Man were not Man unless indulg'd Free-will,
And uncontroll'd in Choice of Good or Ill.
The Mind can no exteriour Force control,
When Beauty thro' the Body wounds the Soul:
Had David clos'd his Eyes, the fatal Dart
From Bathsheba had never reach'd his Heart;
Vain of her Form, tho' she th'occasion gave,
And proud to have a Monarch call'd her Slave.
That Virtue which so many Storms cou'd bear,
Relax'd with Ease, grew sick in milder Air;
Loose from his Couch with the declining Sun,
He rose, and came, and saw, and was undone:
Her Bosom the polluted crystal laves,
How wild a Flame shot upward from the Waves?
Th'unguarded King beheld, review'd, admir'd,
Th'unknown forbidden Beauty he desir'd,
He blush'd and trembled, and her Name enquir'd,
Which his officious Courtiers soon declare,
Her Lord detain'd in Ammon's dubious War:
Seduc'd with ease the willing Prey they bring,
His Blot, his Shame, his Curse to Judah's King:
In vain awhile their lawless Loves conceal'd,
First by th'Effects, and then the Punishment reveal'd.

CXLIX. 2 Samuel, Chap. XI. from Ver. 14. to the End.

How short the vain Delight that Sin procures!
How long the Sting, and Shame, and Pain endures!
From Ill to Ill our wand'ring Nature slides,
When Piety, no more, and Virtue guides:
To cloak Adult'ry Murther must succeed,
And by base Treason brave Uriah bleed;
Tho' milder Methods first the Monarch tries,
And wou'd in vain their Guilt and Shame Disguise:
Bathshebah! for thy injur'd Lord he sends,
Who with Dispatches from the Camp attends;
But with the Pelethites the Guard he kept,
Nor in his violated Mansion slept:
He scorn'd of Ease and soft Repose to taste,
While in the Fields their Nights the Army pass'd:
Tho' twice the conscious Monarch vainly tries
To hide their Shame; the golden Goblet plies:
Well-warm'd the Warrior from his Presence sends,
And much of Kindness and of Love pretends:
The Chief persists; how dear his Firmness cost!
His Life by Murther and by Treason lost:
He to the Camp the fatal Letters bears,
Which to the Gen'ral David's Will declares:
Too soon Zerviah's Son his Prince obeys,
With Ammon's Sword the brave Uriah slays.
The News is brought, which Ammiel's Daughter hears,
And pays awhile a Widow's decent Tears:
With easie Grief she mourns her Husband dead,
But soon resumes her Robes, and shares the Monarch's Bed.

CL. 2 Samuel, Chap. XII. from Ver. 1. to the End.

CLI. 2 Samuel, Chap. XIII.

Nor was the promis'd Vengeance long delaid,
Th'Arrears of brave Uriah's Ghost unpaid:
See where it comes like a resistless Flood,
And Lust is plagu'd with Lust, and Blood with Blood:
Fair Tamar kindles Amnon's loose Desire,
Who forc'd the Royal Maid, and quench'd his lawless Fire:
Possess'd of all he wish'd, he hates her more,
(The Sexes wont) than he admir'd before:
Nor this cou'd Absalom's great Heart digest,
Tho' long he kept it boyling in his Breast:
Now twice the Sun had reach'd his annual Goal,
And view'd new Stars beneath each distant Pole;
Then in the Lion all his force displays,
And shoots direct on Earth his burning Rays:
The fleecy Train their weight cou'd hardly bear,
And long to pay their Master's yearly Care;
They and their bleating Lambs in Folds compell'd,
When Absalon a Feast in Hazor held,
The King and Court invites; in vain he press'd,
His Father him deny'd, but kindly bless'd:
With more Success he his Desire renews,
When he for Amnon and his Brethren sues:
Chearful they go, on Regal Fare they dine,
And crown the plenteous Feast with noble Wine.
Their Host the Signal gave for Amnon's Death,
His Servants in his Breast their Poniards sheath:
Life gushes out at many a griesly Wound,
And mingled Blood and Wine distains the Ground:
The Boards are over-turn'd, the Guests are gone,
Look back, and think their Brother's Fate their own:
But Fame which always mingles Truth with Lies,
And stretch'd on saily Wings still gathers as it flies,
Prevents their Speed, more swift than Fear it fled,
And told th'astonish'd King, that all his Sons were dead:
Swift to his Heart the frighted Blood repair'd,
And made a stand the Fort of Life to guard:
All deadly pale he from his Throne descends,
Stretch'd on cold Earth his Royal Robes he rends;
The same around his silent mournful Friends:
Wise Jonadab alone applies Relief,
Alone durst stem the Tide of Royal Grief:
That Amnon only was for Tamar slain,
He wou'd persuade, but wou'd persuade in vain;
Till now the Royal Company appears.
At once confirms, at once confutes their Fears,
And with their mournful Father's mix their Tears;
While Absalon to Syrian Geshur fled,
And till his Fate was ripe, from Justice sav'd his Head.

CLII. 2 Samuel, Chap. XIV. from Ver. 23, 25, 26. Chap. XV. to Ver. 6.

Ev'n earthly Gods when seated on the Throne,
Compell'd their frail Mortality must own;
Their Counsels oft they change; as oft by those
Abus'd, on whom they shine, and Faith repose:
This David was by dear Experience taught,
When Absalon he from long Exile brought:
Yet who cou'd fondness blame for such a Son,
So lov'd, so prais'd, so fair as Absalon?
A manly Beauty he, without a Mole,
(Ah, had he but enjoy'd as fair a Soul!)
Nor cou'd the Raven's glossy Plumes compare,
When jetting in the Sun, with his long weight of Hair:
To this the Tempter's self had scarce a Tongue
More softly fil'd than his, more smoothly hung;
Form'd to deceive; the Art of Courts he knew,
But more himself from bounteous Nature drew:
Chariots and Horse, and regal Pomp assumes,
And glitters in his slighted Father's Plumes;
Nor needs he those, a Living Tide came round,
Where e're he walk'd, and bore him from the Ground:
How lowly to the gazing Rout he bow'd,
For none can seem so humble as the Proud?
Early he rose, so ill Ambition slept,
And in the Gate perpetual Guard he kept:
When any of the Tribes for Justice came
He sounds his Bus'ness, his Abode, and Name,
And Court-Delays does well-dissembling blame:
My Father to his Harp delights to sing
The Temple-Hymns, too pious for a King:
The while the Bus'ness of the State forgot,
And Law alike, and JUSTICE sold and bought.
Ah, had I, tho' unworthy such a Grace,
On his Tribunal, but the meanest Place;
None justly shou'd with my award be griev'd,
None shou'd depart my Presence unreliev'd.
When to the Royal Youth Obeisance made,
Too much, my Friend, 'tis far too much he said,
You must not thus to me yourself debase,
Then stooping, rears 'em with a kind Embrace,
Thus steals their Hearts; the King almost alone,
Robb'd of his Subjects, sate on his deserted Throne.

CLIII. 2 Samuel, Chap. XV. from Ver. 7. to the End.

CLIV. 2 Samuel, Chap. XVI. XVII. to Ver. 23.

CLV. 2 Samuel, Chap. XVII. from Ver. 24. to the End. Chap. XVIII. to Ver. 18.

CLVI. 2 Samuel, Chap. XVIII. XIX. and Chap. XX. to Ver. 22.

In Prime of Youth thus Talmai's Nephew fell,
And thus may all who dare like him rebel!
With true paternal Grief his Father hears,
Retires from publick View, and melts in Tears;
Then thus—“O Absalom! my Son! my Son!
“My dearer than my Soul! my Absalon!
“Why is my Grief so weak, or why so strong!
“Why must I still a weary Life prolong!
“With how much Joy had I his Place supply'd,
“The Son had liv'd and reign'd, the hapless Father di'd?
The Joys of Triumph thus to Tears were turn'd,
The sympathizing Land with David mourn'd:
Fierce Joab hears, and by his Service bold,
The Truth too roughly for a Subject told:
The King his Grief repress'd, he dries his Tears,
And in the Gate with alter'd Face appears:
To Zadok and Ahimaaz he sends,
Who in the worst of Times his faithful Friends,
By these and Amasa the Heart of Judah bends:
At Gilgal their returning Prince they meet,
Ev'n Shimei comes, and prostrate at his Feet;
For Pardon sues, and does his Suit obtain,
By thee, Zerviah's Son! oppos'd in vain:
Mephibosheth does half his Lands regain.
At Jordan David old Barzillai leaves,
And Chimham in his room to Court receives:
Thus grateful Princes smile on worthy Deeds,
And to the Father's Grace the Son succeeds:
Yet still the Relicks of the Storm remain,
And bode a dreadful Show'r of sanguin Rain.
While Israel Judah blames, that they alone
Recall'd the King, and fix'd him on his Throne.
Too soon the unlucky Hint false Sheba takes,
A Trumpet sounds, and new Rebellion makes:
Amasa now commands in Joab's stead,
And to pursue the Rebels Judah led;
Nor this Zerviah's cruel Offspring bore,
But basely stabb'd, as Abner long before,
And left the Gen'ral weltring in his Gore;
Then thro' the Tribes the Son of Bichri chas'd,
Who in strong Abel's Walls his Refuge plac'd:
The Royal Forces soon the Town invest,
With vast Machines on ev'ry side 'tis prest,
At length one Woman's Prudence saves the rest:
Curs'd Sheba's Head did all their Faults attone,
See where 'tis o're the lofty Turret thrown:
Deform'd in Death, and dropping putrid Gore,
His Mouth can vomit Treason now no more:
Joab a Trumpet sounds, the Siege to raise,
And to Jerusalem in Peace the Host conveys.

