FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 Secti ' S*2~~> 
 

OCCASIONAL 
 
 MORAL and SACRED, 
 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE 
 
 INSTRUCTION and AMUSEMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Candidly Serious and Religious. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for the EDITOR: 
 And Sold by J. BUCK LAND, in Pater-nofter fW; 
 
 AND 
 
 T. S C L L I C K, in the City Road, Moorfield*. 
 M.DCC.LXXXV. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 -Page 3J, line 14, for u view,* 1 read <f you." 
 
 63, — 6, — cc odours," — " ardors." 
 
 6 5 , — 2 j, — " luced," — <• lucid." 
 
 75, — 7, dele the word " then." 
 
 70, — Rafter" foul," infert " in." 
 
 132, — 4, for " Is," — read " 'Tis." 
 
 133, — 19, — "know," — "known." 
 iji, — 1, — <c accurfe," — u accufe." 
 166, — 5, — <c refoate," — " rofeate." 
 
 After line 8, page 199, l;ifet t the following : 
 e f That crown be thine, by thee its honours worn, v 
 
 
[ Hi 1 
 
 •^vv^ '^u!r :> ' < iw^"' s .\!-J^ : -v-v' "■wV 1 ^C^ - ' * .^'"XV yi Z3 > ' ^w»* 
 
 TOT H E 
 
 READER. 
 
 T^HE following mifcellaneous produc- 
 tions were not originally intended for 
 public view; as they are but: the unpre- 
 meditated effufions of mere private amufe- 
 ment, and only occafionally fliewn, by 
 way of perfonal refped, to a handful of 
 the friends of the Author; who, having 
 entrufted a copy of thefe, and many others, 
 to a particular acquaintance, has been at 
 length perfuaded to admit of their being 
 made public. 
 
 A 2 This, 
 
[ iv ] 
 
 This, he is fenfible, has the appearance 
 of a fhle pretence; however, Jlale as it is, 
 it is an abfolute truth; and, tho' not of 
 the importance with thofe contained in the 
 book, is neverthelefs as unfeignedly real. 
 
 The Author has nothing further to add, 
 than his fincere wiflies, that they may be 
 of the fervice he is fenfible is intended by 
 the Editor; who himfelf, he hopes, has no 
 meaner view, than to render fome indivi- 
 dual both wifer and better. 
 
 CON- 
 
fe *=4fei 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CT^O THE READER Page 3 
 
 -* Adoration — 13 
 
 1 the Nativity — — — 14 
 
 On the Crucifixion — — 16 
 
 On the Refurreclion • ■ — 22 
 
 ^The Lord is King — 23 
 
 v The Mafler's Yoke, the Scholar's Lejpm — 25 
 
 The Way-faring Man, a Parody — — 26 
 
 ' :e Goldfinch, a Parody — 27 
 
 'The Complaint . — 28 
 
 ■The Tempeft . — 29 
 
 The Conflitl, or Conquefi over the Conqueror — 30. 
 
 An Alphabetic Prayer ■ — 31 
 
 ' The Second Pfalm . — 32 
 
 The Sound and Odour, altered from Herbert — 34 
 
 mgbts on Heb. fcii, — 3- 
 
 :ughts on Job xix. 26. >■ — ^y 
 
 On Coed Friday — 38 
 
 On the Fallen Angels — ib. 
 
 On Sleep - — 3 a 
 
 "The Pozver of Divine Vengeance — — ib. 
 
 A Prayer for Mercy — 4 1 
 
 -Thoughts on Job i. 2 1. — 42 
 
 * ' Chrift exalted ■• ■ — 4 • > 
 
 • The Sinner's Joy • — 4^ 
 
 ' The Spiritual Patient ~- ib. 
 
 \ A Hymn on Ifaiah lxv. 19. — 4 - 
 
 v. Thoughts on Cant. v. 1. — 46 
 
 A 3 The 
 
CO N T E NTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 The Sinner's Refolution ■ — 47 
 
 i The Sure Petition — 48 
 
 ) Ceafing from Self » — 49 
 
 The Exile's Complaint ■ — 50 
 
 I The Sinner s Wifh . • — 51 
 
 Confcience dijfatisfied, altered from Herbert — 52 
 
 The Prayer of Jabcjh^ par aphrafed — 54 
 
 Thoughts on Rev. iv. 1. — 55 
 
 :< Confidence of Hope — 56 
 
 \Thoughts on Matt. viii. 2. ■ ■ — 57 
 
 yj Thought on Mark x. 51. — — 58 
 
 J Thought on Malachi lii. 2. — — 59 
 
 /■ A Thought on Jer. xviii. 7. — ib. 
 
 The True Time-ferver, either in Religion, or out 
 
 of it , — 60 
 
 The Prayer of Faith — ib. 
 
 Weapons of Wrath — 61 
 
 Advice, from Horace, Book I. Ode xi. ■ — ib. 
 
 On literary Obfcurity, from Ovid — — 62 
 
 To a Friend ■ — — ib. 
 
 6n Faith and Hope — 63 
 
 On Gratitude — ib. 
 
 On the Wonders of Eletlricity, and other Branches 
 
 of Natural and Experimental Philofop-hy — 64 
 
 Extempore Thoughts on Bif content — — 66 
 The real and only Caufe, Occafwn, and Motive of 
 Quarrelling, Deputation, and Refentment, in 
 all Matters of Ccntroverfy, whether civil, po- 
 litical, or religious ; traced from their firfl 
 
 firnple and efficient Source -— — 68 
 
 Thoughts on Luke xViii. 8. ■■ ;* ■ — 7 1 
 
 Re ! igion, a Cypher — 72 
 
 The Friendlefs Search ■ — 7 5 
 
 Thoughts on Genefs iii. 19. — 79 
 
 Jn alphabetical Acrojlic ■ — 80 
 
 On 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 On Dependence, as a Situation — 81 
 
 On viewing a Back-gammon Board — — 82 
 
 The Law of Liberty, James i. — ■ 85 
 
 Tranjlation of two Latin Lines in Witt's Common- 
 wealth — 86 
 
 What is Confcience ? — ib. 
 
 Indifference of Death, as to Time — — ib. 
 
 A Meditation upon Martyrdom — 87 
 
 A Reflection — 88 
 
 The Wandering Sheep reflored — — ib. 
 
 A Thought on the New Year, 1785 — — 89 
 
 Quid de Mortuis ? What fay you of the Dead ? — ib. 
 
 A Thought on Pfalm xlvii. 7. — 90 
 
 A Thought on Matt. xxv. 2 1 . — ib. 
 
 A Thought 01 Matt. xi. 28. — 91 
 
 A Thought on Pfalm lxxvii. 4. — ib. 
 
 Spiritual Gratitude — 92 
 
 Tranjlation of three floor t Lines in Latin from 
 
 Seneca's Thyefles, a Tragedy — — 93 
 Tranjlation from the French of He nan Ws Para- 
 
 phrafe on the foregoing — ib. 
 
 Delay no Security < — 94 
 
 The Chriftian Voyage, or the Pilgrim s Jafe Arrival ib. 
 
 Plus loin j plus fer re ; The farther, the clofer — 95 
 
 On religious Profejfors cxpoflng the Faults of others 96 
 
 Sin, what is it ? • — ib. 
 
 A Tranjlation of the penitential Sonnet of the f<* 
 mous Monfleur des Barreaux, a converted Pro- 
 fligate — 97 
 
 Wijhing only, Thought mifpent — — 98 
 
 No abfolute Solitude — 99 
 
 Advice to the Mifer — ~ — ib. 
 
 Canfes and Confequeqces • — - ico 
 
 Free Grace at Liberty • — ib. 
 
 Obedience to Providence in every Difpcnfation — 1 o 1 
 
 Wars 
 
'CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 Wars and Fightings , whence come they ? — I o i 
 
 On parting from a Friend — 102 
 
 Lifincerity , the Bar to Happinejs — — ib. 
 
 J Soliloquy, bet-ween Me and My f elf — • — 103 
 
 On Time's uncertainty — 104 
 
 Offences threatened - — ib. 
 
 David's WifJj —105 
 
 The Conficl — ib. 
 
 The Quejlion anfwered - — ■ — 106 
 
 The-Honeft Man — 107 
 
 The Double Infidel — ib. 
 
 The Caufe and Effetl coeval — ib. 
 
 Divine Efficacy — 108 
 
 Real Worthy -what is it ? — ib. 
 
 Avarice^ a Horfe-lecch — ib. 
 
 Human Artifice — 109 
 
 Who then can be fared ? — 110 
 
 Caution in commending Books or Company — ib. 
 
 Liberty and Bondage — 1 1 1 
 
 Caufe of the Gain and Lofs of Friends — I 1 2 
 
 Tranflation from Ovid, Met am. B. I. — ib. 
 
 Religion oppofed to Bigotry — ib. 
 
 Caufcs, moral and judicial, of national Calamities 
 
 and Commotions — 113 
 
 On reading u The Call to Britain" a Copy of 
 
 Verfes by Philopatria — 114 
 
 On (m four Cardinal Points of the Compafs, 
 
 A r . E. S. W. -which, properly ranged, form the 
 
 Word NEWS - — — — ib. 
 
 Di) (appointment no Misfortune — 115 
 
 What is God? attempted from the French — 116 
 
 Tranjlation of four Lines from Horace, Book II. 
 
 Satire vii. ■ ■- — ib. 
 
 Cue's Own Thoughts — ll 7 
 
 No 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 No End of Craving, a Thought from Horace, 
 
 Book III. Ode xvii. Line 41. — 117 
 
 Another Thought from Horace, Book III. Odcxvi. ib. 
 0/* c«* Mr. Jfti/ter Miller, a Martyr in £K Mary's 
 
 Days. Written by himf elf in Latin — I 18 
 Tranflation of fix Latin Lines on the Counter Title- 
 
 page of an old Sermon on Luke xiii. 5. by Ar- 
 thur Dent — 119 
 
 A Thought on Rom. xiii. 5. — ib. 
 
 True Life and real Death « — 1 20 
 
 What is Life ? ■ — ib. 
 
 A Thought on Jer. xxiii. 24. _— — 121 
 
 ' Extempore Thoughts • — — ib. 
 
 A Simile — 123 
 
 An Extempore Thought ■ — ib. 
 
 Definition of the falfe Arminian, commonly called 
 
 A Free Wilier — ib. 
 
 Definition of afiElitious Calvinijl, commonly called 
 
 An Antinomian — 1 24 
 
 Who is the right Calvinift, and -who is the right 
 
 Arminian • — * I2£ 
 
 Whatever 's wrong is right — — - — 126 
 
 Pride of Family — 128 
 
 The Infidel arraigned, or Thoughts on Job xi. 7. 132 
 
 Who and what is a Man ? ■ — 134 
 The Sky -Lark's Complaint, or Cruelty to dumb 
 
 Creatures Ingratitude to the Creator — 137 
 An Anfwer to the Shieflion, Who will have moft 
 
 Reafon to be thankful in Heaven — — 145 
 On a Friends afring how he might walk with 
 
 God in the midft of Bufinefs, &c. — — 1 46 
 
 UnwilUngnefs of old Age to die, an Epitaph — 147 
 
 Extremes their own Oppoftes, an Epigram — 150 
 
 A Thought on Exodus xv. 4. — ib. 
 
 The Preacher's Calling » — ib. 
 
 Falfe 
 
c o N' r e j\r r s. 
 
 Page, 
 /vi^fc Sentence the Fruit cf rajh Judgment — 151 
 
 An Extempore Thought ■■■ ■ ■ — ib. 
 
 7%£ Weathercock, an Epigram — — 152 
 
 Wilful Ignorance the only invincible, an Epigram 153 
 The waking Dreamers, an Epigram — — 154 
 Infinite Power not indefinite, or Omnipotence fub- 
 
 fervient to its Wfdom, an Epigram — ib. 
 
 Impofjibiiity the Proof of Propriety — — 155 
 
 Impromptu on hearing Thunder — ib. 
 
 Death, an Epigram ■ — 156 
 
 An Extempore Reflection on the Death of two fa- 
 mous Architects — ib. 
 
 An Extempore Thought on " Lord, what is Man /" 157 
 A Thought on Eternity ■ — ib. 
 
 Ah Epitaph, c omp of ed on waking — 158 
 
 What is the great efl Bleffing upon Earth ? — 159 
 True Peace in the midft of Trouble — — ib. 
 An Extempore Thought on Time — — ib. 
 
 Cn the ill-requited Labours of Ingenuity end 
 
 Learning — — 160 
 
 A fingle Thought — — - ■ — ib. 
 
 On Content •— — — 16 1 
 
 On a Wedding Ring ■ — ib. 
 
 Wrote on the King of Spades — 162 
 
 What is the worfl Evil that can happen ? — 163, 
 
 A Thought • — ib. 
 
 The Evangelic Soldier, or the Military Evangeli/l 1 64 
 A Prayer for the itinerant Preachers of the G of pel ib. 
 The Defcription of a poor Man s Garden, tranflated 
 
 from the Latin of Virg. Mor. — 165 
 
 The Rofe, an Emblem ■ — 166 
 
 Guilt, what is it ? and what is it like ? — 167 
 
 The befl Gifts fooneft granted ■ — 168 
 
 Extempore Anfwcr to an Infidel Objetlion againfl 
 both the Power and Goodnefs of God — ib. 
 
 A Thought 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 A Thought on 2 Tim. iv. 7. — 169 
 
 Impofjibility poffible, or Time gone by recalled — ib. 
 
 \ Thoughts on Ifaiah xxvi. 20. — 170 
 
 The Covetous compared with the Dropfical — 171 
 
 Defcription of Bees,fromVirgil y JEneid\. L iv.34. ib. 
 
 True Conflancy compared to an Gak — — 172 
 
 Self Love, generally the real Source of all other ib. 
 
 What is Life ? an Epigram • ■ •— — 173 
 
 JHypocrify — it). 
 
 Inconftancy ■ ■ — 174 
 
 The Wages of Sin — 175 
 
 The Dijlaff — ib. 
 
 The Short Decifion ■ — 176 
 
 The Inquiry anfwered ■ — 177 
 
 No End of murmuring • — 178 
 
 On Confcience, as innocent of Crime ■ — 179 
 
 £ r .me Token for Good » — ib. 
 
 Caufes of 'Spiritual Decay — 180 
 
 Calculation without Number — 181 
 
 Creation, a My fiery — 182 
 
 On a dying Chrijlian taking Leave of his Family 
 
 and Friends — ib. 
 
 The Change repented — 183 
 
 / Davids Requeji — — j 84 
 
 There is but a Step between me and Death — 185 
 
 None of thefe Things move me, A6ls xx. 24. — 187 
 
 Sudden Salvation, an Epigram — 188 
 
 Nobody at Home, an Epigram ■ — 189 
 
 Plain Truth, an Epigram ■ - — ib. 
 
 Never contented, an Epigram — — — - 190 
 
 An Epigram ■ — 191 
 
 The returning Spring, an Epigram — ib. 
 
 The four important Things , an Epigram -— 192 
 
 The Race of Life, an Epigram — ib. 
 
 Every 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Every Effecl congenial with its Caufe, an Epigram 193 
 Tr (inflation of an Epigram in Latin^Jrom Muf- 
 
 cu/us, one of the German Reformers — lb. 
 
 Reproach », an Epigram • — 194 
 
 Lie not againfl the Truth y an Epigram — ib. 
 
 A Reflection — 195 
 
 An Epigram on Epigrams ■■ — 197 
 
 To the Memory of the Rev. Mr. V. Perrcnet — 198 
 An Epitaph, facred to the Memory of Mrs. C. P. 200 
 To the Memory of Mr. C. P. — — 201 
 
 On the Death of Mifs D. P. — ib. 
 
 To the Memory of Mr. J. P. — — 202 
 
 An Acroflic on the Word " Acroflic^ — 203 
 
 An Acroftic on Mr. J. C. — ib. 
 
 On the Velocity of Time ■■■ — 204 
 
 An Epitaph — ib. 
 
 An Epitaph \ in Monkifb Latin — 205 
 
 An Epitaph — ib. 
 
 Tranflation of an Epitaph overfome mode/} Abbot 
 
 of St. Albans ■ — 206 
 
 Epitaph on the famous Mr. Matt. Prior, written 
 
 by himfelfon being upbraided with the Meannefs 
 
 of his Birth — 207 
 
 Remark on the foregoing Epitaph — — ib. 
 
 An Epitaph on one Mr. Jof Bay lis and his Wife, 
 
 in Malvern Church, in Wore eft erflnre — 208 
 
 Epitaph on a Mifer — 209 
 
 An occafional Epitaph ■ » — ib. 
 
 Another — 2 10 
 
 In Memory of Majler J. H. — ib. 
 
 An Epitaph on Mr. C. M. — 211 
 
 To the Memory of Mr. W. J. — 212 
 
 The True Dying Swan — — — 213 
 
 OCCASIONAL 
 
OCCASIONAL VERSES, &c. 
 
 ADORATION. 
 
 LET praife to Thee, all fov'reign Pow'r, arife, 
 Who fix'd the mountains,and whoform'd thefkies! 
 Who o'er thy works extend'!!: a Father's care; 
 Whofe kind prote&ion all thy works declare. 
 From the glad climes, where Morn, in radiance dreft, 
 Starts forth refulgent — to the furtheft weft, 
 On Thee alone the 'whole dependant lies, 
 And thy rich boon all nature's want fupplies. 
 
 Hail ! Thou great Author of the extended whole ! 
 Revolving feafons blefs Thee as they roll ; 
 The riling fun points out thy pathlefs way, 
 And fmiJing moons thy midnight paths betray; 
 The fpangling ftars in Heaven's ethereal frame, 
 Shine to thy praife, and fparkle into flame ! 
 
 By Thee, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, rife ^ 
 Thou giv'ft the fmiling, Thou the frowning fkies : 
 At thy command the foft'ning fhowers diftil, 
 Till genial rays the teeming furrows fill j 
 
 £ Thy 
 
[ 14 3 
 Thy fofrering funs o'er all the globe extend, 
 And, bleft by Thee, the verdant fpires afcend I 
 
 See next the product of returning fpring : 
 With joy the woods, with joy the vallies ring ! 
 Alternate each refound His praife aloud ; 
 And dumb creation fhouts the incumbent God ! 
 
 Thy parent bounty fwells the golden ear, 
 And bids the harveft crown the fruitful year : 
 The fruitful year repays the labourer's pain, 
 The peafant's comfort, and the matter's gain. 
 
 The winter hoard fupplits the winnowing floor, 
 The beaft with fodder, and with bread the poor. 
 Each from thy hand his deftin'd boon receives, 
 Feeds at thy board, and on thy bounty lives ! 
 
 Thus all thy works confpicuous worfliip raife, 
 And Nature's -whole proclaims her Maker's praife ; 
 Tells out His acts, and fpreads His fame abroad — 
 Creation's Fountain! and the creature's god ! 
 
 ON THE NATIVITY. 
 
 Thoughts on i Tim. iii. 16. 
 
 WAS he then born, whom all creation owns 
 Her parent head, and fountain of her being I 
 And was he made, who was Himfelf, of all 
 That can be made, the maker arid fole heir I 
 By whom; and for, all beings that have been, 
 Or are, or ihall, inuft or exift or die ? 
 
 And 
 
t i5 i 
 
 And was he feen, who, in the only place 
 Where fpirits fee, could not be vifible, 
 But as he pleas'd to cover or unveil ? 
 
 And did he walk, whofe Deity had rode 
 On cherub's wings, that fwift out fly the light ? 
 
 Did he too labour as an hir'd man 
 Who wrought for bread, whofe hands without fatigue 
 Created worlds, and fported with the toil ? 
 
 And did he fue for water to allay 
 His own defire, when wearinefs and third 
 CompelTd the Fountain, whence all fpriugs are fill'J, 
 And filling flow, to afk an humble draught 
 From hands that ought to've wafh'd his feet with tears ? 
 
 And did he pray, to whom all prayer is made, 
 And praying agonize, as if in fear, 
 Or fearful doubt, his fuit fhould be denied ? 
 
 And was he fcourg'd, whofe hands with lenient 
 cords 
 Had lafh'd the confdence of his bafe revisers ? 
 And naked naiTd, whofe arm had cloath'd the fides 
 With bright enamel, and the earth with green, 
 To Calvary's crofs 2 O draw the nail ! yet not ! 
 For on it hangs the hope of worlds unborn ! 
 And thine who read 'ft, if reading thou can'ft fee. 
 But, hark ! he's gone ! and with him all that can; 
 Man's lofs or gain, eternal as complete ! 
 
 All Nature Gghs ! Hell heard the expiring groan, 
 And central fhudders at the dreadful echo ! 
 But Heaven exults J and fo do thou, my foul, 
 For whom the whole, here regifter'd, was done ! 
 
 B2 ON 
 
C 16 ] 
 
 ON THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 WHO hath believed the REPORT P Ifa. liii. 1. 
 
 I. 
 
 CAL M as the midnight is my foul, 
 When underneath the bloody tree ; 
 'Tis there my thoughts fublimely roll, 
 Revolving on that mystery i 
 II. 
 There I behold, lift up on high, 
 
 The mark of unrelenting fcorn ; 
 The god whofe wifdom form'd the (ley, 
 The man of griefs — forfook, forlorn. 
 III. 
 The man, at whom the father cries, 
 
 11 Awake, O fword ! and vengeance take 
 ** On him, who now devoted lies 
 " A furety for the linners fake ! 
 IV. 
 u Spare not his body, nor his foul ; 
 
 " On him the whole demand (hall lie : 
 *' Himfelf has undertook the whole, 
 " And he the whole (hall fatisfy. 
 V. 
 11 He only (hall the wine-press tread, 
 " The dregs of my difplcafure tafle : 
 u On him, and on his guiltlefs head, 
 M The weight of my revenge (hall reft." 
 
 VI. 
 
C '7 J 
 vr. 
 
 Is this then he that comes from far, 
 
 From edom with his garments dy'd ? 
 Is this the bright, the morning star, 
 
 Eclips'd, as mourning for his bride ? 
 VII. 
 Is this the Father's only Son, 
 
 The image of himfelf unfeen ; 
 The fulnefs of the three in one, 
 
 In likenefs of the fons of men ? 
 VIII. 
 In whom I view th' incarnate god, 
 
 An isaac on the altar (lain ; 
 No angel there to flay that rod, 
 
 Or bid, " Re-fheath the fword again." 
 IX. 
 There, then, I fee the Prince of Peace, 
 
 Lord of the living and the dead, 
 Pour from his wounded fides recefs 
 
 The lafl rich drop he has to fried. 
 
 X. 
 
 'Tis there I fee each legal type, 
 
 Dreadful unfolded to my view, 
 The pascal lamb for (laughter ripe, 
 
 The great burnt-offering burnt anew. 
 XI. 
 There too, with them who flood around 
 
 His crofs, with tearful eyes, 1 fee 
 Frefh myfteries itreaming from that wound, 
 
 That, as it ftreams, atones for me ! 
 
 b 3 xa 
 
C 18 ] 
 
 XII. 
 There, with the mother of her Lord, 
 
 Whofe foul the fvvord of anguifh pierc'd, 
 I feem to fhare the fad record, 
 
 And weep, with her, the fcene rehearsM. 
 XIII. 
 There I behold the mighty fun 
 
 In darknefs plunge his vifual rays ; 
 And there the pale and (hiv'ring moon, 
 For forrow feems to veil her face. 
 XIV. 
 All Nature feels the direful fhock, 
 
 As Nature's fe!f abhorr'd their deeds ; 
 While Jewiflb hearts, more hard than rock, 
 Revile the Sufferer as he bleeds. 
 XV. 
 Tis there I fee what fin deferves, 
 
 'Tis there I fee what fin has done, 
 When on that crofs mine eye obferves 
 The Father's co-eternal son ! 
 XVI. 
 There I bewail, with downcaft eyes, 
 
 My own ingratitude and fhame ; 
 How much I need, yet little prize, 
 The merits of the bleeding lamb ! 
 XVII. 
 "Tis there, in types of blood, I read, 
 What Juftice might have done to me ; 
 Transferr'd from my offending head, 
 And nail'd with Jefus to the tree. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
[ 19 3 
 
 xvirr. 
 
 'Tis there, between two thieves, I view 
 
 The only innocent and juft ; 
 The god of all, who all things knew, 
 
 Humbled with felons to the dull. 
 XIX. 
 'Tis there, with wonder, I behold, 
 
 What Patriarchs once could fcarcc conceive ; 
 Nor Prophets, tho' themfelves foretold, 
 
 For wonder, eafily believe. 
 XX. 
 There I behold th' angelic throng 
 
 Bending o'er Heaven's eternal ftecp ; 
 While Seraphs, (truck, fufpend their fong, 
 
 And high Archangels feem to weep ! 
 XXI. 
 There Gabriel, foremoft of the choir, 
 
 Hangs o'er his harp with melting eye, 
 To fee the god that did infpire 
 
 That harp with life, accursed die ! 
 
 xxir. 
 
 Nor fcems ev'n Hell without its fhare ; 
 
 Seiz'd with diftraftions wild amaze, 
 Their eyelids flafh more horrid glare, 
 
 As fcorch'd with flames of fiercer blaze. 
 XXIII. 
 Their lofs bewail'd with fhriller cries, 
 
 Their fall a fate no tongue can tell ; 
 But funk as judgment feems to rife, 
 
 They deeper fink to deeper Hell ! 
 
 xxiv; 
 
[ 20 ] 
 
 XXIV. 
 The foul arch-fiend, with bruised head, 
 
 Now fhudders for his future doom ; 
 While sin and death united dread 
 
 The approaching triumph of the Tomb*. 
 XXV. 
 Al! this, and more, methinks I fee, 
 
 By faith's ftrong realizing eye ; 
 My curfe all cancel'd on that tree 
 
 On which the tree of life did die! 
 XXVI. 
 u But when (I afk) did this begin ? 
 
 " Who firfi: fuch thoughts of love could dare ? 
 < f With art divine condemn the fin, 
 
 " And yet the firmer kindly fpare ?"" 
 XXVU. 
 I afk'd, and, as I liften'd, heard 
 
 This gracious anfwer to my plea : 
 u Ere yet creation's felf appear'd, 
 
 " Or aught but deity could be : 
 XXVIII. 
 " Ere the bright orb that lights the day, 
 
 " Or that fair lamp that gilds the'night ; 
 u Ere fhone the ftars, whofe clufler'd ray 
 
 " Adorns the firmament with light : 
 XXIX. 
 u High as the fount from whence it flow'dj 
 
 " Deep as the fource from whence it fprung; 
 41 Ere fcraph forms extatic glow'd, 
 
 11 Or morning ftars their martins fung, 
 
 * The RefurrcElkn. XXX. 
 
E *i ] 
 
 xxx. 
 
 c< This myftery of love began 
 
 " Its fource in his eternal mind, 
 " Who god with god, as man with man, 
 
 " Then fware to refcue loft mankind. 
 XXXI. 
 << In that great moment all was fix'd; 
 
 1 I come (he cries) to do thy will : 
 
 I Be judgment but with mercy mix'd, 
 
 * And I her vengeance will fulfil. 
 XXXII. 
 € I will the flnner's curie fuftain, 
 
 1 I will the debt of juftice pay ; 
 • The law's long injur'd rights regain, 
 
 ? And bear the injurer's guilt away I* 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 " His word th' incarnate furety kept ; 
 
 u And, well prepar'd to feel the fmart, 
 " Thy furety has difcharg'd the debt, 
 
 " And fnatch'd its dagger from thy heart: 
 XXXIV. 
 
 II Took on himfelf the load of fin, 
 
 " Contenc to bear imputed guilt, 
 " He ftill remain'd untaint within, 
 
 " And fpotlcfs as the blood he fpilt. 
 XXXV. 
 u Be then His acts thy wonder's joy, 
 
 " Thy life the witnefs of His love ; 
 
 11 Its fweet defcant thy fweet employ, 
 
 " Till fown in death it blooms above. 
 
 XXXVI 
 
£ 22 ] 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Where long as Heav'n itfelf (hall live, 
 " Long as the God that died for thee ; 
 So long His love (hall life furvive, 
 " And Saints revolve the mystery !" 
 
 ON THE RESURRECTION. 
 
 I. 
 
 AL L hail the power of jesu's name ! 
 Let Angels proftrate fall; 
 Bring forth the royal diadem, 
 To crown Him lord of All. 
 H. 
 Let high-bom Seraphs tune the lyre, 
 
 And, as they tune it, fall 
 Before His face who tunes their choir, 
 And crown Him lord of All. 
 III. 
 Crown Him, ye morning ftars of light, 
 
 Who fix'd this floating ball ; 
 Now hail the ftrength of Israel's might, 
 And crown Him lord of All. 
 IV. 
 Crown him, ye martyrs of your god, 
 
 Who from His altar call ; 
 Extol the flem of jesse's rod, 
 And crown Him lord of All. 
 
 V. 
 
[ *3 3 
 V. 
 
