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How then fhall man, thus infolently proud, Plead with his judge, and combat with his God? How from his mortal mother can he come Unftain'd from fin, untin&tur'd from the womb?

There with the princes, who in grandeur fhone,
And aw'd the trembling nations from the throne,
Afflicted Job an equal reft must have,
And thare the dark retirement of the grave;
Or as a thapclefs embryo feek the tomb,
Rude and imperfect from the abortive womb :
Ere motion's early principle began,

Or the dim fubftance kindled into man. [ceafe,
There from their monstrous crimes the wicked
Their labouring guilt is weary'd into peace;
There blended fleep the coward and the brave;
Stretch'dwith his lord,the undiftinguith'd flave
Enjoys the common refuge of the grave.
An equal lot the mighty victor fhares,
And lies amidst the captives of his wars;
With his, thofe captives mingle their remains,
The fame in death, nor lessen'd by their chains.
Why are we doom'd to view the genial ray?
Why curs'd to bear the painful light of day?
O! with what joy the wretches yield their breath,
And pant in bitterness of foul for death!
As a rich prize the diftant blifs they crave,
And find the glorious treafure in the grave.
Why is the wretch condemn'd without relief
To combat woe, and tread the round of grief,
Whom in the toils of fate his God has bound,
And drawn the line of miferies around?

When nature calls for aid, my fighs intrude,
My tears prevent my ncceffary food:
Like a full ftream o'ercharg'd my forrows flow,
In burfts of anguish, and a tide of woe;
For now the dire affliction which I fled,
Pours like a roaring torrent on my head.
My terrors ftill the phantom view'd, and wrought
The dreadful image into every thought:
At length pluck'd down, the fatal ftroke I feel,
And lote the fancy'd in the real ill.

24. The 25th Chapter of Job paraphrafed.

PITT.

THEN will vain man complain and murmur ftill,

And ftand on terms with his Creator's will? Shall this high privilege to clay be given? Shall duft arraign the providence of Heaven? With reafon's line the boundless distance fcan? Oppofe heaven's awful majefty to man? To what a length his vaft dimenfions run! How far beyond the journeys of the fun! He hung yon golden balls of light on high, And launch'd the planets through the liquid fky: To rolling worlds he mark'd the certain space, Fix'd and fuftain'd the clemental peace.

Unnumber'd as thofe worlds his armies move, And the gay legions guard his realms above; High o'er th' ethereal plains the myriads rife, And pour their flaming ranks along the skies: From their bright arms inceffant fplendors ftream, And the wide azure kindles with the gleam.

To this low world he bids the light repair, Down through the gulphs of undulating air; For man he taught the glorious fun to roll From his bright barrier to his western goal.

The Lord, from his fublime empyreal throne, As a dark globe regards the filver moon. Thofe ftars, that grace the wide celestial plain, Are but the humbleft fweepings of his train; Dim are the brighteft fplendors of the fky; And the fun darkens in Jehovah's eye. But does not fin diffufe a fouler ftain, And thicker darkness cloud the foul of man? Shall he the depths of endlefs wifdom know? This fhort-liv'd fovereign of the world below? His frail original confounds his boast, [dust. Sprung from the ground, and quicken'd from the

§ 25. The Song of Mofes in the Fifteenth Chap ter of Exodus, paraphrased. PITT. THEN to the Lord the vaft triumphant throng

Of Ifrael's fons, with Mofes, rais'd the fong. To God our grateful accents will we raise, And every tongue fhall celebrate his praife: Behold difplay'd the wonders of his might; Behold the Lord triumphant in the fight! With what immortal fame and glory grac'd! What trophies rais'd amid the watery waste! How did his power the fteeds and riders fweep Ingulph'din heaps, and whelm'd beneath the deep? Whom should we fear, while he, heaven's awful Unfheaths for Ifrael his avenging fword? [Lord, His outstretch'd arm, and tutelary care, Guarded and fav'd us in the last despair: His mercy eas'd us from our circling pains, Unbound our fhackles, and unlock'd our chains. To him our God, our father's God, we'll rear A facred temple, and adore him there With vows and incenfe, facrifice and prayer. The Lord commands in war: his matchlefs

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Hangs out and guides the balance of the fight:
By him the war the mighty leaders form,
And teach the hovering tumult where to ftorm.
His name, O Ifracl, heaven's eternal Lord,
For ever honour'd, reverenc'd, and ador'd.