CLVII. 2 Samuel, Chap. XXIII. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 7.

CLVIII. 2 Samuel, Chap. XXIII. from Ver. 7. to the End.

CLIX. 2 Samuel, Chap. XXIV. 1 Chron. Chap. XXI.

CLX. 1 Kings, Chap. I, II.

But Kings as well as Empires have their Date,
And all must yield to Time and Age and Fate:
Broken with Cares, the Monarch now appears,
And sinks beneath the Weight of Seventy Years:
Languid and Cold, almost a Carcass grown,
He lives by Warmth and Vigour not his own:
This Adonijah heard, fair Haggith's Son,
In Beauty only next to Absalon:
Ensigns of Royalty like him prepar'd,
High on his Chariot rais'd, and circled with a Guard:
Abiathar the Pontiff with him joyns,
And Joab aids in his unjust Designs:
By Rogel's-Well he at Zoheleth staid,
His Brethren call'd, a Kingly Feast he made;
But Solomon he left with conscious Fear,
Nor Zadok, Nathan, or Benaiah there:
To David, Bathsheba and Nathan bring
The Tidings first, that he assum'd the King:
The Monarch rous'd, by Israel's God he swears,
And Solomon his Successor declares:
On his own Royal Mule he rides in State,
The Guards and Council him to Gihon wait:
The sacred Oyl with Joy they thither bring,
Anoint him there, and shout—God save the King!
The hollow Vales restor'd the distant Sound,
Shook lofty Olivet, and shook the Ground:
This to Zoheleth's Stone the Traitors hear,
Vanish'd their Mirth, their Hearts dissolv'd with Fear:
Their King Himself, and they their King disown,
He quits his short-liv'd Reign, and quits his Throne.
For Refuge he to God's High-Altar flies,
And sues for Life, when Solomon, replies,
If Loyal he's secure, if false he dies:
In Peace he thence did to his House retreat;
But soon the curs'd Ambition to be Great,
The Royal Mercy did, and his Resolves defeat:
For David now to his Fore-fathers gon,
Agen he seeks by Wiles to mount the Throne:
To strengthen thus his Title, seeks to wed,
The beauteous Relict of the Royal Bed:
Nor this young Solomon, whose piercing Eyes
The Treason saw, tho' veil'd in Loves disguise,
And by Benaiah's Hand his Rival dies:
Next Joab, vainly to God's Altar fled,
Who Abner's Blood, and Amasa's had shed:
Just Vengeance, sure tho' slow, did him pursue,
Benaiah there, the hoary Murtherer slew:
Nor railing Shimei scap'd, but Kidron cross'd,
His solemn Oath he broke, his Life he lost:
Abiathar with milder Doom depriv'd,
To his own native Fields confin'd he liv'd;
The righteous Fate of Eli's House he bore,
And Zadok in his Room, great Aaron's Ephod wore.

CLXI. 1 Kings, Chap. III. from Ver. 16. to Ver. 27.

CLXII. 1 Kings, Chap. V, VI, VII. Ch. VIII. from Ver. 15. to the End. 2 Chron. Chap. VII. to Ver. 3.

The Monarch now with Peace and Plenty bless'd,
For God on ev'ry side had giv'n him Rest;
A lofty Pile of wondrous Art and Charge,
A Temple opulent, august and large:
Whose Majesty might some Resemblance bear,
Of that dread Pow'r who fix'd his Mansion there,
On tall Moriah's Mount resolves to rear:
To Tyrian Hiram, his Ally, he sends,
(Hiram and David had been ancient Friends.)
His Servants help he gains, for none so well
Cou'd Timber square, or lofty Cedars fell:
To Lebanon's fair Forrest they repair,
His Head like barren Calvary's they bare:
The Sun, a Stranger there, the Ground invades,
And drinks new Dew, and drives th'affrighted Shades.
To Sidon's Shore, a long and dubious Road,
O're craggy Rocks they drag their precious Load;
To Joppa's ancient Haven thence they bring,
Not unrewarded by the Hebrew King.
All things prepar'd, see the vast Fabrick rise,
And from the Center hasten to the Skies;
In three fair Stories wrought, stately and tall,
Marble the Columns, Marble was the Wall:
The House with Cedar floor'd, with Cedar lin'd,
And all with flaming Gold profusely shin'd:
So richly carv'd that Nature owns, compel'd,
She here is by her Hand-maid Art excel'd.
But who th'amazing Splendor dares reveal,
Which mystic Veils from mortal Eyes conceal?
Those bright Cherubic Forms which guard the Place,
Those menial Angels who attend and gaze!
—At safer distance from the Throne retire!
Those wide and everlasting Gates admire!
Those Pillars which the Pyramids surpass;
The Mould how curious, and how rich the Brass!
Behold yon Sea, which scarce admits a Shore,
And Rivers will receive, yet thirst for more:
Rang'd on their Bases Ten fair Lavers near,
On either side like Inland Lakes appear:
Ten splendid Lamps of Ophir's Gold refin'd,
With purest Oyl, and native Lustre shin'd.
Next see what spatious Courts the Dome surround,
With Portico's, and fair Piazza's crown'd!
The dreadful Ark the Priests and Levites bore,
To settled Seats, a Wanderer no more.
When all compleat, a vast Assembly came,
Drawn by their Monarchs and their Temples Fame:
The Dedication now their Care employs,
And Israel's Sons in festal Hymns rejoyce:
Nor cou'd a Thousand Hecatombs suffice,
The bleating, and the bellowing Nation dies,
Almost the Species falls a Sacrifice.
—See where the pious Prince himself expands,
Kneeling before the Throne his spotless Hands!
Loud Instruments and Voices fill the Quire,
Their Praise receiv'd, for lo! th'auspicious Fire
Breaks from the Oracle, the Priests retire;
A Present Deity by all confess'd,
Trembling, their Fathers God they all, adoring, bless'd.

CLXIII. 1 Kings, Chap. X. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 14.

CLXIV. 1 Kings, Chap. XI. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 14.

Fatal Prosperity! How fond, how blind!
Thou sweetest, deadliest Poison to Mankind!
Unjustly we of adverse Fate complain;
That has its Thousands sav'd, and thou Ten thousands slain:
But, ah! when Women on thy side engage,
How swift the Death, how strong the Philtres Rage!
What Potent Kings, what Heroes Great and Wise,
Have at thy Altars faln a Sacrifice?
But none like Solomon to future Times,
Transmit thy Conquests and transmit their Crimes:
Behold his Wisdom sunk, his Lustre fade,
His Glory clouded in how deep a Shade?
A thousand Women to his Court he brings,
(Almost too many for a thousand Kings!)
They steal his Scepter while he drags their Chain,
And wears in solid Sloth a shameful Reign:
From various Nations his Seraglio stor'd,
Their mungril Faith as various Gods ador'd:
Th'uxorious King to gain a quiet Life,
Almost a diff'rent God must serve for ev'ry Wife.
A fair Sidonian made him first decline,
And brought him to her own Astarte's shrine;
With Pharaoh's Daughter she unites her Claim,
Th'Egyptian sacred Heifer was the same:
To Chemosh then he bow'd his hoary Head,
By Moabitish Charms to Ruin led:
At Moloch's sanguine Altar next he's seen,
To please his beauteous Ammonitish Queen:
God's sacred Temple now neglected lies,
No Incense there, no Pray'rs, or Sacrifice:
On either side his pow'rful Rivals grown,
The Demons as of old, insult his Throne.
Was it for this, for this he twice appear'd
To Solomon, when his dread Voice he heard?
What Blessings promis'd to his pious Care?
How strictly charg'd of Idols to beware?
But all in vain; he's lost, his Heart is gone,
He and his Kingdom ruin'd and undone;
For his Ingratitude and Folly curs'd,
New Foes are rais'd, and Hadad is the First:
Fierce Edom conquer'd and his Father dead,
To Pharaoh's Court the Youth for Refuge fled;
Receiv'd with Grace and Princely welcom there,
Nor that proud Pharoah did for Hadad care,
But Israel's Scourge secur'd in Edom's Heir;
For this did he his dubious Title own,
And made an Exile Kinsman to the Throne:
How firm, how gen'rous in his weighty Trust,
How faithful (to his Int'rest) and how Just!
Thence like a Vultur hov'ring from afar,
For plenteous Death he hopes, and waits for War;
Ready to stoop and plague the guilty Land,
When Israel's Sins so dire a Scourge demand:
Rezon the next,—but greater Mischief rose
From anger'd Fav'rites, and intestine Foes:
To Jeroboam, diligent and brave,
The God of Israel, Israel's Scepter gave:
Whom jealous Solomon attempts in vain,
To spoil of Life, and of his fated Reign;
When Dust himself, he shall his Throne enjoy,
For none cou'd ever yet his Successor destroy.

