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DIVINE 
 
 POEMS AND ESSAYS, 
 
 ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 
 
 IN TYTO PARTS. 
 
 BY MARIA / DE FLEURY. 
 
 '.' There's nought the canopy of heaven o'erspreads, 
 " There's nought below the wide extended skies, 
 u Can form a rest, divine enough to hold 
 * 4 This ray of godhead, this aspiring soul." 
 
 xew-tork: 
 printed and sold "by deare and andrews, 
 
 12, CEDAR-STREET. 
 1804, 
 
'&&6. 
 
 H%*& 
 
Eecommentiatarp preface. 
 
 DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 The following miscellaneous collection, has been 
 written by a pious godly woman ; whom, I really be- 
 lieve, fears God above many. In many of her writ- 
 ings her style is rather masculine than otherwise ; 
 and therefore she has been suspected of publishing 
 works under her name, which were not her own, but 
 had some minister for their author :.. ^whoever thus 
 judged, I am persuaded, were altogether mistaken. 
 Being frequently in the company of ministers, it is 
 not to be wondered at if she should imperceptibly speak 
 or write, in some respects, after their manner. The 
 pieces in prose and verse that are here presented to 
 thee, are not controversial ; but they will be found to 
 be of such a nature, that I think all unprejudiced 
 friends of the Lord Jesus Christ will cordially receive 
 them. 
 
 A warm attachment to and no inconsiderable zeal 
 for the glorious doctrines of the trinity.. ..of the divin- 
 ity of the Lord Jesus, and of the divinity and divine 
 personality of the Holy Ghost, are discernable through- 
 out the work : nor are the other truths of the gospel 
 sparingly introduced.. ..If thou, beloved reader, art one 
 of the followers of the lamb ; if Christ be very preci- 
 ous to thee ; if his name be as ointment poured forth 
 to thy soul ; then, most probably, the perusal of this 
 
iv RECOMMENDATORY PREFACE. 
 
 publication will afford thee both pleasure and profit ; 
 especially if thou lookest up to the blessed Spirit of 
 God for a divine blessing upon it. 
 
 If it should be asked, what was my inducement to 
 write this recommendatory address ? I must inform 
 the reader, that it was not from any supposition that 
 the name at the close hereof, had any weight, which 
 would render any capital service to the performance or 
 to the spread thereof; or that either the one or the 
 other needed such help ; but the particular desire of 
 the writer constrained me ; she having been, for some 
 years a worthy member of the church of Christ 
 among whom I have long laboured.. ..with whom I 
 hope to live and die. I was the more disposed to 
 accede to her request, as the matter that follows ap- 
 pears to me to be agreeable to the word of God, and 
 calculated to promote the manifestive glory of God, 
 and the good of precious souls. 
 
 That some poor sinners' minds may receive benefit 
 from her labors.. ..that she may have the pleasure of 
 knowing this to be the case, if not in this world, at 
 least in the world to come.. .that the Redeemer's honor 
 and his kingdom may spread far and wide, and all his 
 enemiesbe scattered, is the sincere desire and prayer of 
 Thy sincere friend in our common Lord, 
 
 JOHN TOWERS. 
 
 Clerkenwell, July 25, IT9\. 
 
Preface to t!)e Eeattet. 
 
 Amongst all the grand doctrines the bible reveals 
 to fallen man, that of the trinity in unity, a triune 
 God, is perhaps the most sublime, and therefore it 
 may appear somewhat like presumption in a woman 
 to exercise her pen upon such a subject : but in times 
 like the present, when this glorious truth is so awfully 
 denied by many, when arianism, sabelianism and so- 
 cinianism is pouring in upon us like a flood, and some 
 even dare to stand forth in public and blaspheme that 
 worthy name by which we are called; it ought not to 
 be wondered at, if even the stones in the street rose 
 up with indignation, and found a voice to bear testi- 
 mony to the dignity and to assert the Deity of their 
 divine Creator... .Let this consideration plead my ex- 
 cuse. 
 
 Impressed with a deep sense of the importance of 
 the subject, and conscious of my own utter inability 
 to defend so illustrious a truth, fearing to darken 
 council by words without knowledge ; I wished, but 
 dared not for several years attempt any thing of this 
 kind, though requested by several friends to do it : 
 however, an unexpected solicitation from a gentleman, 
 at that time a perfect stranger to me, prevailed upon 
 a 2 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 me to take up my pen....I viewed it as the voice of 
 providence, and therefore dared not refuse. So far as 
 I am capable of knowing my own heart, I know this, 
 that I do not write from interested motives; I feel 
 the highest satisfaction in the testimony of my con- 
 science, that I write not for the gain or applause of 
 the world: if the Lord Jesus Christ, the great God 
 my Saviour, is glorified in the smallest degree.. ..if his 
 cause is any way promoted ; and any, if it be only one, 
 of his children edified by any thing he has enabled 
 me to write, my labor will be richly repaid, and he 
 shall have the glory. Conscious as I am of the many 
 improprieties of language and deficiencies in point of 
 grammar, which are very discernable in these poems 
 and tracts ; I feel myself constrained to put in a hum- 
 ble claim to the candid attention of my readers, from 
 the consideration that I am a woman. ...that I have 
 not enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education.... 
 that some of the pieces were written many years ago, 
 and that I have not had the kind assistance of any ju- 
 dicious friend in preparing them for the press, or even 
 in revising or correcting the proof sheets; but have 
 gone through the whole fatigue of this work myself, 
 and that in the midst of such weakness and indispo- 
 sition of the body ; when these facts are duly weigh- 
 ed, I flatter myself, that the soft and gentle hand of 
 candor will draw a veil over the inacuracies of the 
 following pieces, and screen them from the severity 
 of the keen eye of criticism. However, such as they 
 are, I commit them to the care and blessing of heaven ; 
 and I am encouraged to do this, because I know the 
 Lord of Hosts is a God of unlimited power ; he can- 
 
PREFACE. VU 
 
 not only bless the labors of his great and eminent 
 servants, but he can also bless the feeblest attempts 
 for his glory, and own the weakest instrument ; he is 
 pleased, sometimes, to make use of weak and con- 
 temptible things to confound the mighty and the wise, 
 that no man should glory in man ; but that Christ 
 should be all in all, 1 Cor. i. 26, 31. That he may 
 be all your salvation, and all your desire, gentle reader, 
 is the sincere prayer of 
 
 Yours, for Christ's sake, 
 
 MARIA DE FLEURY. 
 July 29, 1791. 
 
Contents. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 PAGE, 
 
 Immanuel ; or, the Godhead of Christ displayed IS 
 
 Thoughts written in a Bower ...... 73 
 
 An Hymn of Praise . . • . • * . • . 77 
 
 An Irregular Ode 80 
 
 An Elegy on the Death of the Rev. Dr. Giffbrd 83 
 
 . Mrs, Eliz. Dowland . 89 
 
 Mr. C SeldonSlow . 93 
 
 — » Mrs. Elizabeth Burrows 9? 
 
 -— the Rev. Doctor Woude 100 
 
 An Hymn . 103 
 
 An Epistle to an absent Friend . . . . . 106 
 
 To Miranda, an Invitation to London . . . 108 
 
 An Evening Thought 110 
 
 A Meditation on Redemption 113 
 
 A Walk at Enfield 121 
 
 An Ode . . 129 
 
 A Soliloquy 131 
 
 Henry, or the Wanderer Reclaimed . ... 135 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Meditations on part of the Song of Solomon . 1 67 
 
 Christ All in All 210 
 
 A Summer Day's Excursion 216 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 A Meditation on the Lord's Supper • . . 227 
 
 • ", A Meditation on Revelations xii. 6. . 231 
 
 Letter I. To Mr. and Mrs. M........n . • . 247 
 
 II. To Mrs. B * 256 
 
 III. To Miss J y 260 
 
 Eternal Love by Richard Lee . . . 265 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Be Fleury, Jun'rs . • . 279 
 
 An Epithalarnium ......... 281 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. T....D ... 283 
 
 An Acrostic . . . . . . . . . . 28 5 
 
 An Epithalarnium .... . • . . 287 
 
PART I. 
 
 iftfecellatteottg poems. 
 
DIVINE 
 
 foetus and egga]?& 
 
 PART I. 
 
 EMMANUEL; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE GODHEAD OF CHRIST DISPLAYED* 
 A SACRED POEM. 
 
 Come, from thy heav'nly seat, O sacred Muse, 
 And warm my heart with thy own hallow'd fire ; 
 Bid it awake to raptures all divine. 
 O bear me on thy bright celestial wing 
 Above the confines of this little world, 
 Above yon starry orbs, and that pale moon; 
 With swiftest flight, O mount and soar away 
 And waft me to the realms of purest light. 
 Where the full splendors of eternal day, 
 The unveiFd glories of the Lord the lamb, 
 Blaze forth in beams of light ineffable, 
 And make the sun asham'd....Fain would I fly 
 
 i 
 
14 IMMANUEL. 
 
 To that bright world, but chains forbid my flight, 
 
 Check my ambition, bii^d me down to earth; 
 
 The chains, the shackles of mortality. 
 
 Come then, O Meditation, maid divine, 
 
 Help me to muse the rest, and let my rnind 
 
 View things unseen by any mortal eye ; 
 
 And tho' confin'd in ftesh, converse with heaven* 
 
 There, on a glorious throne, Immanuel reigns. 
 
 The God of nature, and the God of grace: 
 
 Lord often thousand worlds; array'd in fiesh* 
 
 A man, but not of sorrows now, no more 
 
 A sacrifice for sin he bleeds and dies. 
 
 ? Tis done!,. ..the great salvation is complete: 
 
 And high exalted now, he lives and reigns 
 
 A priest upon his throne.. ..there angels bow 
 
 And own their master and adore their God. 
 
 There blood-bought saints, the trophies of his grace> 
 
 Prostrate before his feet, pierc'd for their sins, 
 
 Cast down their crowns of amaranth and gold, 
 
 And Abr'ham's sons, with Gentile sinners join 
 
 To raise the triumphs of the sinner's friend. 
 
 Do angels bow before Immanuel's throne, 
 And, in triumphant songs adore his name? 
 Yes ! their bright myriads, tho' ten thousand times 
 Ten thousand, fill'd with holy awe and zeal, 
 With burning love and pure immortal joy, 
 Veil their celestial faces with their wings 
 When they draw near his seat: list, O my soul! 
 I hear the voice of mighty seraphim, 
 Louder than ocean in his loudest roar; 
 I heaj" archangels shout..,.they clap their wings, 
 
IMMANUEL. 15 
 
 Their gorgeous wings, and with sweet unison 
 In one grand chorus shake the upper skies. 
 " Hail i holy, holy, holy Lord (they cry) 
 Lord God of sabbaoth I Worthy the lamb,* 
 The self-existent and eternal God, 
 Cloath'd with humanity, great king of heav'fi* 
 And ransomer of men ! Worthy art thou 
 Of endless domination, pow'r and praise. ".... 
 Hark I the redeemed millions join the song, 
 Take up the theme, and tune their golden harps 
 To higher strains, as stronger motives call 
 To nobler gratitude and boundless praise. 
 *i Worthy the lamb, who stoop'd so low for us 
 To veil his godhead in a robe of flesh, 
 Who bought us with his blood : Our sacrifice ; 
 Our righteousness ; who brought us by his grace 
 From every nation of the peopled earth 
 To reign in glory, kings and priests to him. 
 Worthy the lamb of blessing, pow'r and might, 
 Riches and honor, everlasting thanks. 
 Let heaven and earth, and all creation join 
 To worship him, for whom, and by whose pow'r 
 All things subsist ; glory and praise be his 
 Who sitteth on the throne, who once was dead. 
 But lives forever !" Lo ! again they shout, 
 u Worthy the lamb !" and at his gracious feet 
 In low prostration fall, sweetly o'erwhelm'd 
 With rapturous gratitude, with heav'nly love. 
 
 How grand the theme, how glorious the song4 
 What melody when saints and angels sing, 
 
 * Isaiah vi...John xii....Rev. v. 
 
16 IMMANUEL. 
 
 God the Redeemer's praise. But hark, my soul • ■ 
 
 Jehovah speaks ! let heaven and earth attend 
 
 In solemn silence to the great decree ! 
 
 " Hear, all my angels, my celestial pow'rs ; 
 
 Cherubic armies, flaming seraphim ; 
 
 Bright sons of morn, who hymn around my throne* 
 
 Or thro' my spacious universe dispense 
 
 The sov'reign mandates of my righteous will. 
 
 Behold my first begotten, and adore 
 
 Jesus the God, the man for sinners slain ! 
 
 At my right hand he sits exalted high, 
 
 Fall at his feet and worship him as me." 
 
 And to the son he saith, " Thy throne, O God, 
 
 Endures forever, thy right hand shall grasp 
 
 A righteous sceptre thro' eternity ; 
 
 And rule with sovereign sway ; (thy native right) 
 
 The boundless empire which thine hands have form'd." 
 
 Thus from his throne, th' Almighty Father spake. 
 
 The sov'reign voice kindled new joy in heav'n.... 
 
 Low at his feet they bow ; the concave rung 
 
 With hallelujah's voices jubilant, 
 
 Proclaim the honors of the slaughter^ lamb. 
 
 A God incarnate ! let the heav'ns rejoice ! 
 
 A God incarnate ! let the earth be glad ! 
 
 Reigns o'er the heavens and earth, the ransom'd 
 
 throng. 
 And hosts angelic hymn his sacred name 
 With bursts of loud applause.. ..Thee too they sing, 
 Almighty Father, and adore thy grace ; 
 Father of Jesus Christ, thy first elect, 
 Father, in him, of all the chosen seed ; 
 Father of everlasting love to men. 
 
IMMANUEL. i7 
 
 Nor from the song do they disjoin thy name 3 
 Eternal spirit ! Holy comforter ! 
 Giver of life, of peace, and heav'nly joy ^ 
 Great sanctifier of thine Israel, 
 But lowly reverent, at thy feet they fall. 
 And give true worship to a triune God* 
 The almighty jah! the infinite i am ! 
 A God in cov'nant for the sons of men. 
 Celestial armies sing his boundless name ; 
 And the redeemed swell his triumphs high, 
 While they ascribe salvation, pow'r and praise 3 
 And endless honors to their Saviour-God. 
 
 While thus the heav'ns adore ; come, O my soul* 
 And let thy noblest pow'rs awake and sing ; 
 O, catch a spark of that celestial fire 
 That animates the concert of the skies. 
 Thou too art chosen from the sons of men ; 
 Thou too art purchas'd by the blood of God,* 
 Call'd from the heirs of wrath, by grace divine ; 
 And seaFd a daughter and an heir of heav'n. 
 Come then, my soul, and at thy Father's feet. 
 Low in the dust adore his sov' reign grace, 
 And bless the wonders of electing love, 
 That made a Saviour thine, and wrote thy namei 
 Thy worthless name, in Jesu's book of life. 
 Jesus, my God, I love thee and adore ! 
 O for a heart inflam'd, a heart on fire, 
 With constant, pure, seraphic love 6f thee, 
 Great lover of my soul, who lov'd so dear ; 
 That from thy throne of glory, stooping low, 
 Acts xx. 28. 
 B 2 
 \ 
 
18 IMMANUEL. 
 
 To plunge into a boundless sea of grief, 
 A boundless sea of wrath divine ; to plunge 
 Into the dreadful jaws of death, and all 
 The gloomy horrors of the grave, for me. 
 He stoop'd to conquer.. ..See the rising God, 
 Bursting the iron barriers of the grave ; 
 Abolish'd death expiring at his feet, 
 And Satan bound in everlasting chains, 
 Led at the glorious victor's chariot wheels 
 Triumphant thro' the air. My king, my God ! 
 I laud thy triumphs, and adore thy name : 
 My great salvation... .thou ! my all in all I 
 Now high exalted on thy regal seat. 
 Where from eternity thou sat supreme, 
 The radiant, awful glories of the God, 
 Shine thro' the milder beauties of the man, 
 Blessing thy saints and angels with full draughts 
 Of boundless pleasures, and immortal joy. 
 
 Thy sov'reign grace, Spirit divine, I sing j 
 Fountain of holiness, of life and love ! 
 Great glorifier of a Saviour's name ; 
 Kevealer of the hidden things of God. 
 Thy new creating voice bade me awake 
 From nature's sleep ; the dreadful sleep of sin j 
 To all the joys of light and life divine ; 
 To all the bliss of immortality ! 
 Of pardon'd sin, and fellowship with God, 
 Thro' the rich streams of a Redeemer's blood. 
 Of sin subdu'd, and a triumphant hope 
 Of iht bright glories of eternity. 
 Come, holy comforter 1 descend and dwell 
 
XMMANXJEL. 19 
 
 In my cold heart, warm it with heavenly fire ; 
 
 Make it thy temple, tune my stamm'ring tongue 
 
 To lofty notes of praise, such as thy love 
 
 Deserves, O ever blessed trinity, 
 
 One undivided glorious deity : 
 
 One self-existent and eternal God, 
 
 My Father, Saviour, everlasting Friend. 
 
 Let every power of my redeemed soul 
 
 Be dedicate to thee ; let every pulse 
 
 Beat high for thee, and every breath aspire 
 
 In grateful hallelujahs to my God. 
 
 Hark ! O my soul, what voice is that ? what sounds 
 Discordant break upon mine ear ? 'tis harsh 
 As distant thunder.. ..muttering and low. 
 Such as magicians use, when with dark spells 
 They raise ill spirits in the midnight hour. 
 List ! it comes nearer, and embolden'd, speaks> 
 In plainer accents that my startled soul 
 Can catch its murmurs, and distinctly hear 
 The words of discontent that from it flow. 
 
 " Is Jesus Christ the self-existent God ? 
 No, I deny it : what blasphemous tongue 
 Dares to pronounce him so ? the wretch who dares 
 Is an idolater, and robs his God 
 Of his prime glory. ...Jesus is a man ; 
 A man, in whom perfection dwells, 'tis true? 
 And holy innocence, but yet a man. 
 The Son of God, as he himself declares ; 
 He liv'd our bright example, and he dy'd 
 Prime martyr to the glorious truths he taught, 
 
20 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Of patience, meekness, heav'nly charity. 
 Correct thy erring song then, worship God ; 
 Nor let a creature share with him the praise." 
 
 What words are these 1 hear'st thou, O sun, a voice 
 Deny the deity of thy Creator ! 
 And dost not hide thy radiant head in clouds ? 
 Dost thou not feel, O earth, the dreadful shock, 
 And tremble to thy centre ?... .Fearful awe 
 Has seiz'd my spirit, all my pow'rs recoil ! 
 Horror thrills thro' my veins and all aghast 
 I stand and look around !....Am I awake ? 
 And is there in a universe of beings, 
 One, who with front of brass, and vip'rous tongue, 
 Dares thus affront his Maker ? Whence this voice ? 
 From heaven it comes not ; there in concord sweet, 
 The blest inhabitants bow at his name ; 
 And hail him God o'er all, for ever blest. 
 From the dark regions of eternal woe, 
 Where night and everlasting horrors reign, 
 It must proceed.. ..yet no 1 the arch fiend, 
 Satan, the leader of the rebel host, 
 And all his millions, know the dignity 
 Of man's Redeemer. They can never doubt 
 Messiah's godhead, till they cease to be. 
 Deep rooted memory of what is past ; 
 And sense of present pain, constrains belief* 
 Yes ! they believe and tremble, for they know 
 His might, tremble thro' ev'ry pow'r, 
 And from, the truth of his eternal being, 
 They know their own eternity of woe. 
 They felt the pow'r of his omnipotence 
 When from the realms of bliss he drove them down, 
 
IMMANUEL. 21 
 
 To utter darkness ; from his vengeful arm 
 
 They fled affrighted, but in vain they fled. 
 
 His vengeance followed ; flames of wrath divine 
 
 Pursu'd their flight, ten thousand thunders roll'd 
 
 And sunk them low in horrors infinite. 
 
 And long since that, has Satan, and his crew 
 
 Of spirits accursed, felt the potent arm 
 
 Of man's Redeemer, when in human flesh 
 
 Array'd, they from his presence fled with speed, 
 
 Obey'd his awful mandate, fear'd his frown, 
 
 And trembled thro' their being at his name. 
 
 Not less Almighty, when a man of grief. 
 
 Than when enthron'd between the cherubim. 
 
 But chiefly then, when bursting from the grave 
 
 The rising God, triumphant over death, 
 
 Trampled beneath his feet the powers of hell, 
 
 Then vanquished Satan felt a second fall ; 
 
 His empire to its detp foundation shook, 
 
 New terrors, like a flood, o'erwhelm'd his heart ; 
 
 New blasphemies employ'd his horrid tongue. 
 
 The fierce, the proud blasphemer shakes his chain 
 
 In all the rage and madness of despair, 
 
 Yet owns the mighty arm that binds him down 
 
 In everlasting horrors, feels and owns 
 
 Jesus the conqueror ; the God he hates. 
 
 Nor is there in the dark abhorred pit 
 
 One hapless, ruin'd soul, who doubts this truth. 
 
 Eternity sweeps unbelief away. 
 
 There's no deception there ; the truth they know. 
 
 O fearful knowledge, by experience learn'd, 
 
 In the black realms of endless misery, 
 
 They see the truth, but by the dreadful light 
 
1% IMMANUEL. 
 
 Of tophet's flames ; O horrible ! to know, 
 When knowledge sinks them deeper in despair. 
 
 If heavenly hosts unite to raise on high 
 The lofty honors of the Saviour-God ; 
 If in the world beneath, he reigns in wrath? 
 And all its millions feel his deity ; 
 'Tis here alone exists the man who dares 
 Boldly deny his sov'reign dignity. 
 And is it thou, Lothario ? Come, thou man 
 Of reason and philosophy, come bring 
 Thy pow'rful reasons, potent arguments, 
 Summon thy depth of thought, for thou art wise, 
 More w T ise than angels, yet more ignorant 
 (O shame to thee) than devils. Come and bring 
 Thy strong objections ; come Goliah-like, 
 In tenfold armour clad....I come to thee 
 In the great name and strength of him whom thou 
 Deiiest ; Jesus my God !....Say'st thou that I 
 Blaspheme, and with presumptuous boldness rob 
 Th* eternal Father of his sacred right, 
 In paying to the Son honors divine ? 
 The charge is false and groundless ; I adore 
 A triune deity with equal praise. 
 When low before the lamb who died, I bow, 
 And hail him as Jehovah, God of hosts, 
 'Tis in obedience to the Father's will ; 
 'Tis in obedience to the Father's voice. 
 Hear the great mandate, hear and tremble thou, 
 Who dar'st rebel against the grand decree ! 
 " Let all the angels of God worship him." 
 What ! does th' eternal Father call his hosts, 
 
IMMANUEL. 2$ 
 
 Celestial spirits that surround his throne? 
 
 Before a creature's footstool to fall down, 
 
 And pay their adorations to a man ? 
 
 Has he not said, he'll not divide his praise. 
 
 Nor give his glory to another ?....Say, 
 
 Thou learned in the scriptures, hast he not 
 
 In thunders made his sov'reign pleasure known, 
 
 That no created thing in heav'n or earth 
 
 Shall stand his rival, or his honors share ? 
 
 And has he chang'd his mind ?....Can the great God 
 
 Say and unsay ! forbid idolatry 
 
 In terms direct, command idolatry 
 
 In terms direct, and bid his winged saints, 
 
 The holy ministers that round him wait, 
 
 Worship an idol and adore a man ? 
 
 O no ! he is of one eternal mind, 
 
 And changeth not ; yet such the deity 
 
 Lothario worships ; one who bids to-day 
 
 What he unbids to-morrow ; who could trust 
 
 A soul with such a fluctuating God ? 
 
 If the Redeemer be no more than man, 
 
 Or if he lives and shines a demi-god, 
 
 The first of creatures, he's a creature still ; 
 
 If to another he his being owe 
 
 Derivative, he cannot be supreme ; 
 
 If not supreme, no adoration due. 
 
 But if ador'd an idol, yet saith God 
 
 " Confounded be all they that idols serve."* 
 
 " But bow my angels at ImmanuePs feet,"t 
 
 And worship him as me, with equal zeal. 
 
 He, whose devouring breath, like streams of fire, 
 
 * Psalm xcvii. f Heb, i. 
 
24 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Idols and idol-makers shall consume, 
 
 Bids us adore the Son, and kiss his feet 
 
 In low prostration, Why ? Because in him 
 
 Two natures join, a human and divine. 
 
 A man, a son he is, and yet a God. 
 
 The self-existing and eternal jah ! 
 
 One essence with the Father ; we may bow, 
 
 And safely worship at Immanuel's feet ; 
 
 For he is God with us : we may draw near 
 
 And pay our humble adoration there, 
 
 Upon the high authority of heav'n ; 
 
 A warrant sign'd by God the Father's hand ; 
 
 And seal'd with the great signet of the skies. 
 
 Unto the Son he saith, " Thy throne, O God, 
 
 Forever must endure, thy sceptre still, 
 
 Shall rule o'er heav'n and earth with bouudless sway. 
 
 They are the work of thine almighty hand; 
 
 They shall expire ; but thou shalt yet remain 
 
 Triumphant in thine own eternity." 
 
 Hearst thou, Lothario, what the voice divine 
 
 Testifies of the Saviour's dignity ? 
 
 Behold the starry glories of the skies ; 
 
 The splendid king of day, and that bright moon, 
 
 Whose milder beams illuminate the night : 
 
 Behold the earth, clad in the gay attire 
 
 Of roseate summer, when the grove-crown 'd hills 
 
 Rejoice, and humbler vallies laugh and sing. 
 
 Exalt thy view above th' etherial sky, 
 
 Behold the wing'd inhabitants who dwell 
 
 In happy fields, beyond the sons of morn ; 
 
 Grand intellectual essences, ...from thence, 
 
 Look downward, thro' the vast, the various tribes 
 
ZMMANUEL. 25 
 
 Of beings numberless, that float in air, 
 
 That walk the earth, and wash their scaly coats 
 
 In limpid streams, and ocean's briny wave : 
 
 All these, the creatures of Immanuel's hand, 
 
 To being by his mighty fiat call'd, 
 
 Live on his bounty ; own him Lord of all i 
 
 And, with a solemn, glorious voice proclaim 
 
 The mighty builder of an universe 
 
 So grand, so good, so eminently fair* 
 
 Can be no less a being than a God 5 
 
 The uncreated, self-existent God. 
 
 Do the whole race of creatures owe their birth 
 
 To the Redeemer's pow'r, and on his will 
 
 Depends their being ? then Lothario breathes 
 
 The breath he gave him, that immortal soul; 
 
 With all its reas'ning, pow'rs, thy boast, thy pride 5 
 
 The wond'rous casket where that jewel dwells, 
 
 Form'd by his great creating hand, upheld 
 
 By constant emanations of his pow'r; 
 
 Witness th' important truth, that he to whom 
 
 Creation owes her being, must himself 
 
 Be uncreate, eternal and supreme. 
 
 Who's then the thief, Lothario, thou or I ? 
 
 Say, who's the wretch who robs his God of praise ! 
 
 I bow before my Maker's awful throne ; 
 
 Ascribe to him essential deity, 
 
 And join angelic hosts to worship him, 
 
 In due obedience to the high command 
 
 Of the eternal Father. Thou more bold, 
 
 Dar'st to stand forth, and in the face of heav'n, 
 
 Undeify thy Maker, spurn the law 
 
 To angels given by th' eternal king, 
 
26 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Charge the immutable and changeless God 
 
 With mutability; the God whose heart 
 
 Abhors idolatry, with setting up 
 
 Of idol worship....! the charge return 
 
 Of blasphemy and treason on thyself; 
 
 I am a loyal subject to the king 
 
 Invisible, immortal, ever blest, 
 
 But thou'rt a traitor of the blackest kind, 
 
 A rebel of the deepest, darkest dye ; 
 
 A vile ingrate, who breathes his Maker's air, 
 
 Who lives upon the bounties of his hand ; 
 
 And tells him he is not a deity I 
 
 If to rebel against the great decree 
 
 Of heaven's Almighty, be to honor him, 
 
 To contradict his sov'reign voice, and mar 
 
 His bright perfections, be to glorify 
 
 The God you worships then Lothario gives 
 
 Abundant glory to his deity. 
 
 When disobedience for obedience stands ; 
 
 And contumacy proves our loyalty, 
 
 Then will th' eternal Father's smile approve 
 
 Lothario's worship, and accept his zeal. 
 
 Till then, his frown the rebel must pursue, 
 
 And his strong arm avenge the bold affront.* 
 
 * Compare Exod. xx. 3, 4, with Psalm xcvii. 7, and Heb. 
 i. 6, Here we find the infinite Jehovah claiming to himself 
 the honors of divine worship as his own peculiar right, and 
 forbidding the adoration of any creature whatever, in heaven 
 or earth, in the most direct terms, and yet laying as direct 
 and positive an injunction upon the most exalted of his crea- 
 tures, to pay that very worship to the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 " Worship him ; all ye gods," saith the eternal Father : the 
 apostle Paul informs us, this glorious him, is no Qt s er rer- 
 
IMMANUEL. 27 
 
 To fix the crown upon Messiah's head ; 
 To prove the Saviour's character divine, 
 The Holy Ghost, Spirit of Truth appears 
 A witness incontestable, and gives 
 The clearest evidence, so bright, so full, 
 So big with demonstration, that to doubt, 
 Argues the proud, perverse, rebellious heart, 
 More than the sable shades of ignorance 
 
 son than the Lord Jesus Christ ; consequently, he is the self* 
 existent God; for, if we suppose him a mere man, with the 
 Socinian, or a demi-god with the Arian, yet we must sup- 
 pose him to be a creature ; and then God the Father, in com- 
 manding him to be worshipped, commands that very act of 
 idolatry, which he hath himself so expressly forbidden; but 
 this supposition is absard to an extreme, and full of blasphe- 
 my ; it is highly derogatory to the divine perfections, and 
 very unworthy of the deity. But if the Lord Jesus Christ 
 possesses two natures in one person, not only the human, in 
 its highest degree of perfection, but also a divine, co-equal, 
 co-eternal, co-essential with the Father and Holy Spirit; 
 possessing his being in and of himself alone, which is the 
 truth, then there is the highest propriety in this command 
 for the angels to worship him,- and it does not clash in the 
 least with the first and second commandments, because he is 
 in unity of essence with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, 
 that very Jehovah who forbids idol worship, and claims all 
 the adoration of his creatures as his own peculiar right..,. In 
 commanding divine worship to be paid to the Redeemer, and 
 in ascribing the great work of creation to him, which can 
 be the production of no less a beiag than an infinite God ; 
 and therefore, says the apostle, " He that built all things is 
 God," Heb. iii. 4. God the Father gives the strongest testi- 
 mony possible to the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ ; and 
 whoever dares to reject that testimony, do it at the peril of 
 their souls : and though they who do, vainly suppose they 
 
28 IMMANUEt. 
 
 Clouding the mind... .See a bright train arise 
 
 Of prophets and apostles ; proof on proof, 
 
 Establishing this grand and glorious truth, 
 
 That Jesus is Jehovah ! God supreme. 
 