 Ye feed of Israel's chofen race, 
 
 Ye ranfem'd of the fall, 
 Hail Him who faves you by His grace, 
 
 And crown Him lord of All. 
 VI. 
 Hail Him, ye heirs of david's line, 
 
 Whom David lord did call ; 
 The cod incarnate, man divine; 
 
 And crown Him lord of All. 
 VII. 
 Sinners ! whofe love can ne'er forget 
 
 The wormwood and the gall, 
 Go — fpread your trophies at His feet, 
 
 And crown Him lord of All. 
 VIII. 
 Let every tribe, and every tongue, 
 
 That bound creation's call, 
 Now fliout in univerfal fong, 
 
 The CROWNED LORD OF ALL i 
 
 THE LORD IS KING, 
 Pfalm xevi 10. 
 
 L 
 
 HAIL, holy, holy, holy lord ! 
 Let Pow'rs immortal fing ; 
 Adore the co-eternal word, 
 
 And Ihout, the lord is king ! 
 
 II. 
 
[ M 1 
 
 ir. 
 
 To thee all Angels cry aloud, 
 
 Thy name hofannas ring ; 
 Around thy throne their myriads crowd, 
 
 And ihout, the lord is king ! 
 III. 
 Hail Him, they cry, ye Tons of light, 
 
 Of joy the eternal fpring ; 
 Praife Him who form'd you by his might, 
 
 And ihout, the lord is king ! 
 IV. 
 Low at His feet, ye Seraphs, fall ; 
 
 His praife, ye Cherubs, fing : 
 Shout, all ye Heav'ns, on whom we call, 
 
 O ihout, THE LORD IS KING ! 
 
 V. ■ 
 Hail Him, ye faints, whofe love for you 
 
 Haih drawn the monger's lting : 
 O render to the lord His due, 
 And ihout, the lord is king ! 
 VI. 
 Let salem's fons their powVs employ, 
 
 And ftrike the chorded ftring ; 
 While choral bands, with burfrs of joy, 
 
 High ihout, THE LORD IS KING ! 
 
 VII. 
 
 Cry out and ihout, fair zion's land! 
 
 Ye prieirs, your offerings bring : 
 Watchmen ! that on her ramparts ftand, 
 
 And ihout, the lord is king ! 
 
 VIII. 
 
vin. 
 
 Rife from the duft, ye Heirs of Grace, 
 And, with expanded wing, 
 
 Afcend to Him who fills all fpace, 
 And fhouc, the lord is king ! 
 
 IX. • 
 
 Let worlds above, and worlds below, 
 
 In fongs united fing ; 
 And, while eternal ages flow, 
 
 Loud ftlOUt, THE LORD IS KING ! 
 
 THE MASTER'S YOKE — THE 
 SCHOLAR'S LESSON. 
 
 Learn tf me. Matt. xi. 29* 
 
 I. 
 
 O Grant me, Lord, that fweet content^ 
 That fweetens every ftate ; 
 Which no internal fears can rent, 
 Nor outward foes abate. 
 II. 
 Thou wilt keep him in perfett peace, 
 
 (Thy word the truth hath faid) 
 Who, cloth'd with thy great righteoufnefs, 
 Thy arm his ftrength has made. 
 
 C Ift, 
 
C 26 3 
 
 in. 
 
 Grant me then, lord, a contrite heart, 
 
 A meek and quiet breaft ; 
 Thy own unfpotted mind impart, 
 
 Thy own unftiaken reft. 
 IV. 
 That rest for humble fouls prepar'd, 
 
 The bofom of thy love ; 
 Where patience finds her full reward, 
 
 When perfe&ed above. 
 V. 
 Give me then grace this reft to feek, 
 
 And, as I feek, to find ; 
 My heart all pure, my foul all meek, 
 
 The copy of thy mind. 
 VI. 
 So (hall I know thy utmoft power, 
 
 Thy utmoft glory prove ; 
 And in eternity adore 
 
 The matchlefs gift of love I 
 
 THE WAY-FARING MAN. 
 A PARODY. 
 
 I. 
 
 TH E wand'ring pilgrim treads his road, 
 In fearch of Happinefs and God ! 
 Undaunt he ventures on his way, 
 Tho' toft by night as tir'd by day : 
 In hopes, when every toil is o'er, 
 To land upon the eternal fhore. 
 
 II. 
 
C 27 ] 
 II. 
 
 When tempefls howl and dorms arife, 
 That (hake the turrets of the Ikies; 
 When waves as mountain billows foam, 
 His faith ftill eyes the promis'd home \ 
 In hopes, when every roil is o'er, 
 To land upon the eternal (bore. 
 
 jii. 
 
 When round the altar's (acred monnt, 
 His joys their former griefs recount, 
 His tried companions join the throng, 
 And fhout the univerfal fong : 
 
 *' O may we, when thofe toils are o'er, 
 " All fafely tread the eternal Ihore. 
 
 THE GOLDFINCH. 
 A PARODY. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHILE o'er the mountain's top I climb, 
 Nor wait the flow return of time; 
 As longing more for salem's fprings, 
 Than all the pageantry of kings ; 
 Forgive me that I third to fee 
 The myitic depths of calvary. 
 
 C z II. 
 
r as j 
 ii. 
 
 let me join the angelic throng, 
 
 That o'er the Crofs fufpend their fong ; 
 
 And look, with tearful eyes, to view 
 
 The man that once on earth they knew, 
 Now bleeding on the accurfed tree, 
 And mufe the depths of calvary. 
 III. 
 
 Till warm'd my heart with myftic flame > 
 
 1 long to fhare the glorious fhame ; 
 And, as I feel the facred lire, 
 Myfelf a facrifice expire : 
 
 From thence remount to Heav'n, and fee 
 The eternal depths of calvary J 
 
 THE COMPLAINT. 
 
 I. 
 
 SE QJJ E S T E R 'D from the world of noifc, 
 And abfent as from god, 
 The chaften'd fufferer hears His voice, 
 
 And greets the facred rod : 
 With ceafelefs fighs his fin he moans, 
 While Mercy echoes to his groans. 
 
 II. 
 Juft like a bafe, unthankful child, 
 
 The father's gracelefs heir, 
 When conquer'd by corre&ion mild, 
 
 And trembling to draw near, 
 The prodigal fcarce lifts his eye, 
 But heaves the deep reflective figh. 
 
 III. 
 
[ 2 9 3 
 
 III. 
 
 So thus the prodigal of grace, 
 
 Late wander'd from his home, 
 When fore'd to fee a Father's face, 
 
 Who meekly bids him " come," 
 With twice ten thoufand namelefs pangs, 
 Oer the returning ftray he hangs. 
 
 IV. 
 And thus the bowels of that Breaft 
 
 That once for finners bled, 
 Are Hill with equal love impreft, 
 
 And ftill extends its aid : 
 The only friend that finners have 
 To plead their caufe — or them to fove ! 
 
 THE TEMPEST, 
 
 I. 
 
 IN fiorms and temped flill I dare 
 The danger of ten thoufand waves ; 
 And caft my all upon His care, 
 
 Whofe arm ten thoufand deaths outbraves* 
 H. 
 With jesus o'er the deep I fail, 
 
 Toft to and fro with every wind ; 
 The flormy blaft or fhiv'ring gale, 
 If fo I may the haven find. 
 
 ^ 3 UL 
 
I 3° 1 
 
 III. 
 
 But, ah ! the thoufand fears I feel, 
 
 The thoufand dangers yet unpaft : 
 The rocks o'er which I have to reel, 
 
 Ere makes my foul the Port at laft. 
 IV. 
 But O, my God ! if thou art near, 
 
 Or prefent in the fhip with me ; 
 What has ev'n unbelief to fear ? 
 
 When loft— I'm only loft with Thee ! 
 
 THE CONFLICT, OR CONQUEST 
 OVER THE CONQUEROR, 
 
 Gen. xxxii. 24. 
 
 I. 
 
 I WOULD, if wifhing would but do, 
 Be all thou bid'ft me be : 
 Yet what but (hades do I purfue, 
 Till fight discovers thee? 
 II. 
 Till with my arms of faith I can 
 
 Command the rifing fcale ; 
 And wreftling both with god and man, 
 O'er god and man prevail. 
 
 III. 
 
C 31 3 
 in. 
 
 Till, jacob like, I hold Thee faft, 
 
 Nor let the Wreftler go -, 
 But wreitling till the night is paft, 
 
 Myfelf the Conqueror know. 
 IV. 
 O might I then with jacob meet, 
 
 With jacob wreftle on, 
 Till falls the Conqueror at my feet,. 
 
 And owns Himfelf outdone ! 
 
 AN ALPHABETIC PRAYER. 
 
 AL L wife ! all good ! all glorious Lord of all I 
 Before whofe throne th' angelic armies fall, 
 Creation's fons thy majetly adore. 
 Declare thy greatnefs and confefs thy pow'r. 
 Each day preferv'd — each day thy creatures own 
 Fre(h mercies granted, and frefh favours (hewn. 
 Grant then for each — what befl; for all mult prove, 
 Heav'n here on earth, and then thy heav'n above* 
 In all thou doll, thy hand in all be feen, 
 Juftice and truth, while mercy fhines between. 
 Kent from all harm — as from all foul offence, 
 LufVs dark defile — and pride's ambitious fenfe, 
 Make every heart the temple for Its God ; 
 Nor leave a thought that can provoke his rod. 
 
 0£ 
 
r 32 1 
 
 Of all thy gifts — thy holinefs beftow, 
 
 Purer than light, and whiter than the /hovj. 
 
 Quicken our fouls — till, purified our mind, 
 
 Reafon fhall bend — fubmiffive as refin'd i 
 
 Soft fpicy gales from edom's groves fhall fpring, 
 
 The frream (hall murmur, and the turtle fing ; 
 
 Vain thoughts fhall die — while thoughts of god (hall 
 
 rife, 
 Unmoor our hearts, and waft us to the fkies ; 
 With martyr'd faints we'll croud the ethereal coafl:, 
 Xerxes out-number, and defy his hofl ; 
 Yon facred fpires announce the pilgrims home; 
 Zion's fair mount — and god's eternal dome ! 
 
 THE SECOND PSALM. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHY rage the heathen with their maddefign ? 
 The nations why fo fool i fill y combine ? 
 Their work of nothing and themfelves undone : 
 Eai th's haughty monarchs have united rofe, 
 Princes confederate their arms oppofe 
 
 Againft the lord (of hods) and his anointed son J 
 II. 
 u Let us," fay they, n their bands in funder break, 
 " Their yoke difcharge from off our fervile neck, 
 
 " Nor flavifh wear the ever-galling chain : M 
 But he that fitteth far above all height 
 Hath feen their malice, and their fell defpite, 
 And laughs to fcorn their impotence profane. 
 
 III. 
 
I 33 1 
 
 in. 
 
 Then (hall He fpealc in thunder's awful found, 
 With (ore difpleafure compafs them around, 
 
 And with (unheard) amaze their ftartled confciencc 
 fill: 
 u Spite of their aim invidious to defeat 
 €i My great defigns — behold my hand (hall fet 
 u My 'fav'iue King upon my Holy Hill l n 
 IV. 
 There will I preach the law, whereof the Lord 
 Of old hath fpoke — there will I feal the word, 
 " Thou art my Son, this day will I beget 
 u Mine image in thee — therefore to thy hands 
 " I give all nations, and earths utmoft lands, 
 " And there thy throne and thy dominion fet : 
 V. 
 u There fhalt thou reign, and, ruling as a god, 
 * c Shall bruife in pieces with an iron rod 
 
 " Thy foes and mine — who would not own thy 
 u fway : 
 li Be wife, ye kings — ye monarchs, hear and learn, 
 " Ye partial judges — behold you I warn, 
 
 " Againft the vengeance of that judgment day I 
 VI. 
 " Go kifs the Son ! left by delay you grieve, 
 u Or fcorn'd provoke — and force His love to leave 
 
 " Your fouls to perifh in the gulph of death : 
 u Since, if His wrath be but a moment ftirr'd, 
 " Bleft are the men, who, trufting on His word, 
 M Embrace the hand whofe potence gave them 
 " breath !" 
 
 THE 
 
I 34 3 
 
 THE SOUND AND ODOUR. 
 
 Altered from HERBERT. 
 
 I. 
 
 HOW fweetly doth " my master" found to me 1 
 More fweet than harp or harper's melody : 
 And to my tafte more fweet than amber fmell, 
 Or Arab's fpices — or what feers tell 
 Of sharon's rofe — fave that my master's He, 
 Who only can with sharon's rofe agree. 
 
 II. 
 
 With thefe by day I hold him fweet converfe, 
 And thro' the night my fleeping dreams rehear fe : 
 Or wakeful mufe — while murmurs every thought, 
 Till by communion into vifion brought, 
 His form I view — His matchlefs features trace, 
 And think I fee the godhead in His face. 
 
 III. 
 My fluttering heart awairs His blifsful fmile, 
 To blefs my labours, and accept my toil ; 
 For labour's reft and toil for Him is eafe, 
 When him alone, and not myfelf, I pleafe : 
 Thus pleas'd we're both — each plight our mutual 
 
 word, 
 He calls me " Servant"— as I call Him " lord." 
 
 IV. 
 
I 35 3 
 
 IV. 
 
 Yet ah ! how fliort the fervice I can pay 
 
 Of His high worth ! But this I'll do— 111 fay, 
 
 1 master, I'm thine — and what more can I be; 
 
 * If aught's beyond — this muft depend on Thee : 
 
 * To this I (land — do thou but fay, V well done," 
 4 And then we finifh where we firlt begun ! n 
 
 THOUGHTS ON HEBREWS XIL 
 
 L 
 
 AW A K E, my foul— arife ! 
 And run the heavenly race: 
 Look up to Him who holds the prize, 
 And offers thee the grace. 
 
 II. 
 
 The rich reward of love, 
 
 By faith held forth to view ; 
 The crown that martyrs wear above, 
 
 And now held forth to view. 
 
 III. 
 Say not, " Who will beftow, 
 
 H Or who the gift fecure ? " 
 Go after your forerunner, go, 
 And find the promife/tf/v. 
 
 IV. 
 
C J« ] 
 
 IV. 
 
 "Shake off the carnal dull, 
 
 That clogs your ling'ring fpeed ; 
 Nor longer in your idols truft, 
 The living or the dead : 
 V. 
 Each fordid, low defire, 
 
 Each heart-corroding care, 
 Each Jin that would thy death confpire, 
 And chain thee to defpair. 
 VI. 
 Start from the goal of earth, 
 
 And, filPd with humble zeal, 
 Afpiring to thy fecond birth, 
 Its facred influence feel. 
 VII. 
 Borne on the wings of faith, 
 
 Thro' fuffering, grief, or pain: 
 In patience tread the martyr'd path, 
 , Till hope the prize (hall gain. 
 VIII. 
 Till he, who once of old 
 
 Himfelf the race did run, 
 Jesus, the full reward unfold, 
 And fnatch thee to His throne ! 
 
 THOUGHTS 
 
C 37 1 
 
 THOUGHTS ON JOB, XIX. 25. 
 
 I. 
 
 * T KNOW that my Redeemer lives/' 
 
 X He lives who died for me ; 
 And when His voice the dead revives, 
 
 1 (ball His glory fee. 
 IF. 
 I fliall before His prefence ftand, 
 
 And, Vay'd in robes divine, 
 Be found a ftar at His right hand, 
 
 And as a ftar (hall dine. 
 III. 
 I fhall in righteoufnefs behold 
 
 The beauties of His face; 
 And, with tne cloud of faints of old, 
 
 Adore His fov'reign grace. 
 IV. 
 I /hall, tho' worms this flefli confume, 
 
 To purer man lions rife ; 
 And, mounting from the narrow tomb, 
 
 Explore the unbounded dries. 
 V. 
 I fhall of Him who died for me 
 
 Be made a Priejl and King ; 
 And then, thro' all eternity, 
 
 The King of Glory fing I 
 
 D ON 
 
C 38 ] 
 
 ON GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 DIES he that lives! --does then the immortal die? 
 Can Reafon hear, nor afk the reafon why ? 
 Does he expire like frail mortality, 
 Whofe breath is life — His days eternity ? 
 He does — but why ? — look, infidel, within ; 
 Offended juftice, and uncancel'd fin, 
 Each now no more — the debt eternal paid, 
 And full redemption — full atonement made. 
 " Father, forgive" — Forgive/' the spirit cries : 
 41 'Twas man that fin'd - 3 but 'tis thy Son that dies 1" 
 
 ON THE FALLEN ANGELS. 
 
 WONDER ! forbear — nor curious feek to pry 
 How forms create, fo holy and fo high, 
 Could thus offend — and in that prefence dare 
 Announce their treafon, and its rights aver ! 
 Enough, they fell — and fell thro' pride, deplore, 
 What loft by them, is loft to find no more. 
 Thy marvel this — that man rebell'd the fame, 
 Should that obtain, fo dread denied to them ! 
 Who took his nature— he his curfe endur'd, 
 From ruin refcu'd, and his peace procur'd. 
 But why fuch grace — or why fuch favour giv'n, 
 Is beft referr'd, as beft refolv'd in heav'n. 
 
 ON' 
 
[ 39 3 
 
 ON SLEEP. 
 
 EMBLEM of death ! as is its couch the Grave, 
 Doom'd to contain the Coward and the Brave ; 
 Where ileep reclin'd, the guilty and the pure, 
 Alike iMomb'd —feque/ler'd and Jecure ; 
 Referv'd alike in that dread hour to wake, 
 Deftin'd to Rand — and each their defiine take. 
 Peace to the laft — while judgment marks the fir ft, 
 Ere yet arraign'd — accurfing, and accurft. 
 Rais'd from their bed, to wrap in fleep no more, 
 Reviv'd they gaze, and horribly adore. 
 Oh, fatal fleep ! that thus awak'd to woe, 
 No longer eafe — no longer reft (hall know ! 
 E'en here a foretafte of that keener fteef, 
 That/006 have mock'd — and dying fools muft feci. 
 
 THE POWER OF DIVINE VENGEANCE, 
 
 A SACRED SONNET. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHEN God for fin (hall death demand, 
 Who can before His judgment {land I 
 The proud (hall bend— the mighty fail, 
 Before the Lord, the Judge of all, 
 
 Dz 1L 
 
C 40 3 
 
 II. 
 
 Justtce can make the Heav'ns afraid 1 ,. 
 And b ighttft Cherubs hide their head, 
 From Him who fits upon the throne, 
 For He is pure, and He alone. 
 
 IlL 
 Compar'd with whom, all beings made 
 Are but the (hadows of a (hade: 
 Nooght have but what He deigns to give, 
 In whom they move, by whom they live. 
 
 IV. 
 How then (hall mortals bear the fight 
 Of fuch a God, and fuch a height ! 
 The fons of Adam— all unclean, 
 In guilt conceiv'd, and born in fin. 
 
 V. 
 Yet ev'n of thefe, there yet (hall ftand 
 Before His throne, and on each hand, 
 A royal race, by Him redeemed, 
 Whom God approved, tho' men blafphemM* 
 
 VI. 
 O might my lot with theirs be eafr, 
 Who, found in Him, (hall ftand at laft 
 Bold in His fight, by fear unaw'd, 
 And face the purity of God *. 
 
 * i John, iii. 2. 
 
 A PRAYER 
 
I 41 ] 
 
 A PRAYER FOR MERCY, 
 Or Thoughts on Pfalm cxix. 94. 
 
 I. 
 
 IF lam thine, wilt not thou fave, 
 And hide me from my foe ; 
 Vouchfafe the bleffing that 1 crave, 
 And, as I afk — beftow. 
 II. 
 If lam thine, wilt thou not hear, 
 
 And grant me this requeft, 
 That 1 at leaft thy name may fear, 
 Tho' joy forfake my breaft. 
 III. 
 If I am thine, thou canft but fave, 
 
 For then thy/elf "art mine : 
 If not — thou canfr. adopt a flave, 
 And make him heir with thine. 
 IV. 
 Thou canfr. with perfect eafe perform 
 
 Whatc'ci 1 thy pkafure will ; 
 A finner to a faint transform, 
 Tho* found a finner dill. 
 V. 
 Such power to thee, my God, belongs, 
 
 And to thy name alone ; 
 And fuch the triumph of their fongs, 
 Whom Mercy makes her own. 
 
 D3 VI. 
 
C 4* I 
 
 VI. 
 If then thy love this grace WfJUtar, 
 
 This gift on me confer, 
 I (hall find reft where'er I go, 
 
 And Heav'n be always near. 
 VII. 
 I lhall with Ifraeh flock be found, 
 
 That loft, but ranfom'd race ; 
 And (hour, thro' one eternal round, 
 
 The love that faves by grace ! 
 
 THOUGHTS ON JOB, I. ;i 
 
 I. 
 
 NAKED into the world I came, 
 And naked I return ; 
 My covering nothing but my fhame,. 
 My nakednefs I mourn. 
 II. 
 Script of the image of my god, 
 
 Unfit for angel-eyes, 
 I wander here a naked clod, 
 Tho' formed to fcale the fkies< 
 III. 
 My firft progenitor, by fia 
 
 Corrupted as defil'd, 
 Has deep entaiPd his guilty ftain 
 Ob each apoftate child. 
 
 IV 
 
[ 43 I 
 
 IV. 
 
 For this, of every comfort fliorne, 
 
 For this, himfclf he loft ; # 
 
 While we, his wretched offspring, moura 
 
 The price our ruin coft. 
 V. 
 But O, thou fecond Jdant, come. 
 
 And clothe my naked foul ; 
 Reverfe the fentence of my doom, 
 
 And make my nature whole 1 
 IV. 
 Thine itmge on my heart imprefs, 
 
 Thy righteoufncfs divine ; 
 Thar, walking in thy glorious drefs, 
 
 I may in glory (hine ! 
 
 CHRIST EXALTED. 
 
 I. 
 
 I A M he that was and is ; 
 I am he thafs yet to come : 
 1 am he that ever lives, 
 
 Dead, but rifen from the tomb ! 
 I am he whom sekaphs own, 
 And before my footfteps fall ; 
 High on an eternal throne, 
 Lord \ and ruler over all ! 
 
 II. 
 
[ 44 3 
 
 II. 
 
 Thou art he ! who all things made, 
 
 And to whom all things {hall bow ; 
 Nature's fountain, and her head, 
 
 Everlafting lord art thou ! 
 Everlafting prieft and king, 
 
 Head o'er all of god to men : 
 God and man — o'er all we fing, 
 
 God and man with thee we reign ! 
 
 THE SINNER'S JOY. 
 
 I AM he for whom he died, 
 He whom highcft heav'ns adore ; 
 God ! the Saviour crucified, 
 
 God ! the bleft for evermore. 
 God I the bleft, the great I am ! 
 Lord of all the worlds above: 
 Sing, ye faints, the Saviour's name,. 
 , Sing, ye faints, the Saviour's love ! 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL PATIENT. 
 
 I. 
 
 CO M E— O come, thou good Phyfician, 
 Healer of the wounded foul ; 
 See my fad and fore condition, 
 View me, lord, and fpeak me whole. 
 
 II, 
 
C 45T 3 
 
 II. 
 Stricken — fmitten — wounded — bruifed, 
 
 All difeafe thro' every part ; 
 Long I have thy help refufed, 
 
 Long denied thy healing.art. 
 III. 
 But at length convinced— confounded^ 
 
 Now thy healing art I crave ; 
 And believe my hope well giounded, 
 
 Thou wilt not refufe to lave. 
 IV. 
 Envy, wrath, and low refentment, 
 
 Never can have place in thee : 
 Love thou art — if mix'd with judgment^ 
 
 And they both fhall plead for me. 
 
 A HYMN ON ISAIAH, LXV. 19. 
 
 I. 
 
 GO D of Jacob, bend thine ear, 
 Thou that hearefl — hear the pray'r ; 
 Thou whom here we feek again, 
 Wilt thou let us u feek in vain P n 
 
 II. 
 O thou, IfracH flrength and head ! 
 Haft thou not to j a cob faid, 
 44 Call upon me yet again, 
 " For thou (halt woifeck in vam ? " 
 
 III, 
 
t 4* 2 
 in. 
 
 Lord ! we hold thee to thy word, 
 Plead the promife on record ; 
 Truft thine honour to maintain, 
 That we fhail notfeek in vain* 
 
 IV. 
 Only let thy love incline 
 All our hearts to pray with thine % 
 Then, however mean our ftrah^ 
 We can never feek in vain : 
 
 V. 
 
 But fhall in due time receive 
 All thy truth hath fworn to give; 
 And, while endlefs years remain, 
 Know we did notfeek in vain. 
 
 THOUGHTS ON CANTICLES, V, 1. 
 
 I. 
 
 IN T O my garden, lo ! I come, 
 To tafte the fpikenard's rich perfume, 
 The/pices of my grace : 
 Into my garden will I come, 
 To take my love, my fair-one home, 
 And feal the lafl embrace. 
 
 II. 
 
[ 47 3 
 
 II. 
 
 Into my garden am I come, 
 
 To breathe the lily's foft perfume, 
 
 That fcents the facred grove ; 
 To blefs the vale of heav'nly flowers, 
 Where keeps the fpoufe her happieft hours, 
 
 And waits her laft remove. 
 III. 
 " I come" — the bridegroom gently cries : 
 " O come," the gentle bride replies, 
 
 u And fmooth the rugged road : 
 M He comes ! His chariot-wheels I hear ! 
 " He comes ! and (hall my fpirit bear 
 
 " To his unseen abode ! " 
 
 THE SINNER'S RESOLUTION. 
 
 I. 
 
 LE T the world afk what they will, 
 And let Heaven their wifh fulfil ; 
 This be that for which I cry, 
 Save me, Jefus, or I die. 
 
 If. 
 " Doft thou afk— what (hall I give ? n 
 Lord ! I afk that I may live ; 
 And thro' all my life may cry, 
 Save me, Jefns 9 or I die. 
 
 III. 
 
C 48 ] 
 III. 
 
 <l Speak again, what wouldfl: thou havej 
 *« Thinkeft thou that I can fave ? " 
 Yes, my God — I do, and cry, 
 Save me, Jefus, or I die. 
 
 IV. 
 Nor do think — the thing I afk, 
 Is for thee too great a talk ; 
 Thou, whofe wifdom built the fky, 
 Sure can fave me from to die. 
 
 V. 
 Nothing, Lord, is hard to thee, 
 Nor impoffible to me : 
 If thou wilt but hear the cry, 
 Save me, Jefus, or I die. 
 
 VI. 
 Here, then, would I make my moan, 
 Till I (hake the eternal throne ; 
 Till I hear my God reply, 
 i( Go in peace — thou fhalt not die ! * 
 
 THE SURE PETITION. 
 
 I. 
 
 OT H A T I might for afking have, 
 What well 1 know my foul would fave ; 
 'Twould then be feen, beyond a doubt, 
 Whether I would be fav'd or not, 
 
 II. 
 
[ 49 ] 
 
 II. 
 
 I could not, furely, be fo bafe, 
 As to reject fo rich a grace, 
 That bids me only aflc and have 
 What well I know my foul would fave. 
 
 III. 
 Come then, my god, the offer make; 
 I aflc thee, Father, for His fake, 
 Who died for this, that I might have 
 What well I know my foul would five. 
 
 IV. 
 Repentance, faith, and pard'ning love, 
 The hope affur'd of beav'n above ; 
 All thou can'ft give, or -I can have, 
 That, well I know, my foul would fave. 
 
 V. 
 This then I afk, and now believe, 
 In ailcing that I fhall receive ; 
 And rife with Him — who left the grave, 
 With full refolve my foul to fave. 
 
 CEASING FROM SELF. 
 
 I. 
 
 IW O U'D be all that I am not, 
 And every thing I ought ; 
 My foul without a fingle fpot, 
 And pure in every thought. 
 
 E II. 
 
C 50 1 
 II. 
 
 I wou'd be patient, gentle, mild, 
 
 In every wifh reflgn'd ; 
 The model of a little child, 
 
 To every good inclin'd. 
 III. 
 I wou'd be prudent, kind, and meek, 
 
 In love each wound receive ; 
 "When fmitten, turn the other cheek, 
 
 And then the foe forgive. 
 IV. 
 I wou'd in pain, in grief, and lofs, 
 
 Be thankfully content ; 
 Look up to Him who bore his crofs, 
 
 And on to Calvary went. 
 V. 
 I wou'd be ail I ought to be ; 
 
 Thro' grace it fhall be done : 
 My God, I would be all like Thee, 
 
 And that is all in one ! 
 
 THE EXILE'S COMPLAINT. 
 
 I. 
 
 AH, woe is me ! conftrain'd to dwell 
 In Mrfech's dark abode ; 
 With Kedars tents, like Moloch's cell, 
 Remote from Ifrael's God. 
 
 II. 
 
[ si : 
 
 ii. 
 
 No more the Charmer's voice I hear, 
 
 Nor Ziorfs temple fee ; 
 No more her fongs delight my ear, 
 
 With facred melody. 
 III. 
 How long, my God, how long (hall I 
 
 Be banilh'd thus from home ? 
 O hear thy exile's mournful cry, 
 
 And, at my crying, come. 
 