CLXV. 1 Kings, Chap. XII. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 19.

CLXVI. 1 Kings, Chap. XII. Ver. 20. and 27. to the End. Chap. XIII. Ver. 23, 24, 25.

CLXVII. 1 Kings, Ch. XIII. to V. 25. Ch. XIV. and Ch. XV. from V. 25. to 29.

CLXVIII. 1 Kings, Chap. XVI. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 19.

When Baasha thus the Crown by Murther gain'd,
As he began, in War and Blood he reign'd.
On Jeroboam's House did Vengeance take,
But cou'd not his convenient Gods forsake:
The Grave at length the mighty Chief receives,
To Elah he his Crimes and Kingdom leaves;
Who swiftly with his Father's House declines,
Unkingly Luxury to Idols joyns:
To Arzah's Seat he from the Court retires,
And there his Blood with potent Liquor fires:
Arzah, with richest Wines profusely stor'd,
A drunken Steward, worthy such a Lord.
The Royal Debauchee the Goblet plies,
His Face a Flame, and red his sparkling Eyes;
Stumbled his Tongue in many a fruitless Boast,
His fault'ring Feet, and delug'd Reason lost:
Tho' scarce alive, for Death how ill prepar'd!
When furious Zimri, Captain of his Guard
Springs in abrupt, his Master wou'd have spoke,
But hasty Death th'unfinish'd Accents broke,
And Blood, and Brains, and Wine pursu'd the fatal Stroke.
The Crown he seiz'd, with recent Murther stain'd,
Sev'n Days (an Age for such a Tyrant) reign'd.
Against strong Gibbethon the People fought,
When Fame the Tidings to their Leaguer bought,
The Treason they unanimous abhorr'd,
And vow'd for their assassinated Lord
Severe Revenge; to Omri, Firm and Brave,
By general Vote the dubious Crown they gave;
From Gibbethon he with his Army rose,
To Tirzah he by speedy Marches goes,
Within whose Walls his Rival they enclese:
With jealous Eyes, the conscious Wretch survey'd
The Gates and Tow'rs, the Soldiers largely paid,
Yet yet soon the Traitor is himself betray'd:
While to secure a distant Gate he flies,
The Guards admit their friendly Enemies:
He heard, and to the Palace thence retir'd,
Whose lofty Top above the Town aspir'd,
And o're his Head the stately Building fir'd:
Nor Omri! shalt thou this enjoy, he cries,
Amid the crackling Flames too well the Traitor dies.

CLXIX. 1 Kings, Chap. XVI. from Ver. 23. to Ver. 33. Chap. XVII. to Ver. 6.

CLXX. 1 Kings, Chap. XVII. from Ver. 7. to Ver. 16.

The Drought begins, the Streams and watry Store
Are vanish'd now, and Cherith is no more:
If Heav'n th'exhausted Fountains not supply,
How soon are all our mortal Comforts dry!
Yet where the Event by Providence decreed,
The most unlikely means shall oft succeed;
And a poor Widow must Elijah feed.
At Heaven's command he to Sarepta goes,
And does in the broad Gates himself repose:
The Widow came by whom he must be fed,
And in her careful Hand her Son she led,
O happy Age! How free from Sins and Cares!
He smiles, and neither Drought not Famine fears,
The thirsty Prophet calls, and begs she'd bring
A Draught of War from the neighb'ring Spring;
Which under hoary Libanus did rise,
Whose ample Caverns yet afford Supplies:
With courteous Haste to his Relief she fled,
Agen the Prophet calls and asks for Bread;
She heard; for him and for herself did grieve,
As gen'rous Minds that wou'd, but can't relieve:
A little Oyl and Meal was all her Store,
A poor Reserve, nor cou'd she hope for more:
She this prepares to dress, when this was done,
Herself a Prey to Famine, and her Son:
Give to the Winds thy Fears the Prophet said,
The lib'ral Soul was ne're in want of Bread:
The Meal shall still afford mirac'lous Food,
The Cruse of Oyl from secret Springs renew'd;
Till Heav'n appeas'd, with large and bounteous Hand,
Shall Rains bestow to sate the thirsty Land:
He said, and she her ready Faith affords,
The great Event fulfill'd the Prophet's words:
Thus was her hospitable Bounty bless'd,
And thus the more she gave, the more she still possess'd.

CLXXI. 1 Kings, Chap. XVII. from Ver. 17. to the End.

The Widow's Son, by some Diseases stroke
Is snatch'd away; her Ages Staff is broke;
With loud Complaints she to the Prophet ran,
And thus she with a burst of Tears began;
Why hast thou call'd to mind those Ills I've done,
And why just Heav'n provok'd to slay my Son?
His Heart was touch'd with sympathetic Grief,
But Pray'r for both their Sorrows finds Relief;
To Heav'n he flies, and thus his Suit preferr'd,
—Alrighteous Judge, whose Sentence never err'd!
If sinful Dust and Ashes may presume,
Why meets this Innocent so harsh a Doom?
When hospitable Kindness thus is paid,
What must be theirs who Friendships Laws invade?
What Punishment for him who has his Guest betray'd?
O rather boundless Pity, boundless Pow'r,
The Soul which thou hast call'd, agen restore!
While this below, those glorious Forms above,
Mild Mercy, sweet Compassion, radiant Love,
Who helpless Widows and poor Orphans aid,
Besieg'd the Throne, and to the Father pray'd:
He yields, and calls the Soul but new undress'd,
And scarcely seated yet among the bless'd;
Bids it to Life and mortal Cares return,
Nor let th'afflicted Mother longer mourn:
With longing Eyes those happy Seats survey'd,
It bow'd, and then unwillingly obey'd;
Descending did with Horror first Survey
That Lump of cold disanimated Clay;
It must agen, at Heav'ns Command, inform,
Re-entring slow, the Limbs agen grew warm,
The chearful Blood its wonted Channels found,
—He sigh'd at length, and look'd amaz'd around;
But more his Mother, when the Prophet bore
The twice-born Youth, and did to her restore:
Wonder at once and Terror, Joy and Fear,
Exactly mingled in her Face appear;
Soon as her crowding Thoughts cou'd find a Vent,
I know, she said, that you from Heav'n are sent:
Your Mission true by this authentic Sign,
From God, from God you come, your Words are All divine.

CLXXII. 1 Kings, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 16.

The Famine rag'd, but Jezebel accurs'd
Of all her wasted Country's Plagues the worst,
Ahab, to Murther and to Mischief prone,
She to his Ruin urges and her own:
With such a Friend to all her black Designs,
She Persecution to her Idols joyns:
Who e're the King's Religion dar'd oppose,
Are doom'd to Death, proscrib'd for public Foes:
God's Prophets who her Idols still withstand,
Pursu'd with Fire and Sword around the Land:
Where e're the Heretic is found, he dies,
To Baal and Ashtaroth a Sacrifice:
But Virtue ev'n in Tyrants Courts has Friends,
And pious Obadiah them defends;
Forc'd from their Colleges their Wants relieves,
At once Provision and Protection gives.
An Hundred from the gen'ral Wreck remain'd,
Whom he in subterranean Vaults sustain'd:
Behold him ready to forsake the Light,
Whence fearless wading thro' the gloomy Night;
He tempts alone, the doubtful deep descent,
And to his refug'd Friends with kind Refreshments went.
Thro' the blind Grott he oft Relief conveys,
And oft returns thro' secret winding ways;
Thus long eludes the jealous Tyrant's Cares,
Who now a Progress thro' the Land prepares,
For his half-perish'd Steeds relief to find,
And save what Drought and Famine left behind.
A diff'rent Course he bids his Servant steer,
Happy, the Tyrant was no longer near!
Proceeding, soon he did Elijah meet,
And prostrate on the Ground embrac'd his Feet;
Who bids him to the wand'ring Prince repair,
And let him know Elijah waits him there:
He thus returns—thro' all the Nations round,
Which our unhappy famish'd Country bound,
My Lord has search'd in vain, but no Elijah found:
If I the News of his Arrival bring
To our enrag'd and disappointed King;
While thee the sacred Spirit far hence shall bear
Thro' distant Fields, or else sublime in Air,
Thy Servant's Life th'Inhuman will not spare:
Nor mine a Victim to his Rage alone;
And was it never to Elijah shown,
(Or can there ought to him remain unknown?)
When Jezebel the Prophets did pursue,
And with insatiate Rage proscrib'd and slew;
How many I preserv'd—which all must die,
If I am lost and they have no supply.
Dismiss thy Fears, he said—So God to me,
Unless this Day thy angry Lord I see:
To Ahab strait he with the Message went,
And brought him half displeas'd, and half content;
But what their mutual Salutations were
The Verse awhile must breath, and then at large declare.