 They sung his name Immanuel, God with us, 
 
 God in our nature, manifest in flesh.* 
 
 The Lord of Hosts himself, t the mighty God ; 
 
 The Father of eternity, the prince 
 
 Of peace divine, who made it with his blood. 
 
 Whose going forth in wisdom, pow'r and love. 
 
 Hath been from everlasting ; and shall be 
 
 While everlasting ages roll along4 
 
 Though a meek babe in humble Bethlehem, 
 
 In time he condescended to be born, 
 
 And in one glorious person made to meet 
 
 Two distinct natures, human and divine. 
 
 In lofty strains, the raptur'd prophets sing 
 
 The native honors of the Saviour-God, 
 
 Hail him Jehovah, and exalt his throne 
 
 All thrones above ; yet with sweet voice proclaim 
 
 His love and mercy to his ransom'd church, 
 
 Her Maker, husbandj everlasting friend ; 
 
 And O, sweet name, The Lord her righteousness ;f( 
 
 are doing him honor ; yet the truth is, they cannot offer him 
 a more insolent, daring and aggravated affront: they give 
 him the lie to his face; they rob him of his brightest per- 
 fections, and add to the sin of disobedience* that of high 
 treason against the glorious Redeemer, the King of kings, 
 and Lord of lords, whom God the Father's soul delighteth 
 to honor. 
 
 • Isaiah vii. 14. f Isaiah viii. 13... 1 Pet.ii: 8, | Micah v. 2. 
 ^| Jeremiah xxiii, 6. 
 
IMMANUEL. 30 
 
 The Lord her strength ; he who alone can be 
 
 A just Jehovah, yet a Saviour-God.* 
 
 God over all,t the only potentate, 
 
 The only wise, who in himself alone 
 
 Hath immortality.^ Th' essential word,|j 
 
 Who tabernacled in a house of clay 
 
 Man amongst men, yet in whose person shines 
 
 The brightness of the Father's glory forth. 
 
 In beams so radiant, that no mortal eye 
 
 Can bear the splendors... .In our Jesus dwell 
 
 The full perfections of the deity. 
 
 Girt with omnipotence, he rules o'er all. 
 
 While his omniscient eye beholds the night 
 
 Shine as the day, and tenfold darkness blaze 
 
 In all the gilded beams of noon.. ..He fills 
 
 Unbounded space ; and in supreme degree, 
 
 Possesses all the attributes divine. 
 
 The incommunicable names and things 
 
 Of heaven's Jehovah. Has Lothario heard 
 
 These faithful witnesses in concord sweet, 
 
 Record the native dignity of him 
 
 Who died on Calvary ? Has he not seen 
 
 Them bow the humble knee before his throne* 
 
 And as his heralds, sound from pole to pole 
 
 The glories of the great redeeming God ? 
 
 While yet their message is not theirs, but his 
 
 Who sent them forth. Th' eternal Spirit speaks 
 
 By prophets and apostles to mankind, 
 
 And sets his royal seal, the seal of heav'n 
 
 To this grand truth, that Jesus, Son of God, 
 
 * Isaiah xlv. 21. f R°™- &> & J 2 Tim * vi * 15 > 16 ' 
 || John i. 6. 
 c 2 
 
30 IMMANITEL. 
 
 Is the eternal self-existent jah. 
 
 The great first cause : to whom creation owes 
 
 Her birth and being ; by his potent voice 
 
 Calld from the womb of chaos and upheld 
 
 T' exalt the glories of its mnker God. 
 
 What says Lothario to this evidence ? 
 
 Is it not valid, pointed, strong and clear, 
 
 Decisive, and sufficient to repel 
 
 The subtile arguments of unbelief? 
 
 Is not this witness, worthy to be heard ? 
 
 Worthy of credit ? Can'st thou aught object 
 
 T* invalidate the evidence he gives ? 
 
 Has he e'er err'd, or brought a false report I 
 
 No, he's the God of truth, that cannot lie ; 
 
 Then why believe him not ? With voice divine 
 
 He testifies of Jesus ; and to him 
 
 Ascribes the names, the glorious characters, 
 
 And grand perfections of the deity. 
 
 This is the testimony of a God ! 
 
 But lo ! Lothario rises from the dust, 
 
 A creature of a day ; a worm of earth, 
 
 And strong in all the might of reason's pow'r, 
 
 Denies the grand assertion. ...Say, O man 
 
 Profoundly wise, who must the liar be 
 
 In this great contest, is it earth or heav'n ? 
 
 Lothario, or his God ? Shame flush the cheek. 
 
 And harrow up the rebel soul who dares 
 
 Impute such infamy to his Creator. 
 
 No ! just and true art thou, Almighty king ; 
 
 A God of truth, without iniquity. 
 
 "lis the proud reas'ning insect of the earth ; 
 
 TKpmite drop'd down from the Creator's banc! 
 
IMMA1CUEL. 31 
 
 Deep in the bosom of his universe ; 
 
 (Less in his sight than is the grass-hopper}* 
 
 Who darkens counsel, and with erring tongue 
 
 And stubborn heart, rejects the voice of heav'n % 
 
 Because his finite nature cannot grasp 
 
 The nature of the infinite i am ! 
 
 IJis purblind reason cannot comprehend 
 
 The great, the grand incomprehensible. 
 
 Behold the Son of man in robes of light? 
 Walking amidst the golden candlesticks : 
 Celestial splendors shine around his head ! 
 Girt with omnipotence ; his flaming eye 
 Darts lightnings round, piercing the heights of heav'n^ 
 The depths of hell, the gloomy shades of death. 
 And deepest recess of the human heart. 
 Like polish'd brass his feet; so firm he stands 
 In all th' immutability of God. 
 His hand supports the stars, and from his lips 
 A two-edg'd sword proceeds, pointed and keen 
 To slay his enemies ; bright with the rays 
 Shot from vindictive justice's burning eye i 
 While as the sun in his meridian strength? 
 His count'nance shines in majesty divine : 
 Sublime his voice, more awful than the sound 
 Of many waters in tumultuous roar* 
 Let heav'n and earth attend, Messiah speaks 1 
 And with solemnity beyond compare, 
 Declares his grand essential dignity* 
 
 " I am the first, the last, the great i am, 
 The Alpha and Omega. Lord of all, 
 * Isaiah xl 15, 17, 22. 
 
32 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Supreme, eternal ages past ; I reign 
 
 Thro' time, and shall extend my potent sway, 
 
 While everlasting ages roll along: 
 
 Th* Almighty, who was dead, but live again, 
 
 And live forever : lo ! my hands contain 
 
 The adamantine keys of hell and death. 
 
 One with the eternal father ever blest ; 
 
 In all th e grand essential dignities 
 
 And independence of the deity. 
 
 My name is King of kings, and Lord of lords. 
 
 On my white horse I ride triumphant forth, 
 
 Conqu'ring, to conquer all my enemies, 
 
 By the vindictive terrors of my hand ; 
 
 Or the sweet sceptre of victorious love. 
 
 Great shepherd of my sheep, with my strong arm 
 
 I snatch them from the jav/s of death and hell. 
 
 And from the east and west ; from north and souths 
 
 Gather my lambs with condescending grace, 
 
 And in my gentle bosom foster them, 
 
 With all the kind compassions of a God i 
 
 Yet on my great white throne I shall appear, 
 
 My throne of judgment ; from before my face 
 
 The heav'ns and earth shall flee, my voice shall shake 
 
 Hell from its deep foundation.... shall unloose 
 
 The bands of death, and call his pris'ners up, 
 
 To hear their final sentence from my mouth ! 
 
 To own my great determinations just, 
 
 And feel and know that God is judge himself, 
 
 The mighty God, Jehovah : then to me 
 
 All knees shall bow, and ev'ry tongue confess 
 
 That I am Lord, to God the Father's praise. 
 
IMMANUEL. 3S 
 
 He loves the Son, and to his hand commits 
 All judgment, that his creatures may adore. 
 And equal homage, equal honors pay, 
 As to the Father : he that honors me, 
 Honors the Father ; he that disobeys, 
 Shall feel the vengeance of a triune God. 
 The sinner who believes not that i am. 
 Dies in his sins, sinks to the depths of hell, 
 To endless night and everlasting fire. 
 While in my kingdom, shall my saints rejoice, 
 And see in their Redeemer's person shine 
 The fulness of unclouded deity/' 
 
 Thus speaks the lips of truth, can doubt arise 
 Against a testimony so divine ! 
 'Tis written, in the mouth of two or three, 
 Whose witness harmonize, shall every word 
 Established, in public credit, stand. 
 Nor scrup'lous unbelief dare wag her tongue. 
 Here then, Lothario, is th' eternal three, 
 The undivided God, in essence one. 
 Bearing united evidence to prove 
 The native grandeur of the sinners' friend ; 
 The babe at Bethlehem ; the man who groan'd 
 In sad Gethsemane, who bled and died 
 A sacrifice for sin on Calvary. 
 The God whose arm supports an universe ; 
 The king supreme, who reigns o'er earth and heav'n. 
 And stretches forth his empire over hell. 
 Jehovah Jesus, bright with all the rays 
 Of the eternal Father's majesty, 
 His own essential, independent right* 
 
34 IMMANUEL. 
 
 And is Lothario deaf to all the proof 
 
 A God can give of his divinity ? 
 
 And is Lothario blind to all the beams 
 
 Of light divine that revelation pours 
 
 On the grand mystery of godliness ? 
 
 How would Lothario smile, should he behold 
 
 An idiot shutting out the light of day, 
 
 Refusing the bright glories of the sun, 
 
 To cheer him with a taper's feeble beam. 
 
 Yet such thy folly, O thou man of parts ! 
 
 Deep read in science, nurtur'd in the schools 
 
 Of lit'rature, thou with maturest thought, 
 
 Rejectst the glorious beams of light divine, 
 
 The unerring testimony of a God ; 
 
 To walk by the false glimm'ring of thine own 
 
 Depraved, beclouded reason. Reason cries, 
 
 (Right reason^ reason sanctified by grace) 
 
 Cries with loud voice, sinner obey thy God ! 
 
 Receive his mandates, and believe his word ! 
 
 'Tis reason's triumph to fall lowly down, 
 
 And bow to revelation's grand display 
 
 Of sacred truth ; and where its pow'rs, o'erc^me 
 
 By splendors all divine, must sink and fail; 
 
 Believe and acquiesce with humble awe, 
 
 Silent, adore the heights it cannot climb, 
 
 Ascribing truth and wisdom to its God. 
 
 Does the Redeemer to himself assume 
 All the grand titles due to deity, 
 And is he not the deity supreme ? 
 Is he a virtuous, high exalted man* 
 Humble and lowly while he dwelt below, 
 
IMMANUEL. 35 
 
 Now ruling all things by deputed pow'r ? 
 
 Where is his virtue, if he utter lies ? 
 
 Where is his goodness, if he can deceive ? 
 
 Where's his humility if he presume 
 
 To arrogate the style of deity ? 
 
 The glorions characters, and awful names 
 
 Of heav'ns Jehovah, this were blasphemy ; 
 
 Pride, horrid pride ; no virtuous, holy man 
 
 Dare so presume, t' would stamp his character 
 
 The worst of beings : can Lothario's faith 
 
 Commit his soul to such a saviour's hands ? 
 
 Nay, be consistent ; if he be not God, 
 
 As he asserts, say not he is a man 
 
 Pessess'd of every virtue, good and great* 
 
 Reject him as a cheat, impostor vile ; 
 
 Commit thy erring bible to the flames, 
 
 And seek salvation by some other way 
 
 Than that reveals ; that knows no other name 
 
 Than Jesus Christ, the ever-living God. 
 
 Say he is holy, then his word is true ; 
 
 For truth and holiness can never part ; 
 
 If true his word, the titles he assumes, 
 
 The glorious attributes he calls his own, 
 
 Must be his native right... .Grant this.. ..He shines 
 
 In the full splendors of the deity, 
 
 The uncreate, the ever blest i am. 
 
 No cheat, no impostor, but the great God, 
 
 The righteous judge, who comes in flaming fire, 
 
 To pour his wrath upon his enemies. 
 
 O, may Lothario, by his grace subdu'd, 
 
 Fall at his feet in time, and kiss the Son, 
 
 That when that day arrives, he may appear 
 
36 **lMANUEt. 
 
 The God of his salvation ; angels then 
 Shall tune their golden harp, and sweetly sing 
 The prodigal restored to life and peace, 
 Their master honored, and a sinner sav'd : 
 And while joy echoes thro' the courts of heav'n, 
 The distant earth shall catch the pleasing sound, 
 Saints shall delight to hear the news, to see 
 Triumphant truth prevail, and error fall, 
 Jesus exalted, and Lothario blest.* 
 
 * It was appointed by the Mosaic law, that in the mouth 
 of two or three witnesses, every word should be established: 
 now, if the witness of men is to be received, as to the things 
 of men, the witness of God is greater, and certainly ought 
 to be received as to the things of God. There are three that 
 bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, 
 and these three not only are one in essence, but bear one 
 united testimony of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 The declarations of God the Father upon this grand subject 
 are noticed in the former note. The witness of the Holy 
 Spirit runs throughout the Scriptures of the Old and New 
 Testaments. Both prophets and apostles proclaim this illus- 
 trious truth, and the Redeemer, who assumes to himself the 
 aharacter of essential truth, John xiv. 6, assumes to himself 
 also, a!l the other characters, perfections and titles, which 
 peculiarly belong to the deity. ...One of the grand character- 
 istics of Jehovah, is that of being the searcher of the heart, 
 and the trier of the reins of the children of men, 1 Kings 
 viii. 89. '« Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: 
 and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his 
 work, whose heart thou knowest ; for thou, even thou only, 
 knowest the hearts of all the children of men/' Psalm vii. 9. 
 " For the righteous God trieth the heart and reins," Jer. xi. 
 20, " O Lord of Hosts that judgest righteously, that triest 
 the reins and the heart," Jer. xvii. 10. fi 1 the Lord search 
 the heart, I try the reins." Now, the Lor_d Jesus, speaking 
 
IMMANUEL. 37 
 
 Let us, by truth and contemplation led, 
 From modern scenes, and European climes 
 Retire ; and thro' the fields of Palestine, 
 
 of himself, directly assumes this character, Rev. ii. 23.,.. 
 il And all Oie churches shall know that I am he which search- 
 eth the reins and heart, and I will give unto every one of 
 you acce-ding to your works," John ii. 24, 26. " He knew 
 all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for 
 he knew what was in man." Ezek. xxxiv. 11, 12. The in- 
 finite Jehovah condescends to take upon him the character 
 of the great and true shepherd of Israel? for thus saith the 
 Lord God, Beheld I, even I, will both search my sheep and 
 seek them out, as a shepherd seeketh out his flock, Isaiah 
 xl. 10, 11. " Behold the Lord God will come with a strong 
 hand, and his arm shall rule for him; behold his reward is 
 with him, and his work before him, he shall feed his flock 
 like a shepherd." The Lord Jesus assumes this character, 
 John x. 17. " I am the good shepherd," 1 Peter ii 25. " For 
 ye were as sheep going astray, but ye are now returned unto 
 the shepherd and bishop of your souls," Heb. xviii. 20. 
 li Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead 
 our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep." The 
 supreme government of heaven and earth is ascribed to the 
 deity, Psalm xlvii.2, 7. " For the Lord most high is terrible* 
 he is a great king over all the earth, for God is the king of 
 all the earth." But this is ascribed to the Lord Jesus, Rev. 
 xix. 16, as his proper name and title, "King of kings, and 
 Lord of lords." The final judgment of all men, is a work 
 for which none but the deity can be competent ; it is there- 
 fore ascribed unto him, Psalm 1. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, «'« The mighty 
 God even the Lord, hath spoken and called the earth from 
 fhe rising of the sun, unto the going down thereof: our God 
 shall come, and shall not keep silence, a fire shall devour be- 
 fore him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him- 
 he shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth* 
 
38 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Imperial Salem, and the flow'ry vale 
 Of Olivet, attend the Saviour-God. 
 See him, a man, in humble plain attire, 
 
 that he^may judge his people, and the heavens shall declare 
 his righteousness, for God is judge himself." But the New 
 Testament declares that grand work will be performed by 
 the Lord Jeius Christ. ...See Matt, xxv, John v. 22, 23.. 
 li For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all 
 judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son, 
 even as they honor the father; he that honoreth not the Son, 
 honoreth not the Father which hath sent him." Now, none 
 can be competent to be the judge of men and angpls, but he 
 who is the infinitely righteous, omniscient, omnipresent, and 
 omnipotent God. But the Lord Jesus Christ will be the 
 judge of men and angels, consequently he is the infinitely 
 righteous, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent God, Isa- 
 viii. 13, 14. " Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself, and let 
 him be your fear, and let him be your dread and he shall be 
 for a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock 
 of effence to both houses of Israel." Compare this with 
 Rom. ix. 32, S3. For they stumbled at that stmmbling- 
 stone, as it is written, *' Behold I lay in Zion a stumbling- 
 stone, and rock of offence, and whosoever believeth in him 
 shall not be ashamed." Here it is very evident that the Lord 
 Jesus Christ is intended, but Isaiah styles this very person 
 the Lord of Hosts himself. Consequently, the Lord Jesus is 
 the Lord of Hosts himself, which is the grand and mest sub- 
 lime characteristic of the deity, and which none but the self- 
 existent deity can possibly sustain. If we attend to the tes- 
 timony the Lord Jesus bears of himself, we shall find that he 
 assumes the most essential attributes of the godhead, in the 
 plainest and most unequivocal manner possible, Rev. i 8. 
 w I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning 1 and the ending, 
 saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to 
 come, the Almighty," ver. 17. * I am the first and the last," 
 
IMMANUEL. 39 
 
 Despis'd, rejected by the sons of men, 
 Though from his lips all-gracious accents flow, 
 And heav'nly wisdom sits upon his tongue. 
 Though his kind heart and lib'ral hand diffuse 
 Ten thousand all-important blessings round : 
 Astonish'd multitudes about him press, 
 And from his rich magnificence, receive 
 ^Supplies, as various as their wants require ; 
 For thro' the veil of flesh, that deep disguise, 
 The glories of a God illustrious shine : 
 In acts of matchless pow'r confound his foes, 
 And prove him the Jehovah infinite. 
 See universal nature own her Lord, 
 
 John viii. 24. «« If ye believe not that i am, ye shall die in 
 your sins," ver. 58- " Before Abraham was, i am." Com- 
 pare this with Isaiah xli 4. " I the Lord the first, and with 
 the last, i am he," Isaiah xliii. 11. " I, even 1 am the 
 Lord, and besides me there is no Saviour," xliv.6. "Thus 
 saith the Lord, the king of Israel, and his Redeemer, the 
 Lord of Hosts, I am the first, and I am the last, and besides 
 me there i6 no God." if I and my Father are one," John x. 
 It is impossible for the word of God to be moro clear and 
 explicit upon this subject than it is ; how dark and benighted 
 must that understanding be, that cannot see this grand truth ) 
 how rebellious must that heart be, that does see., but will not 
 receive it, and which proudly and obstinately dares to reject 
 and disbelieve the testimony of a triune God? Vain man 
 would be wise, though he is born like a wild ass* colt : Job- 
 But that wisdom is foolishness to an extreme, that would ex- 
 alt itself above the wisdom of God ; it is th© highest point 
 of wisdom, and the noblest triumph of reason, to bow with 
 acquiescence, humble faith, and holy delight to divine rev- 
 elation, and thereby to honor the infinite wisdom and ve- 
 racity of Jehovah. 
 
40 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Wait with obsequious duty his command, 
 
 And swift obedience to his mandate pay. 
 
 The blushing water owns the present God, 
 
 And reddens into wine ! th' obedient bread, 
 
 A scanty pittance, scarce enough to feed 
 
 A little band of hungry appetites, 
 
 See it enlarge, encrease and multiply, 
 
 And dine its thousands with sufficient food, 
 
 While more remains than first the table spread. 
 
 Th 1 astonish'd thousands, wond'ring stand and shout 
 
 Jesus the prophet and the Christ of God ! 
 
 What crouds are these that compass him around, 
 And press to touch his seamless garment's hem ! 
 Children of misery, a ghastly train, 
 Num'rous as fallen leaves that strew the ground 
 Before the autumnal breeze ; emaciate, pale 
 With pining sickness some, and sore disease; 
 Some on the rack of agonizing pain 
 From stone? and sharp acute disorder bred ; 
 Some scorch'd with burning fevers, in whose veins 
 Death flows triumphant in the purple flood, 
 And wild delirim revels in the brain. 
 Demoniac some, whose wretched carcases 
 Are made the dwelling of infernal fiends, 
 Toss'd at their pleasure in the briny wave, 
 Or raging fire, lost to humanity, 
 By strange distraction hurried to and fro ; 
 No bands can hold them, nor no chains confine. 
 The mourners, who with cover'd lips exclaim 
 Unclean, unclean (symbolical of those 
 Who groan beaeath the leprosy of sin> 
 
IMMANUEL. 41 
 
 Forbid the joys of sweet society, 
 Doom'd to perpetual solitude and woe. 
 The blind, whose eye-balls ne'er behold the day, 
 Ne'er saw the light, whose balmy blessings cheer 
 The heart uncheer'd by any joy beside. 
 The lame, whose feet have never trod the earth, 
 Chained by contracted limbs to one abode. 
 The deaf, the dumb, sad strangers to the sweets 
 Of sounds and speech, condemn'd to pine away 
 In silence, while the circling years roll on. 
 These, and a thousand more sad objects come, 
 And throng around where'er the Saviour goes ; 
 How eagerly they press to come in view ; 
 How their hearts throb with anxious, strong desire 
 T' attract his notice, and obtain a cure ! 
 While their united voice, and earnest cries, 
 Humble petitions to his ear address. 
 He speaks ! 'tis done. ...the mourners cease to groan : 
 At his Almighty fiat, pale disease, 
 Acute disorder, ail the ghastly train, 
 Death's messengers, retire, they quit their prey ; 
 Death, disappointed, shakes his darts in vain, 
 And Jesus triumphs, sov'reign Lord of life 1 
 See ruddy health her cheerful blessings shed, 
 Glow in each cheek, and sparkle in each eye : 
 Late pale and languid, lepers bless the voice 
 That spake them clean, for when the Saviour spake. 
 Omnipotence put forth its mighty arm 
 And heal'd them all.. ..See ! like the bounding roe, 
 The lame man leaps, and runs with nimble feet, 
 While his heart dances with extatic joy. 
 The stamm'ring tongue unloos'd, its silence breaks, 
 n 2 
 
42 IMMANUEL. 
 
 And its first accents learn Immanuel's praise# 
 
 The blind no more in shades of darkness sit, 
 
 A kind Redeemer speaks the gloom away, 
 
 Celestial light bursts on th' astonish'd eye, 
 
 And all its rapture, extacy and praise, 
 
 Satanic hosts obey his great command, 
 
 And at his bidding quit their wretched prey, 
 
 To seek for new abodes, their legions fly 
 
 Before his awful frown, lest his strong arm 
 
 Should chain them down ten thousand fathoms deep 
 
 In the black gulph, abhorred Tartarous, 
 
 While the poor mortals from their pow'r set free, 
 
 Wake to new life, and sing deliv'ring grace ; 
 
 Fall down and worship at Immanuel's feet, 
 
 And bless the great incarnate deity. 
 
 Hark 1 how a thousand tongues repeat his name. 
 
 Hark 1 how hosannahs echo through the air. 
 
 From heart to heart transporting pleasure flies, 
 
 And all is wonder, love and praise around. 
 
 Angels unseen admire ! and tune their songs 
 
 To swell the triumphs of the great God-man. 
 
 See a fond father weeping o'er his child ; 
 While mournful relatives stand round her bed 
 To bid a last adieu.. ..The beauteous girl 
 Expiring lays, pale as the hand of death, 
 Disease has done his fatal work, and lo ! 
 The gloomy king, high brandishing his dart, 
 Seizes his lovely prey ; life ebbs apace, 
 And death victorious folds her in his arms, 
 And lays the breathless victim in the dust. 
 But Jesus comes ! Can his strong arm arrest 
 
IMMAKTTEL. 43 
 
 The monster death, and force him to disgorge 
 The swallow'd morsel ?....Can his powerful voice 
 Callback the soul on angels' wings convey 'd 
 Halfway to heav'n, again to re-possess 
 Its late forsaken clay ? Yes, lo i he speaks, 
 " Damsel arise i" The breathless victim breathes* 
 She wakes, she lives, to life and strength restor'd ; 
 Health volatile flows cheerful thro' her veins, 
 Glows in her cheek, and sparkles in her eye ; 
 While joy and wonder, gratitude and love. 
 Burst like a flood upon her aged sire, 
 And heights and depths of bliss unutt'rable 
 Convulse and agitate the mother's frame, 
 Such as a mother's breast alone can feel, 
 Such as a mother's tongue cannot describe. 
 Low at the great physician's feet they fall, 
 Adore his pow'r, and magnify his name. 
 
 Ah ! what sad sight is this that strikes mine eye., 
 A mournful train with slow and solemn pace, 
 Conducting to his cold mausoleum 
 A sleeping youth.. ..He sleeps the sleep of death I 
 Late, like the bounding hart, his nimble feet 
 Tripp'd lightly o'er the hills, and thro' the plain ; 
 His gladd'ning heart beat high with cheerful hope. 
 From the bright prospect of long years to come, 
 While vig'rous health and gay vivacity 
 Inspir'd his mind, and in his count'nance shone ; 
 But now ! a breathless corpse, stretch'd on the bier 
 His active, nimble feet forget to move ; 
 No more his heart beats high with cheerful hope, 
 Nor gay vivacity, nor vig'rous health, 
 
4'i IMMANUEL. 
 
 Play round his vitals and adorn his cheek. 
 
 Cold, pale and stiff, he lies ; triumphant death 
 
 With unrelenting hand, pass'd by grey hairs, 
 
 To pluck the new blown flow'r. What voice is that 
 
 Which strikes mine ear ? the voice of deep lament, 
 
 And o'ercharg'd sorrow, utt'ring words of woe, 
 
 And heavy import, " O ! my son, my son ! 
 
 Would God that I had dy'd for thee, my son \" 
 
 Ah ! 'tis his mother ; let the tender heart 
 
 Prepare to sigh, let sympathy awake, 
 
 And shed a gen'rous tear to soothe her woe. 
 
 His widow'd mother ! he her only son ! 
 
 The stay and staff of her declining years.... 
 
 Snatch'd from her arms, to mingle with the dust : 
 
 No more his pleasing voice shall soothe her care, 
 
 His kind affection watch to minister 
 
 In acts of duteous love to all her need. 
 
 Fondly she entertain'd delusive hope 
 
 His gentle hand would close her dying lids, 
 
 And to the silent tomb commit her dust ; 
 
 But heav n subscribe not to the vain desire. 
 
 See from her eyes sad floods of sorrow fall, 
 
 She droops, she faints ! O let some pitying friend 
 
 Support her sinking frame : all-gracious heav'n, 
 
 Smile on the mourner, bid thy comforts flow ; 
 
 O calm the stormy passions of her soul, 
 
 Breathe sweet submission to thy sov'reign will, 
 
 Thro' all her pow'rs....Lo ! the Redeemer comes ! 
 
 Thou good physician, can thy sov'reign skill 
 
 Bring health and cure to this distracted mind ? 
 
 Canst thou salubrious balms apply, and find 
 
 A medicine for such a wound as this ?.... 
 
IMMANUEL. AS 
 
 Lo ! he draws near ; he views the mournful train, 
 
 He knows the sighing mother's bleeding hearty 
 
 All the soft feelings of humanity 
 
 Glow in his gentle breast, ?oid melt him down 
 
 To kind concern, and tend'rest sympathy : 
 
 Sweet pity sparkles in his gracious eye. 
 
 And all the rich compassions of a God 
 
 Divinely move to bid her sorrows cease. 
 
 Nor do her griefs rise higher for her son, 
 
 Than Jesu's strong compassions rise for he!'. 
 
 " Woman, weep not," the dear Redeemer saith: 
 
 Then with a gentle, yet Almighty voice, 
 
 He bids the dead arise ! the dead obeys, 
 
 Starts into life at the divine command ; 
 
 Rises in all the active strength of youth, 
 
 Springs from the useless bier, and at the feet 
 
 Of his restorer, hails his sacred name ! 
 
 See the kind Saviour hastes to give him back 
 
 To his astonish'd parent's fond embrace. 
 
 Her tears no longer How, her throbbing breast 
 
 No longer swells with agonizing woe : 
 
 Amazement and delight entrance her soul, 
 
 And wrapt in mute astonishment she stai.ds ! 
 
 Beholds her son, beholds her heav'nly friend, 
 
 And joy and gratitude divide her pow'rs. 
 
 Surrounding multitudes admire the deed ; 
 
 Surprise and wonder fill their minds with awe. 
 
 They bless the glorious prophet, and adore 
 
 And glorify the God of Israel. 
 
 From tribe to tribe the splendor of his name 
 
 Spreads far and wide, the distant provinces 
 
46 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Hear and admire the wonders of his hand, 
 And throng to share the blessings he bestows. 
 
 Where'er we turn, what wonders strike our view ! 
 Stupendous miracles, height above height, 
 Grandly sublime arising ! With one voice, i 
 As heralds of the heav'nly king, they sound 
 The trumpet of his praise, and cry aloud 
 " Behold the God of glory in the man 
 Whose nod controls creation ! at whose word, 
 Disease, and death, and devils flee asham'd, 
 As night retires when radiant Sol appears." 
 