 THE SINNER'S WISH. 
 
 I WOULD, thou know'ft how fain I would 
 Be all thou bidfi me be : 
 And fj would 1 — if fo I could, 
 Be what thou art to me. 
 II. 
 Holy, benign, Gncere, and jufr, 
 
 In every work and word ; 
 Put all my confidence and trufl; 
 In thee, my gracious lord. 
 III. 
 But I, alas! am all impure, 
 
 Unrighteous, and unclean ; 
 My will perverfe, my heart obdure, 
 My every a&ion fin. 
 
 E* IY. 
 
D 52 J 
 
 IV.. 
 
 Nor can I be but what I am, 
 
 Tiil thou my foul renew : 
 Increase my guilt and guilty (hame^ 
 
 With every day, I view. 
 V. 
 Since day by day my fins increafe, 
 
 And every day my ftate, 
 I fear— ere yet my moments ceafe, 
 
 But aggravates its fate. 
 VI. 
 But 0, my God ! and muft I then 
 
 For better worfe become i 
 But ah i withhold the dread amen, 
 
 And revocate its doom ! 
 
 CONSCIENCE DISSATISFIED. 
 
 Altered from HERBERT. 
 
 I. 
 
 PEACE, Confcience, pence — no longer frown, 
 Nor turn my glory into grief ; 
 Since jesus views me as His own, 
 
 Why fhould'ft thou envy my relief? 
 Or mufic's charms found harfh to thee, 
 When mufic's Charmer fings in me ? 
 
 II. 
 
C 53 3 
 II. 
 No more I'll heed thy peevifli cry, 
 
 My ears far fweeter founds employ ; 
 My voice fhall join their harmony, 
 Whole fongs attune extatic joy : 
 And if thou doft thy ghqft intrude, 
 I have what (hail i\rit ghofl exclude. 
 
 III. 
 This then I give thee now to know, 
 
 That what I mean is jesus' blood, 
 That thro* my pilgrimage below, 
 
 Shall cleanfe and fit me for my God ; 
 Nor leave thee power my foul to tear 
 With terror's rod, or guilt's, defpair. 
 
 IV. 
 And if thou frill remain morofe, 
 
 Befides what is already done, 
 I'll nail thy malice to the crofs, 
 
 And leave thee to expire alone ; 
 That bloody crofs on which he died, 
 Who for us both was crucified. 
 
 V. 
 Ceafe then, thou clamorous ingrate, 
 
 Thy gracelefs murmurings give o'er; 
 There, look into that book of fate, 
 
 And fee thy crimes exifl no more : 
 O, then, unite thy voice with mine, 
 Peace, Confcience, peace ! for Chrift is thine ! 
 
 E 3 THE 
 
[ 54 ] 
 
 THE PRAYER OF JABESH, 
 Paraphrafed. I Chron. iv. 9, 10. 
 
 MORE honour'd he than all his father's houfe, 
 Belov'd of god, and lovely as His fpoufe : 
 Behold him (land, and as he ftands, exclaim, 
 C( God of my ftrength — my worfhip, and my flame, 
 By whom I live — by whom, alive, I move, 
 Whofe law I reverence, and whcfe word I love. 
 Tho' born to forrow, as conceiv'd in fin, 
 Now (hall my hope a better life begin ; 
 This then my prayer — my prayer to thee afcend ; 
 My father's father — and his children's friend I 
 " Come then, thy blefling on thy fervant pour, 
 Earth's needful rains, and herb-refrefhing fhow'r,. 
 Enlarge my borders as the promis'd land, 
 While num'ious flocks in conntlefs order Hand ; 
 My labours profper, and my fubflance blefs, 
 With fmiling joy, and bounty's large increafe : 
 Let Israel's ftrength my every want fupply, 
 Blefs me thro' life, and fave me as I die. 
 But, above all, thy mercy's pow'r difplay, 
 And keep from evil — thro' this evil day ; 
 Let no vain thought, no vile ambitious aim, 
 Defile my confeience, or difgrace thy name ; 
 But, favJd from all, do thou my foul defend, 
 Thro' life my father — and in death my friend." 
 Thus jabesh pray'd — while Israel's god replied, 
 H Thy prayer is granted — nor one wiih denied! " 
 
 THOUGHTS 
 
C 55 ] 
 
 THOUGHTS ON REVELATIONS, IV. u 
 
 I. 
 " /""M O M E hither up," — methinks I hear 
 
 \^j My well -beloved fay, 
 c< Thou nothing haft from me to fear, 
 
 " Rife then, make hafte away.'* 
 II. 
 My Saviour, if the voice that calls 
 
 Is fure and only thine,. 
 Whate'er would hinder or befalls,, 
 
 Thy will be done, not mine. 
 III. 
 But O, a flu re me 'tis thy voice,. 
 
 Repeat it, Lord, again : 
 'Tis thine, I know it by the joys 
 
 That gladdens every vein. 
 IV. 
 Speak on, dear Lord, I thee intreat ;, 
 
 And what doth jesus fay ? 
 Once more he doth the call repeat, 
 
 11 Arife, and come away," 
 V. 
 I come, my God ; what is thy will ? 
 
 I join thy fpirit's prayer. 
 u Meet me this day on Zion's Hill.*' 
 
 My God, I'll meet thee there. 
 
 CONFIDENCE 
 
[ s* ] 
 
 CONFIDENCE OF HOPE. 
 Hebrews iv. 16. 
 
 I. 
 
 HE L P me thou, whofe help alone 
 Can perform the thing I want ; 
 Help me thou, to whom I groan, 
 Left before thy feet I faint. 
 IL 
 Help me thou, whofe faithful word 
 
 Is the rock to which I flee ; 
 Waiting till thy love afford, 
 
 What thy word has promis'd mc. 
 Ill/ 
 Or at leaft what I believe 
 Is for me as well as all ; 
 Who, made willing to receive, 
 • Never ceafe for help to call.. 
 
 IV. 
 Look then, Saviour, and expeft, 
 
 As thou haft the promife made, 
 Th.it, tho' feeming to rejeft, 
 We remember who has fdd,. 
 V. 
 " He that afketh fhall receive ; 
 
 " What ye aik ye (hall obtain: 
 " 'Tis my Father's will to give, 
 u And ye (hail not afk in vain." 
 
C 57 1 
 V[. 
 Be it then as thou haft faid ; 
 All we afk to us be giv'n : 
 Here on earth our daily bread,. 
 And in death the bread of Heav'n ! 
 
 THOUGHTS ON MATT. VIII. 2. 
 
 I. 
 
 SAVIOUR— if thou wilt, thou can'ft 
 Mike me all I fain wou'd be ; 
 And, if what thou can'ft thou wilt* 
 I fhiill foon the promife fee. 
 IL 
 Nought in nature can prevent 
 
 What thy love refolves to do : 
 Love as ftrong as permanent, 
 
 Soon can make all old things new, 
 III. 
 Only then let love have leave 
 
 To corapleat the work of grace ; ) 
 
 I (hall then thy joy receive, 
 
 And (hall ftand before thy face* 
 IV. 
 I, the moft unfit to live, 
 
 Shall be then made fit to die : 
 I, who now can fcarce believe, 
 Then on wings of faith ihall fly ! 
 
 A THOUGHT 
 
[ 58- 1 
 
 A THOUGHT ON MARK, X, 51. 
 
 V TT7HAT will I, Lord, that thou fhould'ft do fc 1 
 
 V V What art thou willing (hould'ft be done ? 
 Becatife whate'er thou haft in view, 
 
 The power is in thyfelf alone. 
 II. 
 But if I muft to this reply, 
 
 And fo muft needs an anfvver make ; 
 Then, while before thy feet I lie, 
 
 Now fave me for thy mercy's fake. 
 III. 
 Save me from all I yet remain, 
 
 From all I have, and all I am r 
 My fallen nature's finful ftain, 
 
 From guile, hyprocrify, and (hams* 
 IV. 
 Save me from final unbelief, 
 
 From heart-impurity and pride ; 
 From the dire pangs of endlefs grief, 
 
 And every curfe on earth befide. 
 V. 
 This then's the anfwer that I give, 
 
 O let it not my Lord offend ; 
 If 'tis thy will that I (hould live, 
 
 Anfwer, and (hew thyfelf my friend. 
 
 VI. 
 
I 59 ] 
 
 VI. 
 A friend to me, as unto thofe 
 
 Whom, tho' thy murderers, thou didil love ; 
 That, number'd thus among thy foes, 
 
 I may with them thy friendftiip prove. 
 
 A THOUGHT ON MALACHI, III. 2. 
 
 WHEN wrath divine unfheathes the fword, 
 With men or nations to contend ; 
 Who can abide thy coming, lord, 
 Or who thy fcrutiny wichftand ! 
 The man that loves, and only he ; 
 And may that man of love be me ! 
 
 A THOUGHT ON JEREMIAH, XVIII. 7. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHEN Juftice draws her penal fword, 
 The two-edg'd faulchion of the Word, 
 Or points the glittering dart ; 
 Then is the moment of addrefs, 
 The dread uncertainty of grace, 
 To kill or fave the heart i 
 
 II. 
 
I 60 3 
 
 II. 
 ©ut, oh ! how hard 'tis not to fear, 
 That what fo dreadful doth appear, 
 
 And Jhocks the trembling foul, 
 -Hath not another end in view, 
 And comes in vengeance to purfue 
 
 The/inner to his goal ! 
 
 THE TRUE TIME-SERVER, 
 Either in Religion, or out of it. 
 
 WHATE'ER we praife, be fure you yield it due. 
 And what we cenfure, you muft cenfure too : 
 What we deny, you mult deny with us, 
 Or we aflert, you mull aflert it thus : 
 Mult fay, unfay, firft fwcar it, then abjure, 
 And thus damnation, and its gold, infure ! 
 
 THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 
 
 W' H would the image of his lord retrieve, 
 Partake Kisnature, an:' His mind receive, 
 Muft nfk in faith, not doubting or afraid 
 To plead the promife that Himfelf hath made : 
 Yet patient wait, til! grace his miill fubdue, 
 The fire his drofs, the fpirit his heart renew : 
 
 Dead 
 
C 61 ] 
 
 Dead to his own, as in the world's efleem, 
 He fits the crofs, as that now fitteth him ; 
 Where, ftretch'd at length, he (hall a conqueror die, 
 Entomb with Him, and then remount the fky ! 
 
 WEAPONS OF WRATH. 
 
 WIND, rain, and hail, with lightning's livid glare, 
 The thunder's cannon, or the comet's fare', 
 Plague, earthquake, famine, peftilence, or blood, 
 The flying locufr, or overwhelming flood: 
 All thefe, and more, when more demands the rod, 
 Compofe the fcourge, that vindicates its God J 
 
 ADVICE. 
 
 From Horace, B. I. Od. u. 
 
 SEEK not, dear friend, whatever thy lot below, 
 By magic arts thy length of life to know; 
 Far wifer he, who, fatisfied with fate, 
 To Heaven refigns the period of its date. 
 Who fix'd the (hore a girdle to the k^ f 
 Has fix'd time's limits to mankind and thee : 
 Catch then the hours, for as we fpeak they fly, 
 Happy to live, but happier Aill to die. 
 
 F ON 
 
[ 62 3 
 
 ON LITERARY OBSCURITY. 
 From OVID. 
 
 HO W many a gem, unfeen by human eyes, 
 Entomb'd in earth a fparkling embryo lies : 
 How many a rofe y neglefttd as the gem, 
 Scatters its fweets, and rors npon its item. 
 So many a mind, that might a meteor fhone, 
 Had or its genius or its friend been koown ; 
 Whofe want of aid from fome maternal hand, 
 Still haunts the ihade, or quits its native land ! 
 
 TO A FRIEND. 
 
 WITH faith content, tho* far from home, 
 In hope of brghter joys to come, 
 Let every thought thy heart improve, 
 Like Sharon's rofe, and Zion's dove, 
 la meek-ey'd peace and pure defire, 
 As days increafe, or years expire, 
 Make, every moment of your life, 
 Some noble ftretch in virtue's flrife. 
 Heav'n then fhall crown your earlieft days, 
 Reward your toil, and fpread its bays ; 
 Unite your heart in facred bands, 
 Binding each bleffing on your hands. 
 So (hall your life a model be 
 Of artlefs, meek ferenity ; 
 Like Noah's dove that fought his breaft, 
 Eternity's vaft ark — your reft ! 
 
 O N 
 
[ 63 ] 
 
 ON FAITH AND HOPE. 
 
 CELESTIAL twins ! alike from Heav'n beftowM, 
 Their fountain's mirror, and the arm of God. 
 Each for its end, by Wiidom's plan defign'd, 
 To fave from guilt, or purge the unhallow'd mind i 
 Yet latent both — till love, divine effccT, 
 Infufe her odours, and infpire the aft I 
 
 ON GRATITUDE. 
 
 HAIL heavenly gueft! thou balmoflife, all hail! 
 Thou cure of grief, and every mental ail 1 
 Thyfelf the hand that fickly hearts reftores, 
 Whom Envy hates, and, as ihe flees, adores : 
 Thou too the health of each recover'd mind, 
 From envy loofen'd, and from pride refin'd. 
 Thou all-coQtent — whatever thyfelf denied, 
 If heav'n be pleas'd, and God be glorified. 
 Thou that with eyes of placency c?.n fee 
 A foe's efcape, or friend's prosperity: 
 Thyfelf no intereft, and thy hand n > fhnre. 
 Save what thy love for candour loves to bear. 
 Thou humble form, that feel ft thy own deleft 
 And oft Umeotfl the callous of thy heart: 
 BewailM thy want of piety to god, 
 And fore'd fubmiffion to his chaft'aing rod. 
 
 F z Yet 
 
I 6 4 D 
 
 Yet not defpond'fr, bscaufe thou doubteft not 
 The righteous portion of thy rneafnr'd lot: 
 A lot defign'd thy fortitude to prove, 
 And then reward thy gratitude of love. 
 
 ON THE 
 
 WONDERS OF ELECTRICITY, 
 
 And other Branches of Natural arid Experimental 
 Philofophy. 
 
 HA I L, facred art ! fure guide to nature's laws, 
 Whofe each effect but proves the primal caufcj 
 That great Supreme, whofe all commanding fkill 
 Befpoke all being, and directs its will: 
 Himfelf a centre that no limit knows, ' 
 And whence creation, as its fountain, flows; 
 Whofe lightnings here in miniature are feen, 
 While crackling burfls of thunder fnap between. 
 Here (hocks electric (hake the vital frame, 
 And cool conductors trail the electric flame; 
 The wond'ring crowd in dread expectance Hand, 
 And join theii (hrieks, ere well they join their hand. 
 Their diftance nothing, and their numbers nought, 
 More keen than arrows, and more fwift than thought, 
 From link to link, from pole to pole they fly, 
 And ere its twinkling meet each gazer's eye. 
 
 Tremendous 
 
E 65 3 
 
 Tremendous fign of that tremendous Power, 
 
 Whofe eyes are lightning, and his arm a tower; 
 
 His word a fword, that at a ftroke can part 
 
 The joints and marrow of the human heart; 
 
 Unveils the bottom of the mental deep, 
 
 Where midnight thoughts in midnight ftupor fleep; 
 
 And fhews mankind, what elfe had ne'er been known, 
 
 That human wit and human pride are one. 
 
 But ceafe the Mufe, left virtue's cheeks fhould burn, 
 
 And back to fcience and ics fource return. 
 
 See then His hand by each juft balance known, 
 
 And its vaft force from mighty levers (hewn, 
 
 While pliant pullies, in dependent ftate, 
 
 With truth divide the labour and its weight. 
 
 The pond'rous magnet, of majeftic code, 
 
 Attracts its objett, and fupports the load; 
 
 Gppofing poles, oppofing poles repel, 
 
 And each with each ftrives mutual to excel. 
 
 Here reftlefs meteors their long vigils keep, 
 
 And roving comets in their orbits ileep ; 
 
 Or, left at large, velocity immenfe ! 
 
 Elliptic fly, and ranged he vaft expanfe! 
 
 Here polar funs as polar ftars appear, 
 
 And optic art pervades each hemifphere; 
 
 In luced prifms the folar rays divide, 
 
 Dazzle the eye, and mock the tulip's pride. 
 
 Here nature rous'd, her fecret pow'r unfold?, 
 
 While peerlefs Pitt * her fecret pow'rs controls, 
 
 * A famous itinerant Elefirician. 
 
 F 3 Ltft* 
 
66 ] 
 
 Leflcns the fliock, or bids its terrors ceafe, 
 Unwinds the fcrew, and all we hear is — peace. 
 
 Go on, great bard, and fliake the eleftric rod, 
 Till fools grow wife, and Atheifts own a God 1 
 
 EXTEMPORE THOUGHTS ON 
 DISCONTENT. 
 
 GO ! thou bafe, ungrateful fiend ! 
 Who nor know'ft nor haft a friend ; 
 For ever rafli, for ever rude, 
 Mirror of ingratitude ! 
 Caufe of Jin, and fcource of ft rife, 
 Bane of health, and curfe of life ; 
 Author of domeftic jars, 
 Mifchief, murders, feuds, and wars; 
 Hating all that's great or good, 
 Dlfcontent thy daily food, 
 Never dwells a moment's reft, 
 la the fuburbs of thy breaft; 
 Ever pain'd at wifdom's plan, 
 Like difpleas'd at god and man; 
 Self-fufficient, mean, and weak, 
 Prone to flander as to fpeak ; 
 Full of malice, full of fpleen, 
 Poifonous as an afp, and keen; 
 
 ' No 
 
[ 67 1 
 
 No more at leifure than at eafe, 
 
 And whom nor Heaven nor earth can pleafc; 
 
 Within whofe bread is hourly felt 
 
 All the pangs of envious guilt, 
 
 Guilt that, confcious of its rod, 
 
 Vents its lafhings at ics God; 
 
 Curs'd w'uh all \h2afenfe can feel, 
 
 Bitter antepart of hell ! 
 
 Turn thee, fiend, from all bhou art, 
 
 Vent the ravings of thy heart, 
 
 jn the bofom of thy God, 
 
 Curfe the crime, and kifs the rod; 
 
 Cry aloud, and vocal tell 
 
 That thy leaft defert is hell; 
 
 That to hell, and to its woe, 
 
 All thou art deferves to go: 
 
 Then (hall He, who made thee, fave 
 
 Not thy body from the grave; 
 
 But thy life's immortal breath 
 
 From the jaws of endlefs death ; 
 
 Where they endiefs death lament, 
 
 Who lie down in discontent ! 
 
 Ths 
 
I 68 J 
 
 The real and only Cause, Occasion, and 
 Motive of Quarrelling, Disputation, 
 and resentment, in all matters of 
 Controversy, whether Civil, Political 
 or Religious; traced from their first 
 simple and efficient source. 
 
 From whence come wars? James iii. I. 
 
 FROM vain conceits, that wilful blunders make, 
 From pride that gives, what no man's pride 
 will take ; 
 Offence, affronts, in each a thoufand airs, 
 That fbmerimes colls more than a life repairs: 
 Female ambition to be always right, 
 As (hone :he fun to be alone our light : 
 The child] fh fear of contradiction's thought, 
 That points an error, or that hits a blot ; 
 The coxcomb's boaft of finding fomething new, 
 Inftead of following what's the prefent, true - y 
 The felf-preferring victory to truth, 
 And fwear that bad, that is at worft uncouth; 
 As if true wifdom had not eyes to fee 
 That truth itfelf's the greateft victory. 
 Inftead of this, our intereft or applaufe, 
 Is thought of far more momeat thaa the laws 
 
 Of 
 
r 6 9 i 
 
 Of nature's frame, or all her fpheres contain, 
 The sun's vaft orbit, or its regent's reign. 
 All this is nothing, when compar'd to him, 
 Whofe all depends on forae new-fangled whim. 
 
 " Not credit mc ! what, contradict my word! 
 u And give the lie to a two-legged lord ! 
 11 'Tis nor the tiling, nor is it to be borne; 
 " Sir! I refent it, and denr.and return: 
 f< My honour's hurt, and that is more to me 
 u Than if whole worlds were fmother'd in the fcal' 
 
 So then, you find, if nothing elfe withftood, 
 Thofe men of words would foon demand your blood. 
 Pride knows no bounds, when once its zeal is 
 
 fir'd, 
 And ftamp'd religion, becomes hell infpir'd : 
 For then come prieits, i n qui fi tors, and lords, 
 The holy fafces, and the facred fwords; 
 While ftep, by ffep, as magic quits her cell, 
 You pack from Carfex *, and thenceforth to helll 
 
 Now fee the harmlcfs hero of debate, 
 The little Cefar of his learned Irate, 
 Strutting, amidfr the letter'd group he ftands, 
 And, as he reafons, full afTent demands; 
 Or thinks it flrange that nationals fhould doubt, 
 If he's the man that found the fecret out \ 
 At leaft difcover'd, in that myftery, 
 What the firfl finder had not eyes to fee ; 
 
 * A prifon in Oxon, where the martyrs were kept. 
 
 And 
 
[ 7° 1 
 
 And thus improv'd,, commands your tongues to raife 
 A thund'ring tribute to his matchlefs praife. 
 Such things are men ! nor is the fault confined 
 To names or fech — it feizes all mankind : 
 Kings, thieves, and faints, philofophers and fools,. 
 Who dance the roftrum, or who damn the fchools, 
 Lcarn'd or unlearn'd, in this they all unite, 
 Whoever's wrong, hirnfelf is in the right ; 
 And each his rcafons, as he has his rod, 
 To fcourge who fpurn, or bolcf difpute his nod y 
 Dares fay, u Tis not, becaufe it cannot be," 
 While pride will have impqJfibiUty ! 
 
 Thus then it is, and fo has ever been, 
 Since man, the mafter, grew the Jlave of fin : 
 The fault is old, fo early it begun, 
 And will keep on until the fetting fun 
 Rife on new worlds, and a new glory fliinc 
 Around the creature, as at full, divine. 
 
 Then, feen alike, we fhall one judgment form, 
 One lamp (hall light us, and one ardor warm; 
 Or where diffent, if then difTent can be, 
 We fhall at leaft in this one point agree, 
 That build who lift, with ftubble or with ftone,. 
 One truth there is, that fwallows all in one, 
 A Truth eternal as the eternal Sire, 
 His own refemblance, and His Nature's fire, 
 That felf-exiflent like Hirnfelf is found, 
 His Being's glory, in eternal round: 
 That fill'd with Him, fills all beneath, above, 
 " That god is truth, and that that truth is Lover 
 
 THOUGHTS 
 
[ 7i ] 
 
 THOUGHTS ON LUKE, XVIII. 8. 
 
 WHO then believes one (ingle word that's faid, 
 Or tries his heart, while it informs his head ? 
 But all's admired, and all advane'd is true, 
 All gofpel here, however Jlale or new: 
 You can't midake — with us you mufi be right, 
 Your guides are grey -beards t and your leaders light* 
 
 Thus preachers dote, till they themfelves believe, 
 Not more afraid to err, than to deceive : 
 So every Pope, and every prater's heard, 
 But where's the threatening for lukewarmnefs fear'd? 
 Whtre found the care left grace fhould not improve, 
 Or who bewails his want or lofs of love ? 
 Where the contrition for tranfgreflion part, 
 Or that repentance that exults at laft ? 
 Where fouud that faith, that only can remove 
 The mountain-load, whofe flowing forrows prove 
 Their genuine fonrce— and, by effectual grace, 
 Relieve the confeience, and its glooms efface ? 
 This Faith the vi&ory that the world o'ercomes, 
 And yet no glory to itfelf aflfumes; 
 Treads fin and death beneath its conquering feet, 
 Yet owns all Mercy from the Mercy-feat ? 
 
 Again— -where found the meek and lowly mind., 
 To ftrangers courteous as the fallen kind ? 
 In one (hort word, where is the master feen, 
 That bed of patterns, as the beft -of men ? 
 
 Thro* 
 
C 72 1 
 
 Thro* whofe whole life, to the laft bleeding wound, 
 No fpot was vifual, and no wrinkle found. 
 
 Go then, ye worms ! ye painted pageaats hear, 
 And feeling, live the god ye boafl: to fear : 
 For know, 'tis not whofe boldnefs calls Him u lord/' 
 Struts in His name, or arrogates His word; 
 But he who trembles at His holy law, 
 Whom Mercy pitie?, as {he holds in awe ; 
 Who really fav'd, beyond all form is borne, 
 Mark'd by His hand, and fit for His return ! 
 
 RELIGION, 
 A CYPHER. 
 
 I. 
 
 LOOK round the globe, and looking fee, 
 How few have been, or being be, 
 * That feek their real good : 
 By pafllon bound, or flaves 'o fin, 
 Tho' gay without, oft wreck'd within, 
 As fatyrs of the wood. 
 II. 
 The gifts of nature, weal'h, or time, 
 In riper age, or manlier prime, 
 
 Abforpc in pleafure's lore ; 
 From childhood's infancy to youth. 
 To falfehood prone, averfe to truth, 
 The Circcan cup runs o'er. 
 
 III. 
 
[ 73 3 
 III. 
 Save where hard Hunger's meagre fare, 
 Neceffity's corroding care, 
 
 Compels to labour's gain; 
 The whole employment and intent, 
 Is one invention to prevent 
 
 The heart from thinking pain. 
 IV. 
 Hence various means and modes employ 'd, 
 To pleafe what is fo often cloy'd 
 
 By pleafure's fad return ; 
 The longings of th' immortal mind, 
 To third for higher joys defign'd, 
 
 And will for ever burn. 
 
 V. 
 
 Hence Luxury's wild extravagance, 
 That fpares nor labour nor expence 
 
 To fcale the feeling breaft ; 
 Prevent the heart from folemn thought, 
 Left, by its want, to thinking brought, 
 
 It feek a better reft. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Nay e'en Religions moral veil, 
 Is but the painting of a fhell, 
 
 From whence the fubftance flown; 
 Or formal Jfatue, fculptur'd fine, 
 Made by the artiiVs hand to flunc 
 
 An hypocrite of Jlone. 
 
 C VII. 
 
[ 74 1 
 
 VII. 
 
 Such is the ftate, and fuch the cafe> 
 Of myriads of the immortal race, 
 
 All fons of high renown; 
 Deceiving, and alike deceiv'd, 
 They live as of all fenfe bereav'd, 
 
 Then die to live undone. 
 VIII. 
 But this not all—there's dill a worfe, 
 A forer, and a fadder curfe, 
 
 That's in religion found ; 
 Where e'en its votaries are feen, 
 God and the world to fplit between, 
 
 Unhallow'd as unfound. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Its priefts and preachers, proud or vain, 
 Read for reward, then fpell for gain, 
 
 The harveft of an hour : 
 The Go/pel, mangled or conceal'd, 
 Or little more than half reveal'd, 
 
 Conveys as little pow'r. 
 X. 
 The hearers dead, or half aflecp, 
 Do but a drowfy vigil keep, 
 
 E'en at the noon of day ; 
 Feel much the fame of grace or Jin, 
 Then nod their falutation, grin, 
 
 And thus conclude the play. 
 
 XL 
 
[ 75 1 
 XI. 
 But, oh ! thou jealous gcd, and true, 
 Thou know'ft this muft, and [hall not do; 
 
 Thy thunders fpeak thy wrath: 
 Ariie then, for thy glory's fake, 
 Into thy hands the matter rake, 
 
 And break the enfetter \i (loth; 
 XII. 
 Arife then, and by thy pow'r divine, 
 Command the light once more to ftrine, 
 
 And every cloud difpel ; 
 O'er ail the earth thy fpirit pour, 
 Till earth fhall feel the glorious fhowY, 
 
 And Heav'n the wonder tell ! 
 
 THE FRIENDLESS SEARCH. 
 
 o 
 
 I. 
 
 Could I find fome bofom friend, 
 To whom I might reveal 
 
 My bofom fecrets, and depend 
 Their friendship would conceal! 
 II. 
 One whofe kind counfel and advice 
 
 I fafely could believe; 
 And who, in turn, however wife, 
 My counfel would receive. 
 
 G 2 III. 
 
C 76 ] 
 HI. 
 
 Inftead of this, tho' far or near, 
 As banifh'd and unknown, 
 
 No one would drop the friendly tear, 
 Or iigh the alternate groan. 
 
 IV. 
 Back I (hou-Id come, as forth I went, 
 
 Uneafy and difmay'd ; 
 With caufe fufficient to repent 
 
 My foliy thus betray'd. 
 V. 
 Few wou'd fo much as hear my plaints, 
 
 Much lefs my plaints retrieve ; 
 And, iho* I fhould rruke known my wants, 
 
 My endlefs tale believe. 
 VI. 
 " Go hence," they'd fay — " don't trouble us; 
 
 " We've troubles of our own: 
 f< Befides, you make too great a fufs, 
 
 << So prithee, man, begone." 
 VII. 
 This would be all that I fhould get, 
 
 And yet what can I do ? 
 There ne'er was partridge in a net, 
 
 That wou'd not gladly go. 
 
 vni. 
 
