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The banner of Jehovah, and defied
Satan's united legions. Some, unmov'd
At the grim tyrant's frown, o'er barb'rous climes
Diffus'd the Gofpel's light: fome long immur'd
(Sad fervitude!) in chains and dungeons pin'd;
Or, rack'd with all the agonies of pain, [they
Breath'd out their faithful lives. Thrice happy
Whom Heav'n elected to that glorious ftrife!
Here are they plac'd, whofe kind munificence
Made heaven-born Science raife her drooping
And on the labours of a future race [head;
Entail'd their just reward. Thou amongst thefe,
Good Seaton! whose well-judg'd benevolence
Foft'ring fair Genius, bade the poet's hand
Bring annual off'rings to his Maker's fhrine,
Shalt find the generous care was not in vain.—
Here is that fav'rite band, whom mercy mild,
God's beft-lov'd attribute, adorn'd; whofe gate
Stood ever open to the stranger's call;
Who fed the hungry; to the thirsty lip
Reach'd out the friendly cup; whofe care benign
From the rude blaft fecur'd the pilgrim's fide;
Who heard the widow's tender tale, and fhook
The galling thackle from the pris'ner's feet;
Who each endearing tie, each office knew
Of meek-eyed, heaven-defcended Charity.
O Charity, thou nymph divinely fair!
Sweeter than thofe whom ancient poets bound
In amity's indiffoluble chain,

The Graces! how thall I effay to paint
Thy charms, celeftial maid! and in rude verfe
Biazon thofe deeds thyfelf didft ne'er reveal?
For thee nor rankling Envy can infect,
Ner rage tranfport, nor high o'erweening pride
Puff up with vain conceit: ne'er didft thou fimile
To fee the finner as a verdant tree
Spread his luxuriant branches o'er the ftream;
While, like fome blafted trunk, the righteous fall
Proftrate, forlorn. When prophecies fhall fail,
When tongues fhall ceafe, when knowledge is no

more,

maid!

Trophies and pillars? Where is Egypt's boast,
Thofe lofty pyramids, which high in air
Rear'd their atpiring heads, to diffant times
Of Memphian pride a lafting monument!-
Tell me where Athens rais'd her tow'rs? where

Thebes

Open'd her hundred portals-Tell me where
Stood fea-girt Albion? where imperial Rome,
Propt by feven hills, fat like a fceptred queen,
And aw'd the tributary world to peace?-
Shew me the rampart which o'er many a hill,
Through many a valley, ftretch'd its wide extent,
Rais'd by that mighty monarch to repel
The roving Tartar, when with infult rude
'Gainft Pekin's tow'rs he bent th' unerring bow.
But what is mimic art? E'en Nature's works,
Seas, meadows, paftures, the meand'ing streams,
And everlafting hills, fhall be no more.
No more fhall Teneriff, cloud-piercing height!
O'erhang th' Atlantic furge; nor that fam'd cliff,
Thro' which the Perfian teer'd with many a fail,
Throw to the Lemnian ifle its evening shade
O'er half the wide gean.-Where are now
The Alps that confin'd with unnumber'd realms,
And from the Black Sea to the ocean ftream
Stretch'd their extended arms?-Where's Ararat,
That hill on which the faithful patriarch's ark,
Which feven long months had voyag'd o'er its top,
First rested, when the earth with all her fons,
As now by ftreaming cataracts of fire,
Was when'd by mighty waters - All at once
Are vanith'd and diffolv'd; no trace remains,
No mark of vain diftinction: heaven itfelf,
That azure vault, with all thofe radiant orbs,
Sinks in the univerfal ruin lost.