When to the fight, from Egypt's fruitful foil,
Pour'd forth in myriads all the fons of Nile;
The Lord o'erthrew the courfer and the car,
Sunk Pharaoh's pride, and overwhelm'd his war.
Beneath th' encumber'd deeps his legions lay,
For many a league impurpling all the fea :
The chiefs, and fteeds, and warriors whirl'd
around,

Lay midit the roarings of the furges drown'd.

Who fhall thy power, thou mighty God, with

ftand,

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At thy dread voice the fummon'd billows crowd,
And a till flence lulls the wondering food:
Roll'd up, the crystal ridges ftrike the skies,
Waves peep o'er waves, and feas o'er feas arife.
Around in heaps the liftening furges ftand,
Mute and obfervant of the high command.
Congeal'd with fear attends the watery train,
Rous'd from the fecret chambers of the main.
With favage joy the fons of Egypt cry'd,
(Vaft were their hopes, and boundless was their
Let us purfue thofe fugitives of Nile, [pride)
This fervile nation, and divide the spoil;"
And spread to wide the flaughter, till their blood
Dyes with a stronger red the blufhing flood.
Oh! what a copious prey their hofts afford,
To glut and fatten the devouring fword!

As thus the yawning gulf the boafters pafs'd,
At thy command rush'd forth the rapid blaft.
Then, at the fignal given, with dreadful fway,
In one huge heap roll'd down the roaring fea;
And now the difentangled waves divide,
Unlock their folds, and thaw the frozen tide.
The deeps alarm'd call terribly from far
The loud, embattled furges to the war;
Till her proud fons aftonifh'd Egypt found
Cover'd with billows, and in tempefts drown'd.
What God can emulate thy power divine,
Or who oppofe his miracles to thine?
When joyful we adore thy glorious name,
Thy trembling foes confefs their fear and fhame;
The world attends thy abfolute command.
And nature waits the wonders of thine hand.
That hand, extended o'er the fwelling fea,
The confcions billows reverence and obey.
O'er the devoted race the furges fweep,
And whelm the guilty nation in the deep.
That hand redeem'd us from our fervile toil,
And each infulting tyrant of the Nile:
Our nation came beneath that mighty hand,
From Egypt's realms, to Canaan's facred land.
Thou wert their Guide, their Saviour, and their
God,

To fmooth the way, and clear the dreadful road.
The diftant kingdoms fhall thy wonders hear,
The fierce Philistines thall confefs their fear;
Thy fame fhall over Edom's princes spread,
And Moab's kings, the univerfal dread;
While the vaft fcenes of miracles impart
A thrilling horror to the braveft heart.
As through the world the gathering terror runs,
Canaan fhall thrink, and tremble for his fons :
Till thou haft Jacob from his bondage brought,
At fuch a vait expence of wonders bought,
To Canaan's promis'd realms and bleft abodes,
Led through the dark receifes of the floods.
Crown'd with their tribes fhall proud Moriah rife,
And rear his fummit nearer to the skies.
Through ages, Lord, fhall firetch thy bound-

lefs power,

Thy throne thall ftand when time fhall be no more: For Pharaoh's steeds, and cars, and warlike train, Leap'd in, and boldly rang'd the fandy plain : While in the dreadful road, and defert way, The fhining crowds of gafping fishes lay:

Till, all around with liquid toils befet,
The Lord fwept o'er their heads the watery net.
He freed the ocean from his fecret chain, [main.
And on each hand difcharg'd the thundering
The loofen'd billows burft from every fide,
And wheim the war and warriors in the tide ;
But on each hand the folid billows ftood,
Like lofty mounds to check the raging flood;
Till the bleft race to promis'd Canaan pafs'd
O'er the dry path, and trod the watery waste.