 Thus reafon'd I, like Reafoning's fool, 
 
 And murmur'd without end ; 
 Till Wifdom bleft me with a rule, 
 
 To find and chufe a friend. 
 
 IX. 
 
C 77 3 
 
 IX. 
 c< What, have you never heard," fays fhe # 
 
 (And awful knit her brow) 
 u Of fuch a place as Calvary, 
 
 " And what is doing now ? 
 X. 
 u You cannot fure, fo ignorant be, 
 
 c< Whatever elfe you are ; 
 u And therefore, for the future, fee 
 
 11 You make this thing your care." 
 XL 
 Thus Wifdom fpake, while I remained 
 
 A fpeche caft in ftone ; 
 As confeious what her words maintain'd, 
 
 Eternal Truth would own. 
 
 xn. 
 
 Why then, I cried, my treach'rous heart, 
 
 Haft thou deceiv'd me thus ? 
 How could'ft thou know, and not impart 
 
 The fecret of the Crofc ? 
 XIII. 
 What love or pain, what joy or grief, 
 
 Like His was ever found ; 
 And His rich blood in full relief, 
 
 A balfam for each wound. 
 XIV. 
 And what His love, His friendfhip is, 
 
 And what this is, His powV; 
 Unchang'd as that eternal blifs, 
 
 Where gods eternal foar. 
 
 G 3 XV. 
 
r 78 1 
 
 XV. 
 
 His friendfliip then my foul fliall feck,. 
 
 Amidfr. the frowns of men; 
 Nor (hall the fmile of mortal cheek 
 
 Allure my heart again. 
 XVI. 
 My heart, betroth'd to Mim alone, 
 
 For Him alone (hall beat ; 
 And when oppreflion bids me groan, 
 
 I'll groan as at His feet. 
 XVII. 
 In fore temptation's paffive hour, 
 
 When hofts of fiends draw nigh^ 
 And threaten greedy to devour 
 
 The fouls that cannot fly ; 
 XVIII. 
 I then will look to Zion's hill, 
 
 And let the Saviour know, 
 How great the danger that I feel, 
 
 How fierce the threat'ning foe.. 
 XIX. 
 In all my troubles,, fhort or long, 
 
 I will, on Him depend, 
 Who only is my ftrength and fong, 
 
 My Saviour, and my friend. 
 XX. 
 He will in time tranflate my foul, 
 
 And fix my laft abode, 
 Where endlefs years as endlefs roll, 
 
 The eternity of god ! 
 
 THOUGHTS 
 
C 79 1 
 
 THOUGHTS ON GENESIS, IH. 19, 
 
 HASTING each day (till fader to the tomb, 
 My parent dull: fall feeks its parent womb. 
 Of duft compofed, to duft I now return, 
 While the dark grave expects me in its urn : 
 But fit to inhabit that tremendous cell, 
 Where men with worms, and worms with monarchs 
 
 dwell, 
 Why need I fear to lay this body down, 
 Or tread the courts where death ere£ts his throne ? 
 Why need I fear the regions of the dead? 
 The deepeft grave is but the fofteft bed. 
 Nor worms, nor death, the King of Terror's fright, 
 Nor the chirk (hades of fubterraneous night, 
 Or need difmay, or can that mind alarm, 
 That Mercy (belters with her friendly arm. 
 
 A Fpirit, confeious of its peace within, 
 Preferv'd from horror, as preferv'd from fin ; 
 A foul whom, and in whofe fpotlefs breair, 
 Its Saviour's mind and image are exprefr; 
 Whofe heart devoted, and whofe life of grace, 
 Aims but to run and win the eternal bays : 
 Like theirs" be mine — I then mail vie with them, 
 Win the fame prize, and wear tfieir diadem i 
 
 AN 
 
I So ] 
 
 AN ALPHABETICAL ACROSTIC. 
 
 ALPHA ! the firft ! and with the firft the laft! 
 Before the former, and beyond the paft ; 
 Creation's fountain, and the creature's end, 
 Deftruclion's terror, but creation's friend ; 
 Eternal Father *, as eternal Son ! 
 Firft and the laft, the laft and firft in one ! 
 Great in thy ftrength, the glory of thy might; 
 Holy thy name, and holinefs thy light. 
 In Thee I ftand, in Thee all creatures movej 
 Jehovah ! Lord ! eternal God of Love ! 
 King of thy faints, and glory of their hope, 
 Life of their peace, their portion, and their prop. 
 Made by thy power, let all thy power embrace, 
 Nor lefs admire thy juftice than thy grace. 
 O thou, who art in all thy works the fame, 
 Pure in thy will, as mighty in thy fame, 
 Quick is thy word, and (harper far than Jlecl y 
 Rending the confidence till its heart-firings feel. 
 Stern in thy wrath, the (Inner hates thy light, 
 Turns from his God, and feeks relief from night. 
 Vain man, to think Omnifcience cannot fee, 
 Unlefs by day-light, when it fhines on Thee. 
 Woe then to him, whofe hand from Heav'n would hide 
 Xerxes two millions, or a Xerxes' pride. 
 Ye fons of earth, ye particles of men, 
 Zimri fliall curfe you, till you curfe your fin I 
 
 * I/a. ix. 6. 
 
 ON 
 
[ 8i ] 
 
 ON DEPENDENCE, AS A 
 SITUATION. 
 
 AH ! cruel (late ! where hope is rack'd with fear, 
 That feals our bondage, as it prompts our care. 
 
 While fancy, dreaming of fome better fate, 
 
 the labour of the prefent fl 
 The fluctuant mind, by various paffions toft, 
 Now rides aloft, and now immerg'd, is loft: 
 Yet after alj our reaion to complain, 
 We hug the fraud that jufliries the pain ; 
 And Hope refrehYd, like wheels frefh oil'd, purfues 
 Her daily tafk, and daily vows renews. 
 
 Thus, day by day, like mendicants in trade, 
 W 7 e dance attendance on fome promife made; 
 With pleafing pain the profpect we furvey, 
 And fervile homage for the profpect pay ; 
 Which, tho* a fhade, is eagerly purfu'd, 
 While Fancy dotes, and calls the phantom M Good" 
 
 Thus we go on, till disappoint mentis come, 
 And teach us wifdom, as they read our doom. 
 When mifs'd the object that our wifhes fought, 
 At leaft the comfort that our fancy caught, 
 Our fpirits ficken, as the profpecl dies ; 
 Yet grown thus poorer, we are grown more wife, 
 And, taught a lelTon that the folly cures, 
 We henceforth leek a fubftance that endures. 
 
 ON 
 
[ 32 J 
 
 ON VIEWING A BACK -GAMMON EOARD. 
 
 u A quC Jifcimus, id docet" Vet. 
 
 u From what we learo, by that weV6 taught.'* 
 
 WH A T fome to fordid ends abufe, 
 Or others to lefs hurtful ufe, 
 And only cheat themfelves at play, 
 By killing time and life away ; 
 Let us, as in a mirror, fee 
 Man's life, and its variety ; 
 Where various checks of mingled die, 
 Each in their rank alternate lie. 
 Each man a check that fills his place, 
 And helps to form the mottled race ; 
 Each check a lot by Heav'n affign'd, 
 As fitteft for its proper mind : 
 The type of Providence and fate, 
 That mark and modify each Hate, 
 And with its fpots of black and white, 
 Diftinguilhing (like day and night) 
 Our partial griefs, allay 'd with joy, 
 Or comforts that thole griefs alloy, 
 All wifely phnn\J and mixM for good, 
 If fuch by mortals 'twere but vievv'd, 
 
 Who 
 
C 3 3 3 
 
 Who partial fee and thanklefs moan, 
 Another's grief is not their own ; 
 Ne'er thinking, tho' their feet be fore, 
 Another's fixe would pinch them more; 
 And fo complain, as ait but they 
 Weie chequer d for a fairer day : 
 Whereas, could blind nefs but believe, 
 Blind nefs itfelf would then perceive, 
 And, with due gratitude, confefs, 
 Who had the leaft, might ftili have lefs% 
 Who had it not, or was denied, 
 'Twas not from ignorance or pride, 
 But from a principle as far 
 From human ken, as that bright flat* *, 
 That gilds the orbit of the night, 
 Is from the reach of human flight ; 
 Or the great fun that lights the day, 
 From being form'd for infants' play. 
 Howe'er, let this be as it will, 
 Wifdom itfelf is wifdom ftili ; 
 And this is evermore her rule, 
 To fools (lie is hcrfelf a fool, 
 And acts, as far as in her lies, 
 Qu : te the reverfe that they think ivife\ 
 Confounding, as confounded thofe 
 Who dare to lift themfelves her foes ; 
 From whom fhe glories to conceal 
 What they affirm fhe can't reveal, 
 
 * The planet Venus* 
 
 And 
 
[ 84 1 
 
 And only to the wife makes known, 
 That Jbe and Reel it tide are one. 
 
 Stay then, Impatience, and attend, 
 Your doublings all (hall have aa end ; 
 And ye, who could not find the caufe, 
 Nor trace the genius of her laws, 
 Nor with your compajfes mete out 
 ,What could be meant beyond a doubt, 
 Shall, to your ftrange amazement, fee 
 How contradictions could agree -> 
 At leaft, that what did thus appear, 
 Is full as confonant as clear : 
 When all fhe'as done, and and all fhe'as faid^ 
 And all that has this uproar made, 
 Shall at the lafl refplendent mine, 
 Tranfparent as the light divine; 
 The mingling fhadows flee away, 
 And darknefs yield — to cloudlefs day; 
 Diftruft and dubitance be o'er, 
 And chequer' d fcenes perplex no more; 
 But perfect day or perfefr night, 
 Be one eternal black or white. 
 
 THE 
 
C s 5 ] 
 
 THE LAW OF LIBERTY. 
 
 James i, 
 
 L 
 
 WHO'S he that's bound, and yet is free, 
 And who, tho' free, is bound ? 
 Where is the man of liberty, 
 Or where is freedom found ? 
 
 ir. 
 
 'Tis found — and there 'tis found alone, 
 
 Where Wifdom holds the fway ; 
 And where, as feated on a throne, 
 
 Her diftates we obey. 
 
 III. 
 While flaves to Vice the chains of fin 
 
 In every corner wear; 
 No reft without, nor peace within, 
 
 From paffion or defpair. 
 
 IV. 
 
 While Virtue's friends, the friends of Heaven, 
 
 With all their various pain, 
 Find that to whom its kve is given, 
 
 With them its joys remain I 
 
 H TRANS- 
 
[ 86 ] . 
 
 TRANSLATION OF TWO LATIN LINES IN 
 WITT'S COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 a TF niggard nature beauty has denied, 
 
 X "• Be want of beauty by its wit fupplied." 
 So tho' thy form or birth were both difgrae'd, 
 Yet not thy name or virtues are debas'd, 
 
 WHAT IS CONSCIENCE? 
 
 THE mildeft halfam, or the (harpefty?**?/, 
 That wounds can widi, or the unwounded feel. 
 The fofreft pillovj, or the (harpeii rod, 
 The balm of bleilings, or the fcourge of god! 
 
 INDIFFERENCE OF DEATH, AS TO TIME. 
 
 SECUR'D the goal, what profits it to know 
 How late we tarry, or how foon we go ? 
 Time, heap'd on time, but multiplies our pain, 
 And prompts the loaded fufferer to complain. 
 With days our griefs, with years our fins return, 
 Frefh forings of forrow, and frefti caufe to mourn. 
 
 Seek 
 
[ 8 7 ] 
 
 Seek not then fond thy period to extend, 
 But view thy calling, and fee n re its end; 
 Speed on for life, or rather fpeed to die ; 
 Life is old age, and death its infancy : 
 That blunts the fenfc, while this the foul unfheaths; 
 That, born anew, a new exiftence breathes. 
 Clcans'd from the dregs of Time's impurer fpriags, 
 She looks with fcorn on kingdoms and on kings ; 
 Shaking her plumes, Hie fpreads a nobler flight, 
 And wings at large th' unbounded realms of light; 
 Soars as (he flies, till gain'd her prime abode, 
 • She fmiies with angels, and enthrones with god ! 
 
 A MEDITATION ON MARTYRDOM. 
 
 AS bleeding victims, on the altar plac'd, 
 With fcandalhonour'd, as with chains difgrae'd; 
 Their hands with cords, their feet with fetters bound, 
 While taunting foes their mockeries refound ; 
 See, with flow hafte, the indignant .Martyrs come, 
 To face their tortures, as defied thtir doom. 
 With joy they view the yet unkind led fire, 
 Then grafp the Jlake, and in its flames expire; 
 Mount the bright car, the chariot of their Friend, 
 And, like the Prophet, on its wings afcend. 
 
 II 2 A RE- 
 
[ 88 ] 
 
 A REFLECTION. 
 
 HOW deep thy judgments ! and thy pathlefs ways 
 No foot can follow, as no eye furveys. 
 Yet dark as deep, as infinitely right, 
 Thycounfels wifdom, and thy fhadows light. 
 This Seraphs know, and, knowing it, adore, 
 Own all is wife, and fcrutinize no more ; 
 Leave all, befides their wonder's loft applaufe, 
 ToWifdom's depths, and Heav'n's unerring lawsf 
 
 THE WANDERING SHEEP RESTORED. 
 
 G' 
 
 LORY be to God on high !" 
 Angels fing, and men reply; 
 The long loft fheep is found. 
 It ftray'd abroad, ran far from God, 
 But now, reftor'd by Jcfus, blood, 
 Feeds on Emanuel's ground. 
 
 There, in rich paftures led, 
 With carml-l's flock. is fed : 
 
 Drinks there the living ft ream, 
 
 That, in prophetic dream, 
 Once o'erfiow'd prophetic fouls; 
 
 And now, from the eternal rock, 
 In endlefs torrents rolls ! 
 
 A THOUGHT 
 
[ 3 9 ] 
 
 A THOUGHT ON THE NEW YEAR, 1785. 
 
 WELCOME new time ! and kind farewell the 
 part; 
 
 And welcome all that brings me nearer home : 
 More welcome frill what (hall fucceed at lair, 
 And glorious raife thofe afhes from their tomb! 
 
 $_U I D D E M R T U I S f 
 u What fay you of the Dead?" 
 
 " TW TOTHING of evil/ 9 fay the wife ; 
 
 XN Becaufc, until the body rife, 
 It is impofiible to tell, 
 Who in particular's, in hell ; 
 And therefore all that we can do, 
 Suppofing Revelation's true, 
 Is but to fpeak in general terms, 
 As that high oracle affirms : 
 And that is this, you may depend; 
 Whoever lives and dies a friend 
 To true religion's righteous caufe, 
 Her heavenly madates, rules, and laws, 
 Is fafe fecur'd, and high will ftand 
 Before the throne, at his right hand, 
 Whofe juftice dread will recklefs doom 
 The finner to the wrath to come. 
 
 H 3 A THOUGHT 
 
I 90 ] 
 
 A THOUGHT ON PSALM, XLVII. 7. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHO prays orfings with all his heart, 
 He fings and prays aright ; 
 And fhall in glory bear a part, 
 With them who walk in white. 
 II. 
 He fliall the heav'nly chorus join, 
 
 And fliout the facred name 
 Of him that fits upon the throne, 
 And thus adore the Lamb ! 
 
 A THOUGHT ON MATTHEW, XXV. 21. 
 
 VV better He, 
 Who by his deeds has done fo well for thee ! 
 Who quitted joys that angels never knew, 
 On fwifer wings than angels ever flew : 
 Thy being's fource is then the caufe alone 
 Of all that in thee, for thee, by thee's done ; 
 The primal mover of thy every thought, 
 Qnench'd in its rife, or to peifefrion brought : 
 To Him be, therefore, all the praife divine, 
 While all the comfort and the favour's thine! 
 
 A THOUGHT 
 
C 91 ] 
 
 A THOUGHT ON MATTHEW, XL 
 
 WHO would bleft and happy be, 
 Let the wifher come to Ale. 
 I am truth, and I am peace, 
 I am frrength, and righteoufnvfs; 
 I am all he can receive, 
 If he only can believe : 
 And if this he would, but can't, 
 Still I will fupply his want. 
 This then need no difference make, 
 Since there's fomething for whofe fake; 
 Tho' not his, it may be done : 
 So I'll fave him for my own. 
 
 A THOUGHT ON PSALM, LXXVI1. 4. 
 
 THO' I mayn't fleep, yet I can rife, 
 And pay my midnight facrifice 
 To Him whofe condefcending love 
 My meaneft offering will approve; 
 My thanks for ail the mercies (hewn, 
 And all the bleffings I have known ; 
 His pardon feck for every fin, 
 My crimes without, my curfe within ; 
 My nature's ftubbornnefs confefs, 
 And plead His blood and rightcoufnefs: 
 
 To 
 
[ 92 ] 
 
 To Him my thoughts attentive turn, 
 
 And, as I contemplate Him, mourn, 
 
 To think that, after all He's done, 
 
 He finds fo little of His own : 
 
 And yet, amidft it all, in hope 
 
 To lift my worthlefs eye-lids up ; 
 
 To think, amidft the gloom of night, 
 
 I fee a fparkof fmiling light, 
 
 And hear a voice, that, while it founds, 
 
 All other melody confounds, 
 
 And, while its mufic charms my ear, 
 
 Bids my aflonifh'd heart not fear : 
 
 " Fear not (He cries) I'm only come 
 
 " To bright the horrors of this gloom ; 
 
 " Thy long loft quiet to reflore, 
 
 " And waking rife to fleep no more." 
 
 SPIRITUAL GRATITUDE. 
 
 I. 
 
 HO W vaft the love ! that with its eye looks 
 down, 
 And, kind as fair, can as it looks pafs by 
 The crimes that caufee'en Grace to wear a frown, 
 And wake the voice whofe call would wake the fty. 
 
 II. 
 
E 93 ] 
 
 II. 
 Such love is thine ! thou fource and end of all, 
 
 Whom all fhall own, and at whofe feet (hall bend 
 Its fiilr. bright holts, while thefe on men fnall call, 
 
 To aid their fong, and hail their fource and end. 
 III. 
 Nor thou, my heart, with all thy want of grace,, 
 
 Sh ilt thou be lafl to join thy hand or voice 
 With fuch a band, whofe pride it is to rnife 
 
 A found that fwells, and fpreads, and fires its joys I 
 
 TRANSLATION OF THREE SHORT LINES 
 IN LATIN, 
 
 From Seneca s Thyeftes (a Tragedy.) 
 
 H 
 
 OW hard on him, the thought of dying fits, 
 Who, known to all, himfelf alone forgets. 
 
 TRANSLATION FROM THE FRENCH 
 of HlnaultV Paraphrafe on the foregoing. 
 
 HAPPY the man whom pure oblivion hides, 
 Knowing himfelf, tho' hid to all befides I 
 In death no dread, no injury perceives, 
 Bnt guihlefs led, this life as guiltlefs leaves: 
 While, oh ! how fad to him, tho' all were known, 
 And all things car'd, died caielefs of his own ! 
 
 DELAY 
 
[ 94 1 
 
 DELAY NO SECURITY. 
 
 W'HO feels muft think, whatever elfe be done; 
 He cannot but fome ml/chief drive to fhuo. 
 ? Tis not in Nature to avoid remorfe ; 
 When felt one evil, fhe forebodes a ivorfe : 
 And worfe that is, when, for fome prefent gain, 
 We fnatch a moment to elude a pain, 
 That but encreafes as its time's deferr'd, 
 And, with its vengeance, brings its own reward ! 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN VOYAGE, OR THE 
 PILGRIM'S SAFE ARRIVAL. 
 
 THRO' various ftorms, by various trafts they 
 fteer, 
 As tempefts drive, or driving tempefts veer ; 
 Yet equal all, to one great haven bound, 
 At length arrive, tho' late the haven found : 
 Their fhatter'd barks the precious cargo land, 
 And fwell the triumphs of the crouded flrand. 
 
 « PLUS 
 
95 1 
 
 "PLUS LOIN, PLUS S E R R £ • " 
 <c The farther, the clofer." 
 
 A French Motto on a Cage, from whence a Bird had 
 flown with a String tied faji to its Foot : Jn Em* 
 blem likewife of the fympathetic Power of Friend* 
 fjip, where Hearts more than Perfons are united* 
 
 TH E fafter I wing, and the farther I fly, 
 The tighter the knot, and the firmer the tye; 
 Like lovers united, rho' afunder they part, 
 The (tronger the pafiion, the clofer the heart : 
 The d'ulance is nothing, the farther remov'd, 
 The more they're unfeen, the more each is belov'd, 
 I have no way then left my reieafe to obtain, 
 But to turn and go back to my prifon again. 
 To my cage then, the houfe of my lot, I return ; 
 And there, if I mud for my liberty mourn, 
 As well as I can my confinement I'll bear; 
 There are thousands each day my captivity (hare. 
 Like thofe then who hold me I'll patient remain, 
 Till death (hall difcharge, or time foften my chain, 
 
 ON 
 
r. <# 1 
 
 ON RELIGIOUS PROFESSORS EXPOSING 
 THE FAULTS OF OTHERS. 
 
 "W 
 
 7" HO for his crimes a brother (hall difown, 
 Shall, in their turn, be pillory' d for iheir own 5 
 
 And, having join'd to brand another's name, 
 Shall want a ihelter to conceal their (ha me ; 
 The faults they publifh as an embryo die, 
 While theirs (hall glare and dance in every eye : 
 With every breeze the echoing air (hall rend, 
 c< This is the man who fpared not his friend ; 
 u This is the man, who, for another's fin, 
 ? Hath ciigg'd a pit, and, digging it, fell in ! 
 
 SIN, WHAT IS IT? 
 
 THE law's tranfgrelTion, that provokes its rod, 
 The (lain of nature, and infult of Cod I 
 Mark of its bow, whene'er his arrows fly, 
 To wound the object of its deftiny. 
 " Cnrs'd is the man,'' and curfed (hall he be, 
 Where'er he's found, or wheiefoeVr he flee : 
 Earth (hall not hide him, nor (hall hell conceal 
 What Heav'n can witnefs, and will then reveal. 
 Go then, thou curs'd, where fouls accurfed go, 
 To fcorcning (hades, and fcenes of burning woe; 
 Where joy is torture, and where demons roar, 
 And hope is baniuYd, to return no more ! 
 
 A Trans- 
 
t 97 3 
 
 A Translation of the penitential Sonnet 
 
 OF THE FAMOUS MONSIEUR DE5 BaRREAUX. 
 A CONVERTED PROFLIGATE. 
 
 See SpeElator> Vol. VII. P. 149* 
 
 THY judgments, great God! are with juftice 
 replete, 
 And to man to be kind, to thy mercy is fweet : 
 But fo great is the evil thy creature has done, 
 That to pardon my crimes were affronting thy throne 
 
 Yes, O my God ! fuch and fo great are my fins, 
 As to leave thee no pow'r, but in choofing my pains: 
 Thine honour oppofes itfelf to my peace, 
 And e'en thy compaffion forbids my releafe. 
 
 O fulfil thy defign, fince 'tis glorious as wife, 
 For the tears that I flied, but offend thy pure eyes: 
 Thunder, ftrike — 'tis high time — and for war render 
 
 war, 
 While the caufe ivhy Thou doft, as I die, V\\ adore. 
 But, I afk, on what part can thy thunder light down 
 That is not all fcreen'd by the blood of thy son J 
 
 WISHING 
 
C 98 3 
 
 WISHING ONLY, THOUGHT MISSPENT. 
 
 I. 
 
 I Ought to be what I am not, 
 And ought to wifh it too ; 
 But wifli'mg only is like thought, 
 That does itfelf tindo. 
 II. 
 With time itfelf to wish began 
 
 And but with time can end ; 
 From Angels firft it feiz'd on man, 
 Till man became a fend. 
 III. 
 The former wifh'd what they ought not, 
 
 The latter did the fame; 
 In both ambition wifh'd the thought, 
 And both reduc'd to fhame. 
 IV. 
 To this perhaps you may reply, 
 
 " They wi/ISd from good to ill;" 
 And, if reversed, the charge will lie, 
 " We wifti but our own will" 
 V. 
 If then I can, Til wifli no more, 
 
 But try what Grace can do ; 
 
 And fee if that will end the fcore 
 
 Of wants and wishing tool 
 
 KO 
 
E 99 3 
 
 NO ABSOLUTE SOLITUDE. 
 
 ALONE who live, yet live not quite alone, 
 Nor can, nor may ; for Thought, at load: for one, 
 Will bold intrude, and, with its mirr&r* d face, 
 Will brighten comforts^ or reflect di/grace* 
 
 ADVICE TO THE MISER. 
 
 I. 
 
 GO, you, with all your load of pelf, 
 Sufficient to enrich a /core! 
 Yet all abforpt in avarice' /elf, 
 
 Shrink at the chance of gaining more* 
 
 If. 
 
 Go, gracelefs wretch, and pine away, 
 
 Amidft the ftore that Fate has given; 
 Lay up againft the rainy day, 
 
 That fhuts your bags and you from heav'n! 
 III. 
 When you, no more by avarice ftung, 
 
 Shall for the want of aught complain ; 
 Save for the drop to cool your tongue, 
 
 And this, obferve, you'll afk in vain 1 
 
 I z CAUSES 
 
[ 100 2 
 
 CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES, 
 
 WH plants the feed the fruit will find, 
 Whether it pleafe or plague his mind : 
 The feed he fows ia time will come, 
 To prove his joy, or fix his doom. 
 • Beware then rohat the feed when ibwn, 
 Till 'tia too late to wi/b it down. 
 
 FREE GRACE AT LIBERTY, 
 
 li 
 
 GOD givis, yet takes — 'tis all His own; 
 And as He takes He gives ; 
 By which He makes His mercy known, 
 - And praife for both receives. 
 
 ir. 
 
 He gives the offer of His grace, 
 
 Or takes the grace away ; 
 Or worketh in a moment's fpace 
 
 The wonders of a day. 
 
 III. 
 
 One day with Him's a thoufand years, 
 
 A thoufand years as one : 
 Ceafe then to teafe Him with your tears, 
 
 And let your god alone. 
 
 IV. 
 
C 101 3 
 
 IV. 
 You need not doubt who fear his name, 
 
 His power, or his will ; 
 Nor (hall that heart be put to fhame 
 
 That takes the hint, " Be JIM" 
 
 OBEDIENCE TO PROVIDENCE IN EVERY 
 DISPENSATION. 
 
 OThou ! whofc will doth all thy works command, 
 Be Thou my Guardian, and uphold my hand; 
 Where'er Thou bid'ft, be that my chofen way, 
 Without reluftance, and without delay: 
 Nay, tho' I plead, do thou my plea deny, 
 And, kindly rigid, force me to comply. 
 
 WARS AND FIGHTINGS ! WHENCE COME 
 THEY ? 
 
 FROM cruel Pride, and curs'd Ambition's hate, 
 From Envy's lufl:, and Mammon's fierce debate ; 
 From all that's earthly, fenfual, and infern, 
 Where demons howl, and howling demons burn ; 
 From that dark den where Satan (hews his fhape, 
 Whom ftatefmen worfhip, and whom tyrants ape. 
 Judge then who hear, nor wonder fuch the fruit, 
 When hell's the tree, and hell- fire rage the root. 
 
 I 3 ON 
 
E Hi 3 
 
 ON PARTING FROM A FRIEND. 
 
 AS forcing ftreams the folid land divide, 
 And riling mounds disjoin the yielding tide ; 
 As the keen wedge, impreft with pow'rful fhoke, 
 Rending the bark, divides the ftubborn oak : 
 So time or fate the deareft ties may part, 
 Yet change not nature, tho' they rend the heart, 
 That, like the rivers parted from the main, 
 Are but disjoin'd to re-unite again. 
 
 JNSINCERIT Y, 
 
 7 be Bar to Happinefs. 
 
 I. 
 
 HEN I am afVd, " What would you have?* 
 
 w 
 
 I know not what to chufe ; 
 I know, indeed, what Ijhould crave, 
 But that's what I refufe. 
 
 ir. 
 
 < f Why, then, if you may afk and have 
 
 The thing you ought to afk, 
 Can it be right to whine or rave, 
 
 As cruel were the tajk V % 
 III. 
 Why no, I do not think it is ; 
 
 But 1HI!, I know not why, 
 
 'Tis natural for what we wilh 
 
 Both to repine and cry. 
 
 IV. 
 
[ 103 ] 
 
 IV. 
 
 u 'Tis fo — and 'tis what Nature//Wj ; 
 
 But, pray, whcre's reafon then : 
 Or rather where religion's creeds, 
 
 To whichyZtf fays — Amen t" 
 
 — i ' i ■ i ■ ■ — — iii . i a — 
 
 A SOLILOQ^UY, 
 
 Between Me and My/elf, 
 
 I. 
 