No more fhall planets round their central fun
Move in harmonious dance; no more the moon
Hang out her filver lamp; and thofe fix'd stars,
Spangling the golden canopy of night,
Which oft the Tufcan with his optic glafs
Call'd from their wondrous height, to read their
And magnitude, fome winged minifter [names
Shall quench; and (fureft fign that all on earth
Is loft) fhall rend from heaven the myftic bow.
Such is that awful, that tremendous day,
Whofe coming who fhall tell? For as a thief
Unheard, unfeen, it fteals with filent pace [I fit,
Through night's dark gloom.-Perhaps as here
And rudely carol thefe incondite lays, [mouth
Soon fhall the hand be check'd, and dumb the
That lips the falt'ring ftrain.-O may it ne'er
Intrude unwelcome on an ill-fpent hour;
But find me wrapt in meditations high,
Hymning my great Creator!-------
Pow'r Supreme!
"O everlafting King! to thee I kneel,
"To thee I lift my voice. With fervent heat
"Melt, all ye clements! And thou, high heaven,
"Shrink like a fhrivell'dfcroil! Butthish,OLord,
"Think on the belt, the nobleft of thy works;
"Think on thine own bright ima | Think on
« him

And this great day is come, thou by the throne
Shalt fit triumphant. Thither, lovely
Bear me, O bear me on thy foaring wing,
And through the adamantine gates of heav'n
Conduct my fteps, fafe from the ficry gulph
And dark abyfs, where Sin and Satan reign!
But can the Mufe, her numbers all too weak,
Tell how that reftlefs element of fire
Shall wage with feas and earth inteftine war,
And deluge all creation? Whether (fo
Some think) the comet, as through fields of air
Lawless he wanders, fhall rush headlong on,
Thwarting th'ecliptic,where th' unconfcious earth
Boils in her wonted courfe; whether the fun
With force centripetal into his orb
Attract her, long reluctant; or the caves,
Thofe dread volcanos, where engend'ring lie
Sulphureous minerals, from their dark abyfs
Pour ftreams of liquid fire; while from above,
As erft on Sodom, Heaven's avenging hand
Rains fierce combuftion.-Where are now the
Of art, the toul of ages-Where are now [works"
Th' imperial cities, fepulchres, and domes,

Who died to fave us from thy righteous wrath ; "And midft thewreck of worlds remember man!"

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EHOVAH reigns: let ev'ry nation hear,
And at his footftool bow with holy fear;
Let heaven's high arches echo with his name,
And the wide peopied earth his praife proclaim;
Then fend it down to hell's deep glooms re-
founding,
(ing.
Thro' all her caves in dreadful murmurs found-
He rules with wide and abfolute command
O'er the broad ocean and the stedfaft land:
Jehovah reigns, unbounded and alone,
And all creation hangs beneath his throne:
He reigns alone; let no inferior nature
Ufurp or fhare the throne of the Creator.

He faw the struggling beams of infant light
Shoot thro' the maffy gloom of ancient night;
His fpirit hufh'd the elemental ftrife,

And brooded o'er the kindling feeds of life:
Seafons and months began the long proceffion,
And measur'd o'er the year in bright fucceffion.

The joyful fun fprung up th' ethereal way,
Strong as a giant, as a bridegroom gay;
And the pale moon diffus'd her fhadowy light
Superior o'er the dufky brow of night;
Ten thousand glittering lamps the fkies adorning,
Numerous as dew-drops from the womb of
morning.

Earth's blooming face with rifing flow'rs he
drefs'd,

And spread a verdant mantle o'er her breast;
Then from the hollow of his hand he pours
The circling waters round her winding fhores,
The new-born world in their cool arms em-
bracing,

And with foft murmurs ftill her banks careffing.
At length the rofe complete in finifh'd pride,
All fair and fpottefs, like a virgin bride:
Fresh with untarnish'd luftre as the ftood,
Her Maker blefs'd his work, and call'd it good;
The morning-ftars, with joyful acclamation,
Exulting fung, and hail'd the new creation.

Yet this fair world, the creature of a day,
Tho' built by God's right hand, muft pafs away;
And long oblivion creep o'er mortal things,
The fate of empires, and the pride of kings:
Eternal night fhall veil their proudeft ftory,"
And drop the curtain o'er all human glory.

The fun himself, with weary clouds oppreft,
Shall in his filent, dark pavilion reft;
His golden urn fhall broke and ufelefs lic,
Amidst the common ruins of the sky!