§ 26. The 139th Pfalm paraphrafed. Pirr. DREAD Jehovah ! thy all-piercing eyes Explore the motions of this mortal frame, This tenement of duft: Thy ftretching fight Surveys th' harmonious principles, that move In beauteous rank and order, to inform This cafk, and animated mafs of clay. Nor are the profpects of thy wondrous fight To this terreftrial part of man confin'd; But fhoot into his foul, and there difcern The firit materials of unfashion'd thought, Yet dim and undigested, till the mind, Big with the tender images, expands, And, fwelling, labours with th' ideal birth. Where'er I move, thy cares pursue my feet Attendant. When I drink the dews of fleep, Stretch'd on my downy bed, and there enjoy A fweet forgetfulnefs of all my toils, Unfeen, thy fov'reign prefence guards my fleep, Wafts all the terrors of my dreams away, Scoths all my foul, and foftens my repose. Before conception can employ the tongue, And mould the ductile images to found; Before imagination stands display'd, Thine eye the future eloquence can read, Yet unarray'd with fpeech. Thou, mighty Lord! Haft moulded man from his congenial duft, And fpoke him into being; while the clay, Beneath thy forming hand, leap'd forth, infpir'd, And ftarted into life: through every part, At thy command, the wheels of motion play'd. But fuch exalted knowledge leaves below, And drops poor man from its fuperior sphere.

In vain, with reafon's ballaft, would he try To ftem th' unfathomable depth; his bark O'erfets, and founders in the vaft abyfs. Then whither fhall the rapid fancy run, Though in its full carcer, to fpeed my flight From thy unbounded prefence ? which, alone, Fills all the regions and extended space Beyond the bounds of nature! Whither, Lord! Shall my unrein'd imagination rove,

To leave behind thy Spirit, and out-fly [fpread, Its influence, which, with brooding wings out, Hatch'd unfledg'd nature from the dark profound?

If mounted on my tow'ring thoughts I climb Into the heaven of heavens, I there behold The blaze of thy unclouded majefty! In the pure empyrean thee I view, High thron'd above all height, thy radiant fhrine Throng'd with the proftrate Seraphs, who receive Beatitude paft utterance! If I plunge

1

Down

Don to the gloom of Tartarus profound,
There too I find thee, in the low cft bounds
Of Erebus, and read thee in the fcenes
Of complicated wrath: I fce thee clad
In all the majefty of darkness there.

If, on the ruddy morning's purple wings
Upborne, with indefatigable courfe
Tick the glowing borders of the caft,
Where the bright fun, emergent from the deeps,
With his first glories gilds the fparkling teas,
And trembles o'er the waves; ev'n there thy hand
Shall thro' the watery defert guide my courte,
And o'er the broken furges pave my way,
While on the dreadful whirls I hang fecure,
And mock the warring ocean. If, with hopes
As fond as falfe, the darknets I expect
To hide, and wrap me in its mantling fhade,
Vain were the thought; for thy unbounded ken
Darts thro' the thick'ning gloom, and pries through
The palpable obfcure. Before thy eyes [all]
The vanquifh'dnight throws off her dulky throwd,
And kindles into day: the fhade and light
To man fill various, but the fame to thee.
On thee is all the ftructure of my frame
Dependant. Lock'd within the filent womb
Scaping I lay, and rip'ning to my birth; [there;
Yet. Lord, thy outstretch'd arm preferv'd me
Before I mov'd to entity, and trod

The verge of being. To thy hallow'd name
I pay due honours; for thy mighty hand
But this corporeal fabric, when it laid

The ground-work of exifterce. Hence I read
The wonders of thy art. This frame 1 view
With terror and delight; and, wrapt in both,
I fartle at myself. My bones, unform'd
As yet, nor hardening from the viscous parts,
But blended with th' unanimated mafs,
Thy eye diftinétly view'd; and, while I lay
Within the earth, imperfect, nor perceiv'd
The first faint dawn of life, with cafe furvey'd
The viral glimmerings of the active leeds,
Juft kindling to exiftence, and beheld