 See the belov'd, the friend of Jesus dies ! 
 Again the haughty tyrant of the grave 
 Shakes his victorious dart, and hides it deep 
 In the kind heart of gentle Lazarus : 
 But lo ! the friend of Jesus soars aloft.... 
 He dies. ...He bursts to better life, and sings 
 A song of triumph o'er his conqu'ror. 
 Smiles at death's feeble shaft, denes his pow'r, 
 Wrapt in the bliss of immortality. 
 See two fair mourners weeping o'er his grave ; 
 In all the sad solemnity of woe, 
 They mourn a brother ; kind endearing name ! 
 They mourn a friend ; O name more sacred still, 
 Long interwoven with fraternal love, 
 Friendship had knit their kindred souls in one ; 
 But death, relentless death, has torn away 
 Their better part : in vain the gentle voice 
 Of consolation pours her cordials forth, 
 And tender sympathy attempts in vain 
 
IMMANUEL. 47 
 
 To soothe their sorrows : four times hath the sun 
 
 With rising splendors crown' cl this earthly orb; 
 
 Four times the moon with milder beams dispers'd 
 
 The gloom of darkness, since the yawning grave 
 
 Receiv'd their much-lov'd brother's sleeping clay, 
 
 And Jesus lingers :....Oft their wishful eyes 
 
 Look out in vain to see their Lord appear ; 
 
 Oft their impatient sighs break forth, and chide 
 
 The dear Redeemer for his long delay : 
 
 But lo ! he comes. ...let us attend his steps ; 
 
 He goes with the sad train to view the grave, 
 
 The cold mausoleum of his Lazarus. 
 
 Here soft affection kindles to a flame, 
 
 Fresh sorrows spring, and overwhelming woe 
 
 Bursts forth in floods of grief : tears, tender tears. 
 
 Drown ev'ry face ; and with pathetic voice. 
 
 Declare how much they lov'd, how much they feel* 
 
 Lo ! Jesus weeps ! astonish'd angels stand 
 
 In silent admiration and delight. 
 
 Behold ! the resurrection and the life ! 
 
 The mighty Saviour lifts his eyes to heav'n ; 
 
 Then with the voice that call'd creation forth 
 
 From the dark womb of chaos and old night ; 
 
 That bade celestial light with orient beams 
 
 Shine on his universe : he speaks again, 
 
 And, " Lazarus, come forth !" is his command. 
 
 Hark ! gentle echo on her downy wing 
 
 Catches the sound, and back returns, " Come forth 1" 
 
 Death to the centre of his dark domain 
 
 Hears the sublime command ; the sov'reign voice ! 
 
 Death, to the centre of his dark domain 
 
 Trembles with mighty awe., loth to give up 
 
48 IMMANUEL. 
 
 His vanquish 'd prey ; unable to detain. 
 Jesus the Son of Man ! Jesus the God ! 
 Holds in his hand the adamantine key 
 That shuts and opens his ten thousand gates ; 
 The locks fly back. ...he bursts the massy bars.,.. 
 The captive leaves his dreary cave, forsakes 
 Worms and corruption, to enjoy the day: 
 He rises and comes forth, while angels sing 
 The boundless glories of the Son of man. 
 
 Hark ! how the winds, with hollow murmurs rise ; 
 The heav'ns grow black with clouds, a dismal gloom 
 Spreads o'er the hemisphere, and strikes dismay 
 Upon the stoutest heart.. ..a sudden flood 
 Pours from on high, to meet the flood beneath ; 
 And lo ! the swelling billows rise and rage 
 In battle dangerous ; the foaming waves 
 Lift their mountainous heads, like wat'ry Alps, 
 And threat the skies, then break with noise more dire. 
 Than all the dreadful howls that pierce the woods, 
 In midnight hours, when wolves voracious prowl, 
 And the fierce lion fattens o'er his prey. 
 Amidst the waves, behold a little barque 
 Toss'd to and fro, the sport of raging winds ; 
 In vain the mariners their skill oppose, 
 The mad'ning tempest, deaf to all their cries, 
 Derides their efforts, and with thund'ring roar 
 Threats to entomb it in a wat'ry grave, 
 And make the deep their vast mausoleum. 
 And yet how safe the little vessel rides I 
 Encompass'd by the guardian care of heav'n, 
 She bears the grandest freight that ever saii'd, 
 
1MMANUEB. 
 
 4§ 
 
 Upon the hoary bosom of the deep ! 
 
 A treasure richer than ten thousand worlds ! 
 
 No haughty Caesar, but the great God-Man 1 
 
 He sleeps, amidst the roar of elements ; 
 
 The thunders of the storm disturb him not, 
 
 So sweet he slumbers :.»..But the trembling creW* 
 
 His little company, all pale with fear, 
 
 Strange consternation wrote on ev'ry face. 
 
 Break his repose, with the terrific cry 
 
 Of " Master, lo ! we perish all !" 
 
 So quick, so ready, is his ear to hear 
 
 The breathings of his people in distress, 
 
 He wakens in a moment to their aid : 
 
 He rises in serenest majesty ; 
 
 Calm and compos'd, he looks upon his friends 
 
 With sweet complacence, mildly chides their fears ; 
 
 With solemn steps advances to the prow, 
 
 And views the storm, unmov'd : then with the voice 
 
 Divine, the voice that one day shall wake 
 
 The dead, and call to judgment all the sons 
 
 Of men, he gives the great, the grand command, 
 
 " Peace, thou proud restless deep : Ye winds, be still J" 
 
 'Tis done !....the deep puts on his smoothest face, 
 
 With softest gales, see gentle zephyrs play 
 
 On the smooth surface of the azure main, 
 
 And all is hush'd in silence and repose. 
 
 Say now, Lothario, for thy mental eye 
 Hath seen the sick made whole, the dead arise, 
 The wind and seas obey the Saviour's voice, 
 Is he a creature, man, or demi-god ? 
 Or is he the supreme, eternal jah ? 
 
50 IMMANUEL. 
 
 See, universal nature, the whole race 
 
 Of beings animate, inanimate await 
 
 (His grand attendants) to assume what form 
 
 His sov'reign pleasure bids.. ..to be and do 
 
 Whate'er his will appoints. Disease and death 
 
 Of ev'ry kind, in ev'ry stage obeys 
 
 His mighty fiat, while his potent voice 
 
 Controls the pow'rs of hell ; their legions fly, 
 
 And roaring own the holy one of God. 
 
 The Son of man came not with borrowed pow'rs ; 
 
 Nor usher'd in his mighty miracles 
 
 With the grand sanction of " Thus saith the Lord !" 
 
 As did his servants, but with voice divine, 
 
 His own imperial name and potent arm, 
 
 In all the fulness of Almighty pow'r, 
 
 IJe rules a boundless empire, and controls 
 
 Heav'n, earth and hell, the winds, the seas, the dark 
 
 Domains of death, and all death's messengers, 
 
 And universal nature with a nod : 
 
 A look, a word, swifter than swiftest thought, 
 
 They hasten to obey his sov'reign will ; 
 
 And by their ready, prompt obedience, prove 
 
 Their master is Jehovah infinite. 
 
 The self-existent, tho' incarnate God ; 
 
 An independent being, who exists 
 
 And hath his being from himself alone.* 
 
 * That the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ is the 
 Son of God, begotten of the Father from all eternity, or as 
 the Nicene creed expresses it, " Before all worlds," is a very 
 gross, absurd and erroneous, though an almost universally 
 received opinion j it appears to be one of the grand sources 
 of Arianiscr. and Socinianisra, and though it is sanctioned 
 
IMMANUEL. 51 
 
 Behold the Son of man with stately step, 
 Walks in the sanctuary, the house of pray'r 
 Appointed for all nations: here the voice 
 
 by being adopted by many great men, who hate Arianism 
 and Socinianism with perfect hatred, yet nevertheless, it is 
 contrary to the scriptures, and very derogatory to the glory 
 of God, the Redeemer, who either is the self-existent God, 
 or no God at all ; if he is self-existent, he cannot be begotten, 
 he cannot derive his existence from God the Father, but 
 from the very necessity of his own nature, and is as inde- 
 pendent as to his divine nature, of the Father, as the Father, 
 who exists by the necessity of his nature, is independent of 
 the divine nature of the Son.. ..The scriptures reveal one in- 
 finite Jehovah. u Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one 
 Lord.'' Dent. vi. 4. And that in the one glorious Jehovah 
 there exists a trinity of divine persons, co-equal, co-essential, 
 co-eternal. The characters of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 
 are not revealed in the scriptures to inform us of the divine 
 being, but to make known the characters and offices which 
 the ever blessed trinity of persons in the undivided unity of 
 the godhead are pleased to assume and sustain in the cove- 
 nant of grace, and the grand work of redemption which that 
 covenant provided '« for us men, and for our salvation,"... . 
 In almost every place in the New Testament, where the 
 Lord Jesus is spoken of as a Son, it evidently relates to his 
 human nature : to instance in only a few, " That holy thing 
 that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God." 
 Luke i. 35, 10. Also, Christ glorified not himself to be made 
 an high priest, but he that said unto him, " Thou art my 
 Son, this day have I begotten thee." As he saith also in 
 another place, il Thou art a priest forever, after the order of 
 Melchizedec." Heb. v. 5, 6. It is plain, that the Sonship 
 here spoken of, is connected with the priestly office which 
 the Lord Jesus sustained, and it consequently relates not to 
 his divine nature, but to his human. As God, he is n with- 
 out father, without mother, without descent ; having neither 
 
52 IMMANtfEL. 
 
 Of sacred joy was wont to fill the air 
 
 With glad hosannahs; here the kneeling saint, 
 
 Was wont to supplicate the aid of heav'n. 
 
 beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the 
 Son of God (when manifested in the flesh) abideth a priest 
 continually." Heb. vii. 3. The expression, • like unto/ does 
 not mean that he was not really and truly made the Son of 
 God, but that h« really was ; see the same expression, Phil, 
 ii. 7. " Took upon him the form of a servant, and was 
 made in the likeness of men ;" which implies, that Christ 
 really took upon him the office of a servant, agreeable tu 
 Isaiah xlii. 1. " Behold my servant whom I uphold." And 
 that he really was made a man, the apostle Paul applies the 
 7th verse of the 2d Psalm, entirely to the human nature of 
 the Redeemer, Acts xiii. 32, 33. '* And we declare unto you 
 glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the 
 fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in 
 that he hath raised up Jesus again." As it is also written in 
 ihe 2d Psalm, (t Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten 
 thee.** And if we advert to the text as it stands in the 2d 
 Psalm, in connection with the 8th verse, we shall find it hays 
 nothing to do with the manner of the existence of the divine 
 nature of the Redeemer, but it has to do with him as man 
 and Mediator, as the great king whom God the Father hath 
 determined to set upon his holy hill of Zion : " 1 will declare 
 the decree ; the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son, 
 this day have I begotten thee : ask of me, and I will give 
 tftee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the utmost parts 
 cf the earth for thy possession." This evidently respects the 
 grand work of redemption, and was eminently fulfilled, when 
 presently after the resurrection and ascension of the Lord 
 Jesus, the gospel was preached to the Gentiles, the Spirit 
 from on high was poured out upon the heathen world, and 
 thousands and millions of sinners in the utmost parts of the 
 earth were turned from dumb idols to serve the living God.... 
 There are some scriptures, in which, what properly belongs 
 
IMMANUEL. 5v> 
 
 Devotion kindled here her purest fires, 
 
 While faith look'd wond'ring round, pleas'd to behold 
 
 Where'er she turn'd her bright and piercing eye, 
 
 The mystic glories of Imnianuel shine; 
 
 While from his throne between the cherubim, 
 
 Jehovah smil'd, an$ sweet communion held 
 
 With upright worshippers. Ah ! where are now 
 
 to the divine nature, is ascribed to Christ as the Son, that is, 
 as man ; and there are other scriptures, in which, what pro- 
 perly belongs to his human nature, is ascribed to his divine ; 
 but this is because of the infinite, close union of his two na- 
 tures in one person ; but, wherever we read of the Son's 
 possessing any thing as derivative from the Father, it cer- 
 tainly respects his human nature, and not his divine. As 
 man, he possesses all power, all government, and authority 
 to judge the world at the last day, as the gift of the Father ; 
 but as Jehovah, they are his own essential right. 
 
 How amazingly absurd and erroneous also, is the idea, that 
 the Holy Spirit is the breath of God, breathed by the Father 
 and the Son. It is true, that the Lord Jesus breathed upon 
 the apostles and they received the Holy Ghost: it was the 
 way by which the Lord was pleased to communicate his 
 Spirit to the apostles at that time ; but, it by no means in- 
 dicates the manner of the existence of the Holy Spirit, 
 The scriptures reveal a triune Jehovah : but the manner of 
 his existence is not revealed, this is a mystery which neither 
 men nor angels can fathom : an infinite understanding alone 
 ^an comprehend an infinite deity. 
 
 "A God alone can comprehend a God. "..,. Young, 
 
 As to the covenant of grace, and the grand work of re- 
 demption, it has pleased the ever blessed and glorious trinity 
 to take upon them the names and characters of Father, Son, 
 and Holy Ghost, to whom, as to the true God and eternal 
 life, fee everlasting honor and praise, .... Amen. 
 E 2 
 
5* IMMANUEL. 
 
 Those happy days? those upright worshippers? 
 
 Where are the songs of Zion and the flames 
 
 Of pure devotion now?. ...The strife of tongues 
 
 Assaults mine ear ! a noisy din alarms, 
 
 Loud as tumultuous waves ; confus'd uproar 
 
 Re-echoes thro* the hallow'd walks* and fills 
 
 With busy hubbub, and commotion strange, 
 
 God's holy house, the sacred seat of peace. 
 
 Glory of Salem, how art thou prophan'd ! 
 
 A den of thieves ! an house of merchandize ! 
 
 Here money-changers sit with heaps of gold, 
 
 Here doves abound, sheep bleat and oxen low ; 
 
 And men, more brutal still, with clamor rude. 
 
 Fearless of God and man, practis'd in guile, 
 
 Break ev'ry sacred, ev'ry moral tie : 
 
 But Jesus comes, and with an awful frown 
 
 Of holy indignation looks around ; 
 
 " Take these things hence i" he cries, behold ! they flee. 
 
 Guilt turns them pale, terrific horror strikes 
 
 Their frightful souls ; confusion and dismay 
 
 Runs through the crowd : resistless they retire, 
 
 And like a flock of tim'rous sheep disperse, 
 
 A.nd seek for safety in the speediest light. 
 
 But why ?....He grasps no flaming thunderbolt, 
 
 But a small whip of platted cord.. ..no crown 
 
 Imperial sits upon his brow, nor robes 
 
 Of majesty adorn the mighty king: 
 
 No Roman legions follow in his train ; 
 
 He comes alone, or with a feeble few 
 
 Of unarm'd fishermen; yet loi they fly, 
 
 As from the shoutings of victorious hosts, 
 
 Women and children hasten to retire. 
 
IMMANUEL. 55 
 
 Or he were God, or they were less than men. 
 
 What ! leave their flocks, their merchandize, their 
 
 gold, 
 Aw'd by the presence of an unarm'd man ! 
 No ! they were hardy, fearless, stout and bold. 
 And bound by strong attachment to their gains ; 
 TV incarnate God put forth a gentle ray 
 Of his omnipotence, and all their might 
 Sunk into weakness, courage into fear ; 
 With speed precipitate they quit the place 
 At the great mandate of Immanuel. 
 So when the kingly lion roars, and walks 
 The forest, meaner beasts retire with awe, 
 And leave him the sole monarch of the wood. 
 
 Who but the deity with gracious voice 
 Can softly whisper in the inmost soul 
 " Thy sins are all forgiven I" Who but a God 
 Supreme and infinite, can e'er absolve * 
 The guilty criminal, can pardon sins 
 Against the awful majesty of heav'n ? 
 But Jesus, the Redeemer oft pronounc'd 
 Th' amazing word, " Thy sins are all forgiv'n !" 
 The great High Priest, who for his people stood 
 And offered for their sin, and in their name 
 To justice infinite a sacrifice 
 As infinite as justice could demand, 
 Atonement all divine, and all complete ; 
 To bring transgressors near a pard'ning God; 
 To reconcile them to his glorious self, 
 At once th* offended deity, the priest, 
 And grand atonement for his ransom'd church j 
 
56 IMSIANUEL. 
 
 No creature sacrifice could put away 
 The dark, the deep malignity of sin* 
 No creature, can acquit a guilty soul ; 
 That is the high prerogative of heav'n ; 
 But Jesus speaks the consolating word : 
 He pardons sins, the same Almighty voice 
 That bade the sick be whole, the dead arise, 
 Says to the mourning sinner, " Cease thy fears, 
 Thy sins are blotted out !" To creature pow'r, 
 This is impossible, but to the God 
 Of nature, grace and providence, alike- 
 Are all things easy. When apostles spake 
 And prophets wrought the mighty wdrk of God, 
 'Twas in his glorious name, and by his pow'r ; 
 " Thus saith the Lord 1" preceded all they did: 
 But when Immanuel speaks, 'tis like a God 
 Eternal, independant and supreme ; 
 The sov'reigu master of the universe ! 
 Lord of the sabbath, Saviour of the soul ! 
 Cleansing the body and immortal mind, 
 With this grand, all-important word, I will ! 
 
 And is this vast display of sov'reign pow'r, 
 The glorious witness of a triune God ? 
 The pattern of redeemed saints on earth, 
 And the bright armies in the world above. 
 Too impotent to gain Lothario's ear, 
 And make a convert of his unbelief! 
 Cannot celestial truth with sun-like beams 
 Disperse the shades of error from his mind ? 
 Still sits proud reason umpire in his soul ? 
 Vain, ignorant and blind, dare she presume 
 
IMMANUEL. 37 
 
 To scan infinity, and still reply 
 'Gainst the united voice of heav'n and earth ? 
 Presumptuous, dare she yet reject the voice 
 Of revelation, sacred and divine, 
 Whereby Jehovah condescends to make 
 Himself and grand designs to mortals known •? 
 O folly in extreme ! O proof of proofs ! 
 That man, proud, reas'ning man, is sunk below 
 The brute, in blindness, ignorance and sin. 
 The ox his feeder knows, the stupid ass 
 His master's crib, but man, apostate man, 
 Denies his God !... •Blush human nature, blush ! 
 Astonish'd angels marvel at the sight, 
 Astonish'd devils scorn the wretched fooL 
 
 Amidst the ills of life, the thousand ills 
 Entail'd by sin upon the sons of men ; 
 Griefs that o'envhelm the soul, flood after flood? 
 And pour confusion on their brightest joys* 
 Severe affliction, disappointment strange, 
 At whose dire frown hope sickens and expires s 
 See how Lothario, arm'd with all the pow'rs 
 That reason and philosophy can give, 
 Endures the storm : awhile he stands compos'd, 
 Unmov'd he hears the distant thunders roll, 
 And, self-sufficient, meets th' uplifted stroke 
 With manly courage ; but anon, the waves 
 Indignant roar, the black'ning tempest darts 
 A thousand thunderbolts around his head ; 
 His heart, his soul, transfjx'd in sore amaze, 
 He stands confounded, all his strength of mind, 
 Absorb'd in sorrows, (like the melting snow) 
 
58 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Sinks into weakness, ©r to stoic brass, 
 Hardened by oft repeated blows. ...in vain 
 He calls his boasted reason to his aid ; 
 Her sober voice is drown'd amidst the roar 
 Of noisy passion ; passion holds the reins. 
 And all is tumult in his anxious mind : 
 Reason, too weak to sound the depths divine, 
 Too dim to trace the mazy paths, and scan 
 The secret, great designs of providence, 
 Affords a poor support ; she faints beneath 
 The mighty weight, and yields the sceptre up 
 To discontent, proud murm'ring, sad despair ; 
 Black glooms of melancholy overspread 
 His soul ; nor can philosophy compose 
 His troubled spirit. ...dismal as the night, 
 Moonless and cheerless, see Lothario lean 
 O'er yonder brook, absorb'd in pensive thought, 
 He muses terror, while destruction hangs 
 Like a huge pile of mountains o'er his head, 
 And threatens, by an instantaneous fall, 
 To crush him into attorns.... Lo ! the shock, 
 Too rude for nature's pow'rs, sweeps him away 
 Hopeless, without a friend, without a God. 
 
 Hark ! how soft echo on her gentle wing 
 Wafts a sweet song to my enraptur'd ear ! 
 List i O my soul ! 'tis solemn and divine ! 
 
 " Amidst a thousand storms I stand, 
 Guarded by an Almighty hand ; 
 Tho' sorrows rise, and thunders roar, 
 I'm stili presery'd, I'm still secure ; 
 
1MMANUEL. 59 
 
 And shall, tho' death and devils frown, 
 Possess a bright celestial crown. 
 Jesus, my God, I trust thy power 
 To make me more than conqu'ror ; 
 On thine omnipotence depend, 
 My glorious all-sufficient friend ; 
 Thy smiles shall chase my griefs away, 
 And turn my darkness into day." 
 
 Hail ! voice, well known. ...'tis Theodosius sings ! 
 Long has he struggled with surrounding woes : 
 The fiercest shafts of Satan, rudest frowns 
 Of earth, shock after shock, wave after wave, 
 His substance plunder'd by rapacious hands ; 
 Spoil'd of domestic joys by greedy death : 
 Where'er he turns, affliction meets his view, 
 And all his steps are measur'd by the cross : 
 Yet lo ! he stands compos'd and placid still, 
 Unmov'd, unshaken ; tho' the tempest roar, 
 He rises still superior to the storm ; 
 Triumphs by faith ; while gentle patience breathes 
 Sweet peace and calm serenity within. 
 His faith built firm on the eternal rock, 
 Jehovah Jesus, pierces through the cloud 
 Of present things, and sees all safe beyond : 
 His righteousness, his sacrifice, his strength ; 
 His bliss, his treasure, everlasting all, 
 Concenters in the ever-bless'd God-man : 
 His joy in sorrow, life in death ; his peace 
 Amidst the loudest thunders of the storm. 
 No stoic, he only feels the keen attacks 
 Of palc-ey'd grief, but when his courage droop*,. 
 
60 IMMANUEL. 
 
 His fainting heart recovers at the smile 
 Of his kind Saviour ; his supporting hand 
 Upholds, his wisdom guides, his presence cheers ; 
 And happy Theodosius travels on, 
 Leaning by faith on his redeeming God ; 
 Faint, yet pursuing, sorrowful, yet with joy : 
 Oftimes his heart exults in glorious hope 
 Of 'that bright crown eternity presents, 
 With all its heav'nly splendors to his view. 
 
 Behold Orestes on the bed of pain : 
 No storms burst o'er his head, no rude alarms 
 Disturb'd his quiet ; while the king of day, 
 Bright Sol, with forty summers crown'd the earth ; 
 Nurs'd in the lap of ease, he journey'd on 
 Secure thro' life, the calm philosopher, 
 The man of reason : well Orestes knew 
 The paths of science ; how to weigh the air, 
 Measure the stars, and circumscribe the sun, 
 Of virtue much he talk'd... .of God, and things 
 Great and abstruse ; himself so great, so good, 
 So bright his virtues, and so rare his parts, 
 That all-sufficient in himself he stood, 
 Doubtless of heav'n... .imputed righteousness, 
 The grand atonement of a Saviour's blood, 
 The great incarnate Saviour, God o'er all : 
 These are the objects of Orestes' scorn, 
 And folly in his sight, so wise is he. 
 But death, terrific king, gloomy as night, 
 Bends o'er his bed, and with his keenest dart, 
 Aims at his breast an unexpected blow : 
 The veil's withdrawn !... .a sudden burst of light 
 
IMMASUEL* 61 
 
 Illumes his mind, a sudden voice more dire 
 Than the loud crash of falling mountains, rouse 
 His slumb'ring soul...*He wakes, to sleep no rhore s 
 Conscience, deep stung by the ne'er dying worm, 
 Loud as ten thousand thunders, on his ear 
 Pours her complaints ; and to his eye presents 
 A long, tremendous scroll.. ..within, without, 
 In plainest characters inscrib'd with sin, 
 Sinunaton'd, a just and jealous God, 
 A dread eternity, a certain hell. 
 
 awful sight ! In vain with gentle words 
 The messengers of peace attempt to soothe 
 The anguish of his mind, and set in view 
 The riches of redeeming grace ; the heights 
 
 And depths, the lengths and breadths of love divine? 
 
 The blood of Jesus, all-sufficient blood, 
 
 To wash his crimson soul as white as snow ; 
 
 His righteousness, sufficient to acquit 
 
 The chief of sinners, who by precious faith 
 
 Can trust a ruin'd soul on that alone. 
 
 His stormy passions kindle at the name 
 
 Of Jesus : " No ! (with dismal voice he cries) 
 
 1 cannot look that way ! Is there no name 
 But Jesus, that can save a soul from hell? 
 
 I have renounc'd his righteousness, despis'd, 
 
 And long rejected his atoning blood. 
 
 I feel he is a God, the God supreme^... 
 
 But I've deny'd his deity, deny'd 
 
 My Maker : now his wrath awak'd, like streams 
 
 Of fire, burns in my soul : behold he stand*, 
 
 Like a fierce lion, ready to devour 
 
 And crush my bones to atoms.. ..Must I go. 
 
62 IMMANUEL. 
 
 And stand before him ? That's the hell of hells I 
 
 Asham'd, abash'd, how shall I bear his frown ! 
 
 Hide me, O earth, and thou profoundest deep ! 
 
 If in creation can be found a spot 
 
 Which his bright flaming eye cannot pervade, 
 
 There let me shelter from the dreadful frown 
 
 Of that just judge.". ...He pauses 1 horror sits 
 
 In strong convulsions on his countenance, 
 
 While black despair and anguish wring his heart : 
 
 A sudden groan alarms attending friends ! 
 
 He dies !.... With trembling steps they quit his bed, 
 
 Silent and sad, with fearful awe o'erwhelm'd. 
 
 Not so the happy Theodosius dies ; 
 Death comes net like a dreadful enemy 
 To sweep him in a whirlwind from the earth ; 
 His sting's extracted by the Lord of life, 
 Who bids him with an angel's face appear, 
 And smiling, gently summons him away 
 From all the ills of time, to the bright realms 
 Of perfect peace, and sweet celestial day. 
 In his calm soul no awful terrors rise, 
 No dismal gloom distorts his countenance, 
 Serene and placid as a summer's eve, 
 He smiles on death, and welcomes his approach : 
 By faith 'divine, triumphs in glorious hope, 
 As his best blessing ; triumphs o'er the grave, 
 Secure of heav'n and immortality. 
 " Weep not (he cries to his surrounding friends) 
 Weep not ; my hope is firm, my heav'n secure ; 
 Jehovah Jesus, my redeeming God, 
 Is gone, my great forerunner to prepare 
 
1MMANUEL. 63 
 
 My Seat on high ; my mansion in the skies : 
 
 Now he invites, and calls my soul away 
 
 To prove its glories, and at his right hand 
 
 Enjoy the fruits of all his victories 
 
 O'er Satan, sin and death : my conqu'ring Lord 
 
 Bruis'd Satan's head for me ; he vanquished sin 
 
 When on the cross he hung, my sacrifice. 
 
 No condemnation, now against my soul 
 
 Is register'd in heav'n : Who shall condemn ? 
 
 My Christ acquits, God Jesus justifies, 
 
 And I am safe ! a pardon 'd sinner, sav'd 
 
 By sov'reign grace ;, electing love that wrote 
 
 My worthless name in Jesu'sbook of life, 
 
 Before I had a being, wrote my name 
 
 Deep in Immanuel's heart, that precious heart 
 
 That groan'd, was pierc'd, and burst in twain forme* 
 
 Rejoice ! rejoice, ye Israel of God; 
 
 For me, for you, he dy'd^ and with his robe 
 
 Of spotless righteousness adorn'd our souls : 
 
 Our advocate on high, he pleads our cause? 
 
 Till in his Father's presence we appear 
 
 To prove the fulness of eternal joy. 
 
 I long to go !....Come, O my Saviour-God, 
 
 Bring thy bright chariot, let my soul ascend, 
 
 And on the wings of holy seraphs mount 
 
 To that bright world where my Redeemer reigns, 
 
 Where I sail see his face with joy extreme, 
 
 And in his presence dwell to hymn his name, 
 
 While everlasting ages r©ll along." 
 
 He pauses. ...faints beneath the mighty joy ; 
 
 Revives again, again exulting tells 
 
 Of Jesus' kindness ; triumphs in his name, 
 
64 IMMANUEL. 
 
 And smiles at death, defies his pow'r to kill, 
 And rises all victorious o'er the grave ! 
 " Precious salvation !" says the dying saint, 
 61 Precious salvation !".... with a gentle sigh, 
 He breathes his soul into his Saviour's hands, 
 Upborne on angel wings to heav'n he soars, 
 To sing salvation to the bleeding lamb, 
 Thro' the long ages of eternity ! 
 
 How great the contrast of these dying beds ! 
 The man of faith, the friend of Jesus soars 
 To the bright world where boundless pleasures flow 
 In one vast ocean of immortal bliss, 
 Extatic joy and infinite delight. 
 The scholar of Socinus, foe profess'd 
 To God the Saviour, sinks in black despair 
 To the dark regions of eternal woe ! 
 There, he forever feels the force of truth, 
 And reason bows to revelation's voice. 
 But soon, with awful glory, solemn pomp, 
 A contrast still more striking shall appear, 
 And heav'n and earth, angels and men behold 
 The scene sublime, the grand concluding scene, 
 When the dissolving sun shall pour his fires, 
 Like a vast deluge on the flaming earth ! 
 When time expires, and bursting from the skies, 
 The God of glory on a throne of light, 
 Unnumber'd millions of the sons of morn 
 Swelling his splendid train, in solemn state 
 The judge supreme appears !....His mighty voice 
 Shakes heav'n and earth, the echoing spheres resound* 
 > Arise vedead, and come to judgment ! stand 
 
IMMANUEL. 65 
 
 Before the Son of man, and hear his voice 
 
 Pronounce eternal bliss, or endless shame 5 
 
 Your everlasting portion I" See the throng, 
 
 The glorious armies of redeemed saints, 
 
 How bright they shine in splendors all divine ; 
 
 Hark ! with triumphant songs they meet their God, 
 
 Wash'd from their sins in his atoning blood ; 
 
 Clad in his robe of spotless righteousness ; 
 
 Complete in him, perfect in holiness. 
 
 On clouds of dazzling light upborne, they soar 
 
 Amidst angelic guards, to take their place 
 
 At his right hand, to see his smiling face. 
 
 And in his presence quaff immortal joy 
 
 Thro' everlasting years,. ..they tune their harps 
 
 To sweetest, loftiest strains, the concave rings 
 
 With hallelujahs. ...saints and angels join 
 
 To sing salvation and the Saviour-God, 
 
 In one grand chorus of unbounded praise. 
 