The stars rush headlong in the wild commotion,
And bathe their glittering foreheads in the occan.
But fix'd, O God! for ever ftands thy throne;
Jehovah reigns, a universe alone;

Th' eternal fire that feeds each vital flame,
Collected or diffus'd, is still the fame.
He dwells within his own unfathom'd effence,
And fills all space with his unbounded prefence.
But oh! our highest notes the theme debase,
And filence is our leaft injurious praise: [troul,
Ceafe, ceafe your fongs, the daring flight con-
Revere him in the ftillness of the foul;
With filent duty meekly bend before him,
And deep within your inmoft hearts adore him.
HYMN II.
PRAISE to God, immortal praise,
For the love that crowns our days;
Bounteous fource of every joy,
Let thy praise our tongues employ
For the bleffings of the field,
For the ftores the gardens yield,
For the vine's exalted juice,
For the gen'rous olive's ufe;
Flocks that whiten all the plain,
Yellow fheaves of ripen'd grain,
Clouds that drop their fatt'ning dews,
Suns that temp'rate warmth diffuse;
All that Spring with bounteous hand
Scatters o'er the fmiling land;
All that lib'ral Autumn pours
From her rich o'erflowing stores:
Thefe to thee, my God, we owe,
Source whence all our bleflings flow;
And for thefe my foul fhall raise
Grateful vows and folemn praife.
Yet, should rifing whirlwinds tear
From its ftem the rip'ning ear;
Should the fig-tree's blafted fhoot
Drop her green untimely fruit;
Should the vine put forth no more,
Nor the olive yield her flore;
Though the fick'ning flocks should fall,
And the herds defert the stall;
Should thine alter'd hand restrain
The early and the latter rain;
Blaft each op'ning bud of joy,
And the rifing year destroy;
Yet to thee my foul should raife
Grateful vows, and folemn praite,
And, when ev'ry bleffing's flown,
Love thee-for thy felf aloue.

HYMN III.
For Eafer-Sunday.
AGAIN the Lord of life and light
Awakes the kindling ray;

Although the fig-tree shall not bloffom, neither fhall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive fhall fail, and the fic fhall yield no meat, the flocks thall be cut off from the fold, and there fhall be no herd in

the italls: yet will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

HABAKKUK, iii. 17, 18.
Unfeals

Unfeals the eyelids of the morn,
And pours increasing day.

O what a night was that which wrapt
The heathen world in gloom!
O what a fun which broke this day,
Triumphant from the tomb !
This day be grateful homage paid,
And loud hofannas fung;
Let gladness dwell in ev'ry heart,
And praise on ev'ry tongue.
Ten thoufand diff'ring lips fhall join
To hail this welcome morn,
Which scatters bleffings from its wings
To nations yet unborn.
Jefus, the friend of human kind,
With strong compaffion mov'd,
Defcended, like a pitying God,
To fave the fouls he lov'd.

The pow'rs of darkness leagued in vain
To bind his foul in death;
He fhook their kingdom when he fell,
With his expiring breath.

Not long the toils of hell could keep
The hope of Judah's line;
Corruption never could take hold
On aught fo much divine.

And now his conqu'ring chariot wheels
Afcend the lofty skies;

While broke, beneath his pow'rful cross,
Death's iron fceptre lies.

Exalted high at God's right hand,
And Lord of all below,

Thro' him is pard'ning love difpens'd,
And boundless bleflings flow.
And ftill for erring, guilty man,
A brother's pity flows;

And ftill his bleeding heart is touch'd
With mem'ry of our woes.
To thee, my Saviour and my King,
Glad homage let me give;
And stand prepar'd like thee to die,
With thee that I may live.

HYMN TV.

BEHOLD where, breathing love divine,
Our dying Mafter stands!
His weeping followers gath'ring round

Receive his laft commands.

From that mild teacher's parting lips
What tender accents fell!
The gentle precept which he gave
Became its author well:

"Blefs'd is the man whose soft'ning heart
"Feels all another's pain;
"To whom the fupplicating eye
"Was never rais'd in vain;

“Whose breast expands with gen'rous warmth
"A ftranger's woes to feel;
"And bleeds in pity o'er the wound
"He wants the pow'r to heal.