CLXXIII. 1 Kings, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 17. to Ver. 39.

CLXXIV. 1 Kings, Chap. XVIII. from Ver. 39. to the End. Chap. XIX to Ver. 8.

The Prophet his Commission did pursue,
And all the Idol Priests he seiz'd and slew:
Just Heav'n atton'd with such a Sacrifice,
Unlocks the Winds and spreads with Clouds the Skies,
Which bellying low not long their freight sustain,
But burst in sounding Show'rs of welcom Rain:
To Jezreel's Gate the fearless Prophet goes,
So Heav'n commands, and dares his impious Foes:
Nor this the Tyrant's haughty Consort bore,
But by her vanquish'd Gods enrag'd she swore,
That he who dar'd her sacred Priests invade,
Shou'd soon himself like one of them be made,
A lifeless Trunk, a fleeting empty Shade.
So fairly warn'd he to Beersheba fled,
The way that to the Southern Desert led:
Beneath a spreading Juniper he lay,
To rest his fainting Limbs, and shun the scorching Day.
With Lives Fatigue and fruitless Labours tir'd,
A kind Dismission he from Heav'n desir'd:
If this short Rest so sweet, how those are bless'd,
In Abraham's Bosom who securely rest!
Such were his Thoughts, when by a kind surprize,
Soft balmy Slumbers seiz'd his weary Eyes:
Nor long he slept, when loe an Angel came,
Adorn'd in Robes of Light, and wing'd with Flame;
Whose Beams the Prophet's calm Recess invade,
And banish from his Eyes the bashful Shade:
Gently he rais'd, and shew'd a Table spread,
With Eden's Nectar, and Ambrosial Bread:
Celestial Food from mortal Dregs refin'd,
At once it chears the Body and the Mind.
He eats, but soon agen his Head reclin'd;
Agen the Cherub softly touch'd his side,
And for no common Journey bids provide:
He rose, and of the heav'nly Feast did eat,
And thence, supported by the wond'rous Meat,
Full forty Days the barren Desert trac'd,
Nor once did Bread or cooling Water taste;
Till Horeb's sacred Mount his Sandals press'd,
And in a shady Grot his weary Limbs did rest.

CLXXV. 1 Kings, Chap. XIX. from Ver. 9. to Ver. 19.

CLXXVI. 1 Kings, Chap. XX.

CLXXVII. 1 Kings, Chap. XXI.

CLXXVIII. 1 Kings, Chap. XXII. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 23.

CLXXIX. 1 Kings, Chap. XXII. from Ver. 26. to Ver. 38.

CLXXX. 1Kings, Chap. XXII. from Ver. 51. to the End; and 2 of Kings, Chap. I.

CLXXXI. 2 Kings, Chap. II. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 8.

From His, how diff'rent was Elijah's Fate,
Whom God resolves he'll now to Heav'n translate:
From Gilgal he his Steps for Bethel bends,
Faithful Elisha at his side attends;
Both lov'd of Heav'n, and undivided Friends:
In vain he begs he'd there himself repose,
He presses on, and down to Bethel goes:
A num'rous College of the Prophets there;
To thoughtful Eliseus they repair,
And ask him if he knew that this the Day,
When God his Master wou'd to Heav'n convey?
I knew the weighty Secret long before,
Replies the Saint, and bids 'em speak no more!
To Jericho their Journey they pursue,
Elijah there does his Request renew;
Agen the Son of Shaphat him deny'd,
The same the Prophets warn, and he the same reply'd:
Forward they move to Father-Jordan's Flood,
Far off the Prophet's Sons admiring stood;
When now the rising Waves their Sandals meet,
And crowd each other on to touch their Feet,
Elijah his Prophetic Mantle took,
And lifting high th'obedient Waters strook:
They knew the Signal and their Streams divide,
A wond'rous Path appears from side to side:
Bare on the Sand the gasping Fishes lay,
Their secret Beds reveal'd to conscious Day;
The Friendly Pair securely hastens o're,
And tempt a Path which once was only mark'd before.

CLXXXII. 2 Kings, Chap. II. from Ver. 9. to Ver. 12.

CLXXXIII. 2 Kings, Chap. II. from Ver. 14. to the End.

CLXXXIV. 2 Kings, Chap. III.

CLXXXV. 2 Kings, Chap. IV. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 7.

CLXXXVI. 2 Kings, Chap. IV. from Ver. 8. to Ver. 37.

CLXXXVII. 2 Kings, Chap. IV. from Ver. 38. to the End.

To Gilgal did the Saint agen repair,
The Prophets Sons attend their Master there:
Jehovah call'd, and loe! at his Command,
A dreadful Famine plagu'd the guilty Land:
Nor he who bounteous Heav'n so oft had try'd,
Cou'd doubt but Heav'n wou'd for his Guest provide:
The Servants range the Woods and search the Fields,
For what uncultivated Nature yields:
Herbs of unwholsom Juices thence they bear,
And for themselves and for the rest prepare,
Who urg'd by Hunger taste the deadly Fare:
Their Error known, they to the Prophet cry'd,
Who taught by Heav'n, did soon a Cure provide:
The Flow'r of Wheat amid the Cauldron throws,
And what was Death before, a Banquet grows,
Its pois'nous Nature alter'd and subdu'd,
A salutary and delightful Food:
Nor did their Benefactor's Bounty stay,
Their Wants reliev'd, 'twas now a festal Day:
From Baal-Shalisha's Fields a Stranger sent,
With new Refreshments did the Saint present:
The Famine press'd, he wou'd not hoard his Store,
But dares on Providence rely for more:
With Holy Fruits he bids the Board be spread,
Nor wanted there his small Reserve of Bread:
His Servitor replies—Alas, in vain!
Can we with these an hundred Men sustain?
Dispute not, but obey, his Lord replies,
It shall for all, with over-plus suffice:
They eat,—Behold the wond'rous Store renew,
And larger than the whole the Fragments grew.
Thus Hospitality's the greatest Gain,
And thus a Little bless'd can num'rous Wants sustain.

CLXXXVIII. 2 Kings, Chap. V. from Ver. 1. to the End.

CXC. 2 Kings, Chap. VI. from Ver. 3. to Ver. 23.

Agen with Israel, Syria War proclaims,
For Glory and for Empire; mighty Names,
Which oft have set the rival World in Flames!
By frequent Spoils the Land too well they knew,
Nor their Advantage wanting to pursue:
What Posts to seize in Council they agree,
Whence they might most infest their Enemy:
To Israel's Monarch Eliseus sent,
Who more than once appriz'd of their Intent,
The Passes seiz'd and did their Spoil prevent.
As Waves when with tumultuous Waves engag'd,
The disappointed Syrian storm'd and rag'd:
What Traitor has my Counsels thus reveal'd,
Or are you all combin'd that still the Wretch conceal'd!
When thus his Slaves around him crouching say,
A Syrian never cou'd his Lord betray;
But 'tis Elisha has his Master shown,
What only to these Walls before was known.
I'll have the Wizard's Head whate're it cost,
The Tyrant cries, and sends a num'rous Host,
Who Dothan's Walls, which with the Prophet bless'd,
By long and speedy Marches soon invest:
As o're the Hills the blushing Morn arose,
Her Beams their glitt'ring Squadrons first disclose,
When thro' the Gates Elisha fearless goes,
His faithful Servant waiting by his side;
Nor sooner he the Syrian Army spy'd,
Trembling and pale—, Alas my Lord! he cry'd,
Their Host so num'rous, and the Foe so nigh,
What Hope to 'scape, or whither must we fly?
His Master thus—with coward Fear away,
We have a larger Army far than they.
He prays, those Scales remove that veil'd his Sight,
His Eyes are struck with new and wond'rous Light:
He saw the Hills with fiery Chariots spred,
Red were the Steeds, their flaming Manes were Red:
Their deadly Scythes of pointed Lightnings made,
Or borrow'd from the Comets threatning Blade:
So close their Ranks, so deep their Files appear'd,
As their own Heav'n they left without a Guard.
Agen to Heav'n the Man of God preferr'd
His fervent Pray'rs, his fervent Pray'rs are heard:
Who the protected Pair did late surround,
Their Eyes with Darkness seal'd, and Shades profound;
Their Army, now a Rout, is scatter'd wide,
And whom they sought their Prey, implore their Guide:
To fair Samaria's Walls he them convey'd,
Their Eyes recover'd when the Prophet pray'd.
O What a Sight! when making first they view'd
Those hostile Walls so oft in Blood embrew'd!
The Guards around in glitt'ring Armour stand,
Each with his Weapon in his strong Right-Hand,
In act to strike; they thought their Prince too slow,
And wait with Pain the Word to give the Blow.
He asks the Prophet, mildly he replies,
And wou'dst thou smite thy captive Enemies?
Th'ungen'rous only with th'unarm'd contend,
And take a Life which cannot theirs offend:
Rather oblige, and home in safety send!
The Not-ill-natur'd Prince his Word obey'd,
A Kingly Feast he for his Captives made;
Then did without a Ransom them release,
And with his Bounty charm'd, to Syria send in Peace.

