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I.

ISAIAH XXVI. 9.

My soul hath desired thee in the night.

OOD God! what horrid darkness doth surround

G de ny

My groping soul! how are

my senses bound
In utter shades, and, muffled from the light,
Lurk in the bosom of eternal night!

The bold fac'd lamp of heav'n can set and rise,
And, with his morning glory, fill the eyes
Of gazing mortals; his victorious ray

Can chase the shadows, and restore the day:
Night's bashful empress, though she often wane,
As oft repents her darkness, primes again;
And, with her circling horns, doth re-embrace
Her brother's wealth, and orbs her silver face.
But ah! my sun, deep-swallow'd in his fall,
Is set, and cannot shine, nor rise at al:
My bankrupt wane can beg nor borrow light;
Alas! my darkness is perpetual night.

Falls have their risings, wanings have their primes,

And desp'rate sorrows wait their better times:

Ebbs have their floods, and autumns have their springs ; All states have changes, hurry'd with the swings

Of chance and time, still tiding to and fro :

Terrestrial bodies, and celestial too.
How often have I vainly grop'd about,
With lengthen'd arms, to find a passage out,
That I might catch those beams mine eye desires,
And bathe my soul in those celestial fires!
Like as the hagard,* cloister'd in her mew, †
To scour her downy robes, and to renew

Hagard; i. e. a wild hawk.

Mew; i, e. coop, or cage.

& 3

Her

Her broken flags,* preparing t' overlook

The tim'rous mallard † at the sliding brook,

**

Jets oft from perch to perch, from stock § to ground;
From ground to window; thus surveying round
Her dove-befeather'd prison, till at length
(Calling her noble birth to mind, and strength
Whereto her wing was born) her ragged beak
Nips off her jangling jesses, I strives to break
Her jingling fetters, and begins to bate T
At ev'ry glimpse, and darts at ev'ry grate :
Ev'n so my weary soul, that long has been
An inmate in this tenement of sin,
Lock'd up by cloud-brow'd error, which invites
My cloister'd thoughts to feed on black delights,
Now scorns her shadows, and begins to dart
Her wing's desires at thee, that only art
The sun she seeks, whose rising beams can fright
These dusky clouds that make so dark a night:
Shine forth, great glory, shine; that I may see
Both how to loath myself, and honour thee:
But if my weakness force thee to deny
Thy flames, yet lend the twylight of thine eye :
If I must want those beams I wish, yet grant
That I, at least, may wish those beams I want.

*Flags; i. e. wing-feathers.

† Mallard ; i. e. drake (water-fowl).

Jets; i. e. hops.

Stock; i. e. perch.

Jesses; i, e. leather thongs that tied on the bells.

¶ Bate; i, e. flutter her wings.

**Grate; i. e. lattice.

The above are all terms in falconry,

S. AU.

S. AUGUST. Soliloq. Cap. 33.

There was a great dark cloud of vanity before mine eyes, so that I could not see the Sun of Justice, and the Light of Truth: I, being the son of darkness, was involved in darkness, because I knew not thy light: I was blind, and loved my blindness, and did walk from darkness to darkness: but, Lord, thou art my God, who hast led me from darkness, and the shadow of death; hast called me into this glorious light, and behold, I see.

EPIG. 1.

My soul, cheer up; what if the night be long, Heav'n finds an ear, when sinners find a tongue; Thy tears are morning show'rs: Heav'n bids me say, When Peter's cock begins to crow, 'tis day.

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