"He spreads his kind fupporting arms
"To ev'ry child of grief;
"His fecret bounty largely flows,
"And brings unaík'd relief.
"To gentle offices of love
"His feet are never flow;
"He views, thro' mercy's melting eye,
"A brother in a foe.

"Peace from the bofom of his God,

"My peace to him I give;

"And when he kneels before the throne, "His trembling soul shall live.

"To him protection fhall be fhewn; "And mercy from above

"Defcend on those who thus fulfil "The perfect law of love."

HYMN V.

AWAKE, my foul! lift up thine eyes,
See where thy foes against thee rife,
In long array, a num'rous hoft;
Awake, my foul, or thou art loft.
Here giant danger threat'ning ftands
Muft'ring his pale terrific bands;
There pleafure's filken banners spread,
And willing fouls are captive led.
See where rebellious paffions rage,
And fierce defires and lufts engage;
The meaneft foe of all the train
Has thousands and ten thousands flain.
Thou tread'ft upon enchanted ground,
Perils and fnares befet thee round;
Beware of all, guard ev'ry part,
But most the traitor in thy heart.
Come then, my foul, now learn to wield
The weight of thine immortal fhield;
Put on the armour from above
Of heav'nly truth and heav'nly love.
The terror and the charm repel,
And pow'rs of earth, and pow'rs of hell:
The man of Calvary triumph'd here;
Why should his faithful followers fear?

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GOD of my life, and author of my days!

Permit my feeble voice to lifp thy praife; And trembling take upon a mortal tongue That hallow'd name to harps of Seraphs fung. Yet here the brightest Scraphs could no more Than hide their faces, tremble, and adore. Worms, angels, men, in ev'ry diff'rent sphere Are equal all, for all are nothing here. All Nature faints beneath the mighty name Which Nature's works, thro' all her parts, pro claim.

I feel that name my inmost thoughts controul, And breathe an awful ftillness thro' my foul;

As

As by a charm, the waves of grief subside;
Impetuous paffion ftops her headlong tide:
At thy felt prefence all emotions ceate,
And my hush'd fpirit finds a fudden peace,
Till ev'ry worldly thought within me dies,
And earth's gay pageants vanish from my eyes;
Till all my fenfe is loft in infinite,
And one vaft object fills my aching fight.

But foon, alas! this holy calm is broke;
My foul fubmits to wear her wonted yoke;
With thackled pinions ftrives to foar in vain,
And mingles with the drofs of earth again.
But he, our gracious Mafter, kind as juit,
Knowing our frame, remembers man is duft.
His fpirit, ever brooding o'er our mind,
Sees the fift with to better hopes inclin'd;
Marks the young dawn of ev'ry virtuous aim,
And fans the fmoaking flax into a flame.
His cars are open to the fofteft cry,
His grace defcends to meet the lifted eye;
He reads the language of a filent tear,
And fighs are incenfe from a heart fincere.
Such are the vows, the facrifice I give;
Accept the vow, and bid the fuppliant live:
From each terreftrial bondage fet me fice;
Still ev'ry with that centers not in thee;
Bid my fond hopes, my vain difquiets ceafe,
And point my path to everlafting peace.

If the foft hand of winning pleafure leads By living waters, and thro' flow'ry meads, When all is fmiling, tranquil, and ferene, And vernal beauty paints the flatt'ring fcene, Oh! teach me to clude each latent fnare, And whisper to my fliding heart-beware! With caution let me hear the Syren's voice, And doubtful, with a trembling heart, rejoice. If friend lefs in a vale of tears I ftray, Where briars wound, and thorns perplex my way, Still let my steady foul thy goodness fee, And with ftrong confidence lay hold on thee; With equal eye my various lot receive, Refign'd to die, or refolute to live; Prepar'd to kifs the fceptre or the rod, While God is feen in all, and all in God.