CXCI. 2 Kings, Chap. VI from Ver. 24. to the End; and Chap. VII.

CXCII. 2 Kings, Chap. VIII. from Ver. 7. to Ver. 15.

To Syrian Damasec Elisha goes,
And hostile Fields, so did high Heav'n dispose,
His Master's great Commission to fulfil,
Long since receiv'd on Horeb's sacred Hill.
Weak on his Couch the Son of Hadad lay,
And linger'd with insensible Decay:
His Robes, his Scepter and his Crown lay by,
Those unavailing Marks of Royalty:
Weak Cordials, and apply'd without Success,
In Mind or Body not one Pang the less:
Of all the suppliant Slaves who him attend,
False Hazael did he to the Prophet send,
Who veil'd the Traitor underneath the Friend:
Loaden with Gifts he on Elisha waits,
At his orac'lous Mouth consults the Fates.
The Son of Shaphat did this Answer give,
By course of Nature still thy Lord may live:
But Nature can't contend with Destiny,
And God has shown me, he shall surely die:
He said, and on the Traitor fix'd his Eye,
Thoughtful he view'd, on future Ills intent,
Till with a Burst of Tears he gives his Passion vent.
—Why weeps my Lord the wily Courtier said,
To whom the Prophet thus—I see and dread
Th'innum'rable Ills the Fates prepare,
And my dear Country from thy Hands must bear:
Nor Sex, nor Age thy cruel Hands will spare.
Their valiant Youth shall by thy Sword expire,
Their Cities wilt thou raze, their Castles fire.
—Am I a Dog, the Peer incens'd replies,
To act such black, such monstrous Villanies?
The Prophet wishes his Presage were vain,
But God had said, he shou'd in Syria reign.
With Looks that falsly promis'd fair Success,
Hazael returning does his Lord address:
His Life, and his Recov'ry both insur'd,
Both by th'unerring Prophet's Word secur'd.
The Morning came, the last that e're must rise
On Hadad's Son, who now by Treason dies:
Thus Vengeance came at last, tho' long delaid,
And Cruelty by Cruelty is paid.
The Truth of righteous Heav'n is clearly shown,
And on the Tyrant's Neck the Traitor mounts the Throne.

CXCIII. 2 Kings, Chap. VIII. Ver. 28, 29. and Chap. IX.

CXCIV. 2 Kings, Chap. X.

CXCV. 2 Kings, Chap. XIII. from Ver. 10. to the End.

CXCVI. 2 Kings, Chap. XIII. Ver. 20, 21.

At length 'tis done, the Saint augments the Bless'd,
And Angels hymn his Soul to endless Rest:
How long a Pomp his Fun'ral Rites attends,
What Tears were shed by his and Virtue's Friends,
No Time to tell, or with what tuneful Verse
The Prophet's Sons adorn'd their Master's Hearse:
But with a decent Tomb at length they trust,
His lov'd, his dear Remains, and sacred Dust.
The Vulgar and the Great to Earth descend;
How e're unlike their Life, in this the same their End.
Nor long before a base ignoble Name,
Who ne're was worth the Register of Fame;
The many joyn'd, and him his Neighbors bear
Lamenting to his humble Sepulcher:
When loe of Moab's Sons a roving Band,
Who Jordan's Foords had cross'd, invades the Land.
The People saw, and from the Grave they fled,
More careful of the Living than the Dead;
But in the Prophet's Tomb with happy haste,
The Carcass yet immovable they cast;
Whose Bones no sooner toucht, to Life he rose,
And from his Iron-Sleep his Eyes unclos'd:
Or from the sacred Corps such Virtue spread,
As ev'n cou'd after Death revive the Dead;
Or rather Heav'n his Virtues did attest,
When his bright Soul was rang'd among the Bless'd.
This, as it will, the Man his Life renew'd,
And shrouded as he was, the Crowd pursu'd:
Shriek'd the Spectators when from Earth he rose,
And dread the Living Ghost beyond th'invading Foes.

CXCVII. 2 Kings, Chap. XVII.

Hoshea , who Israel's Crown by Murther gain'd,
Now on the Hill of ancient Shemir reign'd:
By Shalmanezer conquer'd, Tribute paid,
Awhile his new Assyrian Lord obey'd:
Weary at length he lays a deep Design
To break his Yoke, and does with Egypt joyn;
Which by Assyria's Partizans disclos'd,
To his Resentments he's agen expos'd:
What crowding Nations with him take the Field,
To whom the Royal Towns compell'd to yield;
Their King in Chains th'Assyrian with him bore,
Nor wou'd he trust the pardon'd Rebel more:
From their dear Native Country far away,
Degenerate Israel's Sons he did convey,
Whence never, never more they must return,
But their lost Seats in endless Exile mourn:
In Halah and in Habor these were plac'd,
These in the Median Towns by Gozan's Stream embrac'd,
What Crimes cou'd Israel's God so far provoke,
That with his own lov'd People thus he broke
His ancient Leagues, and left 'em to their Foe,
For whom so oft he Wonders wont to show?
—'Twas they who on themselves his Wrath pull'd down,
And sold to Ruin their forsaken Town:
Incorrigibly wicked and profane,
His Prophets call'd, himself he call'd in vain:
On ev'ry Hill an Idol-Grove they made,
Beneath each verdant Trees inviting Shade,
Themselves defiling they their Shame ador'd,
The Heathen follow'd, and provok'd the Lord.
But Jeroboam's Calves the casting weight,
Which their swift Ruin brought, and seal'd their Fate:
For this the Nation long of God belov'd,
From their bless'd Land, and from his Sight remov'd;
While to Samaria's Regions in their room,
Large Colonies of barb'rous People come:
From Babel these, and these from Cusha went,
From Hamath others, and from Ava sent,
Or conquer'd Sepharvaim's wasted Land,
Whose Gods too weak th'Assyrian to withstand;
Like those they follow'd, impious and profane,
For this by rav'nous Lions justly slain;
Till their entire Destruction to prevent,
The King an ancient Priest of Bethel sent:
He taught 'em what he cou'd, tho' little more
Than what the Heathens knew themselves before.
How richly now is their Pantheon stor'd!
The Calves, their Gods, and Israel's God ador'd:
A diff'rent Pow'r each diff'rent Sept maintain,
And of divided Faith to After-Days remain.

