The countenance of God he faw, Full of mercy full of awes The glories of his pow'r and glories of his grace: 75 There he beheld the wondrous fprings Of thofe celeftial facred things, The peaceful gospel and the fiery law In that majestick face; That face did all his gazing pow'rs employ With most profound abasement and exalted joy. The rolls of Fate were half unfeal'd, 80 He food adoring by, The volumes open'd to his eye, And sweet intelligence he held With all his fhining kindred of the sky. VH. Ye feraphs that furround the throne Tell how his name was thro' the palace known, And bold blafphemers fhrink and fear t. 85 90 To taint the purest dust and blot the whiteft fame. Impudent tongues! you should be darted thro', 96 Nail'd to your own black mouths, and lie Ufelefs and dead till Slander die, Till Slander die with you. Tho' he was fo great and good a man he did not escape cenfure. VIII. "We faw him," say the ethereal throng, ICO "We knew the fecret flights of his retiring hours, Nightly he wak'd his inward pow'rs; 105 Young Ifrael rofe to wrestle with his God, [tow'rs "And with unconquer'd force fcal'd the celestial "To reach the bleffing down for those that sought "Oft' we beheld the Thund'rer's hand [his blood. Rais'd high to crush the factious foe, "As oft' we saw the rolling Vengeance stand "Doubtful t' obey the dread command, "While his afcending pray'r upheld the fallingblow." IX. Draw the paft fcenes of thy delight My Mufe, and bring the wondrous man to fight; Place him furrounded as he flood With pious crowds, while from his tongue A ftream of harmony ran foft along, 116 And ev'ry ear drank in the flowing good: Softly it ran its filver way Till warm devotion rais'd the current ftrong, 120 Divinely roll'd promifcuous on the torrent flood, And bore our raptur'd fenfe away and thoughts and fouls to God. 125 O might we dwell for ever there, No more return to breathe this groffer air, He ftands the herald of the threat'ning skies; Lo on his rev'rend brow the frowns divinely rife, Diftinguishing each guilty head, Far from th' unequal war the Atheist fled, His kindled arrows ftill pursue, His arrows ftrike the Atheist thro', [his eyes! 141 [fpread. And o'er his inmost pow'rs a shudd'ring horrour Shriek out amaz'd at the new pangs they feel, The lofty wretch arm'd and array'd 150 In gaudy pride finks down his impious head, Plunges in dark despair and mingles with the dead. XI. Now Mufe affume a fofter ftrain, 155 To calm the furging confcience and affuage the pain. He from a bleeding God derives Life for the fouls that guilt had flain, And straight the dying rebel lives, The dead arife again. 160 The op'ning fkies almost obey His pow'rful fong; a heav'nly ray Awakes despair to light and sheds a cheerful day. His wondrous voice rolls back the fpheres, Recalls the fcenes of ancient years, To make the Saviour known; Sweetly the flying charmer roves 165 Thro' all his labours and his loves, The anguifh of his cross and triumphs of his throne. Words fit to heal and fit to wound, Sharp as the fpear and balmy as the blood. Volume VI. 180 In his difcourfe divine Afresh the purple fountain flow'd, Our falling tears kept fympathetick time And trickled to the ground, While ev'ry accent gave a doleful found, 184 Sad as the breaking heart-ftrings of th' expiring God. And fhed a fweet perfume. Hark, the old earthquake roars again The rifing God! he comes, he comes, 195 [train! With throngs of waking faints, a long triumphing XIV. See the bright fquadrons of the fky Downward on wings of joy and haste they fly, 200 Meet their returning Sov'reign and attend him high. A fhining car the Conq'ror fills Form'd of a golden cloud Slowly the pomp moves up the azure hiils, 205 |