 ONC E on a time, when all alone, 
 I put this qneftion to my heart : 
 11 Whzijingfe reafon can be fnewn, 
 
 " Why two fuch friends as we mud part f* 
 
 ii. ; 
 
 My heart then made me this reply : 
 
 I wonder ybd (hould afk of me, 
 So native prone to fpeak a lye, 
 
 That truth and I can ne'er agree. 
 III. 
 But here's the reafon, I fuppofe; 
 
 You're plcas'd to take me for your foe : 
 Whereas, if I might all difclofe, 
 
 'Tis will's the greateft of the two. 
 IV. 
 So that for your complaints of me, 
 
 That I am from all good eftrang'd ; 
 'Tis then your place, if fo it be, 
 
 So fee and get my nature chang\l 
 
 V. 
 
[ 104 3 
 
 y. 
 
 w You're right, my heart/ ' I cried, u for oncej 
 
 " I fee 'cis not your fault alone ; 
 u 'Tis I and will that mufl renounce 
 
 " Our/elves, and then the work is done" 
 
 ON TIME'S UNCERTAINTY, 
 
 TIME part is gone, time prefent is the fame, 
 And only differ in the found of name. 
 Time part, if near, is furnam'd,. " yefterday" 
 And prefent time will have the fame to fay. 
 What is to-day, to-morrow is no more ; 
 And what's to morrow — but the day before ? 
 So change we names — bur things we cannot change, 
 And Time, like Death, holds on his annual range; 
 And hold he will, till we with Him fhall be, 
 Drove with the tide, and mix eternity 1 
 
 OFFENCES THREATENED. 
 
 WOE to the man ! whofe life his living fhame, 
 Stabs his profeffion, as it blots his fame : 
 The dire effeft is not his lofs alone, 
 A thoufond more may be involved in one. 
 How dreadful then, when thoufands may bewail 
 The fatal block o'er which they drove to hell ! 
 
 DAVID'S 
 
[ io 5 ] 
 
 D A V I D'S WISH. 
 
 Pfalm xvii. 5. 
 
 HOLD up my goings in thy righteous way, 
 Left pride beguile me, and pyfpotffeps itrayj 
 Left, wand'ring wide, I quit the narrow path, 
 Aggrieve thy fpirit, and incur thy wrath; 
 Provoke thy mercy to refign her care, 
 And give me over to its own defpair. 
 
 THE CONFLICT. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHILE Nature ftrives to conquer Grace, 
 And Grace contends with Sin, 
 O what a conteft (as a race) 
 Thefe bitter foes between ! * 
 II. 
 Nature refolves, at all events, 
 
 PoiTeffion to maintain ; 
 While Grace the incroaching deed refent $, 
 Nor will refent in vain. 
 
 in. 
 
 Grace pleads, what Nature cannot do, 
 
 Her grand primeval claim ; 
 When Satan, with his brazen hue, 
 
 Pretends and pleads the fame. 
 
 IV, 
 
[ io6 I 
 
 IV. 
 
 By each attack'd, (a bloody field !) 
 
 The Soul diftra&ed Hands ; 
 Not knowing yet to which to yield, 
 
 She fpreads her trembling hands.. 
 V. 
 Come then, (lie cries, who beft can make 
 
 A lawful claim on me ; 
 The fbongeft fide I need's muft take, 
 
 I can't divided be ! 
 VI. 
 i€ That's mine (Appollyon cries) 'tis true, ,r 
 
 And to his text he ftands ; 
 When, fwift as thought, Emanuel flew, 
 
 And fnatch'd her from his hands*! 
 
 THE QJJESTION A-NSWERBD, 
 
 WHAT is the Sea ? A world of fporting fifhes* 
 And what's " the World? An o between 
 two dijhes" 
 And what's a Dijh, or what's a thoufand fcore,. 
 But like the Sea, whenfill'd, will hold no more ? 
 So Sea, World, Difo, howe'er replete with food,. 
 Are Hill all empty of the only good. 
 
 T HE 
 
[ io7 1 
 
 THE HONEST MAN. 
 
 WHO kindly thinks, and, as he thinks, he 
 f peaks ; 
 And pafs'd his word, his promife never breaks : 
 Clear to difcern, as plainly can reprove, 
 And if deceiv'd, is but deceiv'd from love. 
 
 THE DOUBLE INFIDEL, 
 
 GO ye ! who fay " The Refur r efforts pqft," 
 Or ye who its reality deny; 
 Beneath this.ftone, lies one interr'd at laft, 
 Wbofe dying hopes gave both of you the lye. 
 
 THE CAUSE AND EFFECT COEVAL. 
 
 THE Caufe continued, the Effect's the fame 5 
 Yet 'tis not this, but thai which is to blame -5 
 At lead that moft, tho' this in time may be 
 The fame with that, as here we plainly fee : 
 The Caufe your Jin, the Effeft is your diftrefs. 
 Which, tho* you mourn, makes not your fin the lefs, 
 
 DIVINE 
 
[ io8 1 
 
 DIVINE EFFICACY. 
 
 WHAT cannot Grace! what cannot Jefus do! 
 When with His ftrength His mighty hand 
 lays to. 
 He fpeaks the Word, and what was not begun, 
 Begins to quicken — and the work is done : 
 Mercy defeends, the life begins to move, 
 And all is ended, as commenc'd, in love ! 
 
 REAL WORTH, WHAT IS IT? 
 
 WHAT dies he worth, whofe worth, whene'er 
 . he dies, 
 Speaks him worth nothing, but what cankVmg lies 
 la his own hoard ? Come, let the anfwer out. 
 " He dies worth nothing, and is damn'd to boot." 
 
 AVARICE, A HORSE-LEECH. 
 
 o 
 
 u /"\NE hundred firft— -butfure 'tis not thelaft!" 
 No, here's a Second, come to fee what's part; 
 And here's a Third', and double this once more, 
 You have the number that you wanted — Four. 
 
 What 
 
[ io 9 3 
 
 What no peace yet ! My ftar?, when will you fix ? 
 
 " Come, pkafe your goodnefs, pray now make it Six.'* 
 
 There 'tis, you wretch — and now 'tis made up even, 
 
 I trow you'll tamper for the facred Seven* 
 
 " I thank you, Sir ; but is it perfect weight ? 
 
 44 I beg your kindnefs to complete the Eight. 
 
 i( Heav'n blefs your fifls! O bounteous hands divine! 
 
 u And coud'n't you now, to fave me, make up nine ? 
 
 " And Nine's the number of the Mufes too :" — 
 
 But what, you hound, can Mufes do for you! 
 
 u ' Well, but my friend, to whom my heart is bound, 
 
 " Cannot you add a Tenth, to make it round'' 
 
 The Tenth appears ; " By Heav'n V s Avaro cried, 
 
 These are my Gods ! and, as He worfhipp'd, died ! 
 
 HUMAN ARTIFICE. 
 
 I. 
 
 OF all that Nature ever made, 
 Or into fair exiflence brought, 
 From reptiles to their lordly head, 
 Endu'd with motion, or its thought ; 
 II. 
 There's nothing that, for guile or art, 
 
 Pretence, deception, or deceit, 
 Can Man exceed — except the part 
 He prides in placing at his feet. 
 
 K III. 
 
[ mo ] 
 
 III. 
 
 Dcceiv'd herfelf by the old Snake, 
 
 That by her ear infus'd her breaft ; 
 Like him (he holds the beaten track, 
 Nor follows (low in all the reft. 
 IV. 
 O, wretched man ! and wretched pair ! 
 
 That, once befotted and beguil'd, 
 Have deep entangled in the (bare 
 Their lateft and their faireft child. 
 V. 
 Tempted by each, they tempt in turn, 
 Deftru&ion find, deftru&ion bring ; 
 And will, as long as meteors burn, 
 Or wily ferpents keep their (ling. 
 
 WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED? 
 
 E who repents — the man to whom 'tis given, 
 By Faith to live, and, living, die for Heaven. 
 
 H 
 
 CAUTION IN COMMENDING BOOKS 
 OR COMPANY. 
 
 WHAT'S one man's pci/on, may be Mother's 
 meat ; 
 AH can't digeft, tho* all at times may eat. 
 Some are like bees, that poifons turn to food; 
 And fome like toads, to poifon all that's good. 
 
 Judge 
 
E i" D 
 
 Judge for thyfeif — 'et no one's creed prefcribe; 
 What tho' his ftrcngth no mifchief may imbibe, 
 Thy health may injure, and, what's Hill far worfe, 
 May taint thy hearty and leave thee to accurfe 
 The fatal moment, when thy folly's pate 
 Pinn'd on another's fletve the carting die of Fate. 
 
 LIBERTY AND BONDAGE. 
 
 I. 
 
 9 r I A I S not who buys me is my Lord; 
 
 X Nor who is fold the /lave: 
 But He whofe right's to give the word, 
 Such the dominion have. 
 II. 
 Then I may be, tho' I am fold, 
 
 A true-born fon and free: 
 The bondage is not mine, nor gold 
 The price of Liberty. 
 III. 
 What is it then that bondage makes, 
 
 Or what can fee me free? 
 Whatever hand your fetters breaks, 
 And fpeaks your Jubilee. 
 IV. 
 But whofe is that, I want to know, 
 
 And what his fecret name f 
 
 I'll tell you, as you want to go: 
 
 'Tis I— behold the Lamb ! 
 
 K z CAUSE 
 
[ 112 ] 
 
 CAUSE OF THE GAIN AND LOSS 
 OF FRIENDS. 
 
 ARE riches thine, or does thy wealth encreafe, 
 Then honour's thine, and thoufands wifh thee 
 peace : 
 But art thou poor, or are thy riches flown, 
 Then Friendship flies, and every friend will frown I 
 
 TRANSLATION FROM OVID, 
 Meiam. Book I. 
 
 AT his command, the lawns their bofoms fpread, 
 The woods were clothed, and the vallies fed; 
 The fwelling hills to cloud-capp'd mountains rife, 
 Seas kifstheir fhores, and ftars falute the fides i 
 
 RELIGION OPPOSED TO BIGOTRY. 
 
 11 T Am of Paul," Sophronia cries, 
 X " A man as regular as wife." 
 Well, you are of an humble mind, 
 And to Apollus feem inclin'd. 
 " But I," fays this, " do him prefer, 
 " Whofe fword cut off the fervant's ear : 
 
 11 A bold 
 
[ "3 1 
 
 " A bolJ Evangelift was he, 
 
 " So Peter is the man for me." 
 
 And now, good fir, which way are you? 
 
 You furely mud be fome way too. 
 
 Yes, fo I am — not him nor Paul, 
 
 But truft in him that fent them all ! 
 
 CAUSES, 
 
 Moral and Judicial, 
 
 Of National Calamities and Commotions* 
 
 CONTEMPT of laws, both human and divine; 
 Unbounded lull:, and Bacchus' drunken fhrine; 
 Unbridled pafTion, luxury, and vice, 
 JX hat fits for ruin, as it caus'd its rife ; 
 Hard-hearted Avarice, and Injuftice' paw, 
 Th^- gripes the guiltlefs, and defies the law; 
 The pomp of pride, the fpleen of lawlefs pow'r, 
 Ambition's envy, and its third of more ; 
 Religion's fcorn, the hate of all reflraint, 
 The poor's oppreflion, and their mock'd complaint: 
 Thefe are the crimes that mark deftrucHon's line J - 
 And, unrepented, Britain, will be thine ! 
 
 K 3 on 
 
C "4 1 
 
 ON HEADING 
 
 "THE CALL TO BRITAIN," 
 
 A Copy of Ferfes by Philopatria. 
 
 GREAT is the caufe, and To far good the end, 
 Kindly to aim a fraflurd world to mend ; 
 But better ftill, when influenc'd from above, 
 We warn with meeknefs, and reprove from love. 
 But hard the tafk, while in the lump we flrike, 
 To think our own and others crimes alike; 
 Since partial view'd, 'tis theirs our zeal condemns, 
 And thinks it virtue, when its cenfure blames ; 
 Not once reflecting, that the pride of grace, 
 Stands in Heaven's eye the fpukft of the race : 
 Self-righteous pride! that, as it firft intrudes, 
 Is the firft fin that Heav'n itfetf excludes ! 
 
 ON THE FOUR CARDINAL POINTS OF THE COMPASS, 
 N. E. S. W. 
 
 Which, properly ranged, form the Word N E W S* 
 
 W' I T H every wind that o'er this planet blows, 
 Some tale is rumour'd, or fome rumour 
 flows : 
 To thefe their wifh, to thefe is brought their doom; 
 But ill's the wind that blows no good to feme. 
 
 Yet, 
 
[ "5 ] 
 
 Yet,, good or ill, there are who none refufe, 
 As all's alike, fo be it founds like News. 
 
 From the bleak North, fee polar ftorms afife,. 
 While the (harp Eajl arrefts the freezing fides ; 
 The wat'ry Weft dread fweeps th' Atlantic lhore, 
 And blends her tears with fh earns of human gore * 
 Till the foft South inclines the world to peace, 
 Wafts her fweet balm?, and bids commotion ceafe ! 
 
 * Wrote during the American war. 
 
 DISAPPOINTMENT NO MISFORTUNE.. 
 
 OThou hard and bitter/;/// 
 Cuiied cure of many an ill; 
 Can'fr thou think it hard in me 9 
 As thou doit, to deal with thee \ 
 And not only call thee names, 
 While my Mufe thy malice blames; 
 But ihould try to extricate, 
 From thy hands the feals of Fate ? 
 Yet, I own, and mnft defend, 
 Thou haft often flood my friend ; 
 Right has been where 1 was wrong, 
 Tho' my heart with vengeance flung: 
 For thou often haft preferv'd, 
 Even when my feet had fwerv'd ; 
 
 And 
 
C "<5 ] 
 
 And 7 by flopping up my way, 
 Sav'd me from the Fowler's lay : 
 This I. own that thou haft been, 
 And (tho* rare) has fav'd from Jin ; 
 And from this I'd have thee flill 
 Save me, tho' againft my will} 
 Till the danger all is o'er, 
 And I need thy help more. 
 
 "WHAT IS GO D?" 
 
 Attempted from the French. 
 
 FAK from deciding what the great supreme ! 
 Let us adore, with filent awe, the theme. 
 My fiery immenfe ! that mud all thought excel ; 
 And he a God, who what God is can tell ! 
 
 TRANSLATION OF FOUR LINES 
 FROM HORACE. 
 
 Book II. Satire vii. 
 
 In Anfwer to the Shiejlion, " Who is truly free?" 
 
 THE man that's wife, whom neither fear of want, 
 Bondage, or death, can from his duty daunt ; 
 
 But, felf-fubdu'd, doth his own pafiions flem, 
 And, felf-cnjoy'd, the applaufe of Fools contemn. 
 
 ONE'S 
 
ONE'S OWN THOUGHTS, 
 
 THO' nor inclin'd, nor tutur'd to rebel, 
 I rauft confefs my fingers itch to tell 
 What thoughts I think, what notes my fancy fings, 
 When tura'd her eyes on cannibals or kings : 
 Yet this 1 will, for this I may and durfr, 
 On oath declare, thefe lait are oft the worft ! 
 
 NO END OF CRAVING. 
 
 A Thought from Horace, Book III. Ode xvii. Line 41, 
 
 WHO much defire, of courfewill want dill morel 
 Heaven grants an ample, tho' a fcanty ftore. 
 'Tis not then what we want, but what is giv'n ; 
 And thanks for this is what is due to Heav'n, 
 
 Another Thought from Horace, Book III. Ode ivk 
 
 THE lefs we a(k, contented with our Pnare, 
 The larger boon will Heav'n benign confer ; 
 Till all beftow'd that Heav'n on earth will give, 
 Wc (hall, remov'd, that Heav'n itfelf receive. 
 
 Rejkalon 
 
i »8 i 
 
 Reflection on the foregoing, 
 
 WHO only afks for what is Heaven's high will, 
 May ftill perfift, and be regarded ft ill : 
 Since, after all, be it to monarchs known, 
 'lis not their will, but his, that (hall be done* 
 
 Conclusion* 
 
 BUT, oh ! how hard, how arduous is the tafk, 
 Unhelp'd to linger, and unheard to afk ! 
 'Midft thoufand fears and thoufand toils unknown, 
 To wait the harveft from a feed /a/? fown I 
 What patient looking, and what dubious hope, 
 That now defponds, and now in fear looks up ? 
 But this is fure — who fpake his word will keep ; 
 " Whafow'd inforrow, fhall in triumph reap." 
 
 ON ONE MR. WALTER MILLER, 
 
 A Martyr in Q^ Mary's Days. 
 Written by him/elfin LATIN. 
 
 JrT"MS not for crimes that I have done, 
 X Or fins tranfgrefs'd againft: the law, 
 
 That thus my judges tread me down, 
 And gripe me with their iron paw. 
 
 'Tis 
 
[ fig 1 
 
 'Tis for my faith in him who liv'd, 
 And died that I might live in Heav'n : 
 
 For 'tis by this (that death furviv'd) 
 I feek that life His death has giv'n I 
 
 TRANSLATION OF SIX LATIN LINES, 
 
 On the Counter Title-Page of an old Sermcn> on 
 Luke xii'u 5. by Arthur'Dent. 
 
 WHOE'ER thou art, that read'ft or hear 'ft thefe 
 lines, 
 Quickly repent thee, and forfake thy fins : 
 For if new crimes with former crimes agree, 
 Then this difcourfe will a fwift witnefs be. 
 Some late have heard, and well content have been, 
 To feek repentance, and forfake their fin : 
 Go then, do thou (as thefe have done) the fame ; 
 Their peace thy portion, and their joy thy theme ! 
 
 A THOUGHT ON ROMANS, XIII, 5. 
 
 WHO keeps the law, and thus the law fulfils ? 
 Not he who hates , and thus, a murderer, kills. 
 I afk again, who is it keeps the law, 
 And in whofe keeping Juftice fees no flaw ? 
 
 Til 
 
r 120 ] 
 
 Tis he who lov es, and, on this lovely plan, 
 Afrs all for god, as god himfeU' were man ; 
 Believing, lov'd and found in Him alone, 
 Who makes the finner and the Saviour one ! 
 
 TRUE LIFE, AND REAL DEATH. 
 
 WHO's he that's dead ? The man that lives in fin, 
 Born once for all, but never born again. 
 But who's alive ? The -ran that lives, tho' dead, 
 Yet dies while living, like his living Head ; 
 In whom all RVe, that, dying, live to rife 
 With His dead Body, that once built the Ikies ! 
 
 "WHAT IS LIFEr 
 
 I. 
 
 A Short fad journey to fome future place, 
 More fair or foul than that we leave behind : 
 Our chariot- wheels the meafure of its fpace 
 
 That mark the goal, and fwift outfly the wind. 
 II. 
 The world an inn, where all who travel meet, 
 
 Till night comes on, when death its guefts enchains; 
 At morn awoke, the refnrreRion greet, 
 And hail its joys, or fink beneath its pains. 
 
 Suited 
 
[ IW J 
 
 III. 
 
 Suited to each their portioa or reward, 
 
 To each affign'd the lot their life has giv'a : 
 
 On thefe, the wages of theiry?/2 conferr'd ; 
 
 On thefe, th^ gift of Righteoufnefs and Heav'n* 
 
 A THOUGHT ON JEREMIAH, XXIII. 23, 24, 
 
 WOULD you by none be known or feeo 3 
 To do an aft impure and mean, 
 Unkind, unmanly, or unjuft, 
 A breach of faith, or fiiendfaip's trufl ; 
 A vile expreffion or a word, 
 That would not bear a fair record ; 
 A fordid fentiment or thought, 
 That fears to be in judgment brought : 
 Then in your bread this hint enrol, 
 " There's one that fees, and marks the whole ! 
 
 EXTEMPORE THOUGHTS. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHO fimply feek the path of life, 
 And meekly walk therein, 
 Shall mifs a multitude of ftrife, 
 That waits rebellion's fin. 
 
 L H. 
 
[ 122 3 
 
 II. 
 
 They (ball efcape the Fowler's fnare, 
 
 And every bait difcern : 
 Who gave them prudence to beware, 
 
 He (hall that prudence warn. 
 III. 
 They fhall efcape the thorns of pride, 
 
 The fiery darts of luft ; 
 Jtfor need the withering leaves to hide 
 
 Its icandal or difguft. 
 W- 
 They fhall not dread the fcorner's facer, 
 
 Nor churl's invidious frown : 
 The feoff of fools they need not fear, 
 
 Nor make its curfe their own. 
 V. 
 But fafe preferv'd by Him that loves, 
 
 And will His own defend : 
 He who their loving walk approves, 
 
 Will love them to the end. 
 VI. 
 Thus (hall the man that fears the LORD, 
 
 Thro' all his life be bleft ; 
 Till ftronger hope, at death, afford 
 
 A clearer fight of reft ! 
 
 A SIMILE. 
 
[ »* 2 
 
 A S I M I L E. 
 
 AS gleams the dog-ftar thro' yon cyprefs grove, 
 And, as it fhines, now brilkly Teems to move, 
 Its glimmering rays dart fparkling from its eye, 
 And tempt the gazer to conceive it nigh : 
 So thro' the glades of mental darknefs gleams 
 Some mental light that apes the Syrian beams ; 
 A light caird " Hope-," but ah! how diftant far 
 The figur'd object, or the figuring ftar ! 
 
 AN EXTEMPORE THOUGHT. 
 
 ER E yet awake, I felt a fudden flroke, 
 That, by its force, a cedar might have broke. 
 Who's that ? I afk'd ; and was as quick reprov'd, 
 " 'Twas I that did it, and becaufe I lov'd !" 
 
 DEFINITION 
 
 Of the Falfe A r M i n i a n, 
 
 Commonly called " A Free-Wilier" 
 
 HE is one that believes he can do what he will, 
 Do good when he likes, and, if not, can do /'./; 
 Can do all things, or nothing, as fuits him to plcafe. 
 Plough the law like a horfe, or lie down at his eafe ; 
 L 2 Caa 
 
Can have grace when he afks, or as nobly refufe r 
 And, as feemeth him meet, can improve, ox abvfe% 
 When he likes commit fin, or continue a faint* 
 It is no matter which, he can freely repent r 
 In fliort, he can merit— to be praifed or blam'd, 
 And brays of its pow'r, to be faved or damrid. 
 
 So much for this wight — he's the king of the crew, 
 And Religion's reproach, if the Gofpel be true ; 
 As affum'd to himfelf what belongeth to none, 
 Save only to him, by whom all may be done*. 
 
 * Philip iv. 13. 
 
 DEFINITION^ 
 
 Of a Fictitious Calvinist, 
 Commonly called " An Antinomian" 
 
 HE is one that maintains an Election of Grace, 
 And as fondly conceits himfelf one of the race'; 
 Talks loudly of Faith, but accounteth all Works 
 As the chains of the law, and the creed of the Turks ; 
 Thinks that none can be fav'd who do not believe this, 
 Nor be damrid if they do, tho' they pradlife amifs; 
 Can prate of experience that's none of his own, 
 And picks up his phrafes y a^ you would a flone ; 
 
 Is 
 
C 125 1 
 
 Is quite Cure of his hand, and fo wonders that Paul 
 Should talk, tho' elect, of being loft after all ! 
 Here then is one more in a different way, 
 Both wide of the mark, and of courfe gone aflxay: 
 Look we then for a third that (hall honour the text ; 
 And if there's a fourth, they are found in the next. 
 
 Who is the Right Calvinist, and who is the 
 Right A R M I N I A N ? 
 
 THEY are fuch as believe what the Scriptures 
 have faid, 
 And, trufting in jesus, follow Him as their head; 
 His godhead adore ; His atonement and blood 
 Their difcharge from the Law and the Jujlice of god. 
 They believe all have finn'd, and come fhort of the 
 
 grace 
 That's fufficient for all (tho' it fave not) the race. 
 They alike do believe, and, believing, do prove 
 Their faith by a life of obedience and love. 
 And tho' they divide, 'tis fcarce more than in name; 
 For tho' their creed differ, their Faith is the fame. 
 Since this then's the cafe, why fliould Saints difagree, 
 You quarrel with them, or they quarrel with me? 
 We all have one father, one Saviour, and Friend, 
 One spirit thro* life, and one hope in its end ! 
 
 L J WHAT- 
 
C 126 } 
 
 WHATEVER'S WRONG IS RIGHT, 
 
 I. 
 
 CAN what all know is wrong be right. 
 And yet not true the inverfe ? 
 Not in the view of moral light, 
 As now we fhall rehearfe. 
 
 II. 
 
 We fpeak not here of things or men. 
 
 Their evil can't be good ; 
 No more than pleafure can be pain, 
 
 Or poifon wholefome food. 
 III. 
 But what we mean refers to him, 
 
 And to His fov'reign will, 
 Who, in this world's myfterious fcheme, 
 
 O'er-rules both good and ill. 
 IV. 
 The laft forbids with awful frown, 
 
 The firft, as right, commands ; 
 And calls the effeft of each his own, 
 
 As each in order ftands. 
 
 V. 
 Yet not the more excus'd are they, 
 
 Who daring thus offend, 
 Becaufe, direfted each their way, 
 
 They anfwer each his end* 
 
t >*7 1 
 
 VI. 
 
 This all things muft, whate'er they be. 
 
 It cannot but be done, 
 His purpofe, counfel, and decree, 
 
 Whofe all defigns are one ! 
 VII. 
 From whom all came, to Him (hail all 
 
 In feafon due return: 
 Whatever we good or evil call, 
 
 To this one End are borne. 
 VIII. 
 As waters, parted from the Sea$ 
 
 In various currents flow; 
 So all ordain'd by His decree, 
 
 Where that decrees Ihall go. 
 IX. 
 However far or wide they fpread, 
 
 They wander not, but where 
 They wander to their fountain-head, 
 
 And all re- centre there* 
 X. 
 So all things here beneath His eye, 
 
 Whofe hand all things controls, 
 In earth, or heav'n, air or fky, 
 
 His providence upholds. 
 XL 
 All accidents of time or place, 
 
 All good or evil done, 
 Relig : on's fcorn, or Sin's difgrace, 
 
 Proceed from hence alone. 
 
 Xfl 
 
C 128 ] 
 
 XII. 
 
 The trials that His fervants bear, 
 
 Their poverty, or fharae, 
 Their various wants, and every care 
 
 That can His notice claim : 
 XIII. 
 Their cries, their moans, by Him are heard, 
 
 To him their griefs are known ; 
 And they (like Him in that He fear'd) 
 
 Are anfwer'd in His own. 
 XIV. 
 Thus all things tend to work for good, 
 
 To them who fear His name; 
 Who love, as they are lov'd of godj 
 
 And glory in the lamb! 
 XV. 
 Addrefs we then His fov'reign throne, 
 
 His rnajefty and might ; 
 To His great will refign our own, 
 
 And own, that " All is right ! " 
 
 PRIDE OF FAMILY. 
 
 HEAR ye, who boaft your noble birth. 
 Ye worms of infolence and earth ; 
 Ye nothings, who would fomething be, 
 Above poor iow equality ; 
 In pride of wealth who fcorn the poor, 
 And bar your bofoms as your door : 
 
 Yet, 
 
[ I2 9 ] 
 
 Yet, after all, what are ye more, 
 Than were your fathers heretofore ? 
 Of woman born, and like the y7y, 
 That, born to-day, to-day muft die ; 
 Or like a fair and fading flower, 
 That buds and bloiToms for an hour \ 
 Or fpringing grafs, that, lightly fown, 
 Is by the mower's fcythe cut down. 
 
 So fubjeft you, with all your pride, 
 (And what your heart can never hide) 
 To paflion, accidents, and pain, 
 Like other worms, and other men ; 
 To all the evils life can (hew, 
 The creature feel, or mortals know;. 
 Of hurt without, or wound within, 
 The marks of gulit, and (Tgns of fin ; 
 From Ignorance dark, to Wifdom blind, 
 And with the bafe as bafe inclin'd ; 
 As full of meannefs, craft, and fpite, 
 As Art can feign, or Spleen indite ; 
 A flave to felf, and felfifti ends, 
 To crouch to foes, or tread on friends^ 
 And, after ail your noble birth, 
 The fcandal of the worms of earth. 
 
 What then, I pray, have you to boaft, 
 Who give your honour for a ioaji ? 
 Have you more virtue, pray, than thofe, 
 Who, tho' they're poor, yet primal rofe 
 From the fame fount, whence equal fprings 
 The num'rous poor, and poorer kings ? 
 
 Hav^ 
 
C 130 3 
 
 Have you of knowledge fuch a fhare 7 . 
 
 That you have really fome to fpare ?' 
 
 And fuch a fund of common fenfe, 
 
 As, without lofs, you could difpenfe 
 
 A certain quantity to fuch 
 
 As, like yourfelves, have not too much ? 
 
 Or are you not as ignorant, 
 
 As thofe your pride contemns for want ? 
 
 Has Pity place within your breaft, 
 Your morning's bright, and fweet your reft ? 
 Or are your {lumbers broken by 
 The ftarts of guilt, or plethory ? 
 