CXCVIII. 2 Kings, Chap. XVIII.

CXCIX. 2 Kings, Chap. XIX. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 34.

CC. 2 Kings, Chap. XIX. from Ver. 35. to the End.

CCI. 2 Kings, Chap. XX. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 19.

CCII. 2 Kings, Chap. XXI. to Ver. 16; and 2 Chron. Chap. XXXIII. to Ver. 16.

CCIII. 2 Kings, Chap. XXI. to Ver. 19. Chap. XXII, XXIII. to Ver. 3.

CCIV. 2 Kings, Chap. XXIII. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 20.

Nor here his Zeal the brave Reformer stays,
Nor longer his important Work delays;
But with the Temple wisely he begins,
Polluted by his Predecessors Sins:
Idols accurs'd, whose monstrous Forms invade
The sacred Mansion for Jehovah made,
Dethron'd, to Kidron's Fields his Servants bear,
And with their ruin'd Altars burn 'em there:
The Chemarims, and Idol-Priests abhorr'd,
Who Baalim, and the heav'nly Host ador'd,
Extirpated by his avenging Sword:
He cleans'd the City of their num'rous Fry,
And did their sable Cowls in sanguine die.
Those holy Strumpets who more Converts made,
Than cou'd their Priests, with all their juggling Trade
Of Lying Miracles, by Whoredom fed,
Are now dislodg'd and from their Convents fled,
By honest Labour taught to earn their Bread.
Tophet and Hinnom's Vale, deform'd of yore,
With impious Victims, and with human Gore;
Where Noise, and Horror, and Confusion dwell,
Or Hell it self, or else the Type of Hell;
The King defiles, their Altars over-turns,
In his own Fire he monstrous Moloch burns:
Those Steeds which long had rang'd in Pastures fair,
Sacred to Heav'ns broad Eye, and free as Air;
Obtend their ancient Royal Grants in vain,
Agen they champ the Bit, and own the Rein:
See their bright Masters lofty Chariots broke,
Their mouldring Wheels involv'd in Flames and Smoke;
How will he now his heav'nly Fire convey,
Or round his spatious Circle drive the Day?
Chemosh and Milcom, who Prescription plead,
And by their mighty Founder intercede,
Tumbled from their proud Mounts, and with the Blow
To Atoms crush'd in Kidron's Vale below:
What e're their fabling Priests the Poets tell,
That Gods before the Sons of Titan fell,
Dispeopled Heav'n and crowded Earth and Hell;
Never till now so vast a Ravage known,
When thund'ring Baal drops head-long from his Throne.
Old Jeroboam's Heifers plead in vain,
Their Trophies won thro' many an impious Reign,
Their Priests are now themselves for Victims slain;
With Bones and Carcasses their Altars spread,
And to the Dead they sacrifice the Dead.
Among the rest, intomb'd the Prophet there,
Who long before did these Events declare;
The pious Monarch bids his Ashes spare:
Thence to Samaria he his Progress makes,
Their helpless Idols from their Fanes he takes;
Their Priests, and Worshippers, and Altars burns.
And to Jerusalem triumphant he returns.

CCV. 2 Kings, Chap. XXIII. to Ver. 23. 2 Chron. Chap. XXXV.

CCVI. The CHRONICLES.

CCVII. 2 Chron. Chap. XI, XII. and 1 Kings, Chap. XIV. from Ver. 21. to Ver. 28.

CCVIII. 2 Chron. Chap. XIII.

CCIX. 2 Chron. Chap. XIV, XV.

CCX. 2 Chron. Chap. XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX.

CCXI. 2 Chron. Chap. XXIII. from Ver. 10. to the End.

CCXII. 2 Chron, Chap. XXIV.

CCXIII. 2 Chron. Chap. XXV.

Jehoash thus compell'd the Helm forsakes,
His vacant Station Amaziah takes:
With wav'ring Mind he Israel's God did fear,
Tho' right his Course he cou'd not steddy steer.
With Justice and with Piety begun
His Reign, as best became a King and Son:
The Regicides with Vengeance did pursue,
And those who slew his Father, justly slew;
But Mercy to their guiltless Race extends:
And from the Peoples Fury them defends:
Of Judah did a mighty Host provide,
Three hundred thousand Souls in Battel try'd,
The Shield they knew to grasp, th'unerring Spear to guide.
To these, Auxiliary Forces came,
Drawn by his Royal Bounty and his Fame,
From Ephraim's Coast, though they by God's command
Dismiss'd, enrag'd return, and spoil the Land:
While Judah's King his Troops together draws,
To vindicate their Father Jacob's Cause
Against fierce Esau's Sons, who now had broke
With Fate to Foe their ancient galling Yoke;
The Salt-Sea Vale did with his Squadrons beat,
The Foe pursu'd his Conquest to compleat,
To Selah's craggy Rock, their last Retreat:
Their Lives Ten thousand Warriors dearly sell,
And with their Country not ignobly fell:
An equal Number from the lofty Keep,
Are head-long tumbled o're the dreadful Steep;
Ah! had their captive Gods but done the same,
Secure thy Conquest, and secure thy Fame.
O Judah's wav'ring King—but with thee born,
At once the Peoples Wonder and their Scorn,
They thy triumphant Car at first adorn:
What gawdy Nothings they! how proud, how brave!
Yet neither cou'd themselves nor their Adorers save:
Yet these in Chains their Conqueror did subdue,
And soon the Great Ten-thousand-Slayer slew:
Behold him kneel and cringe before their Shrine!
O blind and lost! Are these, Are these Divine?
Ev'n Israel does thy Shame with Blushes see,
And Bethel's self is Innocent to Thee.
On speedy Ruine obstinately bent,
The Prophet threaten'd who from Heav'n was sent,
To bid thee, e're 'twas yet too late, repent.
With Israel hence thy Wars and thy Defeat,
When valiant Joash forc'd thy Troops to beat:
Thy boasted Strength, thy baffled Army fled,
Thy self in Chains, inglorious Captive! led;
When freed, yet weaken'd with thy ill Success:
How few to Kings are Loyal in Distress!
When thou didst from thy Father's God decline,
Against thy Life is form'd a black Design:
To Lachish didst thou flee, but fled'st in vain,
By Treason there pursu'd, and unlamented slain.

CCXIV. 2 Chron. Chap. XXVI.

Uzziah the Regalia next receives,
Which stain'd with Blood his hapless Father leaves.
Too like him in his Errors and his Fate,
With dubious Hand he governs Judah's State.
While Zachariah liv'd, by Heav'n inspir'd,
For Isra'l's God he not in vain enquir'd.
Prosper'd in all his Wars he Capthor tam'd,
Some Towns demolish'd there, and some reclaim'd:
Thro' Regions wide away his Valour fam'd:
Ramparts he built, and Engines did prepare,
But Agriculture was his darling Care:
The City by the Country liv'd, he knew,
And thence at need supply'd his Armies too,
Healthy and hardy Bodies thence he drew.
Almost impregnable his Royal Seat,
And wond'rous Strong he wax'd, and wond'rous Great;
Too Great, too Strong—for vain of his Success,
He God forgets and does his Laws transgress,
He dares to his forbidden Temple press;
The sacred Pontiff's Office dares invade,
And hallow'd Incense on the Censer laid:
O whither will the sacrilegious run?
Why in such luckless Haste to be undone?
Is Korah's Fate forgot, or Heav'n bereft
Of all its Arms, and not one Thunder left?
—Bold Azariah, with a num'rous Band,
Of valiant Priests th'assuming Prince withstand:
'Tis not for thee with that unhallow'd Hand,
He said, to offer Incense at the Throne,
Reserv'd by Heav'n to Aaron's Sons alone.
Redden'd with Rage when by the Priests withstood,
The haughty King, and fir'd his boiling Blood;
Tho' alter'd soon—The Smoak refus'd to rise,
In low'ring Curls rejected from the Skies:
When thrice behold, th'invaded Altar shook,
And from the Throne the twisted Lightnings broke,
Signal of heav'nly Wrath—The Priests amaz'd,
As on the Monarch's alter'd Form they gaz'd,
A ghastly Paleness in his Face arose,
His ample Front one leprous Ulcer grows:
Th'Impure with Horrors from the Temple cast,
And thence himself he flies with conscious Haste:
Unapt for Rule, to lonesom Shades confin'd,
The Reins of Empire he to his Great Son resign'd.

CCXV. 2 Chron. Chap. XXVII, XXVIII.

CCXVI. EZRA.

CCXVII. NEHEMIAH.

CCXVIII. Nehemiah, Chap V.

Injustice soon, and Avarice intrude,
And Want, and loud Complaints their Steps pursu'd:
The Rich oppress'd the Poor, and curs'd Debate,
And heavy Debts obstruct the rising State:
Their Children some, and some their Lands engag'd
For Taxes and for Bread, and worse presag'd:
The Governor with Prudence and Success,
The growing Mischief did in time redress:
The Rulers all their morgag'd Lands restore,
And eating Usury exact no more:
The Register of Judah's small Remains,
They next review, return'd from Babel's Chains,
Conven'd unanimous with pious Fear,
From Ezra's Mouth the sacred Law to hear:
Th'Interpreters of Heav'n the Sence explain,
Which those oraculous ancient Leaves contain;
And gently still the People, who begin
To mourn their own and their Fore-fathers Sin.
Awhile they bid unbend from Grief and Care,
For festal Joys and sober Mirth prepare:
Appeas'd they thence depart, and as they find
Of old, by Moses and by God enjoyn'd,
The verdant Mount from Olives nam'd, ascend
And from the Trees their leavy Branches rend:
The sailing Pine, the friendly Palm they bear,
Nor Olives, nor the Lover-Myrtle spare:
Almost disrob'd the triple Mountain stood,
And to the Town the Crowd transplant the Wood:
Of these they frequent shady Bowrs compose,
The City one continu'd Arbour grows;
Beneath whose chequer'd Roofs the many run,
Admit the gentle Air, and skreen the Sun:
With chearful Shouts and festal Songs proclaim
Their Gladness and their mighty Saviour's Name:
Nor long before their Feast to Fasting turn'd,
Their own and Fathers Sins sincerely mourn'd:
Their ancient Contract is with Heav'n renew'd,
And seal'd by all the trembling Multitude.
They swear to keep the Sabbath's sacred Day,
And Tithes and Off'rings to the Temple pay:
How soon forgot their Oaths and solemn Vows!
How soon forsaken God's tremendous House!
Their Dues unpaid, the Sons of Levi fled,
Their Tribe dispers'd around the Land for Bread:
Nor this the generous Tirshatha endures,
The Levites he recalls, their Rights secures:
The Sabbath's strict Religion he renews,
Profan'd alike by Heathens and by Jews:
The Pontiff's Son he from the Temple chas'd,
Who with a Stranger's Blood Great Aaron's Line disgrac'd.