I read his awful name emblazon'd high
With golden letters on th' illumin'd fky;
Nor lefs the myftic characters I fee
Wrought in each flow'r, infcrib'd on ev'ry tree:
In ev'ry leaf that trembles to the breeze

I hear the voice of God among the trees;
With thee in fhady folitudes I walk,
With thee in bufy crowded cities talk;
In ev'ry creature own thy forming pow'r,
In each event thy providence adore.
Thy hopes thall animate my drooping foul,
Thy precepts guide me, and thy fear controul.
Thus thall I reft, unmov'd by all alarms,
Secure within the temple of thine arms,
From anxious cares, from gloomy terrors fice,
And feel myfelf omnipotent in thee.
Then when the luft, the closing hour draws nigh,
And earth recedes before my fwimming eve;
When trembling on the doubtful edge of fate
I stand, and stretch my view to either state;

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Move filent on: the fkics no more repel
The dazzled fight; but, with mild maiden beams
Of temper'd light, invite the cherish'd eye
To wander o'er their fphere; where hung aloft
Dian's bright crefcent, like a filver bow
New ftrung in heaven, lifts high its beamy horns,
Impatient for the night, and feems to push
Her brother down the fky. Fair Venus fhines
Ev'n in the eye of day, with fweetest beam
Propitious fhines, and shakes a trembling flood
Of foften'd radiance from her dewy locks.
The fhadows spread apace; while meeken'd Eve,
Her cheek yet warm with blushes, flow retires
Thro' the Hefperian gardens of the weft,
And fhuts the gates of day. 'Tis now the hour
When contemplation, from her funless haunts,
The cool damp grotto, or the lonely depth
Of unpierc'd woods, where wrapt in filent shade
She mus'd away the gaudy hours of noon,
And fed on thoughts unripen'd by the fun,
Moves forward; and with radiant finger points
To yon blue concave fwell'd by breath divine,
Where, one by one, the living eyes of heaven
Awake, quick kindling o'er the face of ather
Que boundlefs blaze; ten thoufand trembling
fires,

And dancing luftres, where th' unfteady eye,
Reflefs and dazzled, wanders unconfin'd
O'er all this field of glories: fpacious field,
And worthy of the mafter: he whole hand,
With hieroglyphics elder than the Nile,
Infcrib'd the myftic tablet; hung on high
To public gaze; and faid, Adore, O man,
The finger of thy God! From what pure wells
Of milky light, what foft o'erflowing urn,
Are all thefe lamps fo fill'd thefe friendly lamps,
For ever ftreaming o'er the azure deep
To point our path, and light us to our home.
How foft they flide along their lucid fpheres!
And, filent as the foot of Time, fulfil
Their deftin'd courfes: Nature's felf is hufh'd,
And, but a scatter'd leaf, which ruftles thro'
The thick-wove foliage, not a found is heard
To break the midnight air; tho' the rais'd ear,
Intenfely lift'ning, drinks in ev'ry breath.
How deep the filence, yet how loud the praife!
But are they filent all or is there not
A tongue in ev'ry ftar that talks with man,
And wooes him to be wife? nor wooes in vain;
This dead of midnight is the noon of thought,
And wifdom mounts her zenith with the stars.
At this ftill hour the felf-collected foul

Turns inward, and beholds a stranger there
Of high defcent, and more than mortal rank;
An embryo God; a fpark of fire divine,
Which muft burn on for ages, when the fun
(Fair tranfitory creature of a day!)
Has clos'd his golden eye, and, wrapt in fhades,
Forgets his wonted journey thro' the caft.