 Say, in this great, tremendous, awful day 1 
 This sudden burst of glory, this grand scene ! 
 How shall Messiah's enemies appear ? 
 Say, with what eyes shall they behold the judge. 
 The God, the Saviour ? Where's the reas'ners now I 
 The proud Lotharios ; scientific men, 
 The bold Orestes ; will they stand forth, 
 Now, in the midst of flaming worlds, and prove 
 That Jesus is no God ! that creatures need 
 No righteousness divine, no sacrifice ? 
 Will they deride him now, and summon all 
 Their potent arguments upon this field I 
 With strong persuasive eloquence debate 
 
 f 2 
 
66 IMMANUEL. 
 
 In long orations ? No ! their eyes behold 
 Jehovah Jesus on his judgment seat ! 
 This is no place for infidelity I 
 Her mouth is stop'd....The great contest is o'er ! 
 And demonstration of the highest kind 
 Decides th' important question : now explain 'd, 
 The mystery of godliness shines forth ; 
 God manifest in flesh appears to view, 
 And doubt and contradiction swept away, 
 Shrink from his presence ! at his frown expire 1 
 
 Lo ! from their dungeons drag'd, the pris'ners come, 
 Forc'd by a dire necessity to quit 
 The silent grave.. ..O, could they there abide, 
 There hide forever, 'twould appear a boon 
 Beyond conception great, but 'tis deny'd ; 
 No, they must stand before the Son of man ! 
 High on his great white throne he sits supreme, 
 And all the bright effulgence of a God 
 Shine in his person, and in splendid beams 
 Dart glories inexpressible around ! 
 Pale with amazing horrors, lo ! they come, 
 Abash'd, asham'd, silent as death, nor dare 
 Behold Immanuers face ; his flaming eye 
 DarU thro' their souls : the guilty fugitives 
 Stand self-convicted, self-condemn'd : despair, 
 Arm'd with ten thousand terrors, gathers round, 
 Bursts in a mighty flood, o'erwhelms, and sweeps 
 Celestial hope eternally away. 
 No more they scorn the great redeeming God ; 
 No more they doubt of his divinity ; 
 Their eyes behold, their hearts confess the truth ; 
 
IMMANUEL. 67 
 
 They feel the pow'r of his omnipotence 
 
 Thro* all their being ; feel no creature's wrath 
 
 Consume them, but the veng'ance of a God ! 
 
 The wrath awak'd of injur'd deity ! 
 
 In vain to rocks and hills they call to hide 
 
 And screen them from the lamb's indignant frown : 
 
 The falling mountains can afford no shade 
 
 From his broad burning eye, and when his voice 
 
 Shakes heav'n and earth, and echoes through th©- 
 
 spheres, 
 " Depart ye cursed into endless fire !" 
 His frown, worse than a thousand hells, pursues 
 And sinks them down to the abhorred pit 
 Where infinite despair and horrors reign : 
 There, thro* a long eternal night they groan, 
 The scorn and sport of devils ; deeper plung'd 
 Than millions in the dreadful burning lake : 
 Tophet for them stirs up his fiercest fires, 
 And in perdition seven fold, they prove, 
 The wrath of Jesus is the w r rath of God. 
 
 Behold the New Jerusalem appears I 
 Bright with celestial splendors, there enthron'd, 
 Jesus Jehovah reigns : low at his feet 
 His ransom'd millions bow ; in rapt'rous songs 
 They hymn his glorious name : triumphant joys 
 Inspire their swelling notes : salvation sounds 
 Thro' all th' eternal arches : love and praise 
 Glow in each heart, and dwell on ev'ry tongue : 
 Angels and glad archangels join the theme, 
 And all is wonder, narmony, and bliss. 
 Peace, everlasting peace, serenely flows 
 
68 IMMAx>JUEL. 
 
 In the pure bosoms of the sons of light ; 
 
 And while eternal ages roll along 
 
 They prove the heights and depths of sov'reign grace 3 
 
 Of dying love ; and in sweet unison 
 
 Ascribe salvation, honor, pow'r, and praise, 
 
 To their incarnate God, who lives and reigns 
 
 The Lord of glory, tho' the Son of man. 
 
 O blest eternity ! when will the shades 
 Of time withdraw, and thy bright morn appear ; 
 When happy saints shall thus behold their God, 
 And celebrate his name to harps of gold I 
 Till then, tho' with a feebler voice, in strains 
 Imperfect, with a meaner song than theirs, 
 Let universal nature own htr Lord ; 
 And at his footstool offer up an hymn 
 Of holy gratitude, and humble praise. 
 Praise him, O sun, celestial king of day ! 
 When with bright rising beams thou crown'st the earth, 
 And when with full meridian splendors deck'd, 
 Thy flaming car hath climb* d the heights of noon, 
 Bow at the footstool of Iinmanuel's throne, 
 Who call'd thee into being, bade thee blaze 
 In all the rich magnificence of day ! 
 Fountain of light and heat.. ..in dewy eve, 
 When thou ilium 'st the western clouds with gold, 
 And sup'st with Thetis, let thy song arise 
 Till Hesper ushers in the starry host, 
 And Cynthia dart her silver rays around. 
 Praise him, thou moon ; and ail ye worlds of light : 
 Ye planets, as ye roll in boundless space, 
 O let your mighty orbs in mystic song 
 
1MMANUEL. 69 
 
 Record the wanders of the Son of man ; 
 Sing the Creator, the Redeemer-God. 
 Ye comets, bow your grand terrific heads, 
 And while th* affrighted earth admiring views 
 Your trains majestic sweep thro' half the skies. 
 Join the sweet concert, and submissive own 
 Your being hangs upon his sov 'reign will. 
 Ye clouds, that sail along the vast expanse. 
 And in your fleecy bosoms bear the dews, 
 The rain, the snows, to fructify the earth, 
 Swell the grand chorus, and report his name, 
 Till highest heav'n and distant earth resound 
 With the loud honors of the Saviour-God ! 
 Praise him, ye storms, ye thunders, as ye roll; 
 Ye lightnings, with your forked tongues proclaim 
 The dignity of him who sends you forth 
 Accomplishing his will. Praise him, ye wintlsj 
 As ye burst forth tumultuous.. ..in his hand 
 He holds you, when with clangor wide and rude 
 You sweep o'er waving forests, rend the air 
 With noisy uproar.. ..on your wings, O bear, 
 And let your voices sound Imnianuel's praise. 
 Soft breathing zephyrs, whisper it abroad ; 
 Charm the still ev'ning with the pleasing tale, 
 When thy cool breezes fan her gentle breast. 
 Ye placid show'rs, and sweet distilling dews, 
 Join with the rushing torrent, that descends, 
 And with impetuous roar lashes the hills, 
 And foams along the plain, to laud his name ! 
 Praise him, ye lofty Alps and Apenines;* 
 
 * Alps and Apenines, are mountains in Italy. 
 
70 IMMANUEL. 
 
 Ye loftier Andes,* who involve your heads, 
 
 Yoursnow-crown'd heads in clouds. ...ye rocks and hills, 
 
 Ye plains, and verdant vallies ; flow'ry meads 
 
 And gardens of delight, where Flora's train 
 
 Puts on their gayest foliage, richest hues ; 
 
 While you emit ten thousand sweets around, 
 
 O breathe his praise. ...Let the forests sing ; 
 
 The stately cedar, the tall pine rejoice ; 
 
 And humbler shrubs unite to spread the theme 
 
 From east to west, from florid southern climes, 
 
 To the cold regions of the frozen north. 
 
 Praise him, gay summer, crown'd with fruits and 
 
 flow'rs ; 
 O ! let thy beauteous train unite to pay 
 Due homage to the great immortal king ; 
 And hail Jehovah- Jesus Lord of all. 
 Winter, with all his sons, frost, hail and snow, 
 Black nights, and gloomy days, adore the God 
 Who turns the rivers into stone.. ..Again 
 He speaks ; and lo, the waters flow !....Sing thou, 
 Soft breathing spring, weave a fresh coronet 
 Of primrose, crocus, humble violet.... 
 Inscribe it with Immanuel's sacred name ; 
 And let it, as thine oflf'ring, speak his praise : 
 While autumn, with her yellow sheaves, attends 
 To swell the gen'ral anthem, and adore. 
 Praise him, ye eagles, as with lofty flight 
 Ye soar to meet the sun, and with bold eye 
 Dare gaze, undazzled, on the king of day. 
 Praise him, ye warbling larks, in softest airs j 
 
 * The Andes, are lofty mountains in South Americ?.. 
 
IMMANUEL. 71 
 
 And all ye tuneful songsters of the groves, 
 
 Waft on your wings, and in your songs his praise. 
 
 Ye lions, as to him ye roar for prey, 
 
 Roar out his praises. ...Judah's lion reigns, 
 
 Let ev'ry creature worship at his throne. 
 
 Ye who in midnight hours range o'er the woods, 
 
 Majestically fierce, and ye who play 
 
 In gamesome frolics o'er the flow'ry lawn ; 
 
 Ye gentle hinds, ye tender playful lambs, 
 
 And all who walk the earth, and all who creep ; 
 
 Insects who wanton in the sunny ray, 
 
 And spread your silken wings, bedrop'd with gold ; 
 
 And you who in the briny wave display 
 
 Your scaly coats of various form and hue ; 
 
 But chiefly thou, the tyrant of the deep, 
 
 Leviathan, who like a mountain rolPst 
 
 In the unfathom'd ocean, when thou play'st, 
 
 And from thy stormy nostrils spout'st a flood, 
 
 Bid it arise to praise the Son of man, 
 
 The king of glory, the incarnate God. 
 
 Let heav'n, and earth, and air, and seas, unite 
 
 To sound ImmanuePs name : let echo bear 
 
 On her soft wings to nature's utmost verge 
 
 The glorious sound, and back return his praise. 
 
 Come ye who stand forever near his seat, 
 
 Bright sons of morn, cherubic legions, come : 
 
 And ye, who nearer to his throne than they, 
 
 View the immortal glories of your God, 
 
 Strike, strike your golden harps.. ..begin a song 
 
 More noble than you ever sung before. 
 
 The saints on earth, the ransom'd of the Lord, 
 
 Take up the theme ; they join the joyful lay, 
 
72 IMMANUEL. 
 
 And in a solemn chorus laud the lamb ; 
 
 The larnb who dy'd, the lamb who lives for them : 
 
 " Worthy the lamb (they cry) of pow'r and might, 
 
 Eternal honors and unbounded praise, 
 
 Glory and blessing, majesty divine, 
 
 And everlasting worship are his due." 
 
 Hail, then Jehovah Jesus ! take the praise ! 
 
 Thine is the kingdom ; thou art Lord of all ! 
 
 Thy saints shall crown thee, and their songs shall be 
 
 Thro' endless years, " Salvation to the lamb !" 
 
 ^r^^y^^^sr 
 
THOUGHTS 
 
 WRITTEN IN A BOWER, 
 
 Hail i happy spot, sequester'd, lone retreat, 
 
 Sacred to meditation and the muse : 
 
 Beneath thy cool, embow'ring shade I sit, 
 
 And, for awhile, forget the busy world ; 
 
 To view the op'ning rose, and mark how springs 
 
 The violet, and how the lilies bloom : 
 
 Hark ! how the robin whistles as he flies 
 
 From bough to bough ; the blackbird's mellow note, 
 
 And warbling thrush, on yonder hawthorn perch 'd, 
 
 Increase the tuneful music of the grove : 
 
 And wanton zephyrs breathing gentle gales 
 
 O'er rustling leaves, with an harmonious bass, 
 
 Completes the concert i these are thy sweet gifts, 
 
 O summer, gayest daughter of the year ; 
 
 Nature throughout her wide domain, shall own 
 
 Thy genial influence. See the forest shake 
 
 In grateful homage, while the grove-crown'd hills 
 
 Wave plaudits ; for the grove-crown'd hills rejoice, 
 
 And fruitful valleys laugh and sing with thee. 
 
 'Tis now high noon ; the blazing king of day 
 
 Thron'd in mid heav'n surveys the universe, 
 
 And darts meridian splendors round the world* 
 
 But safely shelter'd in this vernal bow'r, 
 
 Embrown'd with thickest shade of lofty trees, 
 
74 THOUGHTS, ETC. 
 
 Whose spreading branches taught by art to meet 
 
 In kind embraces, form a rural arch, 
 
 And bid defiance to the sultry ray ; 
 
 I taste the cool refreshing breeze, and feel 
 
 The pleasures which a scene like this inspires. 
 
 How shall my soul improve a scene like this ; 
 
 I look around, and every flow'r and shrub, 
 
 Each beauteous object that attracts my view, 
 
 Turns preacher to my mind, and drops, tho' mute, 
 
 A silent admonition in mine ear, 
 
 And leads my thoughts, O garden of delight, 
 
 Thou sweet, thou sacred paradise, to thee ; 
 
 Where man, the noble image of his God, 
 
 With all his native dignity adorn'd, 
 
 Bright with unsullied purity and truth, 
 
 Crown'd with unrivali'd grandeur, stood declar'd 
 
 Lord of the wide creation ; and enjoy'd 
 
 The smiles and boundless bounties of a God ! 
 
 Oh 1 could he in the midst of all this good, 
 
 •Still sigh for more ? thus eminently great, 
 
 Indulge ambition ? thus supremely blest, 
 
 Could he rebel against his Maker's will, 
 
 And disobey his great, his sole command ? 
 
 Wilful reject his blessing, court his curse ? 
 
 Ingrate, how vile ! well might a God inquire 
 
 u Adam where art thou ?" Oh ! how lost, how fall'n, 
 
 How sunk in sad disgrace, in bitter woe ! 
 
 In guilt and misery, in sin and shame ! 
 
 Then did thy roses fade, thy lilies die ; 
 
 And all thy blooming train, O paradise I 
 
 Wither and hang their heads ; thy crown was fall'n ; 
 
 Far man, thy lord and glory, had prophan'd 
 
THOUGHTS, ETC. 75 
 
 Thy sacred shades, and his polluted feet 
 
 No more must tread thy more than hallow'd ground : 
 
 Driv'n out to common earth, he now must till 
 
 A soil less fruitful, with laborious pain ; 
 
 Subject to sore disease, a prey to death 
 
 In all its ten-fold horrors : this the doom 
 
 Of the first sinner, this the legacy 
 
 He only could bequeath to all his race. 
 
 But see, my muse, another garden rise 
 
 In the Iov'd fertile vale of Olivet ; 
 
 Come, sing Gethsemane ; hail ! sacred spot, 
 
 Hail ! hallow'd grove ; ye venerable shades, 
 
 Dearer than Eden ; there a world was lost ; 
 
 There one transgression plung'd a world in woe ; 
 
 But here, the God who bade the sun exist ; 
 
 Who call'd creation from the womb of night ; 
 
 Who planted paradise, and by his pow'r 
 
 Upholds this vast stupendous edifice ; 
 
 Here, robed in flesh, clad with humanity, 
 
 He stood the surety of the chosen race, 
 
 The sinner's Saviour, their redeeming friend ; 
 
 Their bondsman, bound to pay their dreadful debt ; 
 
 And here, with groans, with anguish infinite ; 
 
 With sorrow inexpressible, and woe, 
 
 Too big for mortal language to express, 
 
 Too vast for angel bosoms to conceive, 
 
 He struggles with the load of human guilt, 
 
 And (midst the chill damp vapors of the night) 
 
 Sweats blood : O garden of Gethsemane ! 
 
 Thou wert a silent witness of this scene ; 
 
 Astonish'd angels gazing, hover'd round 
 
 And saw the mighty conflict, and with shouts 
 
76 THOUGHTS, ETC. 
 
 Proclaim'd the mighty victor ! for with blood, 
 Anguish, and death, he conquer'd death and hell ; 
 Ke paid the sinner's debt, cancell'd the bond, 
 And gave them free redemption in his blood. 
 Worthy art thou, O lamb (for sinners slain) 
 Of angels' songs ; thy saints shall join the theme. 
 And sing thy wonders, and adore, thy love. 
 Let heav'n and earth adore, let nature bow, 
 And one loud song of praise to thee arise, 
 While time endures, and then, in nobler strains, 
 Thro' the vast ages of eternity. 
 
 v/^/%y**/\/**/^ 
 
AN 
 
 HYMN OF PRAISE, 
 
 " I WILL SING OF MERCY." 
 
 Come, oh ! my soul, awake! awake and sing ; 
 
 Come tune thy harp to sweetest, softest lays » 
 Kecord the wonders of thy God and king, 
 
 And offer up a song of grateful praise. 
 
 Praise waits for thee, at humble distance waits ; 
 
 Conscious how far she falls beneath thy throne : 
 Fain would she soar beyond the heav'nly gates, 
 
 And make thy triumphs to archangels known- 
 
 O, for the wings of holy joy and love. 
 
 To bear her adorations up to thee ! 
 Q, for the whispers of the sacred dove, 
 
 To bring thy approbation down to me. 
 
 I sing of mercy... .'tis a theme divine ! 
 
 It flows to me thro* streams of precious blood : 
 Rich are thy blessings ; but they brightest shine, 
 
 As purchas'd by thy death, my Saviour-God« 
 
78 HYMN OF PRAISE. 
 
 Late, thro' a painful path my journey lay ? 
 
 High blew the whirlwind, while the storm arose ; 
 Black clouds, tempestuous, overhung the day, 
 
 And all was anguish, all was gloom and foes* 
 
 With trembling steps I travelPd thro' the shade, 
 And oft, affrighted by the lion's roar, 
 
 To thee, my God, my king, I flew for aid, 
 And found my mighty refuge in thy power. 
 
 Thine arm supported, while the tempest blew ; 
 
 Thy gracious eye pervaded all my grief; 
 Thou wisely guided, kindly brought me through, 
 
 And flew on eagle's wings to my relief. 
 
 The thunder's o'er, and all's serenely calm ! 
 
 Hush'd to sweet peace, the floods no longer beat ; 
 This is the triumph of Immanuel's arm ! 
 
 I fall astonish'd at his gracious feet. 
 
 My Father and my God, to thee I'll sing 
 Eternal anthems of unbounded praise ; 
 
 Myself, my all, an humble off'ring bring 
 To thee, the God of providence and grace* 
 
 O, for a thousand hearts to love thy name ! 
 
 A thousand tongues to sound thy glories high j 
 To spread abroad thine everlasting fame, 
 
 And join the hallelujahs of the sky. 
 
 Faithful and true is thy tremendous name, 
 My glorious master, my almighty Lord ! 
 
HY&N OF PRAISE. 
 
 Eternal ages prove thee still the same ; 
 Eternal ages shall thy truth record. 
 
 On thee, the ocean of unbounded love. 
 My soul embarks her all, commits to thee 
 
 Her cares, her fears, her wants, and longs to prove 
 An everlasting refuge, Lord, in thee. 
 
 On thy kind bosom I would fain recline, 
 
 My Saviour-God. O, let thy presence cheer ! 
 
 Thy Spirit guide, and guard, and seal me thine : 
 Lead and direct me while I sojourn here. 
 
 Then in the realms of bright celestial day, 
 My soul shall bless thee in sublimer lays ; 
 
 Shall see thy glories in their full display, 
 And sing a sweeter, nobler song of praise. 
 
AN 
 
 IRREGULAR ODE, 
 
 Great king of saints ! 
 Thou mighty monarch of the heavens and earth, 
 Whose awful fiat gave creation birth ; 
 
 Whose arm supports, whose eye surveys 
 
 An universe, through all the maze 
 Of ages past, of ages still to be.... 
 The future and the past, are now to thee. 
 
 Conception faints 
 When viewing an omniscient deity. 
 
 Ye sons of light, 
 Angels who bow before the throne, 
 Tune your soft harps and make him known ; 
 In lofty strains adore your God. 
 And saints, the purchase of his blood, 
 Ransom'd sinners, join the theme ; 
 You delight to sing of him ; 
 We on earth, and you in heav'n : 
 . We to whom his grace is giv°n ; 
 Earnest of the glorious prize, 
 You enjoy exbove the skies ; 
 Children of one Father, join, 
 Him to laud, in songs divine : 
 
IRREGULAR ODE. 81 
 
 God of nature, God of grace, 
 We would give thee humble praise : 
 Jesus, hail ! incarnate God, 
 Thou hast wash'd us in thy blood. 
 Prince of peace, we bow to thee, 
 Father of eternity. 
 Hail ! the love that made us thine ! 
 Love eternal, all divine. 
 Hail ! ouir fathers* God and ours ; 
 Aid us, O ye heav'nly pow'fs ; 
 Strike your softest, sweetest string. 
 While redeeming love we sing ; 
 While we bless the holy dove, 
 God of comfort, peace and love \ 
 Three in one, and one in three 5 
 Hail ! mysterious deity. 
 Thou great unsearchable, 
 Whom heav'n and earth, whom seas and skies adore, 
 But finite understandings can't explore ; 
 
 Who dwelFst in brightness inaccessible ! 
 Thy glories shine in beams so bright, 
 Dazzling archangels' sight. 
 
 My Father and my God ! 
 How empires vanish at a sight of thee : 
 What's all their pomp, but trifling trash to me ? 
 My wealth is boundless, my stupendous store 
 Beggars Peru ; thought cannot grasp at more. 
 With thee my portion, I despise the things 
 Men riches call, and look with scorn on kings* 
 
82 1RREGVLAR ODE. 
 
 My Father and my God ! 
 Safe on thine arm I lean when storms arise, 
 And rolling tempests threat the frowning skies. 
 When Satan's fiery darts are huiTd around 
 With mischievous intent, to kill or wound, 
 Thou art my mighty shield ; I find in thee 
 A safe retreat, a certain victory. 
 
 If slander lifts her forked tongue, 
 
 Or envy joins to do me wrong ; 
 
 Thine eye shall see, thine ear shall hear, 
 
 Thy hand shall grasp the glittering spear, 
 Thy breath shall chase them, as when whirlwinds rise 
 The moths disperse, the scatter'd stubble flies. 
 But I shall sing 
 
 Salvation to my God and king, 
 
 While life endures, and then above 
 I'll tunc a nobler song to praise the God of love. 
 
AN 
 
 ELEGY: 
 
 OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH OF THE REV, DR. 
 
 GIFFORD, WHO FELL ASLEEP IN CHRIST, 
 
 THE i9TH OF JUNE, 1784; IN THE 
 
 EIGHTY-FOURTH YEAR OF HIS AGE. 
 
 When the loud din of war, znd clash of arms 
 
 Subsides, and all Bellona's fierce alarms 
 
 Complete the labours of the long campaign. 
 
 And smiling peace resumes her gentle reign ; 
 
 The hero, crown'd with conquest, pleas'd, throws by 
 
 The glitt'ring spear, and the bright panoply 
 
 Of warlike arms; he quits the hostile shore, 
 
 His toils and dangers past, his battles o'er ; 
 
 He flies to greet once more his native land, 
 
 And from his royal master's gracious hand 
 
 Receive the laurels, which he won with pain, 
 
 In the long siege, and on the well-fought plain : 
 
 In sylvan scenes to lose each anxious care, 
 
 Forget his toils, and breathe the purest air 
 
 Of sweet serenity. No more the sound 
 
 Of thund'ring cannon shakes the trembling ground; 
 
 He listens to the lark and linnet's lay, 
 
 Enjoys the calm, as much at ease as they; 
 
84 AN ELEGY. 
 
 Bids ev'ry rude tumultuous passion cease, 
 And triumphs in the gentle arms of peace. »«. 
 
 So Rev'rend Giffbrd lays his armour by, 
 Quits the low earth, and soars above the sky. 
 Long in the field the christian soldier stood, 
 And wrestled ; not with foes of flesh and blood, 
 But pow'rs of darkness, rulers of the air, 
 Whose fiery darts ten thousand horrors bear. 
 Oft in black storms the barbed mischief flies, 
 Obscures the sun, and darkens all the skies. 
 But Gilford, great in arms, maintain'd the fight, 
 And, unappal'd march'd on, through shades of night, 
 Till brighter day arose : secure he stood, 
 In all the glorious panoply of God ; 
 And the last foe subdu'd, he q uits the place, 
 And more than conqu'ror, thro' Almighty grace, 
 To brighter, fairer worlds he wings his way, 
 Where perfect peace, and everlasting day 
 Sweetly unite ; there from Immanuel's hand, 
 The mighty monarch of that happy land ; 
 Receives the glorious palm of victory, 
 Receives a glorious welcome to the sky. 
 He tunes his golden harp, and joins the throng 
 Of white-robed saints, w r ho with melodious song 
 Incessant hymn the throne of God, and raise 
 Eternal anthems to Immanuel's praise. 
 Thy name they sing, O lamb of God ! for thou 
 Hast wash'd them in thy blood ; to tliee they bow, 
 And tell to wond'ring seraphs what thy grace 
 Hath done for sinners of the human race. 
 Seraphs shall, pleas'd, attend, then join the lay, 
 
AN ELEGY. 85 
 
 And saints and angels shall thy lore display : 
 The glorious theme shall run from choir to choir, 
 Tune ev'ry tongue, and ev'ry harp inspire. 
 Thy name shall echo thro' the courts above, 
 And all the wonders of redeeming love. 
 
 Come gentle Muse, in softest lays record 
 How liv'd, how dy'd the servant of the. Lord ; 
 Tell how, baptiz'd with heav'nly fire, he ran 
 To preach a God of love to fallen man : 
 To publish the good news of gospel grace, 
 And free salvation, to a sinful race. 
 Sav'dby this grace himself, he long'd to tell 
 The boundless glories of Immanuel. 
 Truth from his lips like softest music flow'd, 
 And all his theme the righteousness of God : 
 Sweet consolation sat upon his tongue 
 For mourning souls, by sin's sad serpent stung. 
 A son of thunder to awake the dead. 
 While Sinai's light'nings flashes over head. 
 Amidst a world of error, faithful he, 
 Zealous fof holy gospel liberty : 
 Firm as a brazen pillar, Gifford stood, 
 And liv'd, and wrote, and preach'd the truth of God i 
 At Jesu's feet he sat, and on his breast, 
 Like favor'd John, was oft indulg'd to rest : 
 He found his bliss and source of wisdom here, 
 And caught his Spirit while he sat so near. 
 Love ! heav'nly love, like a bright flame arose ; 
 Immortal love, that no extinction knows, 
 Enlarg'd his gen'rous heart, and bid it flow 
 With softest sympathy, for others' woe. 
 
§6 AN ELEGY. 
 
 There mild beneficence sat up her throne, 
 And sweet complacence seal'd him for her own : 
 The law of kindness from his lips distill'd, 
 Smil'd in his cheeks, and all his bosom fill'd : 
 And now he proves, in the bright world above, 
 His heav'n of heavens' in a Saviour's love. 
 
 Vast was his. mind ; for contemplation made 
 Vast were the pow'rs his active mind display'd. 
 Thro' nature's most stupendous works it run, 
 Measu'rd the stars, and circumscrib'd the sun ; 
 From link to link, of the great chain, descends. 
 And only with creation's ending, ends : 
 Thro' fields of science sought the deity, 
 Led by thy hand, O fair philosophy ! 
 But chiefly thine, O science all divine ! 
 To whom all ethers must the palm resign. 
 Creation proves a God, but how to know, 
 To fear, and love, and to enjoy him too.... 
 Creation here is mute ; and all the rest, 
 Can but by revelation be express'd. 
 Hail ! then, O Spirit ! who only, can display 
 To sinners' hearts, the new and living way. 
 Gifford, led on by thee, explor J d the road, 
 And learn'd to know the hidden things of God. 
 Hail ! sacred knowledge, science all divine, 
 Distinct from thee, philosophy can shine 
 But with a glow-worm lustre ; the vast mind 
 By arts and erudition most refin'd, 
 So comprehensive, as to grasp the ball ; 
 Untaught by thee, is ignorant of all. 
 For God is all.«.*and not that God to know, 
 
AN ELEGY. 87 
 
 Is blindness, death, and everlasting woe. 
 But Giffo.rd knew, and preach'd to sinners round, 
 The Saviour and salvation he had found. 
 And now from earth remov'd to yonder skies, 
 How high his wonder swells, his joys arise ; 
 His large capacious soul amaz'd, can trace 
 The God of nature, providence, and grace, 
 In all his wond'rous works ; by death set free 
 From the dark veil of dull mortality. 
 
 Soft was the hand, and gentle was the blow, 
 That summon'd Gilford from this vale below ; 
 Death like an angel came, and beck'ning stood. 
 His willing soul took wing, and soar'd to God ; 
 In realms of bliss adores his Saviour's name. 
 And bows, and sings salvation to the lamb* 
 
AN 
 
 ELEGY: 
 
 OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH OF MRS. ELIZABETH 
 DOWLAND. 
 
 Come, heav'nly Muse, and with thy own soft fire 
 Warm my cold heart; a sacred song inspire, 
 Solemn as death, sweet as the breath of morn, 
 When Sol's bright beams the eastern clouds adorn. 
 Come, sing Eliza; see the saint arise, 
 Burst fleshly bars, and soar above the skies, 
 To that bright world where joys immortal grow, 
 And life's unfathom'd waters ever flow: 
 There, robed in white, she joins the happy train, 
 The ransom'd throng for whom the lamb was slain ; 
 She shares the glories of the chosen race, 
 And basks and triumphs, in the God of grace. 
 
 How chang'd the scene ! when late in mortal clay 
 (Ere her. Redeemer call'd her soul away) 
 'Midst ills and enemies she sojourn'd here, 
 Encompass'd with infirmity and fear ; 
 As all her kindred of the dust, who stand 
 And wait a summons to the promis'd land ; 
 Then (highly favor'd) did Eliza prove 
 
AN ELEGY. 89 
 
 The kind protection of the God of love. 
 The silken bands of grace he gently threw 
 Around her youthful heart, and softly drew 
 Her young affections to the Saviour's feet, 
 Ev'n ere the days of childhood were complete. 
 Oft has her list'ning mind attentive hung 
 On the sweet music of a Langford's* tongue ; 
 When he the gospel's silver trumpet blew, 
 She heard, and in increasing knowledge grew. 
 
 ! 
 
 As when the rising sun his beams display, 
 Checks the dull shades, and bids the night give way, 
 Gradual she ushers in the roseate day ; 
 Before his flaming car the vapours fly, 
 Till gold and purple tinge the glowing sky ; 
 Nor stays his course, till with bright glories crown'd; 
 He darts his full meridian splendors round. 
 So the young saint arose from nature's night, 
 And shone with every christian virtue bright ; 
 In constant progress ran the heav'nly race, 
 By wisdom guided, and upheld by grace. 
 Vast was her mind,, and large her mental pow J rs> 
 Improv'd by study, in her leisure hours ; 
 Devoted to her God, her mem'ry stor'cf 
 With the rich treasures of the sacred word ; 
 Deep read in things divine, she shone in youth, 
 
 * Alluding to her being brought to a sense and knowledge 
 ef divine things, under the ministry of the Rev. J. Lang- 
 ford, when only eight years ©f age, who is a witness of the 
 progress she made therein, under the blessing of God; also, 
 of her trials and triumphs in general, from that time till her 
 death. 
 