 Do kind affections warm your heart, 
 Pierc'd with the fympathetic fmart ? 
 Do you another's burden bear, 
 His wants redrefs, his fetlings (hare ? 
 Can you, without return,- relieve, 
 With joy. rejoice, with forrow grieve ? 
 And when tht poor their caufe make known, 
 Do you then make that caufe your own, 
 And, earing little for the great, 
 Their caufe efpoufe, their cafe debate ; 
 Not minding who your zeal offends, 
 To be but number'd with their friends ;: 
 And e'en a convift gain your ear, 
 That afks your pity, or your pray'r? 
 If this you do, and this your plan, 
 You are, indeed, of men the man ;: 
 And fo far forth, as this will tell, 
 Your very wealth for grace may fpell : 
 
 No 
 
C *3« 3 
 
 No canker (hall your gold corrode, 
 Nor thieves your quiet incommode; 
 A mighty holt your bed ftull guard, 
 And He that made, your great reward I 
 His eye fhall watch, His arm defend, 
 And love you as his bofom friend ; 
 In the lad day His plaudit give, 
 And bid your joy eternal live ! 
 
 But if the contrast here be true, 
 Of final 1 account what rank, or you ; 
 How wide your fame, how old your race ; 
 You're but your own and their difgrace. 
 Whether your anceftors were peers. 
 Who bore the ftaff, or fpread the Jheers; 
 Diftinftion then will none be made, 
 Betwixt thzfeeptre and the ffiade, 
 The high, the low, the proud, the poor ; 
 It all amounts to nothing more, 
 Than this — whatever point of time, 
 You and your fathers 'gan to climb, 
 There was a time, if 'tis not ?iow, 
 When they, or theirs, upheld the plough ; 
 And might have been for you as well, 
 Had you with them been ploughing dill : 
 For know, that kings themfelves were born 
 All one with them you feem to fcorn ; 
 Whom you opprefs from tyrant hate, 
 And crufh beneath your go/den weight. 
 Yet thefe are equal dear to him, 
 Who made you both, tho' you eiteem 
 
 Of 
 
[ 13* 1 
 
 Of no account, and only meet 
 To ftoop or tremble at your feet. 
 But (lamp no more; on whom you tread 
 Is one of the creation's head ; 
 And, tho' nor gold nor purple wear, 
 For aught you know, Salvations Heir: 
 A lot conceaJ'd until that day, 
 When fuch as you are fent away ! 
 
 •THE INFIDEL ARRAIGNED: 
 
 Or Thoughts on Job xi. 7. 
 
 I. 
 
 CAN'ST thou by fearching find out god, 
 Th' Almighty to perfection know? 
 What ! can'ft thou fcale His high abode, 
 And trace Him in the depth below ? 
 II. 
 Can'ft thou his His nature, or His name, 
 
 That only to Himfelf are known, 
 Explore, and then announce the fame, 
 As thou with Him alike wert one i 
 III. 
 Can'ft thou his goings-forth declare, 
 
 And meet him in His high return ? 
 Whofe chariot- wheels as lightning are, 
 
 While blazing comets ceafe to burn. 
 
 IV. 
 
I *33 1 
 
 IV. 
 
 Can'ft thou elude his fearching eye, 
 
 That penetrates the (hades of night, 
 Or chafe the darknefs of the fky, 
 
 By driving on the car of light ? 
 V. 
 Can'ft thou the thunder's voice outroar, 
 
 Or with thy arm the winds control? 
 Haft thou o'er nature's lord the power? 
 
 Is (he thy flave, or thou her foul ? 
 VI. 
 Can'ft thou the human heart explore, 
 
 Its bias warp, or traits define ? 
 Or knoweft thou its thoughts before 
 
 Its aft determine they were thine ? 
 VII. 
 Can'ft thou a kingdom bind in chains 
 
 Of bondage or captivity; 
 Fix the duration of its pains, 
 
 And then remit the penalty? 
 
 vm. 
 
 Know'ft thou the height of Mercy's throne, 
 
 Her care how vaft, her love how great ? 
 Can'ft thou her rich defigns make know, 
 
 Or drive her from the judgment feat? 
 IX. 
 Can'ft thou the hearts of monarchs change, 
 
 Or tyrants from their purpofe move, 
 Their acts to ends unthought arrange, 
 
 Or force an enemy to love ? 
 
 M X. 
 
[ *34 3 
 
 X. 
 Pray which of thefe can'ft thou perform, 
 
 Thou boafter of created fldll ? 
 Go, reptile, to thy Lord — the worm, 
 
 And match with mules thy ftubborn will. 
 XI. 
 Call thy felf i€ nothing" in his fight, 
 
 Save only what his will fhall make: 
 Whofe eye's the fountain of thy light, 
 
 And who to be thy being fpake. 
 XII. 
 Thine ignorance own, thy pride confefs, 
 
 That made thee think thyfelf a God', 
 As much devoid of ftrength as grace, 
 
 Fit fubjecl: of His anger's rod. 
 XIII. 
 Go then, and fall before Bis feet, 
 
 Before whofe feet archangels fall ; 
 7here fhalt thou find the martyrs' feat,. 
 
 And fhout, with them, " The lord of All!' 
 
 WHO AND WHAT IS A MAN? 
 
 PRITHEE tell me, if you can, 
 What 'tis makes a real man ? 
 Mind, I do not mean an ape, 
 Or an afs in human fhape 5 
 
 Something 
 
[ W 3 
 
 Something fmall, or large in fize, 
 That has got two feet and eyes; 
 Like a pigmy that can walk, 
 Or can like a giant ftalk ; 
 Like a parrot, learn to (peak 
 Latin, Hebrew, Welch, or Greek; 
 Fetch and carry like a fpaniel, 
 Or can mimic Father Daniel; 
 Chatter, criticife, and prate, 
 Of the myfteries of ftate ; 
 
 Or that, running to and fro, 
 
 Learns yet lefs itfelf to know ; 
 
 Or that macaroons in drefs, 
 
 Powder 'd fops of ladynefs : 
 
 Thefe indeed may walk upright, 
 
 And appear like men to fight ; 
 
 And a thoufand adlions more, 
 
 Such as brutes have done before. 
 
 But I vow, and vow again, 
 
 None of thefe are truly men ; 
 
 Whom, at bed, they do but ape, 
 
 In their vifage, air, or fhape. 
 
 Who then, I pray you, is a man, 
 One according to your plan ? 
 
 Anfwering then to what you aflc, 
 Now I'll fet me to the tafk. 
 He is one whom God and Nature 
 Has defign'd for his Creator i 
 
 M z Aad 
 
r *3* 1 
 
 And for what he is defign'd, 
 Seeks to frame his heart and mind t 
 Lives not to himfelf alone^ 
 Calling nought on earth his own : 
 In his underftanding clear, 
 Whom to love and whom to fear; 
 And, with probity of heart, 
 Seeks his knowledge to impart; 
 Hiding not his light within, 
 Light that fhews him inbred fin. 
 Proof that he, while void of grace, 
 Was no better than his race: 
 But the mercy he has found, 
 While it makes his joy refound, 
 Thankful for the favour giv'n, 
 And affur'd himfelf of heav'n, 
 Fills his mind with holy zeal, 
 Calling on a world to feel, 
 What a happinefs they know, 
 Who, forgiv'n here below, 
 Tafte of joys that fpring from love, 
 Conftitute their Heav'n above : 
 Love that, tafted here on earth, 
 Conftitutes the fecond birth. 
 When renewed and born again, 
 We a fecond time are men : 
 Nature chang'd doth now begin 
 To efchew each darling fin ; 
 Pride, Ambition, Rage, or Lufl, 
 Envy's Spleen, and Mammon's gull \ 
 
 Mcanncfs, 
 
C *37 1 
 Meannefs, Malice, Wrath, and Spite, 
 Deeds of Darknefs, and her night: 
 All, in fliort, of every evil, 
 That can form a human devil. 
 Place of which you now (hall find, 
 To every fort of good inclin'd, 
 All the Christian's nobler mind; 
 Form'd upon the Ma 
 Form'd e'er fince the 
 This, and he alone, 
 
 looier mina; j 
 [after's plan ; 
 
 .ie world began : !» 
 
 e, is man 1 J 
 
 THE 
 
 SKY-LARK'S COMPLAINT: 
 
 Or Cruelty to Dumb Creatures, Ingratitude to the 
 Creator. 
 
 IN that fweet month, the month of May, 
 When all is foft, ferene, and gay; 
 When Nature, in her vefture green, 
 Arobes the hill, or decks the plain ; 
 When playful lambkins fport around, 
 And meek-ey'd dailies pink the ground; 
 When lowing herds (the farmer's pride) 
 Bellow their wants on ev'ry fide ; 
 When brighter funs falute the morn, 
 And richer tints the fides adorn ; 
 A wakeful Lark forfook her nefr, 
 And thus her gratitude addrefs'd. 
 
 M 3 (I IifWi 
 
t 138 3 
 
 (I IiHea'd as I pafs'd along, 
 
 And fo interpreted her fong : 
 
 Such fongs as duteous had become 
 
 The churl that fought the chanter's doom.) 
 
 " By whom I foar, to Him I fing ; 
 Who gave me voice, He gave me wing : 
 And when my life with thefe are dead ; 
 'Tis He will give my neftlings bread. 
 His bounteous hand provides us food, 
 And fills the mouths of beafts with good* 
 To Him I fing > to Him I rife, 
 Who built the earth, and form'd the fldes» 
 By Him e'en I have been fupplied, 
 Nor ever was my fuit denied: 
 Meet then to Him I'll raife my fong> 
 And will, be being fnort or long % 
 Nor aught prevent my daily rife, 
 To pay my daily facrifice ; 
 And when my charge can leave the neff, 
 They too (hall rife and fing the reft." 
 
 Thus blithe (he haiPd the yielding fky, 
 As thought nor death nor danger nigh. 
 But fhe miftook, as mortals do, 
 And for their blunders often rue ; 
 As, Reader, now your heart may hear, 
 If fo its diction wound your ear. 
 A moment then attend the tale, 
 And let its documents prevail, 
 
 A ruftic 
 
C x 39 ] 
 
 A ruftic clown that morn had rofe r 
 (One of the brute creation's foes) 
 Who clumping on his errand went, 
 Without reflection or intent : 
 But lifting up his leaden eyes, 
 The mounting fongfter he efpies ; 
 And, feeling neither love nor care, 
 Stoop'd down and pick'd a pebbled /par , 
 When fraught with equal joy and fpite,. 
 He aim'd, and hop'd he aim'd aright. 
 Strait from his fill the ball he threw, 
 And then flood gaping as it flew: 
 Not doubting but the harmJefs (lone 
 Wou'd dafh its brains, or break a bone* 
 Such is the mercy mortals (hew 
 To innocence in charge below; 
 And fuch the gratitude repaid 
 The honour done the creature's head !': 
 As what for pleafure or for ufe, 
 Had neither but from vile abufe. 
 
 Howe'er 'tis certainly no worfe 
 Than man to man, each other's curfej 
 Who, where or ftrength or refuge fail, 
 By fraud or violence prevail ; 
 And from revenge, or wanton fpite, 
 Their will is law, their reafon might, 
 Such were the notions of the clown,. 
 And well if fuch are not our own : 
 As fmall the difference is feen 
 Betwixt ourfclves and other men. 
 
 But 
 
[ *4° 3 
 
 But here digrefs'd, we now aflail 
 
 To end the moral of the tale ; 
 
 The watchful guard o'er brutes to fnow, 
 
 And how the bird efcap'd the blow. 
 That then which loves its care to hide 
 
 The miffile ruin turn'd afide ; 
 
 And (to the ruftic's envious grief) 
 
 The fongflxefs gave a quick relief: 
 
 Bid her in peace purfue her flight, 
 
 And reach fecure her azur'd height. 
 
 The bird fecur'd, her flight purfu'd, 
 And went on warbling to her brood ; 
 
 While yet with gratitude poifefs'd, 
 A livelier ftrain infpir'd her breaft : 
 And taking now her higheft ffiell, 
 She bid the late alarm u farewell." 
 So too (hall* we, when fafe we foar 
 Beyond the reach of danger's pow.'iy 
 With equal joy and freedom rife,. 
 And hail the turret of the ikies : 
 Look down aloft, and view this fphere 
 An atom in the wafte of air ; 
 As nothing all that mortals fee,. 
 And fpace a vail: immenfity ! 
 
 Such is the view that fpirits have, 
 Emerg'd from fliackles and their grave ; 
 At large to range ethereal bounds, 
 And leave the ftars their little rounds : 
 While mortals flare, but not afpire 
 To reach, their height, or feel its fire- 
 Thus 
 
Thus far remarked, we now ren«w 
 Our fubject, and the bird purfue : 
 Who having reach 'd her furamit's flighty 
 Was now defcending from its height $ 
 Refolving, as me quiver'd down, 
 Herfelf to reafon with the clown. 
 She did — and hanging o'er her neft, 
 In accent mild his ear addrefs'd, 
 With fuch perfuafion's fimple pow'r, 
 As he ne'er heard at church before; 
 Such as few fires their children teach, 
 And downy doctors feldom preach. 
 
 « What mean'ft ((he faid) thou gracelefs bard; 
 Pray now, wou'd you not think it hard, 
 If we for once could make the change, 
 And you the ambient aether range, 
 If I, in human habit drefs'd, 
 Should wound your life, or break your reft I 
 If I, with human wit endu'd, 
 My hands had in thy blood embru'd I 
 Anfwer thyfelf, and lick the duft, 
 If not both cruel and unjuft, 
 That I, who only pleafure yield, 
 Content with lodging in the field ; 
 And, waking at the dawn, arife, 
 To hymn my mattins in the fkies ; 
 To teach thy heart a fong of praife, 
 And vie with me in ftronger lays ; 
 
 That 
 
[ M2 1 
 
 That I for this fhould bafe be flair?, 
 My (kill reveng'd, or put to pain ; 
 A fimple bird, whofe artlefs quill 
 Was made for fong, and not to kill t 
 Go, thou ingrate, and learn of me> 
 Both what to do, and what to be V 
 
 The clown, amaz'd to hear her fpeak, 
 'Gan fcratch his ears, and gnaw'd his flick ; 
 And lumping round from fide to fide, 
 Pull'd down his hat, his chops to hide : 
 He neither look'd, nor fpoke, nor ftirr'd ; 
 A Beaft confounded by a Bird! 
 But even thefe have fomething left y 
 Whatever priefts may have bereft. 
 Thus wond'ring at the ftrange event, 
 Where it might end, and what it meant, 
 His thoughts within began to turn, 
 His heart to heave, his bofom burn ; 
 Convinc'd that this unthinking aft, 
 Was real cruelty in fa<ft ; 
 While reafon in the bird appeal'd, 
 Met fomething that convi&ion feaPd % 
 A fpark of feeling that remained, 
 And both his cheeks and confeience ftain'd 
 With what the modeft call " a blu(h, ,> 
 But courtiers value not a rujh. 
 
 The bird, who now the change perceiv'd, 
 Alike from dread as death reprieved, 
 
 Embolden'd 
 
'C 143 3 
 
 Embolden'd farther, now drew near, 
 And thus addrefs'd his confcious fear : 
 
 u Confider who hath made us twain, 
 And neither of us made in vain : 
 Can me to human fhape refine, 
 Or metamorphofe thee to mine ; 
 And might, if fuited to His plan, 
 Made you the bird, and me the man % 
 Thy fpirit with thyfelf have died, 
 And each of mine been glorified. 
 His hand the fame that each provides 
 With that which nourifhes or hides: 
 The fame o'er each His tender care, 
 To fave us from the Fowler's fnare ; 
 That from thy malice faved me, 
 And from its blood preferved thee ; 
 To whom thyfelf muft one day give 
 A Uriel: account, as born to live. 
 Not like to me, a moment's breath, 
 And then annihilate with death. 
 My time is fhort, tho' fweet my fong, 
 But immortality is long. 
 I live but juft to plume and die, 
 But thine is vaft eternity ! 
 Confider then, how wild as rude 
 Thy flupid, rafti ingratitude ! 
 And fix thy heart on things abov*, 
 Where all is fong, and all is love s 
 
 Things 
 
[ 144 1 
 
 Things that for me were ne'er defign'd, 
 
 In nature cramp'd, in fphere confin'd ; 
 
 Whom Envy's felf can't grudge the fpacc, 
 
 I fill in Time or Nature's race. 
 
 Thus, when I'm filent, thou may'ft fing, 
 
 And tho' I droop, expand the wing ; 
 
 Soar higher than my pinions can, 
 
 To regions only made for Man ; 
 
 As all, who live not to their fhame, 
 
 Shall find, at death, were made for them: 
 
 Where winged fpirits higher rife, 
 
 To other climes, and other fkies ; 
 
 Where endlefs fongs of endlefs praife, 
 
 Shall celebrate His richeft grace, 
 
 Who made me what I'm not alone, 
 
 But you an image of his own ; j 
 
 To live, be't long or fhort of me, 
 
 An heir of His eternity ! 
 
 To fall, yet rife — to fink, yet soar, 
 
 And be where but Himfelf before. 
 
 This is thy lot, as that is mine; 
 
 Be joy, content, and wonder thine : 
 
 Accept the counfel friendly giv'n ; 
 
 Be mine the earth, and thine be heav'n." 
 
 This faid, — the clown conceaPd his face, 
 A fign of modefly and grace : 
 Which done, they each their rout purfu'd ; 
 The Lark her neft, and he his road. 
 
 Ah 
 
I MS 3 
 
 Am Answer to the Question, " Who will 
 have most reason to be thankful in 
 Heaven i* 
 
 I. 
 
 I EASE vain Contention's fruitlefs ftrife, 
 Who moft fhall magnify 
 The gift of grace ; who liv'd its life ; 
 Or living not, yet die, 
 
 II. 
 
 *Tis Mercy all ! and nothing more, 
 
 From Mercy's fount above: 
 The firft, the trophies of its pow'r ; 
 
 The latter, of its love I 
 
 III. 
 In both 'twas love and pow'r divine 
 
 That made the difference here : 
 But when they both above fhall fhine, 
 
 What difference will be there ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 They each were fav'd by fov'reiga Grace, 
 
 As fov'reiga Grace can tell : 
 And that which gives them each their place, 
 
 Kind fav'd them both from hell 5 
 
 N On 
 
C *.4« 3 
 
 On a Friend's asking how he might walk 
 with God in the midst of Business, &c. 
 
 He that walkeih uprightly, ivalkethfurely. Prow x. 9. 
 
 THIS then the term, invaried as fevere: 
 The confcience tender, as the heart fincere ; 
 The eye as fingle as the hands are clean, 
 All care without, and vigilance within: 
 With ftep refolv'd, o'er ground untrodden tread, 
 Pendenr on Hope, well balanced by its dread : 
 That awful fenfe of an incumbent God, 
 Whofe frowns are thunder, and His wrath its rod ; 
 From whom no depth, no darknefs can conceal, 
 Or heav'n's high fummit, or the depths of hell; 
 All naked He, as on their furface fpread, 
 Tho' hid the heart, or tho' conceal'd the head 5 
 Who grafps creation, while his piercing ken, 
 Pvefearches cherubs, as it fearches men. 
 But what His thoughts, or what His mind unknown, 
 What He commands, or what He wills, undone ; 
 Let Confcience fpeak, whofe confcious record true, 
 To feraphs di&ates what it fpeaks to you : 
 To this adhere, her notices attend, 
 As fwift a witnefs, as fincere a friend. 
 
 In private prayer, from public walk reclufe, 
 Learn here its end, its privilege, and ufe : 
 
 There 
 
C M7 J 
 
 There with herfelf, as with her Cod, commune, 
 To brace the fpirits, and the mind attune ; 
 Fir it for all His providence requires, 
 Our ftation a/ks, or better hope infpires. 
 
 Deep in that volume of prophetic light, 
 The hand by day, the leftbn'd heart by night, 
 From thence explor'd, as from ethereal mines, 
 What gold out- weighs, and glittering gems outfhines; 
 The fecret wifdom of that God -like plan, 
 That angels wonder, when they gaze on man. 
 Dread myftery all i whoe'er the myftery trace, 
 With mercy judgment, and with jufcice grace ! 
 
 Who this believe, and as obedient move, 
 May often tremble, but they Hill muft love : 
 In love devoted, as in worfhip pure, 
 Their path refplendent, and their footing fure. 
 Thus ended all their warfare and its toil, 
 They fhout the conqueft, and divide its fpoil ! 
 
 UNWILLINGNESS OF OLD AGE TO DIE. 
 
 AN EPITAPH, 
 I. 
 
 HERE fculks, who late, in yon forfaken cot, 
 Liv'd to himfelf, as had been none but he; 
 Tho* now he moulders, and had been forgot, 
 As more confln'd, if poffiblc could be. 
 
 N z II. 
 
[ i 4 8 J 
 
 II. 
 
 But that when Death, his cruel adverfe, came* 
 
 And drew his dart, as eager to let fly, 
 He loud exclaim'd, and, calling him by name, 
 
 11 Why aim'd at me, who am to thee fo nigh f 
 
 JIL 
 
 €t It can't be long ere this mean houfe of clay 
 Mufl of itfelf come fcattering to the ground i 
 
 5 T were pity, then, to haften its decay, 
 And ruin that, which is in ruins found. 
 
 17. 
 f 1 Befides, there are thy terrors might addrefsi 
 
 Far more difpos'd and ready at thy call ; 
 Nay, who expedt and long for its accefs, 
 
 Nor wifh the (haft on other heads to fall. 
 
 V. 
 *' To thefe then go, and fpread the quiver wide, 
 
 Contract their being to the wiih'd for fpan j 
 But do not in this bread thy dagger hide, 
 
 Do, Death, go back, and fpaie a poor old man."* 
 
 VI. 
 
 The foe incens'd, a moment filent flood ; 
 
 When, fternly gazing in the mifer's face ; 
 «• What I" he replied, " was I before the flood, 
 
 And (hall I a(k thy exit as a grace ? 
 
 Vlt 
 
[ 149 ] 
 
 vir. 
 
 u Too long already has thy thread been fpun ; 
 
 I only wifli I had been fent before : 
 I could but then been bid, as now, be gone ! 
 
 Nor could thy juniors well demanded more, 
 
 VIII. 
 u And if they had, unlefs fome better plea 
 Than gifts abus'd, or time mifpent were giv'tt, 
 
 I had them ferv'd, as now I (hall ferve thee, 
 
 And feal'd with this the mandature of Heav'n. M 
 
 IX. 
 
 This faid, he grinn'd, and, bent upon the deed, 
 (Tho* three fliort days had been a century's birth) 
 
 The recklefs archer threw the fatal reed, 
 
 And ftruck the viftim breathlefs to the earth. 
 
 X. 
 
 II There lie," he cried, H a dread example fair 
 Of age more harden'd by its long increafe, 
 
 That they who read, may for their own prepare, 
 And meet this mefFage with a fmile of peace I*. 
 
 N3 EXTREMES 
 
C 150 1 
 
 EXTREMES THEIR OWN OPPOSITES, 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 STRANGE as it feems, it needs no proof to tell, 
 Where hell's a heav'n, there heav'n muft needs 
 be hell 
 And this revers'd, the two extremes are even ; 
 When heav'n's a hell, there hell itfelfs a heav'n. 
 
 A THOUGHT ON EXODUS, XV. 4. 
 
 AS Egypt's hofts once dar'd the deep, 
 And dreadful flept beneath its povv'r y 
 So may our fins their vigil keep, 
 And final fink, to rife no more. 
 
 THE PREACHER'S CALLING. 
 
 INCESSANT labour, and in this with care; 
 As ceafelefs watching, and as ceafc\z(s prayer : 
 That thus difmifsU thy foul with his increafe 
 May diop her mant/c, and afcend in peace ! 
 
 FALSE 
 
1^1 
 
 FALSE SENTENCE THE FRUIT OF RASH 
 JUDGMENT. 
 
 THAT may be poor, your thoughts accurfe of 
 wealth ; 
 And that difeafe fome fymptoms (how like health*. 
 From hence then learn of rafhnefs to beware, 
 Confider calmly, and conclude with care ; 
 Since from fuch marks no judgment can be drawn^ 
 Till rip'ning time with furer fymptoms dawn : 
 Such fpecial figns, whofe forrn^ cannot deceive. 
 That truth may truft, and angels fafe believe ; 
 Some fuch as this — there, fmell that fragrant root r 
 Its tree's a cedar, and this cone its fruit. 
 
 AN EXTEMPORE THOUGHT. 
 
 WHAT has been, 'is ; what is, (hall yet be ftill ; 
 What mull be, (hall be ; and what (hall be, 
 will: 
 But what thefe are, or what their vaft defign, 
 Is not for man to queftion or define ; 
 Above this fphere in better hands they lie, 
 Whofe wifdom knows the wherefore and the why ; 
 
 Which 
 
C '52 ] 
 
 Which man cannot, nor needs it that he fnould; 
 Enough, he's wife, by being wifely good; 
 And that his goodnefs doth confift in ihis 9 
 To adore that wifdom that can't aft amifs. 
 
 THE WEATHER- COCK, 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 HAIL, verfile emblem of the human mind, 
 True to thyfelf, and model of mankind : 
 Thy only virtue is in them a vice ; 
 This moment thus, the next quite otherwife. 
 Thine an eileftof nature' potent lawr, 
 As theirs felf intereft, or felf-love the caufe. 
 Thy various motions point which way inclined, 
 The fix'd or varied current of the wind : 
 Theirs only prove how fickle are their own, 
 How weakly grounded, and how little known. 
 Firft this, then that; then this, then that again ; 
 Now all a-go, and now a milder ftrain. 
 Such is mankind, creation's reftlefs heir, 
 Than wind lefs certain, and more light than air! 
 
 WILFUL 
 
I 153 J- 
 
 WILFUL IGNORANCE THE 
 ONLY INVINCIBLE. 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 I. 
 
 J/TT^IS not who cant, if that they (hould* 
 
 X That are the guilty blind, 
 And who, bewilder'd in the wood, 
 
 Attempt the clue to find. 
 
 IL 
 Thefe are the objects of our care,, 
 
 Our pity, not our hate ; 
 And tho* entangled in the fnare* 
 
 Deferve a better fate. 
 
 III. 
 But fuch whom wilful folly blinds, 
 
 And blind, as willing lead ; 
 Thefe are the men of gracelefs minds, 
 
 Whom Juftice blinds indeed. 
 
 THE 
 
t 154 1 
 
 THE WAKING DREAMERS-, 
 
 AN EPIGRA M. 
 
 r. 
 
 TI S not who dream they're broad awake* 
 Nor all who fleep that dream, 
 Their fancies for exiftence take, 
 Or think the ocean, creartu 
 
 II. 
 'Tis men awake that talk in fleep; 
 
 As ftrange as it may feem ; 
 The fools, that dare Perdition's flreep, 
 
 And cry, " 'Tis all a dream!" 
 
 INFINITE POWER NOT INDEFINITE, 
 Or Omnipotence fubfervient to its Wifdom. 
 
 AN EPIGRAM 
 
 AMAZING thought ! Omnipotence confined I 
 That all can do, that wills the eternal mind. 
 Perfe&ion pure ! whofe potence cannot do, 
 Save what is wife, or holy, juft, or true. 
 All then is right, whate'er thy will enafts, 
 How weak the means, or woful the effefts. 
 Thy paths are deep, thy depths no lines explore; 
 Let Pride confefs it, and complain no more ! 
 
 IM- 
 
{ Hi 1 
 
 IMPOSSIBILITY THE PROOF OF PROPRIETY- 
 
 NOR Endor's ikill, nor Egypt's juggling art, 
 Can fhakes from wands, or youth from age 
 convert : 
 Still changelefs both, they both unchang'd remain, 
 The ancient's glory, or the veteran's ftain. 
 
 IMPROMPTU, 
 
 On hearing Thunder. 
 
 HOW dread the burft ! how awful rolls the found i 
 From pole to pole, the echoing bolts rebound. 
 Jehovah's voice, that calls the world His own, 
 Proclaims His will, and, riding on His throne 
 Of ftate unfeen, bids all creation hear, 
 Liften, O iflcs, and, as you hearken, " fear." 
 
 "Fear not," fays Atheism, " 'tis but Nature's 
 roar, 
 li To frighten fools, and then her jeft is o'er; 
 11 Nature is nothing, and this nothing all 
 u That children (hudders, or can fools appal." 
 A vaunt ! you mifcreant, and in flames go down, 
 Where thousands, chain'd, the god of thunders own ! 
 
 DEATH, 
 
I ijfi ] 
 
 DEATH, 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 THAT thou mufl: die, not Truth itfelf more true; 
 Nor lefs is this, that unprepar'd are you, 
 Who carelefs Kve, akho' to-morrow's fun 
 May fix thy fate, as changelefs as undone ! 
 
 AN EXTEMPORE REFLECTION 
 On the Death of Two Famous Architects. 
 
 NO more remember'd, and no longer fought, 
 The heads that plann'd, or lab'ring hands that 
 - wrought : 
 Their time a moment, and their name a day, 
 Like their own works, they flourifh'd to decay. 
 So moulders all that human art can do, 
 Its wit contrive, or vanity purfue : 
 E'en Nature's works to their own period tend ; 
 Begun from nothing, in that nothing end ! 
 