My fubfiance fcarce material. In thy book
Was the fair model of this ftructure drawn,
Where every part, in just connection join'd,
Compos'd and perfected th' harmonious piece,
Ere the dim fpeck of being learn'd to stretch
Its ductile form, or entity had known
To range and wanton in an ampler fpace.
How dear, how rooted in my inmoft foul,
Are all thy counfels, and the various ways
Of thy eternal providence! the fum
So boundless and immenfe, it leaves behind
The low account of numbers; and outflies
All that imagination e'er conceiv'd:
Lefs numerous are the fands that crowd the
The barriers of the ocean. When I rife
From my foft bed, and fofter joys of ficep,
I rife to thee. Yet lo! the impious flight
Thy mighty wonders. Shall the fons of vice
Elude the vengeance of thy wrathful hand,
And mock thy ling`ring thunder which withholds
Its forky-terrors from their guilty heads? [fly
Thou great tremendous GOD-Avaunt, and

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ARISE, my foul! on wings feraphic rife!
And praife th'almighty Sov 'reign of the skies;
In whom alone effential glory thines,
Which not the heav'n of heav'ns, nor boundless
Space confines.

When darknefs rul'd with univerfal fway,
He fpcke, and kindled up the blaze of day;
Firft, faireft offspring of th' omnific word!
Which like a garment cloth'd its fov'reign Lord.
On liquid air he bade the columns rife,
That prop the farry concave of the skics;
Diffus'd the blue expanfe from pole to pole,
And fpread circumfluent æther round the whole..
Soon as he bids impetuous tempefts fly,
To wing his founding chariot thro' the iky,
Impetuous tempeits the command obey,
Suttain his flight, and fweep th' aerial way.
Fraught with his mandates, from the realms on
Unnumber'd hofts of radiaut heralds fly [high,
From orb to orb, with progreis unconfia'd,
As lightning fwift, reitilels as the wind.

In ambient air this pond'rous ball he hung, And bade its centre left for ever ftrong; Heav'n, air, and fea, with all their ftorms, in vain Affault the bafis of the firm machine. At thy almighty voice old Ocean raves, Wakes all his force, and gathers all his waves; Nature lies mantied in a warry robe, And fhorclefs billows revel round the globe: O'er higheft hills the higher furges rite, Mix with the clouds, and meet the fluid fkies. But when in thunder the rebuke was giv'n, That fhook th' eternal firmament of heav'n; The grand rebuke th' affrighted waves obey, And in confufion fcour their uncouth way; And pofting rapid to the place decreed, Wind down the hills, and fweep the humble mead. Reluctant in their bounds the waves fubfide; The bounds, impervious to the lathing tide, Refrain its rage; whilft, with inceffant roar, It thakes the caverns, and affaults the thore.

By him, from mountains cloth'd in lucid fnow, Through fertile vales the mazy rivers flow.

Here the wild horfe, unconscious of the rein, That revels boundlefs o'er the wide campaign, Imbibes the filver furge, with heat oppreft, To cool the fever of hi.lowing breast.

Here

Here rifing boughs, adorn'd with fummer's | Nor does our world alone its influence share;

pride,

Project their waving umbrage o'er the tide ;
While, gently perching on the leafy fpray,
Each feather'd warbler tunes his various lay:
And, while thy praise they fymphonize around,
Creation echoes to the grateful found.
Wide o'er the heav'ns the various bow he bends;
Its tinctures brighten, and its arch extends:
At the glad fign the airy conduits flow,
Soften the hills, and cheer the meads below:
By genial fervour and prolific rain,
Swift vegetation clothes the finiling plain :
Nature, profufely good, with blifs o'erflows,
And still is pregnant, tho' fhe ftill bestows.

Here verdant paftures wide extended lie,
And yield the grazing herd exuberant fupply.
Luxuriant waving in the wanton air,
Here golden grain rewards the peafant's care :
Here vines mature with fresh carnation glow,
And heav'n above diffuses heav'n below.
Erect and tall here mountain cedars rife,
Wave in the ftarry vault, and emulate the fkies.
Here the wing'd crowd, that skim the yielding
With artfultoil their little domes prepare; [air,
Here hatch their tender young, and nurfe the
rifing care.