CCXIX. Esther, Chap. I, II.

While Israel's Sons in Babel's Chains remain'd,
And there the Great Ahashuerus reign'd,
(How wide his Empire, and how vast his sway!
More than an hundred Nations him obey.)
As he, adorn'd in all his barb'rous State,
High mounted on his Throne at Shushan sate;
Amidst his Court he there in Publick eats,
Persia's and Media's haughty Princes treats.
His God had half his annual Circuit run,
Before he saw the Royal Banquet done,
And where the First expir'd, a New begun:
Sev'n Days for all Degrees the Feast did hold,
The Royal Wine goes round, and shines in Gold:
To all a free and Princely Welcom shown,
As yet th'accurs'd Civility unknown,
By pledging others Healths to lose their own.
The Feast and Mirth grew high, the Monarch sends
For beauteous Vashti, who regales her Friends:
Deep in Discourse engag'd, with luckless Pride,
Her Company the haughty Fair deny'd:
Nor only was the heated King enrag'd,
His Nobles in the common Cause engag'd:
Their Ladies wou'd her Disobedience hear,
Their Husbands slight, nor their Commands revere:
The rest wou'd follow soon the courtly Train,
And Nature's stedfast Laws wou'd prove in vain;
These dire domestic Mischiefs to prevent,
The King his Royal Proclamation sent;
No Woman thro' his Empire shou'd presume,
To seize the Reins and fill her Husbands room:
The Men, as Nature wou'd, the House shou'd sway,
In silence, Women shou'd their Lords obey:
Unhappy Vashti must at once remove,
(A double Death!) from Empire and from Love;
For ever banish'd from his Bed and Throne,
And doom'd to wear her widow'd Hours alone;
A worthier Consort in her Seat is plac'd,
Fair Hester with the Royal Favour grac'd;
An Orphan from Judea, captive led,
With nicest Care by Mardochæus bred:
Nor she her Kindred to the Court reveal'd,
By her wise Foster-Father's Charge conceal'd:
See where she's in Imperial Robes attir'd,
Whil'st all the Lords their Monarch's Choice admir'd!
See where he does the Consort-Crown impart,
Tho' more he gave before, the Monarch gave his Heart.

CCXX. Esther, Chap. III. to X.

CCXXI. Job, Chap. I.

CCXXII. Job, Chap. II. from Ver. 1. to Ver. 11.

CCXXIII. Job Chap. II. Ver. 12, 13: and Chap. III.

To distant Realms, so fast ill News had fled,
The Holy Man's Misfortunes soon were spred:
Some Friends he has, who still Compassion take,
And tho' they censure, will not him forsake:
Wise Eliphaz, the mighty Esau's Heir,
Who did a Ducal Crown in Teman wear:
Bildad, who ancient Shuah's Scepter sway'd,
And Zophaz, whom fair Naamah's Sons obey'd:
To fruitful Uz at once their Steps they bend,
To comfort and condole their ancient Friend.
Approaching him at distance they survey,
O how transform'd! as in the Dust he lay:
Scarce was he known, and yet too much they knew,
More sadly certain on a nearer View:
O're their dishonour'd Heads they Ashes threw;
Their Princely Robes they from their Shoulders rent,
Aloud they weep, aloud his Fate lament:
'Twas all they cou'd, for Words refus'd to flow,
The mean Expressions they of vulgar Woe:
A Week of Days ran by e're either spoke,
When Job at last the stubborn Silence broke;
O'rewhelm'd with Cares in weak Complaints began,
And thus at length the Saint confess'd the Man.

JOB III.

CCXXIV. Job, Chap. XXXVIII. from Ver 1. to 7. and Ch. XXXIX. from Ver. 19. to 25.

CCXXV. Job Chap. XLII. from Ver. 1. to the End.

CCXXVI. The PSALMS.

While the Great Spirit did Jesse's Son inspire,
Thus sung the Bard and touch'd his heav'nly Lyre:

Psal. 1.

Of Bad and Good he sings the diff'rent Fate,

2.

And next Messiah's glorious Reign and State;

3. 4.

Three Mournful Songs his Grief and Faith explain,

5, 6.

His Penitential Thoughts the Sixth retain.

7, 8, 9.

The next of Saul, and proud Goliah treat,

10 to 14.

And blame th'abhor'd Oppressions of the Great;

15.

Who shall in Sion's sacred Mountain dwell,

16.

The Saviour's Conquest over Death and Hell.

17.

With Heav'n he pleads his injur'd Innocence,

18.

And grateful Songs repays for Heav'ns Defence:

19.

Nature and Revelation next he shows;

20, 21.

Proud Syria's Arms are broke, and God's and David's Foes.

22.

The Saviour's Suff'rings shadow'd in his own,

23, 24.

His Trust in God; the Ascension then fore-shown:

25.

His Sins and Sorrows then his Soul torment,

26, 27, 28

To Heav'n he cries when into Exile sent.

29.

In lofty Hymns the Thunderer's Praise express'd;

30, 31.

Amidst his Friends his Name the Psalmist bless'd,

32.

And then with contrite Heart his Sins confess'd.

33, 34,

Praise.—Achish.—Dreadful Threatnings on th'Unjust;

37.

And tho' they prosper, we in God must trust:

38, 39.

His Sins and Sorrows: Life's a fleeting Shade:

40, 41.

He waits. The Traitor Judas is displaid.

42, 43,

For God and his bless'd House the Psalmist longs;

44.

The Nations Spoil describ'd in mournful Songs:

45.

But soon Messiah's glorious Loves we find,

46, 47, 48

And Peace and Conquest down to future Days consign'd.

49, 50.

Death equals all. God will to Judgment come:

51, 52.

David for Pardon sues. Fierce Doeg's doom.

53, 54, 55

Sheba. The Ziphites, and false Gilonite:

56, 57.

David in Gath—from Saul his hasty Flight.

58, 59.

Ill Counsellors. He prays against his Foes:

60, 61.

Aram and Edom smites—To Exile goes.

62, 63.

His Trust in God: In Desarts he complains.

64, 65.

Curs'd Plots. He blesses Heav'n for kindly Rains.

66, 67.

For Conquest, Praise. God and the People bless'd:

68.

Messiah's Triumphs next in lofty Hymns express'd.

69, 70, 71

Salvation ask'd. In God he puts his Trust,

72, 73.

Solomon crown'd. Prosper'd awhile th'Unjust.

74, 75, 76

The Temple fir'd: Th'Assyrians Horns are broke:

77.

The Psalmist groans beneath th'Almighty's Stroke:

78, 79.

God's Wonders told. His Holy Place defil'd;

80.

His Vineyard trampled and his People spoil'd.

81, 82.

The Feast of Trumpets. Earthly Gods advis'd:

83, 84.

Jehaziel's Psalm. The Temple lov'd and priz'd.

85, 86,

Captives restor'd. For Health the Psalmist sues;

87, 88.

Sion describes—and then his Plaint renews.

89, 90.

God leaves his King. From Moses learn to Pray!

91, 92,

The Good are safe.—This for the Sabbath Day!

93, 94.

God Reigns.—Revenge is his. Twice come and sing!

95 96, 97

For Clouds and Darkness round Heav'ns awful King.

98, 99.

Victorious Praise. The Lord exalted reigns.

100.

Praise him whose Truth no bound of Time contains!

101, 102.

Kingly Resolves. Th'afflicted God will raise:

103, 104.

And all his Works their Great Creator praise.

105, 106.

What Wonders to ungrateful Israel shown:

107.

God's Providence from kind Afflictions known.
Triumphant Praise for Conquest. Dreadful Woes.