 H 2 
 
90 AN ELEGY. 
 
 A living concordance of heav'nly truth. 
 Truth was her song, and all her conduct shew 
 The more she lov'd, as more of truth she knew ; 
 For she adom'd each character in life, 
 The tender mother, and the virtuous wife. 
 But ah ! these solemn ties no more can bind, 
 Nor shall Eliza longer be confin'd 
 In walls of clay ; commission'd from on high, 
 Death, like a friendly visitant, drew nigh ; 
 His usual harbingers, sickness and pain, 
 Had long oppress'd her, but oppress'd in vain 
 To raise a murm'ring sigh ; resign'd to all, 
 At Jesu's feet, see her submissive fall. 
 Satan in vain threw fiery darts around, 
 For Jesus still her strength and shield she found ; 
 In vain her fears arose, for Jesus stands 
 And shews his pierced side, his bleeding hands : 
 By faith divine she views her Saviour-God, 
 And triumphs in a pardon bought with blood : 
 Lo ! death steps in. ...the solemn stroke is giv'n.... 
 She sighs.. ..she falls asleep... .she mounts to heav'n.* 
 ***** 
 
 Hail, happy saint ! immortal bliss is thine, 
 To see thy God, and the grand chorus join 
 Of endless hallelujahs, endless praise 
 To Jesus, Son of Man, and God of grace. 
 Short was thy stay on earth, transient thy pain ; 
 
 * Before her death, she chose the text for her funeral ser- 
 mon, and the hymns to be sung at her funeral, with pleasure 
 and composure. Mr. Langford, according to her request, 
 preached a discourse on the occasion, from Rev. chap, vii, 
 ve . 14. Sunday evening, April 20, 1783, at the Chapel, in 
 Rose-lane, Ratcliff. 
 
AN ELEGY* 91 
 
 Eternal life and everlasting gain, 
 
 Thy glorious portion now ; exchange how good ! 
 
 From earth to heav'n, the paradise of God. 
 
 There thou may'st view, and sing the lamb who dy'd J 
 
 And by thy dear, thy much lov'd parent's side, 
 
 (For thou hast found her) thou may'st sit and tell 
 
 The wonders of the great Immanuel. 
 
 Enraptur'd shall thy list'ning brother stand, 
 
 And hail thee welcome to the promis'd land ; 
 
 While two bright cherubs swell thy joyful strain, 
 
 Thine heart must know thy smiling babes again ; 
 
 The dear, the darling infant, latest giv'n, 
 
 Who wing'd his way, thy harbinger to heav'n ; 
 
 These shall with thee eternal mercy prove, 
 
 And sing the God whose glorious name is love. 
 
 How shall the Muse address a weeping pair ? 
 The muse shall weep and in their sorrows share : 
 Let stoic hearts disdain to feel, but here 
 Friendship shall drop a sympathetic tear.... 
 A husband and a father ! tender names ! 
 Such sacred ties a sober sorrow claims ; 
 Think not the rising sigh, tho' sad, amiss ; 
 Tears are well shed on such a grave as this. 
 But while ye mourn, O let your thoughts arise 
 Above the eagle's flight, to yon bright skies ; 
 There your Eliza lives ; there Jesus reigns ; 
 And saints are free from sin, from cares and pains : 
 Death cannot enter there ; his pow'rful dart 
 Can stab no more, no more can wound the heart ; 
 For life, eternal life, completes the joy, 
 And not one anxious thought shall e'er annoy : 
 
92 AN ELEGY. 
 
 Lift up your eyes then to that happy place, 
 O, look again, and view the God of grace ; 
 Look, till your hearts, ascending with your eyes, 
 Learn all sublunar objects to despise ; 
 Reject the toys of time, and seek alone 
 The pleasures which surround your Father's throne, 
 Which, like a boundless ocean, shall endure 
 When death shall cease, and time shall be no more. 
 
AN 
 
 ELEGY, 
 
 OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH OF MR. CHRISTOPHER 
 SELDON SLOW, 
 
 Hail 1 happy saint; immortal splendors shine 
 Around thy head, the gift of love divine ; 
 High thron'd in bliss, above yon azure skies. 
 In sweet enjoyment of the heav'nly prize, 
 Thy ransom'd spirit stands, divinely bright, 
 Crown'd with salvation in the realms of light* 
 
 See Seldon in the morning of his days, 
 Led by parental care in wisdom's ways ; 
 By precept and example taught the road 
 Which leads from earth to heav'n, from sin to God. 
 A pious father's fervent pray'rs arise, 
 Ascends the clouds, and penetrates the skies ; 
 Well pleas'd, Jehovah hears, and grants the boon. 
 His heart's best wishes for his darling son, 
 And bids all-potent grace erect her throne 
 In Seldon's breast, and seal him all her own. 
 Lo ! winds and waves the favor'd youth convey 
 To Britain's isle in an auspicious day; 
 
94 AN ELEGT. 
 
 When Piltius blew the gospel trump ; his voice 
 Bade sinners tremble, weeping saints rejoice ; 
 To those a son of thunder, but to these 
 The gentle messenger of heav'nly peace : 
 He heard the faithful herald loud proclaim 
 The great salvation of the slaughter'd lamb; 
 He heard, and grace descended to impart 
 This great salvation to young Seldon's heart; 
 Now, like the bounding roe, with eager pace 
 He turns, he flies, to that delightful place, 
 Down Savoy's hill, Avhere saints assembled join 
 In worship pure, devotion all divine ; 
 And walks with God, while thrice the radiant sun 
 Measures ten summers, ere his work is done. 
 With ever cheerful heart and smiling face, 
 Patient he marches on his heav'nly race; 
 The widow's friend, the orphan's kind support ; 
 Constant in all that bears a good report ; 
 Benevolently good ; with all replete 
 That forms the christian character complete. 
 When death, with stingless dart call'd him away ; 
 And Gabriel bore him to the realms of day ; 
 In vain your tears, ye faithful mourners, rise, 
 Your friend is safely lodg'd within the skies : 
 Clasp'd in ImmanuePs arms, he proves the bliss 
 Of a blood-bought, eternal paradise. 
 Then cease your grief, ye saints, and onward press 
 Tow'rds the bright prize, a crown of righteousness. 
 But hark 1 from yonder cloud a whisper breaks i 
 Be hush'd, my soul, for 'tis Christopher speaks : 
 '*'" Weep not for me, my dangers all are past ; 
 I've run the race? and reach'd the goal at last ; 
 
AN ELEGY. 95 
 
 The swelling tides of Jordan threat no more ; 
 
 I'm safely landed on the wish'd for shore : 
 
 With conquest crown'd, triumphant now I stand; 
 
 In full possession of the promis'd land. 
 
 Satan and sin, no more my peace molest ; 
 
 No more shall sighs of sorrow heave my breast : 
 
 I've left the cumb'rous load of flesh behind, 
 
 And found my Jesus faithful as he's kind. 
 
 Without a cloud, my father's face I see ; 
 
 And bless the great God-man who dy'd for me. 
 
 Before his throne I fall in raptures down, 
 
 And at his feet I lay my glorious crown : 
 
 Gladly I tune my harp and voice to sing 
 
 The matchless triumphs of my matchless king ; 
 
 Adore that sov'reign love, and bless the grace 
 
 That gave me robes of perfect righteousness ; 
 
 That saw me late in nature's darkness lay, 
 
 And gave me eyes to view his gospel day. 
 
 He knew my sorrows, pity'd all my woe ; 
 
 And said to Satan, ( Loose, and let him go !' 
 
 He spake ! 'twas done ! my fetter'd soul set free. 
 
 To follow Jesus in true liberty ; 
 
 Guided by wisdom, and upheld by grace, 
 
 He led me safely thro' the wilderness: 
 
 When foil'd by foes, he ran to give me aid ; 
 
 And on his bosom would repose my head : 
 
 Beneath me spread his everlasting arm, 
 
 And hcal'd my wounds with Gilead's precious balm ; 
 
 When fainting under Sol's meridian beams, 
 
 Allay 'd my thirst with ever-living streams : 
 
 And when I hunger'd, to my soul was giv'n 
 
 The real manna, living bread from heav'n; 
 
96 AN ELEGY. 
 
 Till Jordan's verge appear'd, replete with harms ; 
 But Jesus bore me over in his arms, 
 And in his temple, on this happy shore, 
 I live a pillar, to go out no more ; 
 But join cherubic songs to bless his name, 
 And sing salvation to the slaughter 'd lamb. 
 Then weep no more for me, my friends, but rise 
 And follow Jesus to those radiant skies ; 
 There we shall meet, from sin and sorrow free, 
 And death be swallow'd up in victory." 
 
AN 
 
 ELEGY 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF MY SISTER, MRS. ELIZABETH 
 BURROWS. 
 
 Come, sad Melpomene, and aid my verse, 
 While I Eliza's gentle name rehearse ; 
 Tell how the saint in prime of life expir'd, 
 And from a world of sin and woe retir'd, 
 To dwell with Jesus in the realms of bli-ss, 
 Bought with his blood, and seal'd forever his. 
 
 Shall I repeat the sorrows of her soul ? 
 No, Jesus' precious blood has made them whole : 
 Shall I the troubles of her life relate I 
 They were so varied, num'rous, and so great, 
 That none but their appointer can declare ; 
 And those who in the like afflictions share. 
 Shall I my subject make, that heavy rod 
 Which brought her spirit home to dwell with God ? 
 Shall I unfold the melancholy scene ? 
 I would.. ..but her command steps in between: 
 She sleeps... .she's safely lodg'd in Jesus' breast; 
 Eternal silence dwell upon the rest; 
 
 i 
 
98 AN ELEGT. 
 
 Or, if it must be nam'd, then let it be 
 
 When Sol's bright beams are fled beyond the sea ; 
 
 When silver Cynthia glimmers o'er the plain, 
 
 And awful silence, midnight horrors reign ; 
 
 Or, nature hush'd, attentive audience pays 
 
 To wakeful Philomel's impassion'd lays: 
 
 The bird would cease, the moon would turn more pale^ 
 
 To hear me tell the sad, the mournful tale.... 
 
 O, did the world her tragic story know ! 
 
 The world would melt in sympathetic woe ; 
 
 No stubborn heart so hard, that could forbear 
 
 The tender tribute of a pitying tear. 
 
 'Tis past. ...the race is run, the storm is o'er, 
 
 Eliza's landed on the peaceful shore. 
 
 Never shall I forget the solemn day, 
 
 When her Redeemer kiss'd her soul away 
 
 To the pure realms of everlasting day 
 
 Victorious death his swift approaches made ; 
 
 She met him imappalled, undismay'd ; 
 
 Cried, " Come my Lord! my precious Jesus hear, 
 
 And in thy presence let me soon appear." 
 
 'Twas done ! a glorious angel stood confest,* 
 
 And bore Eliza to eternal rest. 
 
 Hail ! happy spirit, dear celestial shade, 
 
 Wreaths of unfading splendors crown thy head : 
 
 My friend ! my sister ! (if those sacred ties 
 
 Can bind immortal spirits in the skies) 
 
 How bless'd art thou ! from sin and sorrow free, 
 
 * A few moments before she expired, she pronounced the 
 word angel, with such an emphasis, as left no room for her 
 friends to doubt but what she really saw some glorious ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 ••} 
 
 
AN ELEGY. 99 
 
 No more encompass'd with infirmity ; 
 Thy tribulation-days are now no more, 
 And thou art landed on the peaceful shore 
 Where no loud storms, no threat'ning thunders roar. 
 Thou dwell' st secure in yon bright world above, 
 Where all is harmony, and joy, and love ; 
 While I on earth remain a pilgrim still, 
 Confin'd in clay, but 'tis my Father's will ; 
 When he commands, my willing soul shall fly 
 To meet Eliza in th' etherial sky : 
 There, with one voice, united praise we'll sing 
 To our Almighty Saviour, and our king ; 
 And bless his boundless grace, supremely free, 
 Thro' the long ages of eternity : 
 Who, when we both deserv'd eternal ire, 
 Snatch'd us as brands from sin's devouring fire ; 
 Shew'd our poor hearts his consolating face, 
 And made us willing subjects of his grace ; 
 And to thy hand the glorious prize has giv'n, 
 Tho' latest calPd on earth, the first to heav'n. 
 Till that bless'd hour, that wish'd-for time arrive, 
 Thy mem'ry in my heart shall still survive. 
 Swift let the moment come which shall unite 
 Thy own Maria to her friend in light ; 
 Where, in extatic bliss, our souls shall prove, 
 The heights and depths of everlasting love ! 
 
 j 
 
 «*v\/\/v\/\r 
 
AN 
 
 ELEGY: 
 
 OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH OF THE REV. DR. WOUDEj 
 
 PASTOR OF THE CALVINIST CHURCH IN THE 
 
 SAVOY. 
 
 Go, happy Woude, clap thy bright wings, and soar 
 To the bright realms of everlasting day ; 
 
 The happy seat of rest, the peaceful shore, 
 Where saints and angels tune the choral lay. 
 
 Go, take thy harp, and join the rapturous song, 
 That echoes thro' the bless'd etherial plains ; 
 
 Swell the glad anthems of the ransom'd throng, 
 In the fair world where love immortal reigns. 
 
 The gospel's silver trump long hast thou blown, 
 And pointed sinners to the living way ; 
 
 With warning voice, their guilt and danger shewn, 
 And preach'd the blood that takes their guilt away. 
 
 Long hast thou fought the battles of the Lord ; 
 
 Now, all victorious, lo ! thou bear'st the palm ; 
 Supported by the Spirit and the word ; 
 
 And leaning on the mighty Saviour's arm. 
 
AN ELEGY, 101 
 
 Steadfast thou stood'st, tho' storms tumultuous rose ; 
 
 But storms tumultuous can no more molest : 
 More than triumphant over hosts of foes ; 
 
 Now all is calm composure in thy breast. 
 
 Hail, happy Woude ! thro* many rolling years, . 
 
 The saint, by love inspir'd, wak'd with his God : 
 Now joyful in his presence, he appears 
 
 Welcome to all the glories of his Lord, 
 
 •V 
 
 Here he beholds the lamb for sinners slain, 
 
 And crown'd with blessedness extreme, shall live 
 
 Long as the great incarnate God shall reign ; 
 And prove the choicest blessings God can give. 
 
 Then cease to weep, ye follow'rs of the lamb, 
 Who mourn your pastor, lately call'd to heav'a : 
 
 If ye revere, and love his honor'd name. 
 Rejoice that to his hand the prize is giv'n. 
 
 In vain the boasting tyrant of the grave, • 
 Erects a trophy o'er his sleeping clay ; 
 
 Jesus the God, omnipotent to save, 
 
 Shall call it forth at the great rising day. 
 
 Then shall the monster death a victor owYi, 
 
 And life, immortal life forever reign : 
 Triumphant saints shall their Redeemer crown 
 
 And joy and wonder fill th' heav'nly train. 
 
 Then check your sorrows, and with steady eye 
 Behold the track your faithful pastor trod : 
 i 2 
 
102 AW ELEGY. 
 
 Pursue the heav'nly road that leads on high ; < 
 And strong in faith and patience, walk with Go 
 
 Then, when the king of terrors comes in view, 
 He shall put on a smooth and smiling face $ 
 
 He bears no terrors when he comes to you, 
 But comes the messenger of sov'reign grace 
 
 To call you from a world of sin and woe, 
 To the bright realms of everlasting day ; 
 
 Where trees of life, and endless pleasures grow, 
 Without deception, and without decay. 
 
AST 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 Ye angels who stand round the throne, 
 
 And see my ImmanueFs face ; 
 In rapturous songs make him known. 
 
 Tune, tune your soft harps to his praises 
 He form'd you the spirits you are ; 
 
 So noble, so happy, so good : 
 While others sunk down in despair, 
 
 Confirm'd by his power, you stood. 
 
 Ye saints who stand nearer than they, 
 
 And cast your bright crowns at Iris feet ; 
 His grace and his glory display ; 
 
 O tell of his love as is meet ; 
 He sav'd you from hell and the grave ; 
 
 Heransorn'd from death and despair \ 
 For you he was mighty to save ; 
 
 Almighty to bring you safe there. 
 
 O, when will the period appear, 
 When I shall unite in your song ! 
 
 I'm weary of lingering here ; 
 And I to your Saviour belong ; 
 
104 AN HYMN. 
 
 I'm fetter 'd, and chain'd up in clay, 
 I struggle and pant to be free ; 
 
 I long to be soaring away, 
 
 My God and my Saviour to see. 
 
 I want to put on my attire, 
 
 Wash'd white in the blood of the lamb ; 
 I want to be one of your choir, 
 
 And tune my sweet harp to his name : 
 I want....O, I want to be there, 
 
 (Where sorrow and sin bid adieu) 
 Your joy and your friendship to share, 
 
 To wonder and worship with you. 
 
AN 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 Thou soft flowing Kedron, by thy silver stream, 
 Our Saviour at midnight, when Cynthia's pale beam 
 Shone bright on thy waters, would frequently stray, 
 And lose in thy murmurs, the toils of the day. 
 
 How damp were the vapours that fell on his head, 
 How hard was his pillow, how humble his bed ; 
 The angels astonish'd, grew sad at the sight, 
 And follow'd their master with solemn delight 
 
 O garden of Olivet, dear honor'd spot ! 
 Thy name and thy wonders shall ne'er be forgot ; 
 The theme most transporting to seraphs above ; 
 The triumph of sorrow ! the triumph of love ! 
 
 'Twas here he engag'd with the lion of hell, 
 Beneath his strong arm all our enemies fell : 
 'Twas here he encounter'd with infinite wrath, 
 And conquer'd by love that was stronger than death* 
 
 Come saints and adore him, come bow at his feet ; 
 O give him the glory and praise that is meet : 
 Let joyful hosannahs unceasing arise, 
 And join the grand chorus that gladdens the skies. 
 
EPISTLE 
 
 TO AN ABSENT FRIEND : 
 
 THE ENQUIRY ADDRESSED TO MIRANDA'S GUARDIAN 
 ANGEL. 
 
 Oentle spirit, tell me where 
 
 My Miranda leves to stray ? 
 Is she not thy watchful care 
 
 Thro' the night, and all the day ? 
 Does she wander through the grove, 
 
 List'ning to the linnet's lay, 
 Musing on diviner love 
 
 Than creation can display I 
 
 Is she roving o'er the field, 
 
 Biess'd with friendship's pleasing voice, 
 Friendship that can pleasure yield, 
 
 Crowning all her other joys ? 
 Is the raging main in view, 
 
 While he throws his billows high ? 
 This, all this is known to you, 
 
 Wing'd descendant from the sky. 
 
AN EPISTLE. 107 
 
 Gentle spirit, fly, O fly, 
 
 And to my Miranda bear 
 On thy downy wings, a sigh ; 
 
 Softly whisper in her ear ; 
 Say, Maria longs to meet, 
 
 Longs to see her friend again : 
 Joys of meeting must be sweet. 
 
 If to part be such a pain. 
 
 Fly, ye moments, haste the time, 
 
 When to yon bright world above. 
 We with joyful feet shall climb. 
 
 Clad with glory, fiiFd with love ; 
 Then united, side by side, 
 
 Never, never more to part, 
 Endless years shall not divide 
 
 My Miranda from my heart. 
 
 Thro' the golden streets we'll stray. 
 
 View our Father's smiling face? 
 In the realms of heav'nly day, 
 
 Sing the wonders of his grace ; 
 Sin and sorrow left behind, 
 
 Peace and joy shall sweetly flow 
 In our happy, happy minds, 
 
 Come, Miranda, let us go.... 
 
TO 
 
 MIRANDA : 
 
 AN INVITATION TO LONDON, IN SEPTEMBER. 
 
 Come, my Miranda, come away, 
 The summer's o'er, no longer stay ; 
 The mists arise, the rains descend ; 
 Come, to the wishes of thy friend. 
 The radiant sun in feeble rays, 
 A short-liv'd splendor now displays : 
 From the bleak north, the winds arise, 
 And bluster through the gloomy skies : 
 The fallen leaves bestrew the ground ; 
 No more the sweet, the cheerful sound 
 Of woodlark's soothing song I hear, 
 No more the flow'ry train appear, 
 But winter spreads his dreary sway ; 
 Come, my Miranda, come away. 
 
 'Tis friendship calls, she waits for thee; 
 And longs her absent friend to see: 
 For thee the Muse has strung her lyre, 
 And glows with soft poetic fire, 
 (A sacred flame, that still shall rise, 
 For Jo, 'twas kindled itfthe skies) 
 To meet Miranda with a song, 
 For joy to friendship must belong. 
 
AN INVITATION. 109 
 
 Tho* sad the dull declining year, 
 Does in her wint'ry dress appear. 
 May you enjoy a mental spring, 
 And hear the heav'nly turtle sing : 
 Bright may the sun of righteousness, 
 Shine in his glorious beams of grace, 
 Dispelling every cloud away, 
 And fill your soul with gospel-day ; 
 While from on high, celestial dews, 
 And gentle show'rs their aid diffuse. 
 To make the fir and myrtle bloom, 
 And all the vintage breathe perfume, 
 That my Miranda may appear 
 In robes of summer all the year. 
 May rosy health with cheerful eye, 
 Sent from the monarch of the sky, 
 Attend to crown your future days, 
 And all your happy life be praise : 
 Praise to the God of boundless love, 
 Who keeps for you a seat above ; 
 Whose gracious providential eye 
 Shall still your ev'ry want supply. 
 Till Jordan's swelling streams are past, 
 And safely you arrive at last 
 In the bright world of heav'nly day, 
 Where, sin and sorrow flown away, 
 I shall my dear Miranda meet ; 
 Then, at our kind Redeemer's feet, 
 We'll cast our crowns, and love, and sing 
 Salvation to our God and king ; 
 And in his temple, on that shore, 
 Be pillars, to go out no more. 
 
AN 
 
 EVENING THOUGHT 
 
 ADDRESSED TO A FRIEND, 
 
 Still is the hour, the lamp of day 
 In other skies his beams display ; 
 The silver moon with sober light 
 And gentle influence crowns the night : 
 Hush'd be the passions of my soul, 
 There let no jarring tempests roll, 
 No gloomy clouds portentous low'r, 
 But all be placid, as this hour ; 
 Calm as the wave where halcyons play, 
 When Sol unfolds his brightest ray. 
 Well may sweet peace delight to dwell 
 With souls redeem'd from death and hell. 
 Tho' winds may rise, and tempests blow, 
 And hell engage to work them woe ; 
 Jesus Jehovah reigns on high, 
 He views them with a father's eye ; 
 His hand supports and guides them thro*, 
 In spite of all that hell can do. 
 He smiles, and all their sorrows cease ; 
 He speaks the tempest into peace i 
 
AN EVENING THOUGHT. Ill 
 
 Peace, like a river, flows within, 
 
 From a sweet sense of pardon'd sin : 
 
 Releas'd from guilt, releas'd from fear, 
 
 They find their great deliverer near ; 
 
 They bless his name, they sing his love^ 
 
 And long to see his face above. 
 
 To you, my friend, I need not say, 
 
 This is the Saviour's gracious way, 
 
 By sweet experience taught, you know 
 
 His dealings with his saints below : 
 
 Thrice happy thou, indulg'd to sit 
 
 With Mary at the master's feet ; 
 
 Nor think my Muse presumes to bring 
 
 To thee instruction on her wing ; 
 
 She would but gratulate thy bliss, 
 
 And lisp his praises whose she is : 
 
 But ah ! she faints, unequal quite 
 
 To such a task : the sons of light, 
 
 Who bow before Jehovah's face, 
 
 Can best proclaim his matchless grace ; 
 
 Yet I would fain attempt to sing 
 
 In humble lays, the heav'nly king, 
 
 And tune my tongue, and strike my lyre, 
 
 In echo to th' angelic choir. 
 
 Ye ling'ring hours, O speed away ; 
 
 Time, mend thy pace, and bring the day, 
 
 When freed from flesh, and freed from sin, 
 
 I shall the heav'nly song begin ; 
 
 And tell the shining hosts above, 
 
 The wonders of redeeming love; 
 
 With them adore Immanuel's name, 
 
 And sing salvation to the lamb* 
 
112 AN EVENING THOUGHT. 
 
 Methinks, my friend, I hear thee say, 
 " With patience wait the coming day; 
 'Tis near, 'tis hast'ning on apace, 
 As fast as time can run his race : 
 Soon shall the shadows flee away, 
 And yield to bright eternal day: 
 The sun, and moon, and stars shall fall, 
 And one wide ruin swallow all 
 The works of nature ; then the bless'd, 
 Shall enter into sacred rest : 
 Then shall we tune our harps, and sing 
 The triumphs of the heav'nly king ; 
 Prove the rich depths of boundless grace ; 
 Adore his love, and see his face : 
 Till then, let faith and patience wait, 
 Constant attendants at his gate ; 
 Submissive, bow beneath his rod, 
 While flesh confines us from our God." 
 
MEDITATION 
 
 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 Wisdom divine, O aid me While I sing 
 The boundless wonders of redeeming love ! 
 A theme so grand, what mortal thought can trace, 
 Or, unassisted, sound the mighty deep, 
 Where length, and depth, and breadth, are swallow'dup 
 In ocean fathomless ? Thou, mighty love, 
 Surpassing knowledge ; angels know thee not 
 In full dimension, tho' celestial beings : 
 How then shall I, a child of dust, a worm, 
 A creature of a day, explore thy wonders I 
 Wisdom divine, O aid my vent'rous song ; 
 To thee I call, nor other Muse invoke ; 
 Thou only art sufficient to instruct, 
 To purge the darksome films that cloud the sight. 
 And chace my native ignorance away- 
 Come heav'nly light, thou sun of righteousness, 
 With thy delightful love-inspiring beams, 
 Arise and shine in beauties all thine own, 
 Upon my ravish'd heart, that at thy feet. 
 In humble, awful wonder and delight, 
 k 2 
 
114 REDEMPTION. 
 
 My soul may lowly bow, and worship there, 
 
 The mystic self-existent deity. 
 
 Shine on my mind, good Spirit from on high, 
 
 And let the meditations of my heart 
 
 Be influenc'd by thee : guide thou my pen, 
 
 While I record ImmanueFs precious name, 
 
 And sing of all his dying love to man. 
 
 Thou mighty Saviour ! where shall I begin 
 To trace thy wonders ! Can eternity 
 Spread a deep veil upon thy boundless love < 
 No ! through eternity I look, and view 
 My name engrav'd upon Immanuel's breast. 
 I see thee thron'd in majesty sublime, 
 The self-existent jah ! and lo, thine heart 
 Glows with an ardent flame of love to me. 
 When thy great fiat bade a world arise ! 
 With wond'rous beauty crown'd ; and from the dust 
 A noble creature form'd, and caird him man, 
 And on his soul stamp'd immortailty ! 
 How burst thy glories forth, and all the God 
 Shone in creation's mighty work : but lo ! 
 A greater work I sing, and wond'ring see 
 Redemption rise: thou monarch of the skies ! 
 Thy greatest, noblest work. When sin had marr'd 
 Thy fair creation, spoil'd thy creature man, 
 I see thee from thy lofty throne descend, 
 (Where burning seraphs hymn thy glorious name) 
 And manifest in flesh, on earth appear: 
 Angelic voices sung the Saviour's birth, 
 And hail'd Messiah, consecrated king ! 
 Thou in my place, my rooim and stead, appear'd 
 
REDEMPTION. 115 
 
 To bear my sin's accumulated load 
 
 Of guilt and shame, of agony and death, 
 
 In thy own body, on the cursed tree. 
 
 See, O my soul! thy bleeding Saviour see 
 
 In sad Gethsemane; bending beneath 
 
 The weight of sin and sorrow not his own : 
 
 See from the garden to the judgment-hall 
 
 Of throned Herod, where his back endures 
 
 The stripes, the chastisement, the heavy scourge 
 
 Due to thy great rebellion! see him stand 
 
 The meek and lowly lamb ; nor only so, 
 
 But heaven's Almighty, everlasting king, 
 
 Bound to a pillar, smarting under strokes 
 
 By creatures' hands inflicted ! trace him thence, 
 
 In sad progression on to Golgotha ! 
 
 There view him hanging on th' uplifted cross, 
 
 Th' imperial ensign of the christian world! 
 
 Behold his veins out-pour a crimson flood! 
 
 Behold him sigh in anguish infinite ! 
 
 Behold the flood-gates of Almighty wrath 
 
 Set open wide, and all their treasur'd stores, 
 
 Pour'd like a deluge on the Saviour's head, 
 
 In such a sea, so long, so broad, so deep, 
 
 That finite knowledge ne'er can fathom it ; 
 
 But, O thou bleeding Lord ! thou slaughter'd lamb ! 
 
 Thro' thy rich grace, I know 'twas all for me ! 
 
 The sun Asham'd to see his Maker die, 
 
 Hung his bright head in black: untimely night 
 
 Apall'd the sons of men with strange dismay. 
 
 There hung my Saviour, and my sacrifice, 
 
 A whole burnt offering offered up to God, 
 
 A righteous Saviour, such an offering, 
 
 
Utt REDEMPTION. 
 
 That in the nostrils of the great i am, 
 
 Smells infinitely sweet. Behold in him, 
 
 Jehovah is well pleas'd: no anger now 
 
 Dwells in his bosom, 'gainst the happy souls 
 
 Redeem'd by blood. Thus sav'd by boundless grace. 
 
 Lift up your eyes, ye follow'rs of the lamb: 
 
 And thou, my soul, behold thy risen Lord, 
 
 Thy righteous advocate, thy great salvation. 
 
 When sunk in fears, and doubts, and griefs, O think 
 
 He lives to plead thy cause before the throne. 
 
 Remember God hath sworn, that on the earth 
 
 No more destroying waters shall prevail; 
 
 So hath he sworn, that on the sons of grace, 
 
 No storms of wrath shall fall : at his right hand, 
 
 The rainbow of the better covenant, 
 
 Jesus, the surety stands ; he spreads his hands, 
 
 His pierced hands! he points to Calvary, 
 
 And says, " Remember Father how I died, 
 
 And shed my blood for sinners." Pleas'd he hears 
 
 And listens to the well-beloved's voice ; 
 
 For righteousness and peace are sweetly join'd, 
 
 And truth and mercy reconcil'd in him. 
 
 O may we so remember him, and view 
 
 When rising storms affright us, that dear pledge. 
 
 That faithful witness ; so by faith behold ; 
 
 That through the storms of life, the vale of death. 
 
 We may hold fast our confidence of hope, 
 
 And as we journey through this wilderness, 
 
 Find him our guide and pilot all the way. 
 
