Poems on several occasions

Whate'er God's fiat did from nothing raise,
Stupendous product of the first six days,
O bless your Maker, your Creator praise!
In this let jarring elements agree,
Or make from discord sweetest harmony.

II

Ye sons of light, made by his power divine,
By his reflected beams it is you shine;
Your hallelujahs in the chorus join,
That, far as creatures can, your praise may prove
Great as his power, and endless as his love.

385

III

Praise him, ye heavens, long as your frame shall last,
Who like a curtain spread the azure waste,
And in your happy realms his throne has placed:
His utmost splendour still to you appears;
O tune in praise the music of your spheres.

IV

Waters, that by the' Almighty placed above,
Fix'd as your firmament for ever prove:
Praise him whose Spirit did on the waters move;
Who made you free from winds and storms below;
Whose praise can never ebb, nor ever flow.

386

V

Thrones, potentates, dominions, powers on high,
Acknowledge your Superior in the sky;
And bless the universal Majesty,
Whose word's omnipotent, whose will is fate,
The only powerful, and the only great.

VI

Praise him, O sun! He on the' ethereal throne
Without eclipses has for ever shone,
And gives thee light, and is (like thee) but one.
Praise him, O moon, in borrow'd lustre bright!
In this be fix'd, thou changing queen of night.

387

VII

Ye twinkling stars of light, your praises show:
'Tis he that does your names and numbers know,
Alike inscrutable to all below.
Each star that does to man its beams dispense,
Praise him, as if inspired by some intelligence.

VIII

Praise him, ye gentle and refreshing showers,
Praise him, ye dews; whose pearly moisture pours
Odours and beauties on the vernal flowers.
Who more should choose to' exalt his name than you?
He father is of rain, begetter of the dew.

388

IX

Ye winds, that where you please your sound may send,
In hymns of joy your pious breathings spend;
O praise him without bound, and without end;
Who, with majestic pomp and terror join'd,
Rides charioting on clouds, and walks on wings of wind.

X

Ye flames, exalt the universal choir;
On zeal, bright as yourselves, to God aspire;
God a consuming and a harmless fire:
Whose falling fire Elijah's foes could tame,
Who shone in Moses' bush a lambent flame.

389

XI

Ye winter's chillness, and ye summer's sun,
That round the year in stated periods run,
Praise him in your eternal antiphon;
Who, when the fatal flood of old was past,
Promised, the seasons with the world should last.

XII

Ye honey dews of May, like vapours rise,
Exhaled in praises to your native skies;
And hoary frost, which o'er the meadows lies
Like ashes scatter'd by his bounteous hand,
Restoring vigour to the wearied land.

390

XIII

Praise him, ye frosts, that bind the earth in chains,
Praise him, ye cold, that human force restrains,
Dead'ning the sense, and thrilling in the veins.
His praise by you for ever be extoll'd,
Inflamed with ardours by the' extreme of cold.

XIV

Praise him, O ice, long as the Frozen Sea
In midst of storms enjoys a calm by thee:
And spotless snow, the type of purity;
In all your figured shapes his glory show;
Forget not heaven above, when fall'n on earth below.

XV

Be this your business, ye laborious days,
And silent nights, silver'd with glimmering rays;
Exempt from every work but that of praise.
Whose piercing eye does equal power display
In darkest midnight, and in brightest day:

XVI

Praise him, O light, in heavenly beams array'd;
Parent of day, and first of beings, shade;
Praise him, who reign'd before the world was made;
Who dwells in brightness, and who rides in night,
Majestic darkness, and alluring light.

391

XVII

Ye clouds with sulphur charged, his praise resound,
Louder than thunder in your caverns bound;
Lightnings, that quickly die and, dying, wound,
Ere yet your momentary flash is done,
Praise him, whose lustre can be never gone.

XVIII

Praise him, O earth, whilst thou thyself shalt last;
Thy solid orb, in liquid ether placed,
Though hung on nothing, is for ever fast:
Praise him whose being is sustain'd by none;
Himself is centre of himself alone.

XIX

Ye mounts and hills, crown'd with a pompous load
Of groves, where idols placed their old abode,
Resound the praises of a real God;
Who show'd his goodness, who proclaim'd his will,
On Horeb's mountain, and on Sinai's hill.

XX

Praise him, ye greens, by fruitful nature born,
And rising crops that plenteous vales adorn,
Where zephyrs rustle through the wavy corn;
Who clothes in greater state each springing green
Than that which drew from far the southern queen.

392

XXI

Ye wells and streams, your Source of moisture know,
Who made, when urged of old his power to show,
Forth from the' obedient rock the waters flow.
Nor is the fountain of his praises dry,
But unexhausted stores for ever will supply.

XXII

Ye rivers, bear his praise to every land;
Praise him, ye seas, by whose supreme command
Your greatest rage is bounded by the sand.
No bounds or limits are assign'd you here,
Nor can your utmost forces go too far.

XXIII

Praise him, ye whales, and all the silver train,
That, on the fifth day made, the watery main
Within its spacious bosom does contain:
His praise, ye fish, by you be always sung;
Though mute, to bless your Maker, find a tongue.

XXIV

Praise him, ye fowls, exalt his name, whate'er
Or skims the water, or divides the air,
Who clothes and feeds you with paternal care.
Repeat his praise to every echoing dale,
Ye morning lark, and evening nightingale.

393

XXV

Praise him, ye beasts that shady forests sway,
Who feeds the lions roaring for their prey;
Ye tamer kinds that human force obey,
Present your praise, more grateful to the skies
Than thousands of you slain in sacrifice.

XXVI

Adore, ye sons of men, his awful name;
Though form'd of earth, fill'd with ethereal flame,
Cast in the noblest and the finest frame.
Let lordly man his Sovereign's praise declare,
And beauteous woman bless the truly Fair.

XXVII

Let faithful Abram's race their off'rings bring,
By tuneful David taught his praise to sing
Their Guide, their Legislator, and their King;
Who spread o'er Egypt's land substantial night,
Who with a longer sun did Joshua's faith requite.

XXVIII

Ye priests of God, let praise like incense rise,
Though Corah's sons your order may despise,
And wish the priest himself a sacrifice.

394

Praise him for others too, and thus commend
Your greatest enemies to your only Friend.

XXIX

Praise him, his servants who have learn'd to see,
There's nought so sweet as this captivity,
From whence 'tis greatest bondage to be free.
Praise him, whose power can grant whate'er you move;
Whose ears will hear your prayers, for he is love.

XXX

Ye righteous souls, untainted by your clay,
Spring through the vast expanse, and wing your way,
To reach the confines of eternal day;
Celestial anthems sing, with seraphs join'd;
And souls unbodied, bless the' Almighty Mind.

XXXI

Ye humble men, whom self-admiring pride
With all its baits could never draw aside,
Praise him, whose love does o'er the meek preside,
Who throws the purple tyrants from their seat,
And makes the poor of spirit rich and great.

XXXII

Ye Jewish youths, his wondrous praises tell,
Whose presence could the raging flames repel,
And turn to heaven the punishment of hell:

395

Who o'er submissive fire triumphant trod,
The man assuming, to declare the God.

All glory, praise, dominion, majesty,
Now and for everlasting ages, be
To the essential One, and co-eternal Three!

University of Virginia Library

THE SONG OF THE THREE CHILDREN.

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