 AN 
 
C *57 3 
 
 AN EXTEMPORE THOUGHT 
 On « Lord, 'what is Man ?" 
 
 A Vaunting bubble, and a pompous (hade, 
 Time's fportive phantom, for its paftime made: 
 Strong in himfelf, and mighty in his thought, 
 He came from nothing, to return to nought, 
 If they fpeak true, who, fearing to believe 
 What Truth affirms, would fain thofe fears deceive; 
 Yet find it hard* fome fecret voice -within. 
 Proving their creed the offspring of its fin. 
 But this efchew'd, their heart with joy receives 
 This glorious truth, that u Man immortal lives !" 
 
 A THOUGHT ON ETERNITY. 
 
 " rT"MME without end, or endlefs time," we fay; 
 
 JL Eternal night, or everlaftiog day. 
 Or this or that, no more alternate found, 
 Revolving each their own eternal round. 
 
 AN 
 
t 158 3 
 
 AN EPITAPH, 
 
 Compofed on Waking. 
 
 I. 
 
 I Who was late what you are now, 
 And drew the vital air, 
 Am here entomb'd beneath this brotf, 
 A prifoner, and an Heir. 
 
 II. 
 tc Come you along (faid Death) with me, 
 
 I'm come that you may go." 
 fl I will not go (I cried) with thee, 
 
 Who nothing haft to Ihew." 
 
 IIL 
 "' Ha'n't I !"" faid he, and ihewed his dart, 
 
 And with that took his aim ; 
 Leveird his weapon at my heart, 
 
 To quench its vital flame. 
 
 III. 
 I cried aloud ; when Mercy came, 
 
 And (ere he ftopp'd my breath) 
 Gave me, by Faith, a glimpfe of him, 
 
 Whofe dart had conguer'd Death ! 
 
 " WHAT 
 
r 159 3 
 
 " WHAT IS THE GREATEST BLESSING 
 UPON EARTH ?" 
 
 PEACE, health, and ftrength, with Plenty's mean 
 content, 
 A heart well manag'd, and a life well fpent; 
 A foul devoted, and alive to God, 
 Fond of His fmile, but patient of His rod ; 
 Each day prepar'd to breathe its lateft breath, 
 And mod refign'd, as mod alive in death. 
 
 TRUE PEACE IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE, 
 
 1 LOW then, ye winds, a tempeft blow; 
 Your mighty mounds, ye billows roll : 
 Unite your rage — I can but know 
 A calm, while jesus flays my foul. 
 
 B 
 
 AN EXTEMPORE ADDRESS TO TIME. 
 
 ALWAYS paffing, never gone, 
 Doing what is never done; 
 Always going, yet not pad, 
 Ever foremoft, yet the laft. 
 How is this ! pray tell me Time, 
 If to fpeak it be no crime ? 
 11 Herein then the fecret lies, 
 If you really would be wife : 
 Ufe me, and you'll ever find 
 Time and you are of a mind.*' 
 
 % ON 
 
C ^o 1 
 
 ON THE ILL-REQJJITED LABOURS 
 OF INGENUITY AND LEARNING. 
 
 THUS Genius toils, and with her vigils earns 
 The dear-bought fcraps that wanton Luxury 
 fpurns. 
 She too, all toil, as never quite at eafe, 
 While Thought can torture, or its hints difpleafe i 
 Elfe all folate, who want or who deferve, 
 Who beg their living, or who live to flarve. 
 Not fo of old the patrons of the fage, 
 Joy of the Mufe, and idol of its page : 
 By thefe relieved from Want's terrific fiend* 
 They fpread their wings, and bid their Mufe afcendj 
 Affe6l a {train that might the Gods infpire, 
 Mount Pelion's top, and catch celeftial fire. 
 
 A SINGLE THOUGHT. 
 
 AMIDST the darknefs that furrounds* 
 Amidft the yell of damning founds, 
 One thing, I think, I hear and fee, 
 " There's one who. liv'd to die for me !" 
 
 ON 
 
[ i6i ] 
 
 ON CONTENT. 
 
 HENCE learn the caufe and reafon of thy want; 
 'Tis caufelefs care, and gracelefs difcontent. 
 But hold thy murmuring, and from envy ceafe ; 
 Be but contented, and you mud have peace. 
 
 ON A WEDDING-RING. 
 
 HA I L, little type of conftancy in love ! 
 Thou fimple emblem of the bleft above ; 
 Where nought is feen, and nought inferior known, 
 Than that pure love that mingles all in one ; 
 That fource of being, whom exigence owns, 
 Creation's fountain, and the stars * its fons. 
 
 Nor lefs a type of that Eternity, 
 Whofe vaft duration marks infinity; 
 That end lefs round, that no beginning knew, 
 No line can meafure, and no eye purfue : 
 In whofe dark womb huge worlds in embrio He, 
 Where time is loft, and unborn ages die. 
 Sweet emblem too of nuptial union found, 
 Where faithful hearts by faithful hands are bound ; 
 Where, knit in one, its joys are doubly great, 
 While griefs divided, leffen half their weight. 
 
 * Angeh 
 
 O 3 Itfclf 
 
I 162 3 
 
 Itfelf a pledge of bonds ftill more divine, 
 
 When Nature's god her new-born fons (hall join*, 
 
 Go then, fair type, and let my friendfhip be, 
 In all confident, and a type of thee I 
 
 WROTE ON THE KING OF SPADE & 
 
 WHO take fuch tools to dig the foil, 
 May labour hard with little toil ; 
 And, fave in Chance or Fortune's train, 
 May labour long for little gain. 
 But they who fearch in Wifdom's mine 9 
 For treafures lading as divine, 
 Nor grudge their hope the pains they take : 
 Need never fear to lofe the flake. 
 The more they dig, the more they find* 
 That full contents the longing mind ; 
 And, like the ebbing of the main, 
 The more they lofe, the more they gain, 
 Wifdom her pregnant riches fprings, 
 To fill the poor, and beggar kings ; 
 A wealth more worth than Op^ir's gold*, 
 So often bought, but never fold - y 
 The pearl of price, the glorious leav'n, 
 That barters earth, and bids for heav'n I 
 
 WHAT 
 
C i«3 1 
 
 WHAT IS THE WORST EVIL THAT 
 
 CAN HAPPEN? 
 
 SI N, guilt, and hell, the worft of all, 
 That men or angels can befall : 
 Compar'd with which, nor grief, nor pain, 
 Can bear the balance of a grain. 
 Not that the pangs of guilt and hell, 
 Are eafy to endure or tell : 
 Thefe are the effect, the direful fruit 
 Of sin, the origin and root. 
 And as the effect of fuch a fource, 
 Are doubtlefs bad enough of eourfe, 
 Hence therefore we may juft infer, 
 Without the logic of the. chair, 
 " IF fuch the fruit, and e'er has been, 
 u The worft of all the three is fin." 
 
 THOUGH T. 
 
 Might we feel and tafte with every breath, 
 Thy real firft, and then thy myjiic death !' 
 That death to fin that marks thy rifing power, 
 Till rofe with thine > we live to fin no more. 
 
 o 
 
 THE 
 
[ i64 ] 
 
 THE EVANGELIC SOLDIER, 
 
 Or the Military Evangelijt. 
 " Endure thou hardnefs." i Tim. ii. 3. 
 
 WHO lifts mud fight, who fights for God 
 muft arm ; 
 True to his Lord, and in His fervice warm: 
 No danger (hudder, and no trials fliun, 
 While foes encounter, or fufpends the crown. 
 At all times ready, howe'er quick the word, 
 To mount the target, or to wield its fword. 
 
 Loofe from the World, and all its trumpery fet, 
 Its hopes, its fmiles, its terrors at our feet ; 
 With ftrength renew'd, each hour the battle try, 
 Till won the laft, we more than conquerors die ! 
 
 A PRAYER 
 For the Itinerant Preachers of the G of pel 
 
 I. 
 
 GO Thou with them that go for thee, 
 And on thine errand run ; 
 Quick in thy fervice let them flee, 
 Till all their work is done. 
 
I i6 5 ] 
 
 ir. 
 
 Then call them from this world, on high, 
 
 To fill thofe worlds above ; 
 Where Seraphs fwift as lightnings fly, 
 
 And flame feraphic love* 
 
 III. 
 
 There may they frefh their ftrength renew, 
 
 While proftrate at thy throne, 
 They gaze with one eternal view, 
 
 The triune god in one ! 
 
 THE 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF A POOR MAN'S GARDEN, 
 
 TranJIated from the Latin of Virg. Mor* 
 See Gradus ad Parnaffum, p. 353. 
 
 CLOSE to his cot a ruftic garden lay, 
 That reedy walls preferv'd from lawlefs prey: 
 A (mall demefne, but bleft with every plant 
 His tafte could relifh, or his table want. 
 
 THE 
 
C 1 66 J 
 
 THE ROSE- 
 
 AN EMBLEM; 
 I. 
 
 HAIL ! thou lovely, favourite flower t 
 Idol of the fragrant bower ; 
 Full of pleafure, full of fweets, 
 Whom the blufliing virgin greets* 
 
 IL 
 
 Emblem, in thy refoate tints 
 Of unfully'd innocence ; 
 Sweet adorner of the grove, 
 Type of purity and love* 
 
 III. 
 Blooming flower, whofe buds unblown 
 Harbour extafies unknown ; 
 But whofe opening foliage bright 
 Chears the fmell, and glads the fight. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Yet, with all thy pleafing charms; 
 Oft thy briar'd leaf alarms; 
 Piercing with its thorny blade 
 Who its treafures would invade ; 
 
t 167 ] 
 
 V. 
 
 Teaching ignorance to beware, 
 And the rafli to touch with care: 
 Emblem of the world and time, 
 In their ruin and their prime : 
 
 VI. 
 
 Budding, blooming, day by day, 
 Till arrives their laft decay; 
 Till a nobler period come, 
 And the Rofe of Sharon bloom! 
 
 GUILT, 
 
 What is it ? and -what is it like P 
 
 JfTMS the foul's fenfe of ill itfelf has done, 
 
 JL That confeious fear unwilling calls its own : 
 *Tis the heart's knowledge of its fad eftate, 
 With trembling dread of fome yet fadder fate : 
 'Tis juftice' hand, that (hakes the mighty rod 
 Of redd'ning vengeance, and its angry god ! 
 
 Now for its like, if likenefs can be found 
 In aught this fphere, or that beyond can bound : 
 'Tis death, 'tis darkness, 'tis the type oi hell. 
 That fin created, and where Seraphs fell ; 
 'Tis all the foul on this fide time need know, 
 To curfe exjjtence, or foretell its woe ! 
 
 THE 
 
[ 168 ] 
 THE BEST GIFT SOONEST GRANTED. 
 
 * *\ y|7^ AT wou'd you have, if now you could, 
 
 V V For afking, have whate'er you would i 
 A gem, a diadem, or gold, 
 For which e'en Heav'n is bought and fold ? 
 Say, and perhaps you may, at call, 
 Have fomething that is worth 'em alL" 
 Why then, if I may (peak my mind, 
 And what I wifh this moment find, 
 'Tis this, I would be fure of Heav'n : 
 46 There, take this pledge— the bleffing's giv'n !" 
 
 EXTEMPORE ANSWER 
 
 To an Infidel Objection againjl both the Power and 
 Coodnefs of God* 
 
 WHAT ! think you then, that He who all 
 things made, 
 And fpake from nothing Nature and her fons, 
 Cannot, with the fame breath that quickens all, 
 The whole reduce, and Nature's felf revoke 
 To their primeval {late, non-entity of being, 
 And brighteft forms, as lifelefs matter, kill ? 
 
 Ceafe then to blame the infinite in power, 
 Who all things made, continues, and dire&ss 
 Muft, as in one % be Infinite in All, 
 Coufiftent One, and Infinite compleat. 
 
 A THOUGHT 
 
[ i6 9 ] 
 
 A THOUGHT ON 2 TIM. IV. 7. 
 u / have fought a good fight" 
 
 SO fpeak the men whom infpiration fires, 
 Whom Love has refcu'd, and its zeal infpires: 
 Faithful to death, they leave their ta(k behind, 
 And whom they ferv'd, to death as faithful find : 
 His word a Hammer \ as His eyes a flame, 
 Their call, their choice, their high employ the fame. 
 
 Go ye who fpurn, and as ye fcorn, revere ; 
 Be fighs your laughter, and your mirth be fear. 
 Know ye, the men your envy would entice, 
 Are fons of thunder to the (laves of vice : 
 That thought or not— the truths their ardors tell, 
 Are equal fraught with happinefs or hell ! 
 
 IMPOSSIBILITY POSSIBLE, 
 Or Time gone by recalled. 
 
 HOW (hall I call the time that's /*/?, 
 Who cannot flop the prefent hour? 
 Remember how you ufed the lajl, 
 And let no trifles more devour. 
 
 He 
 
!He that improves, and that befides 
 WJho ferves the minute as he ought, 
 
 His moments, like returning tides, 
 
 Shall crowd their riches in his thought ; 
 
 Unite their ftrength to guard him home, 
 
 The part, the prefent, and to come ! 
 
 THOUGHTS ON ISAIAH, XXVI. 20. 
 
 I. 
 
 MIDST wars loud din, and fcenes of blood, 
 Dread tokens of the wrath of God, 
 The Chriftian refts fecure : 
 From off his knees, or couch, can rife, 
 And ferve the god who form'd the fkies, 
 With hope ferene as pure. 
 II. 
 Tho' baleful thunders rend the air, 
 And the fierce lightning's livid glare 
 
 O'erfpread the flaming fky; 
 He can, unmov'd, the thunder hear, 
 Unmov'd behold the lightning near, 
 And all their rage defy. 
 
 III. 
 If fuch the privilege of thofe, 
 Who have for their Redeemer chofe 
 
 The Rock of Ifrael's race ; 
 Who would not make their choice the fame, 
 And, by confiding in his name, 
 
 Enfure eternal peace ? 
 
 THE 
 
[ 111 1 
 
 THE COVETOUS COMPARED WITH THE 
 DROPSICAL. 
 
 AS this the more he thirfts requires, 
 The more he drinks, the more defires : 
 So with the love of gold accurft, . 
 The greater gain, the greater thirjh 
 Thus each thirfts on to fill their ftore, 
 Till each difgorge, to thirft no more. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF BEES, 
 From Virgil. JEneid I. 1. 434. 
 
 THUS toil the Bees beneath the fultry fky, 
 While^o'er each plant with rapid touch they flys 
 Its fweets extract from each vlrglneal flower, 
 And bear its fragrance to their waxen bower : 
 The liquid balm with chemic art condenfe, 
 Or in each cell its proper ftore difpenfe. 
 Others with care attend the homeward hive, 
 Or from their walls the dronal army drive ; 
 While all unite, collect, or flow their food, 
 And each employ'd, confult the common good. 
 No fubtle pride, or avaricious claim, 
 Their union mars, or difappoints its aim : 
 Alike their labours, and alike their plan, 
 Thcmfelves the lefTon and reproach of man. 
 
 P 2 TRUE 
 
[ in 1 
 
 TRUE CONSTANCY, 
 
 Compared to an Oak. 
 
 \\KU as its bafe, immortal fix'd below, 
 Tho' billows roar, and furious tempefts blow, 
 Unoiov'dyZ^ (miles, the favourite of the Ikies ; 
 Herfelf a rock that ev'ry force defies 1 
 
 SELF-LOVE! 
 
 The frequent Source of all other. 
 
 FROM various ends, in various modes we love, "V 
 As nature, inftinft, or afTeftion move, I 
 
 As paffions, interefts, or as whims approve. 
 Some love for virtue, fome from pure chagrin, 
 For beauty many, but the mod for gain. 
 Some thirft ambitious, an ennobled fhame ; 
 For blood the hero, and the prude for fame. 
 Yet all is love, and felf the facred end, 
 Or fpar'd a foe, or facrifie'd a friend. 
 
 WHAT 
 
[ 173 1 
 W H AT IS LIFE? 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 A Moment's length, a length of annual pains, 
 A lid of gftefs, infirmities, and fins: 
 A fcene of madnefs, nonfenfe, and diftrefs, 
 Where wifdom dodders, and where wanders peace ; 
 The fage's blunder, and the fool's amaze, 
 Where men turn brutes, and where immortals graze. 
 Sacred to fenfe, their downward palates ply, ^j 
 
 Their fouls terrene, difown their native (ky ; I 
 
 Like beads they iiot, till like beafis they die. 
 Thus born who live, a blind, ignoble race, ~\ 
 
 Shall quit the ftage, fwift plunging to their place . J* 
 Their nature's fcandal, and their own difgrace. 
 Perifh'd from earth, their memory (hall ret, 
 Reproach their laurels, or their name forget : 
 Such their reward, whom wanton fools commend, 
 Their life, their crime, and wretched nefs their end. 
 
 HYPOCRISY. 
 
 FAWNING, deceitful, turbulent, or meek, 
 She darts the bio//, or turns the other cheek : 
 A double tongue, to prate on either fide, 
 And double eyes, to watch the double tide; 
 
 P 3 Mm 
 
[ 174 ] 
 
 Move at a blafl: — whatever wind may blow, 
 
 For this to tarry, or with that to go : 
 
 Can figh or fob, can leering grin or groan, 
 
 Pinch out your heart, and crack the breaking bone 5 
 
 Your faults expofe, or flatter every vice ; 
 
 For this too nafty, and for that too nice: 
 
 Can lie, chcar, hide, or twitting like afnake, 
 
 Can fuck your fubftance, till your heart-firings break: 
 
 Religion's craft in every form can aft, 
 
 And plead the Bible for the vileft fa<ft : 
 
 Make confeience truckle when fhe would withftand> 
 
 As intereft's hope her filence may demand : 
 
 Fair to your face, but turn'd the culprit's back, 
 
 Your name is Demsn, and yourfelf a black: 
 
 The truth affects, yet can the truth deny, 
 
 And credit, forge, or propagate a lie : 
 
 Feigns to lament, and feals it with a groan, 
 
 She deep enjoys the ill fhe hopes is done. 
 
 INCONSTANCY. 
 
 I Can't, I mayn't, I won't, and yet I will ; 
 I'll have it all, and yet have nothing ftill. 
 Thus toft, I fix; and fix'd, I tofs again ; 
 A done in air, a bubble on the main. 
 Such is my life, and fuch 'tis like to be, 
 Till (hatched from idols, or transformed by thee. 
 
 THE 
 
C 175 ] 
 
 THE WAGES OF SIN. 
 
 WHAT good can Sin expefr to kc 7 
 Or r, if I a finner be ? 
 
 Unlefs fome difference come between 
 The finner, and his ruin, Sin, 
 Sin in itfelf is not an aft, 
 It is the finner makes it fa ft. 
 When this is fmifh'd, both are one ; 
 The fir ft is made, the la ft undone. 
 'Tis then in this the mifehief lies, 
 And then of courfe the finner dies; 
 Unlefs fume mightier ward the blow ; 
 But who that is, I wait to know. 
 
 THE DISTAFF. 
 
 I. 
 
 OWhat is life, at leaft what's mine ? 
 A brittle thread of flaxen twine, 
 On time's frail Diftaff fpun ; 
 Too (lender for the important weight, 
 Hung on it by the hand of fate, 
 That breaks ere well begun. 
 
 II, 
 
C 176 3 
 11. 
 
 Each day winds off a fhort'ning length, 
 Thar, as it runs, impairs its ftrength, 
 
 More feeble than the part : 
 A few more turns around the wheel, 
 And that which bid it run Hands Hill, 
 
 And I have fpun my laft. 
 
 THE SHORT DECISION. 
 
 JESUS. 
 
 " QTAY, thou peevifh, tefty Soul ! 
 
 O Will there nothing pleafe thy will ? 
 Art thou under no controul ? 
 
 Peace, I fay, once more be Hill!" 
 soul. 
 How can I be quiet, Lord, 
 
 Or from peevifli anguifli free ?' 
 Thou, indeed, haft faid the word, 
 
 But 'can that advantage me. 
 Thou may 'ft fpeak, and fpeak again ; 
 
 But unlefs thou fpeak'ft with power, 
 I for ever muft complain, 
 
 And complaining, murmur more. 
 
 JESUS. 
 
 " Well, if this is all you want, 
 
 And will then contented he, 
 I do here thy wifhes grant ; 
 
 Only come, and follow me." 
 
 THE 
 
C 177 3 
 
 THE INQUIRY ANSWERED. 
 
 I. 
 
 MUSTNGasI walked alone, 
 What to think, or think upon, 
 
 This idea (truck my mind : 
 Where and what am I a- doing, 
 Does it tend to peace or ruin? 
 
 To inform me be fo kind. 
 II. 
 " What !" fays fomething like an elf, 
 t€ Can you not inform yourfelf ? 
 
 " Who's oblig'd to anfwer you V 9 
 Nobody that I can tell ; 
 Yet I could but take it well, 
 
 And my gratitude would (hew. 
 III. 
 But at length I hear a voice, 
 That, without complaint or noife, 
 
 Anfwers all I can defire ; 
 Tells me, ruin'd as I am, 
 And defil'd with ruin's Jbame % 
 
 I (hall yet to Heav'n afpire. 
 IV, 
 Not in wifli and hope alone, 
 But fhall reach th' eternal throne; 
 
 And a feat in glory find, 
 Where no mem'ry (hall remain, 
 Of my former guilt or pain. 
 
 But a pure ethereal mind. 
 
 N O 
 
NO END OF MURMURING, 
 
 SUPPOSE, for once, you'd all you want,. 
 What wou'd you not want next i 
 For all the world would be too fcaflt,. 
 If we believe the text, 
 
 II. 
 
 Nay — but if I had all I want, 
 
 I could not wifti for more : 
 Only let none my rights fupplant;. 
 
 Nor rob me of my (lore. 
 
 in; 
 
 Why then you'd want, if nothing elfe, 
 
 A thing you always will, 
 While Nature, with her flying fails, 
 
 Keeps turning round the mill. 
 
 IV. 
 
 To end then all your wants in one, 
 
 And never more complain, 
 Go, fetch content ; and when that's done, 
 
 You'll never, want again. 
 
 ON 
 
[ 179 1 
 
 ON CONSCIENCE, 
 
 As innocent of Crime. 
 
 HAIL, foft companion of each guiltlefs breaft ! 
 Whofe fmile is rapture, and thy bofom reft. 
 No mufic charms, nor joy its triumph brings, 
 If thine be filenr, or untun'd its firings : 
 But thefe attun'd, our confidence is fure, 
 Our fleep refreftiing, and our reft fecure. 
 
 SOME TOKEN FOR GOOD. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHOE'ER thy grace preferves from Jin 
 Whate'er his heart or he has been, 
 Whate'er his follies pair, 
 May henceforth in thy mercy find, 
 How great that goodnefs, and how kind, 
 The love that faves at laft. 
 II. 
 Love that fhall to the end endure, 
 Making its own and all things fure, 
 
 That can its care require ; 
 While confeious Faith, and humble Hope, 
 Shall bear the contrite fpirit up, 
 Nor quench the leafl: deiire. 
 
 lit 
 
E 180 ] 
 in. 
 
 Come then, my god ! if yel thy love, 
 In pity, tho' thy frowns reprove, 
 
 Support my tempted foul j 
 And grant me, as my laft request, 
 To hide my forrows in that breaft, 
 
 Where love abforps the whole ! 
 
 CAUSES OF SPIRITUAL DECAY. 
 
 THE Sin that does fo eafily befet ; 
 Pride that contemns, and thoughts that Pride 
 beget ; 
 The want of prudence, and the want of care, 
 Negleft of watching, or contempt of prayer ; 
 The lordly mind, that cannot bear reproof; 
 Or cloven eye, that mocks the cloven hoof; 
 The unfeeling heart, or Paffion's angry fenfe, 
 That (tone of Humbling at the leaft offence ; 
 The love of idols, or the love of eafe, 
 Or lufts that wait fome appetite to pleafe, 
 Some foolifh wifti, fome vain and low defire, 
 Or fparks of envy from Ambition's fire -, 
 A boa ft of gop, that takes his name in vain, 
 The hope of intereft, or the fear of man ; 
 Some fecret paffion, half refus'd, yet lov'd, 
 Some pique encourag'd, or fome crime approv'd. 
 
 In 
 
{ 181 1 
 
 In fuch a ftate, in fuch a frame as this, 
 How fhould we but of God and comfort mtfs ! 
 This were no wonder — the furprize lies here, 
 That god fhould fuffer, what no flefh would bear 
 An heart as harden'd, and a foul as dead, 
 As yonder mountain that o'erhangs its head. 
 " But, O my God, have mercy, and forgive, 
 Once more revive me, and my foul (hall live; 
 And then, tho' fifted by the infernal pow'r, 
 Shall but be winnow'd, to adorn thy floor V* 
 
 CALCULATION WITHOUT NUMBER* 
 
 SWIFT fly the years, from Eaft to Wefiern clime, 
 While rifing funs but fhine to (horten time* 
 Go ye, who read, and meafure in a fpan 
 The length of ages in the life of man : 
 When this is done, go then your talent try, 
 And count the moments of eternity ! 
 
 Q^ CREATION 
 
I iSa ] 
 
 CREATION A MYSTERY. 
 
 FROM being nothing, and a thing of nought, 
 I am, of nothing, to exijlence brought : 
 But how or why into this ftate I came, 
 A thinking fubftance, like a thinking flame, 
 I cannot tell ; except it be from this, 
 That as from nothing every thing that is, 
 Save that alone, by which whatever lives, 
 Its being takes, and every form receives. 
 So 'tis to this, whatever that may be, 
 I owe my nature and my entity. 
 But then for thofe what 'tis to that I owe, 
 5 Tis that mufl tell me, or I cannot know: 
 And that has told — the fum of which is this, 
 " From firft to laft, I'm not my own, but His !" 
 
 ON A DYING CHRISTIAN 
 
 taking Leave of his Family and Friends. 
 
 STRETCH'D on his couch, Fidelio meekly lies, 
 While fmiling Hope fits fparkling in his eyes : 
 His bounding heart, inflam'd with facred love, 
 Pants for the joy that's only known above ; 
 
 His 
 
t 183 1 
 
 His (hort'ning breath with heav'n-born praife infpii'd, 
 His foul exults with rapturous vifions fir'd ; 
 His quivering lips announce, but not exprefs, 
 The dawning fulnefs of his happinefs. 
 
 Thus, like a lamp that near expiring burns, 
 One moment brightens, and then finks by turns, 
 He glows a fpark ; to catch it then be thine, 
 And light a thoufand that may longer fhine 1 
 
 THE CHANGE REPENTED. 
 
 I. 
 
 IF I were you, and you were me, 
 As fools have often wifh'd to be : 
 If you were me, and I was yon y 
 I wonder what we then mould do. 
 
 II. 
 
 You think, perhaps, you then fhould fee 
 What I am not, nor wifh to be : 
 A fomething wonderful and ftrange, 
 The better for the wondYous change : 
 
 0^2 lit 
 
I 184 ] 
 
 III. 
 
 A fomething that, perhaps, you've thought, 
 Cculd in a trice t'effeft be brought $ 
 A deal of happinefs procur'd, 
 That now you think is uninfur'd. 
 
 IV. 
 
 But come, H! tell you how 'twou'd be, 
 And then I think you'll plainly fee : 
 Each would repent the other's pain, 
 And each would wifli the change again. 
 
 D A V I D'S R E Q^U EST. 
 
 QNE thing I've afked of the Lord, 
 And one I more defire ; 
 For three are promis'd in His Word, 
 The whole that I require. 
 
 II. 
 
 A conch whereon to take my reft, 
 
 And daily bread to eat; 
 A God, to whole paternal breaft, 
 
 I may my foul commit. 
 
 II. 
 
[ i8s 3 
 
 HI. 
 
 To live to Him, and then to die 
 
 In peace with all I know ; 
 In juftice, truth, and probity, 
 
 To leave this world below. 
 IV. 
 A God that will thefe wifhes grant, 
 
 In tendernefs relieve ; 
 To whom I can unfold my want, 
 
 And will my fins forgive. 
 
 V. 
 
 This God, who'er he is, (hill be 
 
 My glory and my end ; 
 And then, thro' all eternity, 
 
 My everlaftiug friend ! 
 
 « THERE IS BUT A STEP BETWEEN ME 
 AND DEATH." 
 
 I. 
 
 THAT Step I take thro' all my life, 
 However fhort or long : 
 That Step has made me all this ftrifc, 
 And now (hall make my foDg. 
 
 CU II. 
 
[ i86 | 
 
 II. 
 
 It was a Step from Nature's womb 
 
 Into the light of day ; 
 And (hall, ere long, falute the tomb 
 
 That hides me from its ray. 
 
 III. 
 
 But that which from the world removes 
 
 Its plcafures or its gains, 
 Alike removes from fordid loves 
 
 Its miferies and its pains. 
 