Sciz'd in

Ye citadels of light, and feats of Gods!
Perhaps my future home, from whence the foul
Revolving periods paft, may oft look back,
With recollected tenderness, on all
The various bufy fcenes the left below,
Its deep-laid projects and its ftrange events,
As on fome fond and doating tale that footh'd
Her infant hours-O be it lawful now
To tread the hallow'd circle of your courts,
And with mute wonder and delighted awe
Approach your burning confines.
On fancy's wild and roving wing I fail [thought,
From the green borders of the peopled earth,
And the pale moon, her duteous fair attendant;
From foliary Mars; from the vast orb
Of Jupiter, whofe huge gigantic bulk
Dances in ether like the lighteft leaf;
To the dim verge, the fuburbs of the fyftem,
Where cheerlefs Saturn, 'midst his wat'ry moons,
Girt with a lucid zone, in gloomy pomp,
Sits like an exil'd monarch: fearless thence
I launch into the tracklefs deeps of space,
Where, burning round, ten thoufand funs appear,
Of elder beam; which afk no leave to thine
Of our terrestrial star, nor borrow light
From the proud regent of our scanty day;
Sons of the morning, firft-born of creation,
And only lefs than him who marks their track,
And guides their fiery wheels. Here must I stop,
Or is there aught beyond? What hand unfeen
Impels me onward thro' the glowing orbs
Of habitable nature, far remote,
To the dread confines of eternal night,
To folitudes of vaft unpeopled space,
The defarts of creation, wide and wild,
Where embryo fystems and unkindled funs
Sleep in the womb of chaos? Fancy droops,
And thought aftonifh'd ftops her bold carcer.
But, oh thou mighty mind! whofe pow'rful word
Said, thus let all things be, and thus they were,
Where fhall I feek thy prefence? how unblam'd
Invoke thy dread perfection ?-

Have the broad eye-lids of the morn beheld thee ›
Or does the beamy thoulder of Orion
Support thy throne? O look with pity down
On erring, guilty man! not in thy naines
Of terror clad; not with thofe thunders arm'd
That confcious Sinai felt, when fear appal'd
The fcatter'd tribes thou haft a gentler voice,
That whifpers comfort to the fwelling heart,
Abafh'd, yet longing to behold her Maker.
But now my foul, unus'd to ftretch her pow'rs
In flight fo daring, drops her weary wing,
And feeks again the known accuftom'd ipot,
Dreft up with fun, and thade, and lawns, and
A mantion fair and fpacious for its gueft, [ftreams;
And full replete with wonders. Let me here,
Content and grateful, wait th'appointed ume,

7

And ripen for the fkiss: the hour will come When all thefe fplendours burfting on my fight Shall stand unveil'd, and to my avifl'd fenfe Unlock the glories of the world unknown.

§ 58. Hymn to Content. Mrs. BARBAULD.

tatura beatos

Omnibus effe dedit, fi quis cognoverit uti,

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CLAUDIAN.

THOU, the Nymph with placid eye!
O feldom found, yet ever nigh!

Receive my temp'rate vow:
Not all the tornis that thake the pole
Can e'er difturb thy halcyon foul,
And fmooth unalter'd brow.
O come, in fimple veft array'd,
With all thy fober cheer difplay'd,
To blefs my longing fight;
Thy mien compos'd, thy even pace,
Thy meek regard, thy matron grace,
And chaite fubdued delight.

No more by varying paffions beat,
O gently guide my pilgrim feet

To find thy hermit cell;
Where in fome pure and equal sky
Beneath thy foft indulgent eye

The modeft virtues dwell.
Simplicity in Attic vest,

And Innocence with candid breast,
And clear undaunted eye;
And Hope, who points to diftant years,
Fair op'ning thro' this vale of tears

A vifta to the fky.

There Health, thro' whose calm bosom glide
The temp'rate joys in even tide,

That rarely ebb or flow;
And Patience there, thy fifter meek,
Prefents her mild unvarying check
To meet the offer'd biow.
Her influence taught the Phrygian fage
A tyrant mafter's wanton rage

With fettled fmiles to meet;
Inur'd to toil and bitter bread,
He bow'd his meek fubmitted head,
And kifs'd thy fainted feet.

But thou, oh Nymph retir'd and coy!
In what brown hamlet doft thou joy

To tell thy tender tale?
The lowlieft children of the ground,
Mofs-rofe and violet, bloffom round,

And lily of the vale.

O fay what soft propitious hour
I beft may choose to hail thy pow'r,
And court thy gentle fway?
When Autumn, friendly to the Mufe,
Shall thy own modeft tints diffufe,
And shed thy milder day.
When Eve, her dewy ftar beneath,
Thy balmy fpitit loves to breathe,
And ev'ry ftorm is laid;
If fuch an hour was e'er thy choice,
Oft let me hear thy foothing voice

Low whip'ring thro' the thade.

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