 Till Jordan pass'd, to that good land we come, 
 
 Which flows with milk and honey, food divine* 
 
 The pilgrim's rest is there, his final rest : 
 
REDEMPTION. 117 
 
 There blooms the tree of life, life without death, 
 Joy without sorrow, pleasure without pain, 
 Saints without sin, and Christ without a cross : 
 There the redeem'd, the ransom'd of the Lord, 
 Shall freely bask in pleasures all divine : 
 There they shall prove the heights and depths of grace, 
 What Jesus purchas'd, and what God can give, 
 Thro' countless days, thro* years of young delight, 
 Unnumber'd ages, vast eternity !.... 
 
 But stop, my soul, let my attentive mind 
 Return and dwell upon that wond'rous word, 
 All-gracious and divine, which from the lips 
 Of thine expiring Lord, broke sweetly forth : 
 There's music in it, melody more soft 
 Than dwells on angels' tongues, when fir'tl with lore 
 They tune their songs, to praise the great i am : 
 O, 'tis a word can cheer the drooping heart, 
 Dispel the gloom of black despair, and lay 
 The loudest storm to calmest, sweetest peace, 
 And turn the darkest night to brightest day. 
 
 " 'Tis finish'd I" saith thy dying Lord, O hark ! 
 And let sweet echo catch the gentle sound, 
 And waft, ' 'tis finish'd !' back upon thine ear. 
 Here then, believer, on this tree of life 
 Grows all thine happiness, celestial fruit : 
 By Jesus' death, the righteous law no more 
 Denounces curses on thy ransom'd head j 
 He died a curse, to take thy curse away, 
 Cancel thy sins, blot out thy trespasses, 
 And by the merit of his sacred blood, 
 
HS REDEMPTIONS 
 
 Atonement ample, satisfaction full, 
 Yea, more than adequate for all thy crimes, 
 To justice infinite bring in and pay. 
 Thy debt is finish'd then ; God at his hands 
 Hath payment full receiv'd, and asks no more, 
 But gives thee full acquittance, free discharge. 
 Rejoice, ye heav'ns, and let the earth be glad, 
 While sacred truth declares the joyful sound 
 Of justice satisfy'd, of wrath appeas'd, 
 And sin forgiven through a Saviour's blood. 
 Nor only so, but righteousness divine, 
 Eternally complete, is now brought in ; 
 Thy surety's spotless nature, holy life, 
 Gave such obedience to the righteous law, 
 As magnify 'd and rais'd its honors high, 
 Beyond addition bright : this glorious robe, 
 He to thy soul imputes ; and lo, well pleas'd, 
 The Father views thee in his best lov'd Son, 
 And sees thee all complete : he gracious smiles, 
 And in his hand holds out a starry crown 
 To grace thy temples ; that celestial bliss, 
 The righteousness of God, demands for thee, 
 Who in this fine white linen art array 'd. 
 
 What bold accuser now dares bring a charge 
 Of condemnation ? who shall dare condemn 
 Whom God acquits ? 'tis God that justifies, 
 'Tis the anointed Saviour, who redeem'd 
 And bought his people with so dear a price ; 
 'Tis he absolves their guilt, and smiles again 
 In mild complaisance, reconcilement sweet. 
 No more can Satan urge his cancell'd claim ; 
 
REDEMPTION. 119 
 
 His claim from sin arose ; that put away, 
 
 The awful debt discharge, the jailor's pow'r 
 
 Ceases of course ; the rescu'd prisoner, 
 
 The ransom'd debtor may of right demand 
 
 Deliverance from his pow'r, from chains and woe % 
 
 Sav'd from the horrors of his prison-house, 
 
 By grace unfathom'd, mercy all divine. 
 
 And here, believer, may thy soul rejoice ; 
 
 Jesus hath bruis'd the serpent's head ; hath crush'd 
 
 And spoiFd him of his pow'r ; hath snatch'd the prey* 
 
 The lawful captive from his dreadful jaws, 
 
 To crown with full salvation, boundless stores 
 
 Of grace on earth, and glory in the skies : 
 
 For by thy surety's death the gates of heav'n 
 
 Are wide expanded to receive thy soul. 
 
 No more cherubic fires wave awful round, 
 
 To guard the blissful paradise of God, 
 
 And thine approach forbid ; for lo ! a new, 
 
 A living, wond'rous way is open wide, 
 
 Through a Redeemer's side, to all the bliss 
 
 Which crowns our better Eden, where the tree 
 
 Of life, immortal grows, whose sacred fruit 
 
 We may pluck off unchid, and eat, and live 
 
 A life divine, among the sons of God ; 
 
 Bless'd with our Father's presence, joy sublime, 
 
 And sweet communion with the God of love ; 
 
 Nor fear a second fall. Thou matchless friend ! 
 
 Thou great immortal lover of my soul i 
 
 Say, with what songs shall I approach thy throne, 
 
 Or how adore thee in triumphant praise ? 
 
 O thou, who died in agony extreme ! 
 
 O thou, who rose victorious over hell ! 
 
120 REDEMPTION. 
 
 My Saviour and my God, teach me to sing 
 
 Thy boundless glories in immortal strains. 
 
 Let heav'n and earth a joyful anthem raise, 
 
 Let seraphs hymn thee, and thy saints adore, 
 
 In songs of grateful praise ; let echo catch 
 
 And waft the joyful sound from pole to pole : 
 
 Bear it, ye winds, in your loud roar, to heav'n ; 
 
 And gentle zephyrs, on your silken wings. 
 
 Let universal nature shout aloud 
 
 In one grand chorus to exalt thy name ; 
 
 And spread redemption's mighty wonders far, 
 
 From east to west, from north to south, till time 
 
 Expires ; then everlasting years 
 
 Shall swell the triumphs of redeeming love. 
 
 sys/\^V\X\/\^ 
 
WALK AT ENFIELD, 
 
 The clock's struck three, and Io ! Philander comes 
 
 True (as the needle to the northern pole) 
 
 To his appointed hour, by friendship led, 
 
 To guide Miranda and her friend, in paths 
 
 Of smiling verdure, where before their feet 
 
 Had never trod : he for a while lays by 
 
 Sublimer studies, to enjoy the sweets 
 
 Gay summer hangs on every bush and spray ; 
 
 To view great nature in her rich attire, 
 
 And, in converse agreeable, beguile 
 
 A cheerful hour, stol'n from the sciences. 
 
 Calm is the day, unruffled by a storm ; 
 Th' etherial heavens wear their azure robe ; 
 Phoebus at times puts forth his golden beams 
 And smiles in orient glories on the earth ; 
 Then, lest the weary traveller should faint 
 Beneath his sult'ry ray, kindly withdraws, 
 And leaves a cool refreshing shade around* 
 Hark ! how the little warblers of the grove 
 Attune their softest songs to charm the ear 
 And soothe the heart with sweetest melody s 
 As thro* green alleys, o'er the flow'ry lawn 
 
122 A WALK. 
 
 We rove, delighted with the beauteous scene, 
 
 Or up the gently rising hill ascend, 
 
 Or climb the steeper heights with labouring steps ; 
 
 Sweet labour, where fatigue is overpaid 
 
 By such a prospect, such delights as these ; 
 
 Peace, heavenly peace, triumphant in the soul, 
 
 And the dear voice of friendship in the ear ; 
 
 The laughing vallies, and the grove-crown'd hills, 
 
 And universal nature smiling round, 
 
 All gay, all happy.. ..how the distant town 
 
 Sinks from cur view ; low in a vale it lies, 
 
 Half hid in woods : hail, lovely shades ! the seat 
 
 Of contemplation and retirement sweet ; 
 
 But for a while, farewell, we bid adieu, 
 
 Till the fair star of evening calls us home 
 
 To the lov'd spot where God and Paulus dwell, 
 
 And science and religion call their own. 
 
 The wide spread heath, the waving forest crowns 
 
 The distant prospect ; hills o'er hills ascend 
 
 Sublimely grand, and kiss the bending skies, 
 
 While the clear river draws its humid train 
 
 In soft meanders thro' the verdant meads ; 
 
 Diffusing health and fruitfulness around. 
 
 Here might we dwell, and with astonish'd eyes 
 
 Behold creation in her fairest dress : 
 
 Here might we dwell, and with admiring hearts 
 
 Adore the God whose boundless glories shine 
 
 Above, beneath, around : but objects new 
 
 Invite us.. ..then adieu ye grove-crown'd hills, 
 
 The wide spread heath, the river's humid train* 
 
 And humble Enfield, dwelling in the vale.... 
 
 Lo ! as we turm. fresh wonders rise in view, 
 
A WALK. 123 
 
 EnamelPd meadows spangled o'er with gold, 
 
 Or green with corn just rising in the ear ; 
 
 While gentle zephyr, on his silken wings, 
 
 Bears the rich fragrance of the new-mown hay. 
 
 And see, in yonder field a rural train 
 
 With sprightly vigor, active diligence, 
 
 Pursue their wholesome toil : they toss and turn 
 
 The tender grass, that ripens as it lies 
 
 In the bright splendors of the lamp of day ; 
 
 Placid and cheerful as a summer's eve : 
 
 And lest their spirits fail before the hour 
 
 Of eve proclaim their pleasant labors o'er, 
 
 They chat, they smile, and with united voice 
 
 They speed the lagging moments with a song* 
 
 But say, Philander, who is that appears 
 Lord of the pastures ; on a goodly steed 
 He sits, but with a melancholy air 
 Surveys unmov'd the beauties of the scene, 
 And clad in sable colour'd weeds of woe ? 
 5 Tis Clio, late the happy, late the bless'd, 
 If aught below the skies can bear the name 
 Of bliss or happiness ; but ah ! 'twas frail ! 
 A fleeting joy ! death, with an envious frown, 
 High rear'd a fatal dart, and lodg'd it deep 
 In his Lucinda's bosom ; in her tomb 
 Lies Clio's bliss : in vain the charming spring 
 And rose-crown'd summer smile, in vain for him 
 Ten thousand sweets arise ; his sadden'd heart 
 Cheerless remains : so Jacpb mourn'd his son. 
 And the sweet Psalmist his lov'd Jonathan. 
 
124 A WALK. 
 
 See, down the hill's slope side, a traveller pass ; 
 A weak old man, infirm with age and care ; 
 Tott'ring and slow, his aspect spare and mean 
 Awakes the tend'rest pow'rs of sympathy. 
 Ah, feeble age ! and must thou groan beneath 
 Th' oppressive wallet, and penurious want ? 
 But soft....methinks, upon a nearer vie,w, 
 'Tis GraspalFs little soul inspires that frame 
 So lank and meagre ; let compassion wipe 
 Her tearful eye, and indignation rise, 
 Gen'rous displeasure, 'gainst the meanest si», 
 The meanest passion ; sordid love of gold. 
 Graspall counts o'er his bags, but not enjoys 
 The treasures they contain ; forbid to use 
 Life's cordial sweets, by avarice forbid ; 
 He counts his thousands, and he yet is poor. 
 
 See how the sprightly boy with nimble feet 
 Trips lightly on, still singing as he goes ; 
 His heart is blithe, content sits smiling there. 
 While ruddy health with bright vivacity 
 Glows in his cheek, and sparkles in his eye* 
 Now to the summit of the hill arriv'd, 
 How fair a prospect opens to our view ! 
 The fiow'ry vale beneath, the gurgling brook 
 Whose gentle murmurs soothe the list'ning ear : 
 On either hand the chequer'd meads that rise 
 Or fall, iri hill or dell, as best dispos'd 
 By the great Maker's hand, in that bless'd day 
 When angels sung creation's mighty work 
 To harps of gold. ...See thro' the distant woods 
 A glassy lake appear ; how smooth, how calm, 
 
A WAIJC. 125 
 
 Unruffied by a breeze : the vale invites, 
 
 Let us descend and taste its humble charms. 
 
 Soft be our steps, and watchful be our eyes, 
 
 Lest with a thoughtless mind and heedless feet 
 
 We crush the busy tribes that swarm around, 
 
 And bury millions in a foot of sand. 
 
 " Go to the ant, thou sluggard/' saith the wise, 
 
 " And in her school learn prudence :" how they toil ; 
 
 Pleas'd with the prospect of a sunny day, 
 
 They quit their cities, and to labor throng 
 
 In num'rous armies, wise to gather food. 
 
 The bounties which the God of providence 
 
 From his all-gracious hand scatters around? 
 
 Amply to fill their winter's magazines ; 
 
 That when the lowering skies and driving storms 
 
 Coniine them to their little earthly cells? 
 
 The free community may feel no want, 
 
 But live in plenty, tho' without the sun. 
 
 Here let us sit, beneath this aged oak. 
 Whose wide spread branches shade the gentle stream : 
 Whose waters, softly flowing, scarce forbid 
 The traveler's foot to reach the distant side* 
 Hark ! how the nightingale and robin pour 
 Their softest notes, their sweetest music forth 
 To entertain us, from the neighb'ring grove. 
 The cuckoo too his constant theme repeats ; 
 Ah, welcome stranger ! my enraptur'd ear 
 Shall listen to thy voice with more delight 
 Than all the feather'd choristers beside^ 
 But while the airy serenade proceeds, 
 l 2 
 
126 A WALK. 
 
 Come, gentle friends, and let us join the lay ; 
 
 Let hill and valley sing, and all the race 
 
 Of creatures join in one harmonious song, 
 
 To hail the glorious God, whose fiat calPd 
 
 Creation forth from the chaotic womb 
 
 Of night and darkness to illustrious birth ; 
 
 And bade it shine a noble universe, 
 
 Worthy the mighty builder. Raise we still 
 
 A higher note, a more triumphant strain ; 
 
 Jesus, the mighty builder of the skies, 
 
 Who calls the earth the footstool of his throne, 
 
 Bow'd his majestic head on Calvary, 
 
 And cry'd, " 'Tisfinish'd :" then redemption rose. 
 
 Redemption all triumphant, all divine. 
 
 Let his redeem'd exult, with boundless joy, 
 
 Sing the Creator, the Redeemer God. 
 
 High let their songs arise and pierce the cloudy 
 
 And join the hallelujahs of the skies, 
 
 Where our Immanuel reigns enthron'd in light, 
 
 The God of glory and the God of grace. 
 
 Farewell, sweet fields, thou gurgling brook, adieu ! 
 And all ye airy warblers of the grove : 
 The setting sun adorns the western clouds 
 With gay magnificence, and the cool eve 
 With her fair rising star calls us away 
 To other scenes, still pleasing, still serene ; 
 Ft>r beauteous is the spot where Paulus dwells. 
 And humble Enfield, dwelling in the vale, 
 Partakes the bounties of her Maker's hand 
 In rich profusion. See her spires arise? 
 
A WALK, l&T 
 
 Half hid in verdant groves ; how bright they glow 
 In SoPs departing rays : yon ancient pile, 
 Whose venerable tow'rs from age to age, 
 Sacred to heav'n, have brav'd the shocks of time ; 
 There heroes sleep ; no more the clang of war 
 Disturbs their slumbers ; may their dust repose 
 In peaceful silence, till the trump of God 
 Awake the world and bid it sleep no more ! 
 
 Behold yon pensive traveler silent stand, 
 Leaning like Jacob, on his oaken staff ; 
 He bends beneath the weight of num'rous years, 
 And muses o'er a thousand by-past scenes, 
 Which faithful memory revives to view, 
 And ev'ry thought is foilow'd by a sigh. 
 So, when oxxv fainting spirits tire and lag, 
 As on we journey up the heavenly road, 
 May the firm promise of a faithful God 
 Support our steps ; there may we safely lean 
 By steadfast faith, and rest our weary souls, 
 Look backward on the wonders of his hand, 
 Look forward to the crown beyond the veil, 
 And ev'ry rising thought be wing'd with joy, 
 O'erflowing gratitude, and humble love ; 
 Till from the skies his winged messengers 
 Descend, to bear us to our Father God ; 
 To walk the golden streets, to gather fruit 
 From life's immortal tree, and prove the bliss 
 That blossoms in the paradise of God ; 
 A brighter paradise than Adam lost.... 
 An Eden, purchas'd by a Saviour's blood. 
 
128 A WALK, 
 
 There shall we sing his boundless name, and fall 
 
 Before his throne in eestacies divine ; 
 
 No more to sin and sigh*.. .to part no more, 
 
 But in immortal triumphs to exult 
 
 With the bright sons of morn 5 as bright as they ; 
 
 While everlasting ages roll along. 
 
AN 
 
 ODE: 
 
 WRITTEN AT THE REQUEST OF A FRIENJ*. 
 
 Let universal nature bring 
 
 An humble tribute to her king, 
 
 Jesus the God, who bade the earth 
 
 Exist, and gave creation birth. 
 
 High on his glorious throne he reigns ; 
 
 And all the bright etherial plains 
 
 Resound the triumphs of his name : 
 
 Lo ! glad archangels shout his fame : 
 
 With harps of gold, the ransom'd throng 
 
 Exulting, swell the choral song ; 
 
 Still higher let your notes arise, 
 
 Ye winged armies of the skies, 
 
 Adore him through eternal days, 
 
 With growing ardor, boundless praise. 
 
 Praise him, bright Sol, refulgent king of day, 
 When thy first rising beam dispels the night ; 
 
 When from thy flaming car, the noontide ray 
 Pours on the universe a flood of light. 
 
 The moon and stars shall catch the glorious theme ; 
 Hear it, ye planets, as ye roll along 
 
130 AN ODE. 
 
 In boundless space ; delighted, hear of him,, 
 And join to praise him in a noble song. 
 
 Ye little warblers of the grove, 
 Ye his care and kindness prove ; 
 As ye fly from spray to spray, 
 Join the universal lay. 
 Ye who rove the forest thro', 
 His kind hand provides for you ; 
 'Tis by his Almighty power, 
 Lambkins bleat, and lions roar : 
 Earth, and seas, and air, unite, 
 Gloomy darkness, orient light, 
 Rosy summer, cheerful spring, 
 Sheave-crown'd autumn too shall sing ; 
 Winter with his stormy face, 
 Shall adore the God of grace ; 
 Every season, every thing, 
 Bless the great immortal king : 
 Low at the feet of Jesus they shall fall, 
 And own him God, and sovereign Lord of all. 
 
 Saints redeemed by his blood, 
 Sing your great redeeming God. 
 Come, Philander, join the lay, 
 Help his glories to display : 
 Let us raise our voices higher 
 Than the great angelic choir ; 
 They adore their Maker-God- 
 But we bless him for his blood : 
 He is theirs, and he is ours ; 
 Praise him with thy noblest powers, 
 
SOLILOQUY. 
 
 In yonder heav'nly courts, those realms of light. 
 
 Where love, and joy, and peace forever reign, 
 
 The sons of morn, the great seraphic choirs, 
 
 Tune their soft harps and raise their loftiest notes, 
 
 To hymn the great i am.. ..Melodious anthems 
 
 Sound thro' the arches of th' etherial sky, 
 
 And all the theme is, holy, holy, holy 
 
 Lord God Omnipotent !.... Before his throne 
 
 The white rob'd saints, the ransom'd of the Lord, 
 
 The trophies of his grace, enraptur'd bow, 
 
 And lowly reverent, before his footstool. 
 
 Adoring cast their amaranthine crowns, 
 
 And join th' angelic song, " To him (they cry) 
 
 Who lov'd us, bought us, wash'd us in his bloocj, 
 
 And made us kings, and holy priests to God ; 
 
 To him be glory, honor, power and praise, 
 
 Eternally ascrib , d. , \...And doth his praise 
 
 Employ alone the throng beatific ? 
 
 Is earth indeed so far removed from heav'n, 
 
 That from her altars no bright flames can rise,, 
 
 Of sacred love, and voices gratulant ? 
 
 O no ! he has a company below, 
 
 Of royal priests, who offer daily songS 
 
132 A SOLILOqUY. 
 
 Of praise before his throne ; a thankful song 
 
 From ev'ry corner of the peopled earth 
 
 Rises, sonorous in Jehovah's ear ; 
 
 For they ascribe salvation to his name, 
 
 And sing the glories of the bleeding lamb. 
 
 Nor does Jehovah's praise aspire alone, 
 
 From creatures born to immortality ; 
 
 The lesser works of his Almighty hand, 
 
 With silent worship pay their homage due, 
 
 In swift obedience to his potent word. 
 
 Majestic Sol, bright emperor of day, 
 
 Shines forth his glory in his splendid beams. 
 
 The radiant moon, walking in brightness, waits 
 
 To rise and set at his supreme command; 
 
 At his great word, nor sun, nor moon arose 
 
 For three diurnal stages, on the land 
 
 Of clouded Egypt, but resign'd their sway 
 
 To night impenetrable ; emblem sad 
 
 Of that black veil, that more than midnight gloom 
 
 Which overspread their minds, estrang'd from God. 
 
 By his authority, these shining orbs 
 
 Forsook their course, and to the voice of man 
 
 Listen'd attentive, when the mighty chief, 
 
 Divinely mission'd, led old Jacob's sons 
 
 To honorable war ; the sun stood still, 
 
 And silver Cynthia, in the flow'ry vale 
 
 Of pleasant Ajalon....So the bright train, 
 
 Which spangle o'er yon azure firmament, 
 
 In swift obedience to Jehovah's will, 
 
 Pour'd all their baleful influence on the head 
 
 Of death-devoted Sisera, the foe 
 
 Of God, and of his people.. ..Heav'n, and esfrtfa, 
 
A SOLILOQUY. 1 33 
 
 Fire, hail, and snow, and all created things, 
 Pay ready homage to the sov'reign word 
 Of their Almighty king, and in full choir, 
 Tho' wanting voice, echo the grateful sound 
 
 Of universal hallelujah 
 
 List, O my soul ! the empirian heav'ns, 
 
 With songs of triumph, voices jubilant, 
 
 Sound thro' unbounded space. ...Angelic choirs, 
 
 And thy redeemed brethren join the theme, 
 
 And wilt thou silent stand ?....0 catch the flame, 
 
 The holy flame of love and gratitude, 
 
 To the Almighty monarch of the skies, 
 
 Thy Father and thy friend !..... What names are these ! 
 
 How big with blessings.. ..Shall a worm of earth 
 
 Thus honor'd, dare refuse to join the song 
 
 Of " Worthy is the lamb !" Awake, my soul, 
 
 And all my powers awake, to celebrate 
 
 The God of glory, and the God of grace, 
 
 Who form'd the heav'ns.. ,,and bled on Calvary ; 
 
 Who burst the iron barriers of the grave, 
 
 And spoil'd the monster death, and broke his dart. 
 
 And captive led captivity along, 
 
 Chain 'd to his chariot wheels. O love divine ! 
 
 Still will I sing of thee ; in rising morn 
 
 When Phoebus mounts his burning car, and gilds 
 
 The eastern clouds with rays of orient light ; 
 
 When in meridian glory thron'd, he shines, 
 
 And darts prolific glories round the world ; 
 
 When sober evening's mild refreshing air 
 
 Revives creation, and bright Hesper leads 
 
 The starry train, that ushers in the night ; 
 
 Then shall my song arise. ...O for a song 
 
 M 
 
134 A SOLILOQUY. 
 
 Divine, like that which flows from Gabriel's lips ; 
 But ah ! I faint ! unequal to the theme. 
 Fly swift ye moments, time increase thy speed, 
 To bring the period when my soul shall shake 
 Her fetters off, shall throw her chains aside, 
 And freed from flesh, shall mount and soar aloft 
 On angels' wings, to her Redeemer's throne ; 
 Then shall his mighty love be all her theme, 
 And everlasting praise her sweet employ. 
 
HENRY ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE WANDERER RECLAIMED. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Description of a moon-light night. ...a youth sleeping 
 under an oak, with his guardian angel near him,*,, 
 description of the angel, who led to meditate by tht 
 solemnity of the scene, sings an hymn of firaise ti 
 God the Creator,... Syren and her attendants approach 
 ....description and character of Syren.... Syren singt 
 ....Henry awakes. ...a conversation between them..*. 
 Henry follows Syr en*. ..reflections thereon.. ..the ange 
 concerned at the loss of Henry.... unable to prevent i\ 
 ....pities his folly.... flies in search of religion, whon 
 she supposes capable of reclaiming him by her per* 
 suasions.... conversation between the angel and religion 
 ....religion goes in search of Henry. ...description Oj 
 morning, Henry retired from a scene of dissipation.. ., 
 religion meets him.... description of religion... .conver* 
 sation between them.... religion unable to convince 
 Henry of the folly and danger of his attachment to 
 Syren, leaves him....Immanuel from his throne be-* 
 holds these transactions, approves the zeal of his ser- 
 vants, though unsuccessful ; calls divine grace fron 
 his right hand.... commissions her.. ..girds her wit/ 
 
136 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 omnipotent power, she undertakes the work) and de- 
 scends to execute it*., .description of the way in which 
 divine grace conquers Syren, reclaims Henry, and 
 induces him to become the subject of real religion, 
 and true happiness. ...Syren enraged at the loss of 
 Henry.. ..seeks him again with a view to ensnare him, 
 if possible, with her delusive smiles.... evening.... Henry 
 walking in the fields to meditate, Syren meets him.... 
 accosts him with the voice of flattery, he rejects her 
 with indignation. She reproaches him with ingrati- 
 tude, reminds him of the great things she bestowed 
 on him while under her dominion.... Henry acknow- 
 ledges he had long been her slave, adores the Almighty 
 power which has snapped the chains asunder in which 
 she held him, solemnly renouncing all attachment to 
 her, and professes himself a subject of the King of 
 kings.... Syren now throws off the mask of hypocrisy 
 under which she had before concealed her rage, and 
 denounces the most terrible vengeance. ...Henry des- 
 pises her threatnings, professes his steadfast depend- 
 ence on the all-powerful protection of heaven engaged 
 in his behalf, and submission to the divine will, as to 
 all future eve?its....they part, Syren meditating re- 
 venge, aud Henry devoted to, and rejoicing in God. 
 
 'Twas in that hour, when day's imperial king, 
 Beneath our hemisphere far sunk ; retir'd 
 To rest, perhaps in Thetis' oozy bed, 
 Or crown some distant clime with rising beams ; 
 Nis;ht, sable vested, threw her curtain round, 
 
HENRY, ETC. 137 
 
 Emboss'd with stars, the glitt'ring gems of heav'n ; 
 And high enthron'd, from clouds emerg'd the moon, 
 Walking in brightness through the spangled arch, 
 Dispers'd the darkness with her lucid rays, 
 And tipp'd the hills with silver. Underneath 
 A tufted oak, upon a grassy couch, 
 A slumbering youth reposed : sleep on his eyes 
 Sat heavy, and, with its benumbing pow'r, 
 SeaFd up each faculty in helpless stupor, 
 Thoughtless and fearless of impending harm ; 
 But at his side, to him unknown, behold 
 A guard seraphic stood.. ..a glorious form ; 
 One from high heav'n dispatch'd, to watch around, 
 And shield young Henry from the countless ills 
 That hourly hang o'er mortals' heads ; to guide 
 Th' unwary youth, th' heav'nly messenger, 
 Faithful to his great charge, his steps attend 
 With sweet delight ; obedient to his God. 
 Around his head a radiant glory shone ; 
 Youth in his face sat smiling all serene ; 
 And his gay plumage, ting'd with all the dies 
 Which glow in that fair arch by mortals seen, 
 When clouds bedew the earth with gentle show'rs. 
 
 Still was the season ; solemn silence reign'd ; 
 Ev'n Philomel forgot her mournful tale, 
 And hush'd in gentle rest, all nature lay ! 
 Only Celesto wak'd : long wrapt in thought 
 The angel stood, and view'd the wond'rous scene. 
 The wond'rous scene inspir'd devotion pure, 
 And love and rapture glow'd within his breast ; 
 
 Love too intense, and rapture too tiivine 
 
 m 2 
 
138 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 To be lock'd up in silence, from his side 
 His golden harp he takes, and with sweet voice 
 Charms the still night, with melody more soft 
 Than sabled Orpheus, when the savage herd 
 Listen'd, attentive, to his warbled song. 
 
 Thou great omnipotent, 
 
 Thou Lord of earth and sky ; 
 
 I on thy gracious errand sent, 
 Adore thy majesty. 
 
 When I behold the sun, 
 The creature of thy pow'r, 
 
 His daily radiant circle run, 
 I wonder and adore. 
 
 The moon and stars, by night, 
 
 In feebler glories shine ; 
 But all from thee derive their light. 
 
 Thou source of light divine. 
 
 Thine everlasting praise 
 
 Seraphic armies sing, 
 And I (unworthy) join the lays, 
 
 Thou everlasting king. 
 
 Hail ! holy, holy, Lord ! 
 
 Thrice holy one in three ; 
 Thy boundless name be still ador'd. 
 
 Throughout eternity. 
 
HENRY, ETC. 139 
 
 But see, a beauteous form? with nimble step, 
 Trips o'er the dewy green, and this way bends ; 
 A flowing robe hangs loosely o'er her limbs, 
 By every breath of wanton zephyrs mov'd; 
 A rosy chaplet, intermix'd with sprigs 
 Of blooming myrtle, circles round her head, 
 And in her face sits laughter uncontrol'd. 
 All gay and sprightly, as the summer's sun. 
 Two nymphs attend her, and, with skilful hand. 
 On pipe and tabor play, and, with their feet, 
 Keep time and measure to the jocund sound. 
 
 Ah! fatal charmer ! Ah! insidious fair! 
 For all's a painted show, a hollow cheat s 
 Long from her breast has virtue fled, and vice 
 Reigns in her heart, and wantons in her eyes ; 
 Syren her name; by night she issues forth, 
 And spreads her silken nets of gay delights. 
 To catch unwary travellers, and such 
 Who rove abroad unguarded and secure. 
 Delusive flatt'ry hangs upon her tongue, 
 And endless ruin follows in her train; 
 Her steps lay hold on death, and all her paths, 
 Though strew'd with roses, lead directly down 
 To the black chambers of eternal woe. 
 
 SYREN. 
 
 Wake sleeping youth, awake, and see 
 Thy love, thy Syren waits for thee : 
 Why waste the hours as they fly, 
 In quick succession, round the sky. 
 The present moment seize, live while 'tis day, 
 Ere time and youth take wings, and fly away. 
 
140 
 
 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 Jocund sounds shall greet thine ear; 
 
 Age and wrinkles soon appear. 
 
 Haste! improve thy little span, 
 
 'Tis the chiefest end of man. 
 Thus to find happiness, be blest, and prove 
 The sprightly joys of music, wine, and love. 
 
 chorus. 
 
 The present moment seize, live while 'tis day, 
 Ere time and youth take wing, and fly away. 
 
 HENRY. 
 