Up the fteep hill afcends the nimble doe,
While timid concys fcour the plains below,
Or in the pendent rock elude the fcenting foe.
He bade the filver majefty of night
Revolve her circles, and incrcafe her light;
Affign'd a province to each rolling sphere,
And taught the fun to regulate the year.
At his command, wide hov ring o'er the plain,
Primæval night refumes her gloomy reign:
Then from their dens, impatient of delay,
The favage monfters bend their speedy way,
Howl thro' the fpacious wafte, and chace their
frighted prey.

Here ftalks the shaggy monarch of the wood,
Taught from thy providence to afk his food!
To thee, O Father, to thy bounteous fkies,
He rears his mane, and rolls his glaring eyes:
He roars; the defert trembles wide around,
And repercuffive hills repeat the found.

Now orient gems the eastern fkies adorn, And joyful nature hails the op'ning morn: The rovers, confcious of approaching day, Fly to their fhelters, and forget their prey. Laborious man, with moderate flumber bleft, Springs cheerful to his toil from downy reft; Till grateful evening, with her argent train, Bid labour ceafe, and cafe the weary fwain. "Hailfov'reign goodness! all-productive mind! On all thy works thyfelf inferib'd we find : How various all, how varioufly endow'd, How great their number, and each part how good! How perfect then muft the great Parent shine, Who, with one act of energy divine, Laid the vaft plan, and finifli'd the defign!" Where'er the pleafing fearch my thoughts purfue, Unbounded goodness rifes to my view;

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Exhaustless bounty, and unwearied care
Extends thro' all th' infinitude of space,
And circles nature with a kind embrace.

The azure kingdoms of the deep below,
Thy pow'r, thy wifdom, and thy goodness show :
Hefe multitudes of various beings ftray,
Crowd the profound, or on the furface play:
Tall navies here their doubtful way explore,
And ev'ry product waft from shore to shore ;
Hence meagre want expell'd, and fanguine strife,
For the mild charms of cultivated life;
Hence focial union fpreads from foul to foul,
And India joins in friendfhip with the pole.
Here the huge potent of the fealy train
Enormous fails incumbent o'er the main,
An animated ifle! and, in his way,
Dashes to heav'n's blue arch the foamy fea:
When fkies and ocean mingle ftorm and flame,
Portending inflant wreck to nature's frame,
Pleas'd in the fcene, he mocks, with confcicus
pride,

The volley'd lightning, and the furging tide;
And while the wrathful elements engage,
Foments with horrid fport the tempeft's rage.
All thefe thy watchful providence fupplies,
To thee alone they turn their waiting eyes;
For them thou open'ft thy exhauftlefs ftore,
Till the capacious wifh can grafp no more.

But, if one moment thou thy face fhouldft Thy glory clouded, or thy fmiles deny'd, [hide, Then widow'd nature veils her mournful eyes, And vents her grief in univerfal cries:

Then gloomy death, with all his meagre train, Wide o'er the nations fpreads his dismal reign; Sea, carth, and air the boundless ravage mourn, And all their hofts to native duft return.

But when again thy glory is difplay'd, Reviv'd creation lifts her cheerful head; New rifing forms thy potent fimiles obey, And life rekindles at the genial ray; United thanks replenish'd nature pays,

And heav'n and earth refound their Maker's praife.

When time fhall in eternity be loft, And hoary nature languish into dust, For ever young, thy glory fhall remain, Vaft as thy being, endlefs as thy reign. Thou from the regions of eternal day, View 'ft all thy works at ore immenfe furvey: Pleas'd thou behold'ft the whole propenfely tend To perfect happiness, its glorious end.

If thou to earth but turn thy wrathful eyes, Her bafis trembles, and her offspring dies: Thou fmit'ft the hills, and at th' Almighty blow Their fummits kindle, and their inwards glow

While this immortal spark of heav'nly flame Diftends my breaft, and animates my frame; To thee my ardent praises fhall be borne On the firft breeze that wakes the blushing morn; The lateft ftar fhall hear the pleasing found, And nature in full choir fhall join around. When full of thee my foul excurfive flies Thro' earth air, ocean, or thy regal kies;

From

In majefty fevere, And fit in judgment on my foul, O! how thall I appear?