108, 109.

Messiah's Footstool, his inveterate Foes.

110.

Two Festal Hymns by the GREAT HALLEL clos'd.

111, to 118.

Divine Instructions artfully compos'd.

119.

David in Kedar mourn'd—From Heav'n his Aid:

120, 121.

He pray'd for Peace—and for Salvation pray'd.

122, 123.

Escap'd, he praises God—In him his Trust.

124, 125.

The Sorrows and the Triumph of Just.

126.

The Lord must build. Who fears his Name is bless'd.

127, 128.

The Righteous oft afflicted. Sin confess'd.

129, 130.

The humble Mind. The wandring Ark does rest.

131, 132.

Bless'd Union! Those who God's high Temple guard,

133, 134.

How bless'd! The Service is its own Reward.
The morning Hymn: The festal Anthem sung,

135, 136.

When the full Quire with Hallelujah's rung.
Unlearnt at Babel, where their Harps unstrung:

137.

Not David's thus, who the Creator sings,

138.

To listning ANGELS and to listning Kings:
To God appeals. Unbosoms all his Grief,

139, &c.

And from his Sins and Foes implores Relief.

142, 143.

What makes a Country happy then displays:

144.

The next his own peculiar Psalm of Praise.

145.

With heav'nly Hallelujahs all the rest,

146, &c.

Bless his tremendous Name, whose Name be ever bless'd!

149, 150.

CCXXVII. The Proverbs of Solomon.

CCXXVIII. ECCLESIASTES.

CCXXIX.

CCXXX. The Canticles, or Song of Solomon.

CCXXXI. Canticles, Chap. II.

CCXXXII. Canticles, Chap. III.

Still was the Night, and all in Sleep lay drown'd,
But watchful Cares the Lover's Head surround;
And oft they start, and oft in Dreams they view
The dear lov'd Object and their Pain renew:
Thus while I slept, my busy wakeful Thought
Of him I lov'd, the pleasing Image brought:
Too strong th'Impression was for Rest to bear,
I sighing wak'd, and clasp'd but empty Air:
When from my widow'd Bed my self I threw,
And round the silent Streets distracted flew:
For him I lov'd, I sought, alas! in vain,
Nor cou'd I find the Cause of all my Pain.
Wand'ring thro' Paths unknown, the Watch I found,
Who thro' the City walk'd their nightly Round:
Of these, but still alike in vain enquire,
For him who is my panting Soul's desire.
Still I go on, and tempt without Affright,
(So bold is Love!) the Dangers of the Night:
Nor long before my Labour richly paid,
I found my Love, I seiz'd, I grasp'd, I staid,
And to my Mother's Chamber him convey'd.

Chap. IV. Ver. 8, &c.

CCXXXIII. Canticles, Chap. V, VII, VIII.

CCXXXIV. Isaiah, Chap. V.

CCXXXV. Isaiah, Chap. VI.

CCXXXVI. Isaiah, Chap. XIV. from Ver. 4. to Ver. 23.

CCXXXVII. Isaiah, Chap. XXVI; and XXVII. Ver. 1.

CCXXXVIII. Jeremiah, Chap. XXXV. from Ver.5. to Ver. 10.

CCXXXIX. Jeremiah, Chap. XXXVIII. from Ver. 6. to Ver. 13.

CCXL. Jeremiah, Chap. XXXIX.

An obstinate Defence the Hebrews made,
For two long Years in vain their Fate delay'd:
Without, the Babylonian Army press'd,
Within they're by a stronger Foe distress'd,
Expos'd to Famine's keen insatiate Rage,
Th'impartial Conqu'ror spares nor Sex nor Age:
Like Ghosts the Warriors to the Ramparts goe,
The Laughter and the Horror of the Foe,
When e're they strike they tumble with the Blow:
So feeble grown they can't the Breach repair,
But with their Bodies fill, and drop with Hunger there.
This saw the Foe who from their Works look'd down.
And unresisted storm the famish'd Town:
The Chaldee Chiefs of dreadful Face and Name,
Triumphant from their proud Pavilions came:
Nergal-Sharezer, Shamgar-Nebo sate,
With Rabsaris, and Rabmag in the Gate:
A half-starv'd Warder to the Palace flies,
All, all is lost, my Liege! he faintly cries,
Then at his Sovereign's Feet he drops and dies.
Thro' secret winding Ways the Monarch fled,
His small Reserve of Guards he with him led:
Swift, as Revenge cou'd urge, his Foes pursue,
And soon their Royal Quarry had in view:
Broke and dispers'd his heartless Troops with ease
Around the Plain, th'unhappy King they seize;
At once he saw himself a Captive made,
And turning saw the Flames the Town invade;
Above the Gates, above the Walls aspire,
The Palace and the Temple shine with Fire.
Behold him thence the haughty Victor's Scorn
To Babel's angry King at Riblah born:
Before his Throne he with his Sons appears,
And something worse than Death the Father fears:
Ah! how unlike himself when lately crown'd,
His splendid Court and Guards attending round!
Behold him with unseemly Fetters bound:
Too weak his Change of Fortune to sustain,
And scarce the Tracks of Majesty remain:
See the Chaldean Monarch sternly stand
On his proud Throne, his Scepter in his Hand,
The trembling Captives brought at his Command:
The Fathers Eyes his Children's Slaughter view,
The last sad Office they must ever do;
Then roll'd in Blood their Orbs forsake the Light,
And set in Darkness and eternal Night:
From thence they to a Dungeon him convey,
Now equal with the brightest Noon of Day:
His Life the Victor's cruel Mercy spares,
His hated Life he there in hopeless Thraldom wears.

CCXLI. The LAMENTATIONS.

CCXLII. Ezekiel, Chap. I.

CCXLIII. Ezekiel, Chap. XXVI. from Ver. 7. to the End; and Chap. XVII.

CCXLIV. Ezekiel, Chap. XXVIII.

CCXLV. Ezekiel, Chap. XXXVII.

CCXLVI. Daniel, Chap. I, II.

CCXLVII. Daniel, Chap. III.

CCXLVIII. Daniel, Chap. IV. to Ver. 27.

CCXLIX. Daniel, Chap. IV. from Ver. 28. to the End.

CCL. Daniel, Chap. V.

CCLI. Daniel, Chap. VI

CCLII. HOSEA.

CCLIII. JOEL.

CCLIV. AMOS.

CCLV. OBADIAH.

CCLVI. Jonah, Chap. I.

Tho' Israel God's First-born, his chosen Race,
Tho' his Pavilion he in Salem place;
The Nations too their Maker's Goodness share,
Nobly diffusive as the Sun or Air;
His Grief to punish, his Delight to spare.
For this to Nineveh was Jonah sent,
To bid their vast unnumber'd Crowds repent:
A hopeless Task! when Israel won't believe,
How shou'd the faithless Heathen him receive?
A Tyrian Bark the wayward Prophet bore
A different Course, for the Tartessian shore.
In vain he from the Omnipresent flies,
The Winds and Waves in Arms against him rise,
And stop the Fugitive, nor Oar, nor Sail
Can stem the Storm, nor nautic Art prevail:
Their Course is lost, they lose the sight of Day,
All Hope is gone, for now the Sailors pray:
On Moloch these, and these Astarte call,
On Dagon some, and some on mighty Baal;
Deaf to their Pray'rs, and helpless Idols all.
Jonah alone did still his Cabin keep,
(O how cou'd Jonah's Guilt so calmly sleep!)
Till rouz'd, among th'affrighted Crew he goes,
At once the Danger and the Cause he knows.
Glory he gave to Heav'n, and thus he said,
—I serve the Hebrews God, from him I fled:
Cease your mistaken Pray'rs and causless Fear,
This Storm, his Messenger, arrests me here.
Me, me, devoted to the raging Seas,
An Off'ring cast, you'll soon their Wrath appease:
Unwillingly they his Request perform,
They heave him o're, and with him lose the Storm:
—Nor is he yet beyond th'Almighty's Care,
Th'Almighty did a monstrous Fish prepare;
Which seiz'd him falling, whose capacious Womb,
Three dismal Days and Nights his living Tomb.
—Vain Grecian Poets hence, of after-date,
By Tyrian Hercules the Fact relate,
And steal their Hero's Fame from Jonah's wond'rous Fate.

CCLVII. Jonah, Chap. II.

CLVIII. Jonah, Chap. III.

CCLIX. Jonah, Chap. IV.

CCLX. MICAH.

CCLXI. NAHUM.

CCLXII. HABAKKUK.

CCLXIII. ZEPHANIAH.

CCLXIV. HAGGAI.

CCLXV. Zechariah, Chap. I, II.

CCLXVI. Zechariah, Chap. III, IV.

CCLXVII. MALACHI.