 What sounds melodious charm my waken'd ear ! 
 What heav'nly form art thou ! if from the skies, 
 But now descended to this earthly ball, 
 Say, may a mortal ask (unblam'd) thy name! 
 And what thy errand is to this low world! 
 That with due rev'rence he may homage pay ! 
 
 SYREN. 
 
 Not from the skies I come, I reign below, 
 Sole empress of this beautiful terrene : 
 My empire's large, ray subjects many are, 
 And I their queen, their fount of happiness. 
 I lead them on in pleasure's smiling path, 
 Bestrew'd with roses, lin'd with gay delights. 
 I crown their temples, some with purest gold, 
 With laurel some, enduring ever green, 
 Emblem of victory, and on them pour 
 Treasures of golden ore, and sparkling gems, 
 From distant Ophir and Golconda brought: 
 I lead the sprightly dance, and from their breasts 
 
HENRY, ETC, 141 
 
 Banish each care, and chace corroding thought. 
 Or drown them in the sparkling, flowing bowl. 
 Come then, my Henry, let me call thee mine; 
 Come, and possess thy fill of happiness! 
 See, to adorn thy head, I have prepared 
 This flow'ry coronet, of various hue ; 
 See riches, honors, pleasures, I bestow, 
 Come, follow me, and live secure from woe* 
 
 v 
 
 HENRY. 
 I 
 
 iCharmer ! lead on ! I feel thy sovereign pow'r 
 Inflame my heart, and from this happy hour 
 Thy steps I follow ; thine, devoted live ; 
 And, from thy hand the great reward receive 
 Thou on thy faithful subjects dost bestow, 
 To make thern happy, while they dwell below 7 . 
 Thy voice shall be my guide, thy smile my heav'n \ 
 I'll be content with that, let that be giv'n. 
 
 SYREN. 
 
 Take my hand, and take my heart. 
 Thou and I must never part: 
 Let the fools who would be wise, 
 Talk of pleasures in the skies ; 
 We were never there to see, 
 What those fancied pleasures be. 
 
 Let the dreamers have their way, 
 We'll be wiser still than they : 
 We'll the present hour improve, 
 As from bliss to bliss we rove ; 
 
142 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 Leaving anxious thoughts behind, 
 Give to-morrow to the wind. 
 
 chorus* 
 Strike the tabor, sweetly play, 
 We keep jocund holiday. 
 
 By guileful flatt'ry won, the heedless youth 
 Thus falls an easy prey ; he joins the throng 
 Of folly's children, in their mad career, 
 Ranging the giddy maze of vanity. 
 Nor sees the snare, nor heeds the dreadful gulph, 
 Upon whose verge he dances : gulph of woe ! 
 Whose op'ning jaws have swallow'd thousands dovyn 
 In fathomless destruction. Hapless souls ! 
 A while they swam in pleasure's treach'rous sea, 
 Rcvel'd a moment in fantastic joys, 
 Then split upon the rock, their vessel bilg'd, 
 And down, down, down they sunk to endless woe, 
 And infinite perdition ; there to dwell, 
 And weep, and groan, a long eternity. 
 So the young ox, with festive wreaths adorn'd, 
 'Mid sprightly sounds, proud of his honors, goes 
 With stately steps along, thoughtless of harm, 
 'Till in his throat the sacrificer's knife 
 Deep plung'd, the bleeding victim falls and dies* 
 
 With downcast look, in pensive attitude, 
 Celesto stands ; his gen'rous breast can feel 
 And kindly pity his deluded charge. 
 'Twas his to guard him from corporeal harm, 
 
HENRY, ETC. l43 
 
 That might with forceful acts of violence 
 His safety injure ; but to guard his heart 
 From Satan's wiles, to influence his will, 
 Shield his affections, and preserve his soul, 
 Angelic pow'r here fails ; not Gabriel's self, 
 Raphael, nor all the heav'nly host combin'd, 
 Can stand sufficient for the mighty task. 
 The Lord of Hosts alone, the great i am ! 
 By his Almighty grace, can keep the soul, 
 Rebuke the tempter, give to feeble man, 
 O'er sin, the world, and self, the victory ! 
 Yet, full of noble zeal, the angel glow'd, 
 Zeal for his God! and faithful love to him 
 Whose welfare providence had made his care. 
 And see ! he spreads his wings and soars aloft, 
 And ranges far and wide in search of one 
 He deem'd of pow'r sufficient to reclaim 
 And bring the wand'rer back, and turn his feet 
 From error's maze, to tread in paths of peace. 
 Long fruitless prov'd his toil, but found at length ; 
 With accents mild and countenance serene, 
 He to Religion thus his speech address'd. 
 
 GELESTO. 
 
 Offspring of heav'n, belov'dof God, I come 
 To crave thy pow'rful aid, my earthly charge, 
 A youth committed to my strictest care 
 By our great master, late betray'd, entic'd 
 By her, who potent reigns in human hearts, 
 And leads them far from God, and holds them bound 
 In cursed chains, blind vot'ries to her will : 
 Thou knows't her well, 'tis Syren, foe declar'd 
 
144 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 To God and thee, his image and delight. 
 
 Come, and let thy sweet voice attract his ears, 
 
 For on thy tongue melodious music hangs ; 
 
 Come, and disclose thy beauties to his sight, 
 
 And charm his heart by thy mysterious pow'r. 
 
 O shew his feet the way that leads to life, 
 
 And break the snare, and snatch him from the arms 
 
 Of that false sorceress, and in his breast 
 
 O raise thy holy, happy, peaceful throne. 
 
 And make him bless'd indeed. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 To thy request, fair angel, I attend ; 
 Thy tale with grief I hear, nor slack shall prove 
 To use my utmost skill', and to his ear 
 Bring truth divine. But know, my utmost pow'r 
 Can but his ear assail ; 'tis not in me 
 To turn the bias of his heart corrupt ; 
 My elder sister, grace divine, alone 
 Can ope those doors, to me by nature shut. 
 'Tis her prerogative to melt the heart, 
 Change the affections, new create the soul, 
 And reinstate me in my rightful throne. 
 Then shall I sway my peaceful sceptre there, 
 And guide his feet in wisdom's pleasant paths. 
 
 air. 
 
 Who can save a wretch undone ? 
 Who can melt a heart of stone ? 
 None but grace, from Jesus sent, 
 Grace indeed, omnipotent ! 
 
HENRY, ETC. 145 
 
 if 
 
 See the fruitless heath appear 
 Barren, desolate and bare ; 
 Parch'd with heat, no moisture nigh, 
 Open to the sult'ry sky. 
 
 Grace can look the drought away, 
 Dress it in the robes of May ; 
 See the leafy train arise, 
 Spicy odours fill the skies. 
 
 Heav'nly dews refresh the ground. 
 Fruitfulness smiles all around ; 
 See the wilderness no more, 
 Eden opes her plenteous store. 
 
 CELESTO. 
 
 ? Tis true ; but know, dear maid, tho' Henry now 
 Runs in the devious paths of sin astray, 
 His name in heav'nly records is set down, 
 And in eternal love he bears a part ; 
 For heav'nly spirits 'tend not those whose end. 
 Is misery and woe : we minister 
 At our dread Lord's command, to those who share 
 In his redeeming love, for whose dear sake, 
 He, manifest in flesh, on earth appear'd, 
 And took their sins, and nail'd them to his cross, 
 That he might snatch them from the jaws of hell 
 *By pow'r almighty, and supernal grace. 
 Here springs a ray of light 5 then, who can tell, 
 But when thy voice arrests his outward ear, 
 And pourtrays to his view the joys which flow 
 
*46 HEfcRl, j£Tt;, 
 
 From undefird religion, all sincere. 
 An unseen hand, an energy divine, 
 May fix the lesson home upon his heart* 
 And teach him heav'nly wisdom. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 ........ ..Celesto lead, 
 
 Thy steps I follow, and with warm desire, 
 
 To see this brand pluck'd from sin's hateful fire. 
 
 Now had the cock's shril clarion wak'd the morn, 
 And calFd Aurora from her soft repose 
 T' unlock the gate of day ; the soaring lark 
 Warbled his early matins ; from each bush 
 The feather'd songsters sent sweet melody, 
 To greet th' approach of light, in varied notes ; 
 When, lo ! the rover, flush'd with gay delights, 
 Fatigu'd with midnight revels, stroll'd recluse, 
 Revolving in his mind past pleasures o'er, 
 And big with expectation, fond and vain. 
 
 But see ! religion comes, with modest step, 
 Treading the dewy grass ; her progress mark'd 
 By springing flow'rets, fragrantly sweet ; 
 Her unadorned tresses careless hang 
 On either shoulder, while a snow-white robe 
 Her beauteous form conceals : around her, girt 
 Fast with a golden girdle, to her feet 
 Her robe descends in flowing majesty ; 
 In her fair face no wanton blushes rise 
 From thought impure, or laughing levity, 
 But holy cheerfulness sits native there, 
 
HENRY, ETC. 14? 
 
 And smiles benignant, full of heav'nly love, 
 
 Prophetic of the peaceful calm within. 
 
 So sweetly mild, her look attracts the love 
 
 Of each beholder : yet such majesty 
 
 Darts from her eyes, and hangs about her person, 
 
 As strikes the boldest heart with awe profound. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 Stop, gentle youth, and one short moment spare 
 From vain pursuits, and let thy listing ear 
 Attend a stranger's voice ; for know, I bring 
 A solemn message from the heav'nly king. 
 Of birth divine I am, sent from the skies, 
 To make the sons of folly bless'd and wise. 
 To men I call, and lift my voice to those, 
 Who to themselves, their God, and me, are foes. 
 My name, Religion ! and my office this, 
 To lead from death and woe to life and bliss. 
 Let then thine ear attend, thine heart receive 
 The sacred truths I bring, O hear and live 1 
 
 HENRY. 
 
 Thou visitant divine ! aw'd by thy voice, 
 Each roving thought retires, and on my mind 
 Devout attention sits. See, all around 
 Creation, list'ning to that warbling thrush, 
 Seems hush'd in silence ; silence, how profound ! 
 Ev'n zephyr sleeps, lest with his fanning wings 
 The rustling leaves disturb her melody. 
 So to thy more harmonious voice, my mind 
 And all her pow'rs shall listen while thou speak'st ) 
 
148 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 Each interrupting thought shall stand aloof, 
 And wait till better leisure gives them leave. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 Tis not thine ear, O Henry ! will suffice ; 
 Thine heart I chiefly want ; O ! ope thine heart, 
 And take me to thy bosom , there to dwell 
 In union, indissoluble and sweet : 
 Thy heart's my rightful throne, there I would sit 
 In the great name of him who reigns on high, 
 And sway my peaceful sceptre in thy soul, 
 Direct thy footsteps, lead thy willing feet 
 In wisdom's pleasant paths, where thou may'st run, 
 And gather pleasures, as the drops of dew 
 Num'rous, and drink thy nil of happiness ! 
 Pleasures all pure, and happiness divine. 
 
 HENRY, 
 
 If but to make me happy, thou art come, 
 I thank thee, gen'rous maid ; thy kind concern 
 Demands much gratitude : but know, I've met 
 A beauteous form indeed, tho' sprung from earth, 
 And from her lips have learn'd the way to bliss ; 
 Nor other bliss I need, for all my pow'rs 
 She from her plenteous stores will satisfy, 
 With ever new delight. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 ,, , .Mistaken youth ! 
 
 Charm'dby her gay outside and fair pretence* 
 Thou seest not the hypocrite within : 
 'Tis Syren ! fatal name ! Syren, abhor'd 
 
HENRY, ETC. 140 
 
 By God and goodness, as their utter foe. 
 
 Her breast's the seat of guile and base deceit ; 
 
 This her iips utter, and her hands perform. 
 
 Caught in her snare, lur'd by her varied afts, 
 
 Thousands have danc'd her giddy round a while ; 
 
 Then stumbling o'er black rocks which lay unseen? 
 
 Have fall'n ten thousand fathoms, down the gulph 
 
 Of dark despair, and never ending woe, 
 
 And found her paths, tho' strew'd with roses, led 
 
 To the infernal chambers of the dead* 
 
 HENRY. 
 
 If she be false, how is it I possess 
 So much of joy, so much of happiness ? 
 She hourly leads my feet to new delights, 
 And when they cloy, she still to fresh invites : 
 If gloomy thoughts arise within my breast, 
 One smile of her's soon hushes them to rest ; 
 So sweet's her smile, so wond'rous strange herpow'r. 
 She finds amusements new for every hour. 
 From the dark mine, she calls the golden ore, 
 And pours it on me in abundant store ; 
 She crowns my head with plumes from honor's wings* 
 And promises to rank me e'en with kings ; 
 Her acts so gen'rous, and her words so fair, 
 Kow can I doubt but that they genuine are ! 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 What are her pleasures, Henry ? Light and vain, 
 Fantastic joys, but iink'd with endless pain ; 
 Joys, such as beasts partake; but man was made 
 » 2 
 
150 fiEKRY, ETC. 
 
 To drink of pleasures which can never fade* 
 What will her gold do for thee ? Will it buy 
 A crown of life, a mansion in the sky ? 
 When pain attacks thy limbs, and sore disease, 
 Will it remove thy griefs and give thee ease ? 
 When death appears, can gold a ransom pay, 
 And send the king of terrors, brib'd away ? 
 O no ! It falsely glitters in thy sight, 
 And, like a meteor, bursts in shades of night. 
 So, all -the honors this false world can give, 
 End in a name ; nor long that name can live. 
 Revolving periods, sweep past things away, 
 The works of art, yea, nature's self-decay I 
 Soon will the day appear, when earth and sky 
 Shall in one undistinguish'd ruin lie ; 
 Thy Syren then, surrounded all by fire, 
 Shall, in the mighty ruin lost, expire. 
 
 But hear my voice, O youth ! for nappy's he, 
 Whose heart's athirst, whose spirit pants for me : 
 Yea ! thrice he's bless'd who seeks his greatest gain 
 From me, for long he shall not seek in vain. 
 More precious far than rubies is my name ; 
 The pearl of price, man's chiefest good I am. 
 Dost wish to live a goodly train of years ? 
 See, in my right hand, length of days appears ; 
 Eternal life's my dowry, me receive, 
 And to eternal ages thou shaft live. 
 Would'st high exalted sit, in honor's chair ? 
 And in abundant riches wish to share ? 
 In my left hand unceasing riches flow, 
 Honors superior to aught known below* 
 
HENRY, ETC. 151 
 
 Dost pleasures love ? Would'st have thy joys increase £ 
 
 My ways are pleasant, and my paths are peace. 
 
 From creature joys, no lasting bliss can flow, 
 
 For creatures fade, and into darkness go. 
 
 I'll lead thy feet to God, in him is found 
 
 Pleasures all pure, with long duration crown'd 5 
 
 Eternal as their mighty author's name, 
 
 Who was, and is, and still shall be the same. 
 
 When thou shalt see thy Father's smiling face. 
 
 And prove the boundless wonders of his grace ; 
 
 When in thy raptur'd heart, a Saviour's love, 
 
 Shed sweetly there, by the celestial dove ; 
 
 How wilt thou fall astonish 'd, bow, and own, 
 
 Till then, thou real pleasure hast not known % 
 
 O ! then be wise, attend unto my voice, 
 
 Approve my counsel, make me all thy choice ; 
 
 Then, like a mighty stream, thy peace shall flow, 
 
 And still increasing, while thou dwell'st below : 
 
 And when thy glass is run, and death appears, 
 
 Til smooth the tyrant's face, and hush thy fears, 
 
 And thou shajt sweetly lay thee down to rest, 
 
 Not die.... but fall asleep on Jesus' breast ! 
 
 Till the great trumpet sounds, then wak'd, arise 
 
 Joyful, to meet thy Saviour in the skies ; 
 
 Receive a radiant crown, and fully prove 
 
 The heights and depths of his redeeming love* 
 
 air* 
 
 Joy and wonder overflowing, 
 
 Love and peace their streams unite ; 
 
 Still increasing, ever growing, 
 To a sea of pure delight : 
 
152 ai£N&¥, ETC* 
 
 Trecb oi Hie* with verdure blooming, 
 O'er the banks their shadow spread ; 
 
 Spicy sweets, the air perfuming, 
 From the blossoms hourly shed. 
 
 Happy saints here swim in pleasure. 
 
 Holy pleasures, all diyine ; 
 Quaff of bliss, unbounded measure, 
 
 And in sacred anthems join. 
 Low before the Saviour falling, 
 
 They adore his majesty ; 
 Matchless grace and love extolling, 
 
 Through a vast eternity. 
 
 HENRY. 
 
 So great a prize ! such everlasting gain ! 
 How can a mortal this vast bliss obtain ? 
 Deign to inform my mind, thou heay'nly fair, 
 That I in this felicity may share. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 If thou, O youth ! this pearl of price would'st gain 
 And this supreme felicity attain : 
 Exalted high upon a throne of grace, 
 Immanuel reigns, and in his awful face 
 Sweet love and mercy shine in beams so bright 
 That earth and heaven live upon the sight j 
 Lift up thine eyes to his ail-gracious seat, 
 Come, fall a willing vot'ry at his feet, 
 He'll ope his lib'ral hand, and large bestow 
 Of all can make thee truly bless'd below. 
 Upon thy head a crown of life he'll place, 
 
HENRY, ETC* 153 
 
 Bright beaming glory, rich, abundant grace, 
 
 Free as the air you breathe ; O ! seek and find ; 
 
 Jesus, to seeking souls, is ever kind. 
 
 But, gentle youth, would'st thou this crown receive, 
 
 Thou must thyself a willing off 'ring give 
 
 To the great king of saints j he asks thine heart, 
 
 That he to it may heav'nly peace impart : 
 
 The whole, without reserve ; he will not share 
 
 With riyals, he must reign unrivaPd there. 
 
 Renounce thyself, thy strength, thy wisdom flee, 
 
 Sit at his feet, and find him made to thee 
 
 Strength, wisdom, righteousness divine, yea all, 
 
 More than thou lost by thy first father's fall. 
 
 Renounce thy Syren too, O youth ! and part 
 
 With that lov'd, fatal charmer of thine heart ; 
 
 Thou must forsake her company, and flee 
 
 Her false allurments with alacrity ; 
 
 Must watch against her wiles, her joys detest, 
 
 And drive the fatal sorceress from thy breast. 
 
 Take up the cross, and struggle, strive-, and pray, 
 
 And follow Jesus in the narrow way. 
 
 Yet start not, Henry ! tho* the task is hard, 
 
 O let thine eyes attend the great reward, 
 
 The glorious prize, the heav'nly crown in view ; 
 
 O linger not, but hasten to pursue ; 
 
 And thou wilt find, when thou art taught aright, 
 
 His yoke is easy, and his burden light ; 
 
 He'll pow'r impart, thy strength he will renew, 
 
 There's all-sufficient grace to bring thee through. 
 
 It shall be so; thy voice I will obey, 
 My sprightly youth will languish and decays 
 
154 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 And when revolving years have made me wise, 
 
 And taught me how thy sage advice to prize, 
 
 I shall grow tir'd of this gay life I lead, 
 
 And then I'll watch, and pray, and hear, and read; 
 
 Far from the noisy haunts of men retire, 
 
 And after God and godliness aspire ; 
 
 I'll seek some lone retreat, some moss-grown cell) 
 
 Where solitude and meditation dwell ; 
 
 There wholly give myself to God and thee, 
 
 And end my days in strictest piety. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 Think not, O youth! that I to cells retire, 
 And seek to kindle there devotion's fire, 
 Recluse from mortal view my beauties hide, 
 And but with gloomy devotees abide : 
 No ! thou may'st still in social life remain, 
 For that created ; yet true bliss obtain. 
 But shall thy youth, thy prime of life be spent 
 In vain pursuits, to sin and folly lent ? 
 And but the dregs to God and me be giv'n, 
 And thy last hours be all thou'lt spare for heav'n? 
 Ungen'rous thought, how foolish and unwise, 
 Thus to affront the so v' reign of the skies. 
 When feeble age unnerves thy ev'ry pow'r, 
 And pain invades thy limbs each ling'ring hour; 
 When dim thine eyes, thy tott'rjng feet refuse 
 Their usual office, trembling fear ensues ; 
 Forgetful mem'ry, passions weak and low, 
 All thy whole frame sick and disordered grow ; 
 And thou no more can'st taste the sweets of sin, 
 O wilt thou then to think of God begin ? 
 
HENRY, Eft. {$$ 
 
 And bring thy crazy' self to his abode 5 
 
 As a fit off'ring for the glorious God? 
 
 I limit not his grace, 'tis all-divine ; 
 
 But can'st thou justly hope this grace for thine I 
 
 Hear what he says, when rob'd in radiant light 
 
 He comes, his injur'd majesty to right. 
 
 With gracious voice I calFd, you would not hear 5 
 
 My threats alarm'd, but you refus'd to fear : 
 
 Now, when your terrors rise, I'll scorn your woe. 
 
 Ye cursed, into endless burning go ! 
 
 Haste then, dear youth ! his mercies now are great? 
 
 Let sweet repentance lead thee to his feet 1 
 
 Be wise in time, O seek his bless'd abode. 
 
 And dedicate thy happy youth to God. 
 
 HENRY. 
 
 I'll think upon thy words ; no longer stay 3 
 But call to-morrow, or some future day. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 O seize the present now, be wise to-day, 
 In death's cold arms thou may'st to-morrow lay 1 
 Where is to-morrow ? far beyond the skies $ 
 O catch the present moment ere it flies. 
 
 Youth, and health, and life decay. 
 Fleeting as a summer's day ; 
 Wisdom's sweet instruction hear, 
 Ere the shades of night appear. 
 See Immanuel gracious stands, 
 Peace and pardon in his hands \ 
 
156 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 Seek his face, enjoy his love, 
 Everlasting- blessings prove. 
 
 From his high throne, Immanuel, King of kings J 
 Saw, and approved his servant's pious zeal, 
 However fruitless ; and his bosom glow'd 
 With love immense, compassion all divine, 
 To'ards the ungrateful wand'rer, tho' his ear, 
 Deaf as the adder to the charmer's voice, 
 Shut out consideration from his heart, 
 And gave him all to folly ; for in vain 
 Religion pleaded, Syren kept his heart 
 Fast lock'd and barr'd, that no admission there 
 Her precepts pure could find, tho' heav'nly sweet, 
 And on her tongue sat harmony divine. 
 But he who once forsook his glorious throne, 
 And came (O wond'rous shepherd !) to redeem 
 And save his silly sheep, all gone astray, 
 And call the wand'rers home. He calls to mind 
 The mighty price then paid ; he casts a look 
 Of heav'nly piiy on th' unthinking youth : 
 Nor will he lose the purchase of his blood, 
 Which cost him groans and agony so dear : 
 Nor shall a false alluring world o'ercome 
 His mighty love, and gen'rous purposes. 
 From his right hand, where high in place she stood, 
 He calls his darling, Grace, and go, he says, 
 Thou shalt prevail ; with my omnipotence 
 I gird thee ; go, and prosper in thy work, 
 Thy mighty work ; go, new create his soul, 
 Turn him from darkness to the light of life ; 
 Snatch him a burning brand from out the fire, 
 
HENRY, ETC. \$7 
 
 And bring him to my feet ; high in his heart 
 Reign thou, and with thy pow'rful influence 
 Inform his judgment, rectify his will, • 
 Charm his affections with supernal love, 
 And keep him ever thine, and ever blest. 
 
 GRACE. 
 
 Lo ! at thy gracious word I go, 
 
 Glad to perform thy will below ; 
 
 I'll chace the mist that clouds his sight. 
 
 And fill his soul with heav'nly light ; 
 
 I'll make his deaf 'ned ear attend, 
 
 His stubborn will I'll sweetly bend : 
 
 I'll melt the hardness of his heart, 
 
 And bid the mountains all depart : 
 
 I'll break his bands and set him free. 
 
 And bring the rebel home to thee ; 
 With sweet contrition, at thy feet to lay, 
 Till thou shalt kindly speak his fears away, 
 And seal him for thine own : then heav'n shall ring 
 With loud hosannahs to the heav'nly king. 
 
 Down from the skies, all potent Grace descends. 
 With speed more swift than from the radiant sun 
 Darts all-prolific rays, or the wing'd flash 
 Of vivid lightening, hastens thro' the air, 
 Nor stays, till in young Henry's favor'd breast, 
 By pow'r mysterious, (leave unask'd of him) 
 She 'lights, and rests a guest indeed divine s 
 Nor sits she there an idle visitant, 
 But soon her work begins, her glorious work, 
 To form his rebel heart anew for God* 
 
*58 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 Into his eyes, she all unseen, distills 
 
 From the fair fount of life some sacred drops, . 
 
 Which far dispels the mist, and clears his sight y 
 
 That objects late unseen, appear in view ; 
 
 And truth, all powerful, breaks upon his mind 
 
 With force resistless, pathos all divine. 
 
 His ears, obedient to her touch, fly ope, 
 
 And list, attentive to instruction's voice ; 
 
 And from his heart, with strength omnipotent, 
 
 She rolls the stone, dissolves the adamant, 
 
 And sows the heav'nly seed, which soon shall spring 
 
 And rise, and grow to a fair spreading tree, 
 
 Yielding delicious fruits from every bough. 
 
 Lo ! now he feels sensations rise within, 
 
 Sensations new and strange, unfelt before : 
 
 He feels himself immortal, pants for joys, 
 
 Suited to one, in being rank'd so high : 
 
 Joys which can make immortal beings bless'd« 
 
 Earth disappoints his wish, he lifts his eyes, 
 
 Seeks it no longer there, but, all inflam'd 
 
 With warm desire, pursues supernal bliss. 
 
 Syren no more can charm ; her pleasing form 
 
 No more conceals her falsehood from his view ; 
 
 Her voice attracts no more, the snare is broke, 
 
 And, lo ! he runs, he flies from her embrace, 
 
 As from the op'ning jaws of fearful woe. 
 
 Her ways he hates, delusive as they are. 
 
 And with fix'd eye and longing heart beholds 
 
 The charms sublime which shine in holiness, 
 
 And pants to find them planted in his breast, 
 
 That there substantial happiness may reigiw 
 
 He stands astonished that his foolish heart, 
 
HENRY, ETC. 159 
 
 So long beguil'd by sin's delusive voice, 
 
 Should dream of happiness from aught that springs 
 
 From her rank soul, or grows below the stars. 
 
 Grace leads his mind, in solemn thought to dwell 
 
 On murder' d time, lost opportunity, 
 
 The sin and folly of his squandered youth ; 
 
 Till from his bosom deep fetch'd sighs burst forth, 
 
 Expressive of the pungent grief within. 
 
 Grace lays him low in sweet humility ; 
 
 And can there be (with mournful voice he cries) 
 
 A wretch so lost, a wretch so vile as I ! 
 
 But lest his feet in sad despair should sink, 
 
 Grace to his view presents a pardoning God ; 
 
 A bleeding Jesus, full of heav'nly love, 
 
 And sweet compassion beaming in, his eyes, 
 
 Upon a throne of love ; and to his feet 
 
 Grace brings him, as an humble supplicant, 
 
 Imploring mercy, while contrition sweet 
 
 Dissolves his heart, and penitential tears 
 
 Flow down his cheeks, and wrestle hard with God ; 
 
 For, lo ! he prayeth, and, with kind regard, 
 
 His Father heard his pray'r, and saw his grief, 
 
 And hastens with complacence infinite 
 
 To seal his pardon, to bestow his peace, 
 
 And welcome the returning prodigal 
 
 To all the blessings heaven can bestow 
 
 In time, and then, when time shall be no more, 
 
 But vast eternity forever reign. 
 
 Thus, all victorious grace her triumphs spread. 
 But see ! in Syren's breast fell rage arise, 
 
160 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 From disappointment sprung ; her empire fall'n, 
 
 Her rites neglected, and herself abhorr'd, 
 
 By him so late with her curs'd fetters bound ; 
 
 The all-devoted vassal of her will. 
 
 This pains her haughty heart, and in her cheeks 
 
 Shame and malicious indignation glow ; 
 
 But practis'd, deep in fraudful mysteries, 
 
 She smooths her frowning brow, conceals her rage 
 
 In pleasing smiles of deep hypocrisy, 
 
 And flies with haste to seek the happy youth ; 
 
 If haply with her soft delusive tongue, 
 
 She may again attract his ear, again 
 
 Delude his heart, and lead him still astray. 
 
 She sought not long, for in the flow'ry mead 
 
 Henry walk'd forth to taste the balmy sweets 
 
 Of the cool ev'ning's mild refreshing air ; 
 
 And like the patriarch of old, to spend 
 
 In meditation sweet his silent hours, 
 
 Recluse, in holy converse with his God ; 
 
 Soon she espied him, and with aspect fair 
 
 And flatt'ring words, she thus address'd his ear : 
 
 SYREN. 
 
 Thou darling of my heart, with longing eye 
 I've sought thee long, and when I saw thee nigh, 
 Tumultous joys arose within my breast, 
 Joys too extatic far to be express'd : 
 Thy absence fill'd my mind with anxious care, 
 I cannot, Henry, thy least absence bear : 
 Ah ! why hast thou unkindly made me prove, 
 The pangs that ever wait on slighted love ? - 
 
HENRY, ETC. 161 
 
 HENRY. 
 
 A vaunt, thou hateful sorc'ress from my sight 
 To thine own place, the dismal shades of night. 
 
 SYREN. 
 
 Ah ! can thy lips such cruel words declare, 
 Thy lips, which oft to me did homage swear ! 
 And can thy heart inconstant prove, and be 
 False to thy solemn vows, and false to me 1 
 Why have thy feet forsaken my abode ? 
 Have my commands, all pleasant, prov'd a load ? 
 Did I e'er chide ? Did not my hands bestow 
 All thy unbounded wish could grasp below ? 
 I led thy feet in cheerful dances round ; 
 With rosy chaplets, I thy temples crown'd : 
 I still thy table spread with viands rare, 
 And daily fed thee with delicious fare ; 
 My gifts I suited to thy ev'ry pow'r, 
 And multiply'd thy pleasures ev'ry hour : 
 And wilt thou, can'st thou, thus ungrateful prove I 
 Ah ! Henry, do not thus repay my loye. 
 
 HENRY. 
 
 How could my heart so vain and foolish be, 
 E'er to be cheated and beguil'd by thee ; 
 True, I was late thy slave, in bondage held, 
 And 'gainst the king of heaven I rebel'd 5 
 Lur'd by thy voice, I wander 'd far astray 
 In devious paths, far from the peaceful way 
 Of life and happiness. O wond'rous grace ! 
 That heav'n should e'er compassionate my case, 
 And bring a wand'rer back, by pow'r divine. 
 2 
 
162 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 No longer then, O Syren ! am I thine ; 
 
 Lo ! I renounce thy love, thy charms detest, 
 
 And drive thee, fell deceiver, from my breast. 
 