 IV. 
 This lafl: and folemn Step by death 
 
 This world for ever leaves ; 
 Nor turns again ro feek that breath, 
 
 That to its God it gives. 
 
 V. 
 
 Then Jet me for this Step prepare, 
 
 xAnd then as glad remove, 
 To banquet with the god I fear, 
 
 And fee the God I love i 
 
 « NONE 
 
C 187 ] 
 
 « NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME." 
 Afts xx. 24. 
 
 WHAT, neither fear of want nor fllame, 
 The hope of praife, nor dread of famef 
 The fmiling promifes of men, 
 The lion's roar, or lion's den ? 
 What, neither pain, nor grief, nor lofs, 
 The torturing Rack, nor ling'ring Crofs 5 
 The wrath of men, or rage of fiends, 
 The lofs of wealth, or lofs of friends I 
 Do none of thefe thy fpirit move, 
 Lefs to confefs, or lefs to love ; 
 But dauntlefs, confident, and bold, 
 Face eaflern funs, or northern cold ; 
 As all were nothing to that zeal, 
 That, lit in heav'n, could challenge hell ? 
 What, then, can nothing cool or tire, 
 Nor fafety for himfelf infpire 
 The man, whofe heart was all a flame 
 To fpread the honours of the lamb ? 
 Not odc of all, nor all in one, 
 Could make him fhame, or fear to own 
 His love to thee, or thine to him, 
 Thy daily wonder and its theme ; 
 Who all for him Himfelf denied, 
 Was fcorn'd, betray'd, and crucified ; 
 
 For 
 
t 188 ] 
 
 For whom all now is counted vain, 
 If Him or His thy heart might gain ; 
 Can finners by perfuafion win, 
 And teach a world the death tojtn ; 
 To figh, repent, believe, and love, 
 And live the life conceal'd above: 
 This all his wifn, and all his care, 
 His conftant ftrife, and conftant prayer, 
 His office faithful to fulfil, 
 Renounc'd his own, his Matter's will 
 His only hope, his daily joy, 
 His glory, triumph, and employ y 
 That finifti'd well his race below, 
 He might in full aflurance go, 
 Where He, by whom his labour's own'd, 
 And in that cay with glory crown'd, 
 Holds out His fervants laft reward, 
 To fup and banquet with their lord 1 
 
 SUDDEN SALVATION, 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 I 
 
 Knew you'd fall ; but then I faw you'd rife ; 
 And what a mount ! — from Tophet to the fkies ! 
 
 NO 
 
r 189 ] 
 
 NOBODY AT HOME, 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 PRAY, who lives here ? what nobody within ? 
 " No one but me," And what's your name, 
 pray? " Sin." 
 Heav'n blefs my eyes ! what can't you live alone ? 
 11 Why yes, I've Confcience ; he's the only only one: 
 " And he's enough, if you don't make a Air." 
 Ho ! Confcience— you, hallo i " O pray, good Sir; 
 " Pray do not wake him, for I dread the end ; 
 " He'll turn me off, and I (hall lofc a friend." 
 
 PLAIN TRUTH, 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 I. 
 
 WHAT I now fay, if it be true, 
 Why rtiould I bafe deny ? 
 Tho' what I fay fhould be of you, 
 There, now you may reply. 
 II. 
 But chance you nothing have to fay, 
 
 You know the thing is/aft : 
 To fouffle then in children's play, 
 And half avows the aft. 
 
 III. 
 
C 190 ] 
 in. 
 
 " Why then, what would you have me do T 
 
 u I can't repair the rent.'* 
 I know you can't ; but, if *t3 true, 
 
 At leaft you fhould repent, 
 
 NEVER CONTENTED, 
 
 An EPIGRAM. 
 I. 
 
 THERE is 410 end to what we wanf y 
 Nor what our wants would afk ; 
 For really but to count the fum 
 Were no fuch cafy talk. 
 
 ir. 
 
 And yet how eafy to be gain'd, 
 If once the want were known ? 
 
 The one thing needful, when obtain'd, 
 Would fum up all in One I 
 
 AN 
 
t *&* j 
 
 AN E P I G R A M. 
 
 PRAY what is that you're looking for ? 
 " Why fomething I have loll.' 1 
 That I fuppofe — but have a care, 
 
 Your labour's worth the coil. 
 " That I muft leave ; it is to me, 
 
 " The lofs you know is 7ni?i<:. } ' 
 And fo it will, whate'er it be, 
 
 The temple, or its (hrine. 
 'Tis not the lofing then's the thing, 
 
 But 'tis the thing that's kjl : 
 A beggar's equal to a king, 
 
 And each may curfe the cod ! 
 
 THE RETURNING SPRING, 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 WHILE Nature ; teemiog with its opening flowers, 
 Adorns the groves, or decks the verdant 
 bowers ; 
 While birds and bea^s their fpeechlefs offering sbikig, 
 And bellow thefe, and thofe their mattins (tog ; 
 My frozen bread no vernal change ihall fear, 
 But clouds, and ftorms, and winter, all the year ! 
 
 THE 
 
[ *9* 3 
 THE FOUR IMPORTANT THINGS, 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 TIME, life, and death, with judgment yet to come, 
 Demand our notice, as they fix its doom : 
 Why then contemn'd, when to complete the coft, 
 -Perdition follows, and -then all is loft I 
 
 THE RACE OF LIFE, 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 THE old have liv'd, and fo may live the young: 
 How fad when either have furviv'd too long ! 
 The youth invidious aims the hoary ftake, 
 Yet view'd the goal, would willingly draw back : 
 " Pufh on," fays Death, " your mandature is paft, 
 « The laft in ftarting, is the firft at laft l* 
 
 EVERY 
 
[ i03 3 
 
 EVERY EFFECT CONGENIAL 
 WITH ITS CAUSE, 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 WHO fows would reap, and reafon that he (hou'd, 
 But why complain the produft is not good? 
 Would you have grapes from thorny briars fpring, 
 Or balmy figs from off the thiftle's fting i 
 Oh ! blame not thofe, 'tis Nature's beaten road : 
 But blame the Reaper for the feed he fow'd. 
 
 TRANSLATION OF AN EPIGRAM IN LATIN, 
 
 From Mufculus, one of the German Reformers. 
 
 PRESSED with the threats of forrows ne'er to ceafe, 
 Thy Church, O christ ! demands the pro* 
 mis'd peace : 
 Hear thou her prayer, the impending florin difpel, 
 Avert her fears, and (hut the gates of Hell ! 
 So (hall (he own thy faithfulnefs to fave 
 The flock thou lov'ft, and whom thy Father gave. 
 
 R RE- 
 
t 194 3 
 
 REPROACH, 
 
 AN E.PIGRA M. 
 
 LET lying Fame her blafling trumpet blow ; 
 If I no evil nor occafion know, 
 'Tis but a blaft to blow me to that fhore, 
 Where Scandal's breath fnall found her trump no more. 
 
 ** JLIE NOT AGAINST THE TRUTH," 
 
 AN EPIGRAM. 
 
 MUST then the truth be always fpoke, 
 And a poor lie be never told ? 
 What may we not, to ferve a joke, 
 To gain a caufe, or fave one's gold ? 
 
 " Why doubtlefs, if you chufe, you may ; 
 
 There's nothing wrong but may be done : 
 But how 'twill ftand another day, 
 
 I'd have your prudence think upon .!" 
 
 A RE- 
 
rg 
 
 v:> 
 
 A REFLECTION, 
 
 r. 
 
 IF they are bleft, and only they, 
 Who love and wou'd do all men welly 
 What can we do to them or fay, 
 Who prove they wifh to all men ill ? 
 
 II. 
 
 And that they do not wifh all well, 
 As foes y not friends, to liberty, 
 
 Is plain from this — let fuch prevail, 
 And tyrants all or flaves mull be. 
 
 III. 
 For there's no medium in the cafe, 
 If Liberty's ajlow'd to none ; 
 
 Bin thofe who claim the higheft place, 
 Or mount by murder to a throne. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Our choice, indeed, may not be hard, 
 
 So far as choice of will may go; 
 Since tew would chufe to be debarr'd, 
 
 li choice of what they iik'd wou'd do. 
 
 R 2 V. 
 
[ i 9 6 ] 
 
 V. 
 
 But this not fo— not one in tenj 
 
 No, nor ten thoufand times that fum r 
 
 But mil ft fubmit to other men, 
 Perhaps the offspring of ihtfcwn. 
 
 VI. 
 And fay not — " This is not my choice*" 
 
 I know 'tis not as well as you : 
 ? Tis the dread fentence of a voice, 
 
 That cries aloft, " It muft be fo," 
 
 VIIJ 
 So long as men are what they are, 
 
 So long this fentence muft remain: 
 Reafon and Juftice both declare, 
 
 " Slaves muft fubmit, and tyrants reign.'* 
 
 THE 
 
 But when, thus punifh'd, they relent, 
 'That hand adore that wields the rod ; 
 
 Of every fin forfook, repent, 
 
 And thus repenting turn to God : 
 
 IX. 
 
 Then (hall the wrath of Heav'n be turn'd, 
 
 AU farther enmity (hall ceafe ; 
 Trie fire that o'er his children mourn'd, 
 
 Shall fmiling feal their mutual peace. 
 
 A N 
 
C 197 1 
 
 A N 
 
 EPIGRAM ON EPIGRAMS. 
 
 HAIL thou fhort, but plcafing Verfe! 
 Simple, keen, polite, and terfe; 
 Forcing fmiles, yet giving pain, 
 From thy fly fatyric vein : 
 Full of compliment or wit ; 
 Who forgive can ne'er forget : 
 Dubious founds that ftrike the ear. 
 And provoke the Cynic-fneer. 
 Yet what Gynic dare thee blame, 
 While thy name is " epigram !" 
 
 R t r • 
 
[ 198 1 
 
 TO THE MEMORY OF THE 
 
 REV. MR. VINCENT PERRONET; 
 
 Whoy after having been Minifter of the Parifh of Shore- 
 ham, in Kent, for the Space of more than Fifty- 
 /even Years, died en Monday , the gth of May, 1785, 
 in the Ninety -fecond Year of his Age. 
 
 IPEN'D by years, but more matur'd fay grace, 
 At once to end his labours with his race, 
 The Man of God, as fix'd on Pifgah's top, 
 Sur/ey'd the profpeft, as he felt its hope; 
 With eye reflexive view'd the feafons pair, 
 The world's vaft nothing, and its end at lad ; 
 His former labours and his ceafe'efs pains, 
 His toil unwearied, as minute its gains : 
 Now deep revolv'd he longs his charge to meet, 
 And call his miffion at the Mailer's feet ; 
 ■From earth he fprings, while prophets gone before, 
 Stretch their wide arms to land him on the fhore; 
 While foiling hofrs the patriarch-gueft furround, 
 Mount on the car, and bear him from the ground. 
 
 Thus 
 
[ 199 3 
 
 Thus bright attended, fee him foar on high, 
 Borne, as on wings, beyond Creation's fky ; 
 Where, brought in fight of the eternal throne, 
 Lighting he falls to Him that fits thereon : 
 When lo ! a voice, from out the mercy feat, 
 Bids (trait — " Arife, and ftand as on thy feet ; 
 " I know thy works, thy labour, and thy lofs, 
 " And lo ! the crown that overhangs thy crofs — 
 " Whofe patient arm my weightier crofs has borne/ 5 
 There, next to feraphs, and perhaps ftill higher, 
 With beams of light, and of diftinguifh'd fire, 
 Shall fhine, as glowing with fuperior flame, 
 The prophets mantle, and his diadem : 
 And there, the fweeter rapture to impart, 
 Who, next his God, lay nearcft to his heart, 
 Shall fhe be found — a mother, long no more, 
 But earlier cal! 5 d froiri Time's morbific fliore : 
 Where too fhall ftand, if Hope can feel its ground, 
 A num'rous offspring, with the patriarch found. 
 Amazing love ! might but this lot be mine, 
 To fhine with flats, where ftars for ever fhine ! 
 
 AN 
 
[ SOO ] 
 
 AN EPITAPH, 
 
 Sacred to the Memory of Mrs. C. P. 
 
 Who departed this Life, on February 5, 1763, aged 
 Se ven ty -five Tea rs . 
 
 HERE lies interr'd, from every drofs refin'd, 
 Her afhes number'd, and her duft enfhrin'd, 
 A foul, emerged from all that once detained 
 Its hands in fetters, and its heart enchain'd ; 
 Whofe wearied feet at length their courfe have run, 
 Their warfare ended, and their race have won ; 
 Whofe end approach ; d, the end of all her care, 
 Her legal labours, and her meek defpair, 
 He faw, who lov'd, and call'd His favourite home, 
 He faw, who loves, and guards the facred tomb : 
 Ripe for her reft, but patient of delay, 
 She heard, " Arife, my fair one, come away." 
 
 Thither, where Saints with joy celeftial glow, 
 Soft as the (hade, and whiter than the fnow, 
 Silent as night, (he glides from Earth's abode, 
 And waking found her fpirit fafe with God ! 
 
 T$ 
 
} 
 
 [ 201 ] 
 
 To the MEMORY of Mr. C. P. 
 Who departed this Life, Auguft 12, 1776, aged 56, 
 
 G r AUG H T to the fides from out this vale of woe, 
 He foars aloft, to (Vine where martyrs glow : 
 A man of forrows, and aggriev'd with pain, 
 Reftar'd thro' death, he joins the martyr'd train 
 Like x^braham's heir, when offer'd by his fire, 
 E'en here he faw the confecrated fire, 
 Sworn to refign, and in its flames expire. 
 Patient to bear, tho' Nature's will complains, 
 Each day new trials, and each night new pains ; 
 Refolv'd to fight his pafTage to a crown, 
 Refolv'd he flood, and threw the gauntlet down* 
 O Thou, who didft his every burden (hare, 
 "Nor leave his hope to danger or defpair: 
 J2 en to the lad thy Utmoft word was try'd, 
 Till Nature faiPd, and Grace was glorify'd ! 
 
 On the D E A T H of Mifi D. P. 
 
 September 19, 1782, aged 56. 
 
 DEAR to his faints, but dearer to their GOD, 
 Another faint has left this earthly clod : 
 Made ripe thro' fuff.-rings, fan&ified by Grace, 
 A Star (he. (hot, to mingle with their race. 
 Reafon, be ftill, let Truth her hiftory tell;.. 
 In purefl realms of pureft light to dwell, 
 
 Sav'd 
 
E 202 J 
 
 Sav'd by the Love that forms her high abode,! 
 Perfeft in this, on wings of Love fhe rode L 
 Elijah's car, that bare Elijah's God ! 
 Rejoice ye faints, and thou, her hoary Sire, 
 Replete thyfelf with Heav'n's prophetic fire. 
 O may thy foul a prophet's tranflt Jleal>\ 
 Nor ling'ring pains, nor dying anguifh feel: 
 E'en now he waits, who bids thy fpirit H Come," 
 To light the flame, and bear thy fpirit home ! 
 
 To the MEMORY of Mr. J. P. who died OElober 
 28, 1767, aged 34 Tears. 
 
 TURN here thine eyes, thou pa/ling traveller, 
 turn ; 
 And o'er this hearfe, and o'er thefe afhes mourn. 
 Yet not fur thefe, but for yourfelves ye weep; 
 Who die in Jefus, are not dead, but fieep : 
 With Him entomb'd, their peaceful fpirits reft, 
 LockM in His arms, and folded on his breaft ;•. 
 Where hidden treafures from their fountain flow, 
 Where martyrs banquet, and where feraphs glow ; 
 While fhines fupreme — His faints eternal head, 
 Lord of His own, the living or the dead ! 
 
 This hope be thine — then let thy faith approve, 
 Thy heart devoted, and thy life above : 
 So, when reviv'd, the dead in Chrift (hall rife, 
 Thou too /halt mount, and fan the immortal fkies ! 
 
 AN 
 
C 203 ] 
 
 AN ACROSTIC 
 On the Word " Acrostic." 
 
 A DIEU, vain world, and all thou art, 
 
 C arc's guilt is thine, and mine the/mart .: 
 
 R iches, ambition, honours, joys, 
 
 nly prefent in vain their toys. 
 S ick is my life, and Tick I'd be, 
 T ir'd with thy lifelefs vanity. 
 
 1 f thou once grant me ought, be't this ; 
 C hrift be my choke, let me be his ! 
 
 AN ACROSTIC 
 
 On Mr. J C >. 
 
 I DIOT of grace, to make worfe idiots wife, 
 O pen their ears, and couch their hood-wink'd eyes, 
 H e comes, a ftammerer of the gofpel fong, 
 N or human learning, nor the learned's tongue \ 
 
 C hofen and call'd, if call or choice there be, 
 A man of wonders, and more wond'rous he, 
 R are work of Heav'n— yzfots his million hear, 
 L ike that dumb brute's, that tiving'dz prophet's ear 
 T o teach us wi.fdom, Wifdom fends her fools, 
 O ffers her hand, to lead us to her fchools, 
 N or ever quits her charge, till they firft quit her 
 rules. 
 
 OM 
 
[ io 4 ] 
 
 ON THE VELOCITY OF TIME, 
 
 AGES and years, with months and moments, fly, 
 The minor offspring of eternity: 
 Of awful import, tho' cf trivial name, 
 Their nature, end, and origin the fame. 
 HeavVs grand bequeft, our fafety to fecure, 
 -And make its warfare, with its victory, fure: 
 Recorded all ! a vafl: unnumber'd ftore, 
 Whofe fate is fix'd, and time revolves no more. 
 
 AN EPITAPH. 
 
 W'HO's this that fleeps beneath this mould'ring 
 ftone ? 
 " Why can't you read \ n To you that afk be't known, 
 I once, like yon, as now you, juffc like me, 
 Thought life a jell, and god a novelty : 
 But now reversed, the dead much better know ; 
 And ye who doubt, where they are gone muil go. 
 
 AN 
 
I 205 ] 
 
 AN EPITAPH, 
 In Manki/h Latin, 
 
 HIC jacet morte fecurus, 
 Qui vixit olini impurus ; 
 Sed non impeniter moriens, 
 Sperat feliciter oriens. 
 Tu, qui hoc dub'tas tecum, 
 Roga refurgere mecum. 
 
 The Tran/Iation. 
 
 HERE lies entomb'd fecure, 
 One who liv'd not fo pure ; 
 But forrowing for his fin, 
 Hopes glad to rife again. 
 Pray ye, who doubt his word, 
 To rife as well reftord. 
 
 AN EPITAPH. 
 
 L 
 
 GO ye, that afk who lodges here, 
 Within this narrow tomb : 
 There's nothing from the dead to fear. 
 Who'll not deny tou room* 
 
 S J! 
 
t 206 I 
 
 If. 
 
 But chance, at prefent, you don't want 
 
 A lodging with the dead : 
 The grave, you think, is rather*fcant ■; 
 
 You chufe a wider bed. 
 
 III. 
 A wider bed perhaps you'll have, 
 
 If you're a rogue of ftate : 
 Only remember what you crave 
 
 Will not decide your fate. 
 
 TRANSLATION OF AN EPITAPH 
 Over fome modejl Abbot of St. Alban's. 
 
 BENEATH this humble turf doth reft, 
 One who has paid this debt to fin 5 
 And tho' his name be not expreft, 
 'Tis wrote the Book of Life within. 
 
 Remark. 
 
 THEN that's enough ; what man would crave 
 
 A greater privilege to fhare ? 
 E'eri Monarchs, tho' they find a grave, 
 
 Their names are feldom written there. 
 
 EPI- 
 
[ 207 ] 
 
 EPITAPH 
 
 On the famous Mr. Matthew Prior. 
 
 Written by him/elf, on being upbraided with the 
 Meannefs of his Birth. 
 
 NOBLES and Heralds, by your leave ! 
 Here lie the bones of Matthew Prior 5 
 A fon of Adam and of Eve : 
 
 Let Bourbon or Naffau go higher. 
 
 Remarks on the foregoing Epitaph. 
 
 'TIS true, good Sir; but, by your leave, 
 
 With all your wittic fm's powV, 
 itifs'd you not once a tyrant's flecve ; 
 
 Could Herod or his hogs do more ? 
 Boaft then no more your noble birth, 
 
 Nor quote an origin, your flume ; 
 The vilefl: knave that leads the earth 
 
 Can equal plead, and boaft the fame. 
 
 S % AN 
 
[ 2o3* 2 
 
 AN EPITAPH 
 
 On one Mr. Jof. Baylis and bis Wife, in Malvern 
 Church, in Worcefierfhire. 
 
 U 'T^HEY were fo truly one, that none could fay, 
 X Which of them rul'd, or whither did obey t 
 " He rul'd becaufe flie would obey, and she,. 
 " la fo obeying, rul'd as well as he," 
 
 The Simile. 
 
 THUS, like two buckets that attend the well, 
 Each take their turn to eafe the other's^// : 
 The firfV arriv'd, the next as free defcendsy 
 And mutual thus fulfil their mutual ends. 
 
 Or, like a bark that fleals acrofs the tide, 
 Whofe ecjual turn its equal oars divide ; 
 But wanting one, or elfe the flroke ill crofly 
 The veflel finks, or flrands upon the coaft. 
 But equal plied the firong united oar, 
 The toil is fweet, and every bank zjhore 1 
 Thus match'd, thus pair'd, thus fitted to its mate, 
 We may be happy in the married fiate : 
 But if unmatched, unfitted, and unpair'd, 
 You may be married^ but you muft be marf'dJ 
 
 EPB- 
 
C 209 ] 
 
 EPITAPH 
 
 On a Mifer. 
 
 HERE lies the fcorn of infamy, 
 A fcandal to reproach itfelf ; 
 A mifer of uncommon dye, 
 
 Whofe very blood and bones were pelf. 
 And yet he had whereof ro boaft, 
 
 Altho' he gave no tyibe nor tool: 
 He lov'd his God, and, to his coft, 
 So ferv'd Him, as to lofe his foul ! 
 
 A N 
 
 OCCASIONAL EPITAPH. 
 
 BENEATH this hearfe of monumental ftone, 
 Lies all that's mortal of the faint that's gone : 
 A man of god ! whofe glory was to prove 
 The peaceful preacher of all-pow'rful Love! 
 
 S 3 AXOTHIZR, 1 
 
[ 210 ] 
 
 ANOTHER. 
 
 rjlHY life how frail ! its moments, how they jkrf 
 
 A How (hort thy time, how long eternity ! 
 Would'ft thou prepare, then mufe thy latter end, 
 Make heav'n thy objeft, and its god thy friend ! 
 So (hall thy Hope, at lead, be Aire of this, 
 To live untainted, and then die in peace. 
 
 In MEMORY of Mafler J. H. 
 
 Who departed this Life, April 7, 1773, aged Eleven 
 Tears* 
 
 LIKE fome fair rose, that, in the morning fcen, 
 Hides its paie biufh beneath the mantling 
 green ; 
 But fi'lent fmote before the noon day fun, 
 At evening fades, ere half its bloom's begun: 
 So fell this flower J that here, in duft array'd, 
 Pveclines its foliage in this facred (hade. 
 Immortal flower, whofe root, without decay, 
 Shall fairer fpriog, and bloom in endlefs day ! 
 
 AN 
 
t Ml 3 
 
 AN E P I T A P F|J 3 
 
 0/z. itfr. C. M.- 
 Who died in the Tear 1762, aged 31 Tears* 
 
 HEARKEN, ye young, ye hoary fires attend,. 
 Hear all who breathe the afhes of a friend : 
 To you they fpeak, on you benign they call, 
 Heirs of the tomb, and partners. of the fall. 
 11 Return," they cry, " to earth return again, " 
 He bids who made, nor mocks the fons of men $, 
 He bids, who form'd thy being at a word, 
 Creation's Fountain, and the creature's Lord ! 
 For whom all nature and its fons were born, 
 From whom they iffued, and to Him return : 
 For life or death, unending as unknown, 
 To that afcended, or to ruin gone. 
 Gan you then hear, or can you thoughtlefs read, 
 This dread alarm, this fummons from the dead ? 
 Can you unmov'd the general fentence hear, 
 Nor figh one wifh, nor fhed one genuine tear ? 
 In vain, if fo, would worlds entomb'd arife, 
 To rouze your fears^ or point you to the flues. 
 
 To 
 
To the MEMORY of Mr. W. J. 
 
 Who died on Aaguft the 28th, aged 24. 
 
 " Young men alfo die l* 
 
 WEAN'D from the world, and weary of delay, 
 In hafte for that where glows immortal day, 
 Like Lot from Sodom, and like Enoch borne, 
 Longing, not late, to Canaan's reft I turn;. 
 In fweet expectance of unending life, 
 A pilgrim worn and wearied of his ftrife: 
 Made ripe for glory, and prepir'd for home, 
 I reftlefs wait, till jesus bids me " come." 
 E'en now methinks His charming voice I hear, 
 Now He invites, and now attracts me near : 
 No longer now His will my wifh denies, 
 I am my Lord's, and He my wifh fupplies ! 
 Now then, my foul, lift up thy wifiiful eyes ; 1 
 
 Gird up thy loins, and, as thou gird'ft, ariie; i 
 Stretch both thy wings, and fan the immortal ikies. J 
 
 THE EPITAPH. 
 
 HERE refts his head, that wants a reft no more; 
 His thoughts collected, and his wand'rings o'er : 
 Who faw his wifh, has feal'd his full releafe, 
 Bid him reilgn, and then " depart in peace." 
 
 THE 
 
[ ai3 1 
 THE TRUE DYING SWAN, 
 
 OR THE REAL CHRISTIAN 
 
 Returning to the Celeftial Zion with Songs of 
 tverlqfting Deliverance! — Ifaiah xxxv. 10. 
 
 I. 
 
 'rpWAS on the banks of Jordan's tide, ] 
 
 JL The clofe of Life's (hort day, 
 A dying Saint melodious tried 
 To chace her cares away. 
 II. 
 But though (lie oft had tun'd her throat* 
 
 And oft her cup ran o'er : 
 Yet now (he fang far fweeter note 
 Than e'er fhe fang before. 
 III. 
 " Farewell (fhe cried) each idol-lay, 
 
 Ye tinfell'd toys adieu ; 
 Ye have no charms to tempt my fta-yy 
 And I have none for you. 
 IV. 
 Farewell, with thefe, each worrying pain, 
 
 With each corroding care ; 
 Each mortal lofs and mortal gain, 
 Each childifh hope or fear* 
 
 v. 
 
C 214 3. 
 v. 
 
 Farewell, fad Grief and fore Difeafey. 
 
 The fruit of inbred fin ; 
 I can no more repent of thefe, 
 When I am enter 'd in. 
 VI. 
 Farewell all feafons and all times*.. 
 
 Farewell the change of this, 
 With all the follies and the crimes • 
 That fools account their biifs t 
 VII. 
 Farewell Contention's ceafeJefs jars>, 
 
 Foreign, or home-bred feud ; 
 The tyrant's or the bigot's wars,. 
 That drench the world with blood* 
 VIII. 
 Farewell Ambition's furious ftrife, 
 
 With Avarice' lull of gain ; 
 The pride of drefs, the pride of life. 
 Religion's ruftand bane.- 
 IX. 
 Farewell the Tempter's baleful pow'r,. 
 
 With every fiery dart ; 
 And farewell too thefe clouds that lour,. 
 And watch to cloud my heart. 
 X. 
 Farewell all forrow and all (hame, 
 And thou, O Sting of Death ! 
 With thine, O Grave ! whofe dreary name 
 Alarms at every breath. 
 
 XI. 
 
xr. 
 
 : Farewell thou bright imperial Sun, 
 
 Whofe rifing gilds the mom ; 
 And thou too, fair refulgent Moon, 
 
 Whofe beams the night adorn. 
 XII. 
 Farewell, ye conjlellated Gems, 
 
 Ye Solar Stars farewell ; 
 I go — where uncreated beams 
 
 Your brighteft flames excel. 
 XIII. 
 Farewell, ye friends, that filent weep, 
 
 And with your tears bedew 
 This dying corfe — 'tis but ajleep, 
 
 And then I wake anew ! 
 XIV. 
 With you no more mull I converfe, 
 
 Nor tread this dreary road ; 
 'See there the Prophet's flaming hearfe, 
 
 That bears me to my God ! 
 XV. 
 Ceafe then, ye kind companions, ceafe, 
 
 Nor fond indulge your woe ; 
 It is my Father's pleafure this, 
 
 And I with pleafure go. 
 XVI. 
 Be you as willing to fubmit, 
 
 As now ye are to mourn ; 
 And ye, ere long, fhall hear him greet 
 
 Your rifing and return. 
 
 XVII. 
 
C 216 ] 
 
 XVII. 
 In fine then, Farewell all that's here, 
 
 And all my tongue could tell; 
 However Jov'd, however dear, 
 
 However good — Farewell !" 
 XVIII. 
 Thus Heaven's fair Swan, the ChrifHan, fings, 
 
 In fight of joys to come ; 
 While the Great Angel fpreads his wings, 
 
 And wafts his Cygnets home I 
 
 FINIS. 
 
mm