From world to world, new wonders ftill I find,When thou, O Lord, fhalt ftand difclos'd
And all the Godhead flashes on my mind.
When wing'd with whirlwinds, vice fhall take its
To the deep bofom of eternal night,
To thee my foul fhall endless praifes pay:
Join, men and angels, join th' exalted lay!

HOW

§ 25. Another Hymn. ANON. are thy fervants bleft, O Lord! How fure is their defence! Eternal wisdom is their guide,

Their help omnipotence.

In foreign realms, and lands remote,
Supported by thy care,

Through burning climes I pafs'd unhurt,
And breath'd in tainted air.
Thy mercy fweeten'd every foil,

Made every region pleafe;
The hoary Alpine hills it warm'd,

And fmooth'd the Tyrrhene feas.
Think, O my foul, devoutly think,
How with affrighted eyes
Thou faw'ft the wide extended deep
In all its horrors rife !

Confufion dwelt in ev'ry face,

And fear in ev'ry heart,

[flight

When waves on waves, and gulphs in gulphs,
O'ercame the pilot's art.

Yet then from all my griefs, O Lord,
Thy mercy fet me free;

While in the confidence of pray'r

My foul took hold on thee.

For tho' in dreadful whirls we hung
High on the broken wave,

I knew thou wert not flow to hear,
Nor impotent to fave.

The form was laid, the winds retir'd,
Obedient to thy will;

The fea, that roar'd at thy command,
At thy command was ftill.

In midft of dangers, fears, and deaths,
Thy goodness I'll adore;
And praife thee for thy mercies past,
And humbly hope for more.
My life, if thou preferv'ft my life,
Thy facrifice fhall be;

Agd death, if death must be my doom,
Shall join my foul to thee."

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But thou haft told the troubled foul, Who does her fins lament,

The timely tribute of her tears

Shall endless woe prevent.

Then fee the forrows of my heart,
Ere yet it be too late;
And hear my Saviour's dying groans,
To give thofe forrows weight.
For never fhall my foul despair
Her pardon to procure,

Who knows thy only Son has died
To make that pardon fure.

§ 30. A Hymn on the Seafons. THOMSON. THESE, as they change, Almighty Father, these

Are but the varied God. The rolling year Is full of Thee. Forth in the pleafing Spring Thy beauty walks, thy tenderness and love. Wide flush the fields; the foftening air is balm; Echo the mountains round; the foreft fmiles; And every fenfe and every heart is joy. Then comes thy glory in the Summer months, With light and heat refulgent. Then thy fun Shoots full perfection thro' the fwelling year: And oft thy voice in dreadful thunder fpeaks, And oft at dawn, deep noon, or falling eve, By brooks and groves, in hollow-whifp'ring gales. Thy bounty fhines in Autumn unconfin'd, And fpreads a common feaft for all that lives. In Winter awful thou! with clouds and forms Around Thee thrown, tempeft o'er tempeft roll'd, Majeftic darknefs! On the whirlwind's wing, Riding fublime, Thou bidd'ft the world adore, And humbleft nature with thy northern blaft.

Myfterious round! what skill, what force diDeep-felt, in thefe appear! a fimple train, [vine, Yet fo delightful mix'd, with fuch kind art, Such beauty and beneficence combin'd; And all fo forming an harmonious whole, Shade, unperceiv'd, fo foftening into fhade; That, as they ftill fucceed, they ravish still. But wandering oft, with rude inconscious gaze, Man marks not Thee, marks not the mighty hand That, ever bufy, wheels the filent fpheres; Works in the fecret deep; fhoots, fteaming, thence The fair profufion that o'crfpreads the spring; Flings from the fun direct the flaming day; Feeds ev'ry creature; hurls the tempeft forth, And, as on earth this grateful change revolves, With tranfport touches all the fprings of life. Nature, attend! join, every living foul Beneath the fpacious temple of the fky, In adoration join; and ardent raise One general fong! To him, ye vocal gales, Breathe foft, whofe fpirit in your freshness breathes; Oh talk of him in folitary glooms, Where o'er the rock the fcarcely waving pine Fills the brown fhade with a religious awe!

And

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