 I yield myself to him whose boundless love, 
 
 Snatch'd me from ruin, to be bless'd above: 
 
 His air I breathe, His by his pow'r I live, 
 
 'Tis just that I myself to him should give: 
 
 He paid a mighty sum to set me free 
 
 From thy sad chains, yea, gave himself for me ! 
 
 Now, by his love o'ercome, I lowly bow, 
 
 And with fix'd heart to him allegiance vow* 
 
 Thy joys are false, thy pleasures all impure, 
 
 But Jesus* holy peace shall still endure ; 
 
 When time decays, no end his pleasures know, 
 
 But ever rise, and ever overflow. 
 
 Then plead no more, my happy choice is this, 
 
 A crown of glory and eternal bliss. 
 
 Hence ! flatt'ring world, I bid adu-.u 
 
 To all thy splendid toys ; 
 A nobler prize I must pursue, 
 
 And seek sublimer joys. 
 
 Up to the place where Jesus reigns, 
 
 I raise my wishes high ; 
 My soul sublunar bliss disdains, 
 
 And grasps eternity. 
 
 SYREN. 
 
 Since all in vain I plead, I'll plead no more, 
 But on thy head my mighty vengeance pour ; 
 
A SOLILOQUY. I63 
 
 Dream not of bliss, I'll spoil thy pleasing views. 
 
 Since all my kindest offers you refuse ; 
 
 My smiles reject ; I'll with an awful frown 
 
 Bring all your high raised expectations down : 
 
 Not joy, but sad anxiety and woe 
 
 Shall still attend thee, while thou dwell'st below ; 
 
 I'll summon all my pow'rs, and thou shalt see, 
 
 They're strong, to execute what I decree; 
 
 Reproach, with all her tongues shall blot thy name* 
 
 And spread calumnious falsehoods o'er thy fame ; 
 
 Contempt and scorn, twin sisters, shall agree, 
 
 Where'er thou goest, to meet thy infamy : 
 
 Penurious want shall stare thee in the face, 
 
 And to the utmost try thy boasted grace ; 
 
 For to foul rapine I'll thy substance give, 
 
 And thou despis'd, in indigence shall live, 
 
 And spend thy mournful days in sad distress. 
 
 Stranger to joy, stranger to happiness. 
 
 When for repose thou suest the shades of night, 
 
 Visions terrific shall thee sore affright ; 
 
 In dreams I'll scare thee, still attend thy bed, 
 
 And pour my utmost vengeance on thy head ; 
 
 I'll call my blood-hounds, they shall run thee down, 
 
 And thou shalt feel the weight of Syren's frown ; 
 
 They hate thy king and thee : say, at a stake 
 
 Can'st thou in flames expire for Jesus' sake ? 
 
 HENRY. 
 
 Think not thy feeble threats my soul alarms, 
 No ! I securely rest in Jesus' arms ; 
 He reigns above, exalted King of kings, 
 And I, beneath the shadow of his wings, 
 Shall dwell secure ; thou canst not wdi% me woe, 
 
164 HENRY, ETC. 
 
 My blessings from the rock of ages flow ; 
 
 As to the sea his awful mandate came ; 
 
 Old ocean heard, and still obeys the same ; 
 
 So, by his pow'r, thy malice he'll restrain, 
 
 And thou shalt boast, and threat, and rage in vain. 
 
 But should he thee permit thy pow'r- to try, 
 
 And so prepare me for a seat on high ; 
 
 I'll to his will submit, I'll bear his cross, 
 
 And count my earthly all, but dung and dross ; 
 
 Low at his feet I'll lay it, and resign 
 
 To wisdom infinite and love divine ; 
 
 My feeble mind he will with strength endue, 
 
 There's all-sufficient grace to bring me thro* ; 
 
 Nor fire, nor water, earth, nor hell, shall part 
 
 His love from me, so faithful is his heart : 
 
 I'll trust him then, and let what will betide, 
 
 He will deliver, since for me he died. 
 
 So spake the youth, and at his gracious choice, 
 Heav'n smil'd propitious. Syren, all enrag'd, 
 And big with malice, further speech disdain'd, 
 And hasted to revolve her dire intents, 
 And, leagu'd with hell, her dark designs contrive i 
 While Henry, fill'd with holy confidence, 
 Commits his all to his Redeemer's hands ; 
 And on he goes, rejoicing in his God. 
 With God, his shield, he fears not hosts of foes 
 With God his anchor, rides the storm secure. 
 Peace flows within his breast, and grace divine, 
 Sways there her pow'rfu! sceptre, guides him right, 
 While in the wilderness he journies on 
 To that good land, the prcmis'd happy shore, 
 Where Jesus and his saints forever reign. 
 
PART II. 
 
 iftetiftatfong anH letters* 
 
 »»*»ec»**tf>»c*t««»*»r*»«*»f»»e»<«*»*e**»te*»«««f****« 
 
DIVINE 
 
 Poems ana ©asaps, 
 
 PART II. 
 
 MEDITATIONS 
 
 ON PART OF THE 
 
 SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 « Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth/ 9 
 •v* 1. Thou who art the eternal Jehovah.. ..who art 
 God over all, blessed forever ; whose throne is in the 
 heaven of heavens, and who yet condescendest to dwell 
 with the children of men, even in the hearts of thy 
 ransomed ones : thou Son of man, who art the shep- 
 herd of Israel, and the keeper thereof; who, having 
 made peace by the blood of thy cross, art exalted to be 
 the prince of peace : thy name is wonderful ! thou art 
 become Immanuel, God with us ! and in thee dwelleth 
 all the fulness of the godhead bodily. Visit me with 
 thy salvation, O thou, who art the Saviour of sinners ; 
 thou, who hast loved me, and given thyself for me ; 
 thou art my heavenly bridegroom ; thou hast purr»\as~ 
 
168 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 ed me, at the infinite price of thy blood, and betrothed 
 me to thyself in everlasting loving kindness, in righ- 
 teousness, faithfulness, and truth ; but I will dwell in 
 a howling wilderness, surrounded with dangers, and 
 many afflictions : O lift up the light of thy countenance 
 on me, and bless me with the consolations of thy Spi- 
 rit.. ..for thy love is better than wine : because of the 
 savour of thy good ointments, thy name is as oint- 
 ment poured forth ; thou art the repairer of the breach ; 
 thou art the Saviour of our souls ; thy blood is the pre- 
 cious balm of Gilead, that alone is able to cure all the 
 festering sores of sin : thy righteousness is the robe, 
 in which, being clad, we are found complete ; thy Spi- 
 rit is the oil of gladness, with which thou anointest us . 
 from thee, thou fountain of all blessedness, flows all the 
 sweet streams of pardon and peace, reconciliation, jus- 
 tification, sanctification, preservation and glorification ; 
 therefore is thy name as ointment poured forth, and 
 because of this, do the virgins love thee ; those who 
 see thee are complete in thee, rejoice in thee as their 
 salvation. ...they triumph in a Saviour's name : O how 
 sweet is the name of Jesus, when pronounced by his 
 Spirit to the soul ; then we cry out, " Whom have I 
 in heaven but thee ! and there is none upon earth that 
 I desire in comparison of thee l" But when that bles- 
 sed Spirit withdraws his divine influence, when Jesus 
 turns away his face, we cannot see him, we no longer 
 delight in his name, nor rejoice in his love ; our af- 
 fections freeze.. -winter spreads his cold dominion over 
 our hearts, and we find, without him, we can do noth- 
 ing : draw me, therefore, O thou Almighty Saviour, 
 with the cords of thy love, and my soul shall run after 
 
MEDITATIONS. 169 
 
 thee : let thy quickening Spirit continually breathe the 
 life of God into my heart, and I shall live to thee. 
 
 u I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusa- 
 lem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon." 
 What is man, that he should be clean ? and he that is 
 born of a woman, that he should be righteous ? I am 
 vile, born in sin, and conceived in iniquity ; I have 
 been drinking up iniquity like water, and am altogether 
 black as hell : my father was an Amorite, and my 
 mother an Hittite, and therefore had no right to the 
 heavenly Canaan ; I was a poor babe, cast out, not 
 washed from guilt and filth, naked and stripped of all ; 
 and not only so, but wounded, having fallen among 
 thieves ; they had left me more than half dead, in this 
 condition, this lamentable condition : (and yet alas 5 
 no eye pitied me). But when Jesus passed by, he saw 
 me. ...he took compassion on me, and when I was in 
 my guilt, in my sin, and pollution, he bade me live I 
 Be astonished, O my soul, at this wonder of grace ! 
 the eternal three entered into a covenant engagement 
 to deliver my soul ; and in consequence of this, Jesus 
 thoroughly purged away my guilt with his own blood ; 
 he covered my nakedness with his own robe ; anointed 
 me with the oil of his Spirit, and shod me with the 
 preparation of the gospel of peace : he hath fed me 
 with the bread which came down from heaven, and 
 I with honey out of the living rock ; and he hath pro- 
 nounced me perfect, through the comeliness which he 
 hath put upon me : he who knew no sin, was made 
 sin for me ; that I, who knew no righteousness, might 
 | be made the righteousness of God in him. 
 
ITO BIEDITATIONS. 
 
 " I am the rose of Sharon," says Jesus, " and the 
 lily of the vallies ; thou hast redemption through my 
 blood, the forgiveness of thy sins : I am the express 
 image of the invisible God, for I and my Father are 
 one. By me were all things created in heaven and in 
 earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or 
 dominions, principalities, or powers, all things were 
 created by me, and for me : I am before all things, and 
 by me all things exist ; and it pleaseth the Father, that 
 jn me should all fulness dwell. I have made thy peace, 
 with the blood of my cross : I have loved thee, and laid 
 down my life for thee ; as the lily among thorns, so is 
 my beloved among the daughters : I have washed thee 
 and made thee white ; I have made thee partaker of 
 my nature, thou art a lily among thorns : all who have 
 not received my grace, are thorns by 'nature ; thou wert 
 so once, but 1 have changed thy state, and changed thy 
 nature ; thou art complete in me, and I have adorned 
 thee with the graces of my Spirit ; thou art all fair, I 
 will see no spot in thee." This is the Saviours lan- 
 guage to his espoused. And what shall I say unto thee, 
 O my king and my God ! as the apple-tree among the 
 trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons : 
 thou art superlatively excellent ; my beloved is white 
 and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand : thou art 
 King of kings, and Lord of lords ; infinite in holiness, 
 glory, and majesty : yea, thou art altogether lovely: 
 ©very thing else is void of goodness, but thou art like 
 a green fir-tree ; from thee my fruit is found. This is 
 my beloved, and this is my friend, O ye daughters of 
 Jerusalem ! I sat down under his shadow with great 
 delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. We 
 
MEDITATIONS, 171 
 
 speak the things we do know, what our eyes have seen, 
 and our hands handled of the word of life. 
 
 " The voice of my beloved," Jesus speaks ! listen* 
 O my soul, to the kind words he pronounces : " I have 
 blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as 
 a cloud thy sins ; return unto me, for I have redeemed 
 thee ; I will heal thy backslidings, I will love thee 
 freely ; for mine anger is turned away from thee : I 
 will be as the dew unto Israel ; he shall grow as the 
 lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon ; his branches 
 shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, 
 and his smell as Lebanon. I give unto my sheep eter- 
 nal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any 
 pluck them out of my hand." This is the voice of 
 my beloved, his sheep know it, they follow him ; they 
 know not the voice of strangers, therefore they flee 
 from them. The voice of my beloved, behold he 
 cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon 
 the hills; over all the mountains of unbelief, over all 
 the hills of corruption and difficulties : Jesus flies to 
 thy relief; he will not tarry forever: behold he com- 
 eth, he cometh to give thee a crown of righteousness ; 
 he is gone to prepare thee a mansion above, and will 
 come to receive thee in the arms of his love ; to wipe 
 away all tears from thy face ; to conduct thee to the 
 happy realms of light and love ; and to present thee 
 to his Father, and thy Father.. ..to his God, and thy 
 God, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.... 
 Then the clay, the perfect day will break ; then the 
 shadows shall all flee away*. ..Thou now seest through 
 a glass darkly; but then thou shalt behold him face 
 
172 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 to face : now thou art called to walk by faith ; then 
 thou shalt live by sight forever: now thou knowest 
 but in part ; but then thou shalt know even as thou 
 art known : the veil shall be entirely taken from thine 
 eyes, and thou shalt behold the king in his beauty : 
 thou shalt no more know affliction, temptation, nor de- 
 sertion, for there shall be no night there; the lamb 
 shall be thy everlasting light; thou shalt behold his 
 face without a cloud, and enjoy the brightness of eter- 
 nal day. He which testifieth these things, saith, 
 " Surely, I come quickly!" Amen. ...even so, come 
 Lord Jesus. 
 
 Tell me, O thou king of saints, thou Lord of life 
 and glory, thou good shepherd of Israel, who hast 
 laid down thy life for thy sheep ; thou whom my soul 
 loveth; O tell me where thou feedest?.... where thou 
 feedest thy children with divine manna.. ..even with the 
 bread which cometh down from heaven, which, who- 
 soever eateth, shall never die?. ...Where are the green 
 pastures to which thou leadest them by the still wa- 
 ters, the rivers of life, which flow at thy right hand 
 forevermore?....Tell me, O thou whom my soul lov- 
 eth ! lead me into the way of peace ; lead me into 
 the same pastures ; feed my soul with that bread of 
 life, lest the journey be too great for me, and I faint 
 by the way. ...therefore tell me, O thou whom my soul 
 loveth! where thou feedest, where thou makest thy 
 fiock to rest at noon ; when the sun of temptation, 
 persecution, and fiery trials, with unremitting fervor, 
 beats on their weak defenceless heads, oppressed and 
 fainting beneath the heat of his unfriendly scorching 
 
MEDITATIONS. 173 
 
 rays ; in the midst of an howling wilderness, whose 
 burning sands afford no shade, no friendly shelter to 
 screen and defend from the heat of the day, and re- 
 fresh them with its cooling influence, when bowed 
 down by the burthen of sin, and the heavy load of se 
 vere affliction. ...where, O where dost thou make them 
 to rest ?....Tell me, O thou compassionate friend of 
 sinners; for w 7 hy should I be as one that turneth 
 aside, why should I wander from the good way ?.... 
 
 " If thou knowest not, O thou fairest among wo> 
 men, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, anc 
 feed thy kids beside the shepherd's tent : stand ye ifc 
 the way, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is 
 the good way ; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest 
 for your souls." Thus speaketh the good shepherd? 
 the great prophet of Israel : he says, " I am the way 
 the truth, and the life ; no man cometh unto the father- 
 but by me : seek not from created things, that peace 
 and protection which they cannot afford ; miserable 
 comforters are they all ! but look unto me, and be ye 
 saved. Come unto me, all ye that are weary and 
 heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Art thou groan- 
 ing under the burden of sin ? look unto me, I have 
 made peace with the blood of my cross i I have made 
 an end of sin by giving myself a sacrifice for it ; I have 
 brought in an everlasting righteousness, whereby God 
 can be just, and yet the justifier of such an ungodly 
 sinner as thou art. Look then unto me, behold a Sav- 
 iour lifted up on the pole of the everlasting gospel : 
 fall at the feet of my cross, and thy burden shall fall 
 from thy back : and thou shalt find rest for thy soul ; 
 
 p 2 
 
174 MEDITATIONS, 
 
 I give thee that peace, which the world can neither give 
 nor take away. 
 
 Art thou fainting beneath the weight of severe af- 
 flictions, heavy oppressions, and fiery trials ? O look 
 unto me, my beloved, thou fairest among women : 
 thou art following me, bearing my cross ; thou art in- 
 deed climbing up a steep mountain of difficulties, 
 where thou canst find no refreshment, nothing to sup- 
 port or cheer thy drooping spirit ; but underneath thee 
 are my everlasting arms : look unto me, who am the 
 God of all consolation ; all thy springs are in me, and 
 out of my fulness thou shalt receive grace for grace : 
 as thou art suffering with me, thou shalt also reign 
 with me : they that bear my cross, shall wear my 
 crown : behold the tender affection of my heart 
 towards thee ; behold the sufficiency of my power 
 to help thee ^remember the great and precious prom- 
 ises I have given thee.... I am the faithful witness, I 
 live to fulfil them to thee : as the lasting hills sur- 
 round Jerusalem, so all the attributes of thy covenant 
 God, are engaged to support and deliver thy soul.... 
 These are some of the green pastures, where I feed 
 my sheep with heavenly manna ; where they renew 
 their strength, and grow up as the calves of the stall.... 
 Eat and drink, O my friend abundantly, and let your 
 soul delight itself in fatness : I am that God, who is 
 thine eternal refuge....! am that man, who is an hid. 
 ing place from the wind, and a cover from the temp- 
 est ; as rivers of waters in a dry place, and as a shadow 
 of a great rock in a weary land. Come then, unto 
 me, O thou poor fainting disciple, and put thy trust 
 
MEDITATIONS. 175 
 
 under the shadow of my wings ; I will refresh thee 
 with the new wine of my kingdom : I have spread a 
 table, even in this desart place, this barren wilderness, 
 where I will feed thee with immortal food ; meet thee, 
 and bless thee, with the blessings of my love." 
 
 This is the voice of eternal truth ; of him like unto 
 whom, never man spake. When he takes me into his 
 banqueting house ; when he lifts up the light of his 
 countenance on me, and raises his banner of love over 
 my soul ; then the graces of his Spirit flow into my 
 heart ; are strengthened, and encreased by the smiles 
 of his face ; my foes disappear, my sins vanish away, 
 and nothing appears to my view, but Jesus the Saviour 
 the friend and beloved of my soul ; my heart dissolves 
 with unutterable delight, and I faint in the embraces of 
 my crucified Qod. Thou art fairer than the children 
 of men, O thou spouse of my soul ! grace is poured 
 into thy lips ; all thy garments smell of myrrh, aloes, 
 and cassia....! charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusa* 
 lem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye 
 stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. Jesus 
 hath taken his abode in my heart : he lives and loves, 
 and delights to dwell there. I charge you, O ye sinful 
 inclinations, ye tempestuous corruptions of my nature, 
 be ye still, be ye hushed if possible, into eternal silence, 
 disturb not, ye hateful intruders, the repose of my 
 Lord ; grieve not his Spirit, nor awake him, till he 
 please. ." My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart '• 
 behold he standeth behind our wall :" it is our iniqui- 
 ties ; those cursed things, which only can separate be- 
 tween us and our God. Jesus hath washed them away 
 
176 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 from my soul, in that precious blood which cleanseth 
 from all sin ; yet alas ! poor silly sheep that I am ! 
 my heart is apt to wander from the good shepherd, 
 run away from his sacred fold, and is continually rais- 
 ing walls of separation, which hides from me the com- 
 fort of his presence, the compassion of his heart ; 
 and robs me of the joy of his salvation : but kind and 
 faithful as he is, he remembers his covenant, he hates 
 putting away : he will not give up his darling to 
 the power of the dog ; but tenderly bears with all my 
 ingratitude, with all the various unkind affronts I am 
 continually putting upon him ; and though he is a 
 God that hideth himself from the house of Israel, yet 
 he will not go far away : behold, he standeth behind 
 our wall ; be not cast down then, O my soul, as though 
 thy Jesus, thy faithful Saviour, had forgotten or for- 
 saken thee ; he is not gone forever ; he is but behind 
 the wall : he looketh forth at the windows, shewing 
 himself through the lattice : wait then upon him in 
 his appointed ways, his gospel ordinances ; they are 
 but narrow lights, it is true ; but Jesus, the sun of 
 righteousness, shews himself through them : he will 
 meet thee, and bless thee in them ; and if thou get- 
 test but a glimpse of his glorious person ; if thou 
 seest but the skirt of him whom thy soul loveth, it 
 will sweeten the hours appointed for thy pilgrimage 
 here ; and when they are elapsed, when the tedious 
 glass of life is run, and the last sand spent ; thy heav- 
 enly bridegroom will receive thee in the arms of his 
 love, where sin and sorrow shall disturb thee no more, 
 forever: but thou shalt more fully comprehend tha* 
 
MEDITATIONS. 177 
 
 infinite love which dwells in the heart of him, whose 
 nature and name is love. 
 
 <c O my dove !" says the Saviour, " that art in the 
 clefts of the rock ; in the secret places of the stairs ; 
 I call thee a dove, for I have washed thee whiter than 
 snow ; though thou hast lain among the pots ; I have 
 given thee wings of gold, and adorned thee with the 
 meek graces of my Spirit : thou art hid in the clefts of 
 the rock, even in the wounds of thy compassionate 
 Saviour, so that no tempestuous wrath, no threatening 
 evil, shall ever come nigh thee; thou art hid in the 
 secret places of the stairs ; I am that glorious, stu- 
 pendous ladder, which reacheth from earth to heaven? 
 uniting God and man in my own person : I have hid 
 thee in the hollow of my hand, and will keep thee as 
 the apple of my eye : let me see thy countenance, let 
 me hear thy voice ; for sweet is thy voice, and thy 
 countenance is comely ; look unto me, by the faith of 
 the operation of my Spirit ; call upon me in the time 
 of thy trouble ; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt 
 .glorify me: I delight to hear ihy voice? though feebly 
 lisping out the desires of thy soul, or endeavoring to 
 anticipate that which shall be thine eternal employ- 
 ment, even praise and thanksgiving to him who hath 
 loved thee. " Take us the foxes, the little foxes that 
 spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes ;'* 
 watch over thine own heart, O my beloved ! take 
 heed of those foes, those subtle enemies, who are 
 continually endeavoring to turn thee aside from the 
 narrow way, the way which leadeth unto life ; to 
 stop thee in thy race Zion-wards, to quench the tender 
 
178 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 flame of my love which I have kindled in thy soul ; to 
 nip the sweet graces of my Spirit, which I have 
 planted in thy heart, which shall bud, and blossom, 
 and bring forth fruit to my glory : beware of these 
 foxes.. ..these treacherous dealers ; take heed of their 
 wiles, lest thou fall into their snares: I will strengthen 
 thee, I will uphold thee ; yea, I will keep thee by the 
 right hand of my righteousness : all those thine ene- 
 mies, who will not have me to reign over them, I will 
 bring them out, and slay them, for mine own name's 
 sake." 
 
 This is thy promise, O my king, and my God! help 
 me to believe, and rely upon it ; keep me under the 
 shadow of thy wings, keep me as the apple of thine 
 eye ; I am a worm, and in me there is no might ; 
 but in the Lord Jehovah, I have righteousness and 
 strength ; yea, thou art the strength of my heart, 
 and my portion for ever; my beloved is mine, and I 
 am his, he feedeth among the lilies; he is mine in 
 the bonds of an everlasting covenant; my husband, 
 my prophet, my priest, and my king: his name is 
 called upon me, all that he hath is mine ; his righ- 
 teousness, his wisdom, his power and grace, his 
 kingdom and glory, -he blessings of the upper and 
 nether springs ; he is all my own, and I am his ; 
 his by creation, his by his own eternal choice : he 
 hath bought me with a price, and I am not my own, 
 but the property of him, who hath redeemed me with 
 so vast a sum, that Gabriel himself must fail in com- 
 puting it, throughout the countless ages of eternity, 
 and with astonishment own it is indeed infinite !... J am 
 
MEBITATI0NS. \7$ 
 
 his by another tie ; I have surrendered myself into 
 his hand, I have committed my all to my beloved} 
 knowing he will keep it against that day... .Being 
 bought with a price, I lay myself at his feet, desiring 
 all that I am, and have, to be devoted to that Saviour 
 and friend of my soul, who hath loved me with an ever- 
 lasting love ; who will love me to the end, and be my 
 God, and my guide and salvation, for ever. The 
 Lord's portion is his people ; Jacob is the lot of his in- 
 heritance. He says to his saints, " I am thine inherit- 
 ance and portion forever." He feedeth among the 
 lilies ; his throne is in the heaven of heavens ; there 
 he walketh among the white robed saints, who are 
 perfectly delivered from the foul stains of sin and cor- 
 ruption ; that leprosy shall no more break out in them ; 
 the polluted house is broken down ; they have weather- 
 ed the storm, and arrived safe at the haven of eternal 
 rest, and left every care and every sorrow behind for- 
 ever : they are continually in the presence of him, who 
 is their all in all ; enjoying the uninterrupted light of 
 his blessed countenance, without a cloud between : 
 they are eternally tuning their harps to his praise; 
 casting their crowns at his feet ; filled with all that 
 extatic blessedness, which beatified spirits are capable 
 of, in those happy realms of light and love, and ascrib- 
 ing salvation to God and the lamb for ever ! 
 
 But this condescending Jesus.*., this beloved of my 
 soul, not only displays the bright beams of his giory 
 <o those who have already taken possession of their 
 heavenly inheritance ; but he also walks in the. midst 
 of the seven golden candlesticks, hh church, which 
 
180 MEDITATIONS, 
 
 is yet passing through the wilderness : he feedeth 
 among the lilies; he watches over, and keeps her 
 from the jaws of her enemies ; he refreshes her, and 
 comforts her drooping spirits when she is weary and 
 faint, because of the way; he sometimes visits her 
 with a sweet foretaste of those inexpressible, incon- 
 ceivable blessings he has prepared for her future, her 
 everlasting consolation ; and every moment his eye 
 is upon her for good. u Until the day break, and the 
 shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou 
 like a young hart, upon the mountains of Bether".... 
 until the day break; that eternal glorious day, which 
 shall never set in night ! that day, when King Jesus 
 shall appear in his glory ; not as he appeared at Beth- 
 lehem, a meek and lowly babe ; not as he appeared 
 in Gethsemane, or on the mount of crucifixion, a 
 man of sorrows and acquainted with grief ! but as 
 the eternal Jehovah, the everlasting God, in all his 
 essential majesty and native splendor ! a jealous God, 
 taking vengeance on all chat obey not his gospel, and 
 love not his name. But rejoice, O my soul! he will 
 appear as thy Saviour, thy sacrifice, and friend ; he 
 will shine forth in ail his mediatorial glory, as the 
 Lord our righteousness !....Then shall the heavens and 
 the earth flee away ; I shall meet my beloved, my 
 espoused, in the air, and be forever with the Lord: 
 until this day break, and the shadows of time flee 
 away, turn, my beloved, and lift up the light of thy 
 countenance on me: listen to the ceaseless moanings 
 of thy plaintive turtle-dove ; come, over the rocks and 
 rising grounds of all my unworthiness, and all my 
 enemies ; and be thou like a young hart upon the 
 mountains of Bether. 
 
MEDITATIONS. 181 
 
 My beloved spake, and said unto me, u Rise up my 
 love, my fair one, and come away : rise up from the 
 death of sin, to the life of faith and righteousness ; 
 for I have loved thee ; I have made thee fair in the 
 comeliness that I have put upon thee. Come away ! 
 come away from sin and Satan. Come away ! come 
 away from the world and its delusive vanities ; let 
 thine affections soar up to thy Saviour, who hath given 
 himself for thee : for lo ! the winter is past, the rain 
 is over and gone ; all the storm was poured out on 
 thy surety's head > his locks were wet with the dews 
 of the night, that thou mightest be blessed with the 
 smiles of the sun of righteousness. The winter is 
 past, the vernal season appears ; the flowers spring ; 
 the fruits ripen, and the voice of the turtle, charms 
 the listening ear : arise my love 1 arise my redeemed 
 fair one, and come away 1" 
 
 " By night on my bed, 1 sought him whom my soul 
 loveth ; I sought him ; but I found him not ;" the 
 sun of righteousness, who was wont to shine upon my 
 soul, and gild my happy hours with the blessings of 
 peace, withdrew his divine and comfortable influence 
 ....that precious Jesus, in whose favor is life ; whose 
 presence filled my soul with heavenly day ; in order 
 to teach me that divine lesson, resignation to his wall? 
 as he did Abraham of old ; he turned away the sweet 
 shinings of his face from his beloved, and suffered me 
 to walk in the shadows of the night, without the di- 
 recting light, without the reviving warmth of his bless- 
 ed Spirit ; he drew a veil, a cloud of thick darkness 
 over his creation in my heart, and having lost the 
 
182 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 quickening influence of him, who only can keep my 
 soul awake, velvet-shod Morpheus shook his poppies 
 over me ; and forgetful of my Saviour ; forgetful of 
 myself; I insensibly sunk into the arms of spiritual 
 slumber : but Jesus stood by ; he beheld me stretched 
 out on the bed of security, and kindly awaked me from 
 that sinful sleep, that lethargic condition in which my 
 soul was plunged. On my bed I sought him ; him 
 whom my soul loveth....for Jesus was still the delight 
 of my heart ; having drank of his Spirit ; having 
 tasted of his love ; nothing but the presence of my 
 eternal, unchangable, immortal lover can satisfy the 
 vast desires of my soul, which aspires after the bliss- 
 ful enjoyment of God ; even my God forever : I 
 sought him, but I found him not ; I looked for him, 
 but I could not see him ; I seached my heart, but he 
 was not there ; he had withdrawn from that temple 
 where he delighted to dwell : and who shall shew me 
 any good ? Lift thou up the light of thy countenance 
 on me ; I have slumbered and slept by the way, and 
 my beloved is gone ; where shall I find him ? where 
 shall I seek him ? I will rise from this fatal drowsy 
 state which has grieved my beloved, and caused my 
 Lord to turn away in displeasure. I will rise now; I 
 cannot, I must not delay ; but while it is called to-day, 
 will seek after him, in whose favor is life, and at whose 
 right hand there are pleasures for evermore : I will 
 arise now, and go about the city ; in the streets, and 
 in the broad ways, I will seek him whom my soul 
 loveth : I sought him, but I found him not ! Jesus, 
 the only wise God our Saviour, uttereth his voice in 
 the streets ; he crieth in the chief places of concourse ; 
 
MEDITATIONS. 1S3 
 
 in the openings of the gates in the city, he uttereth 
 his words : thither I make my resort, hoping to find 
 my beloved, to hear his well known voice ; to behold 
 his august, adorable person, as coming from Bozrah 
 with his garments dyed in blood, travelling in the great- 
 ness of his strength ; him that speaketh in righteous- 
 ness, mighty to save I....I sought him, but I found 
 him not ; his ways and ordinances, though sometimes 
 delightful, are now but dry breasts and barren wombs ; 
 because I cannot find my Saviour in them. By the 
 rivers of Babylon, now I sit down ; I hang my harp 
 upon the willows and cry out in my haste, " My Lord 
 hath forsaken me ; my God hath forgotten to be gra- 
 cious" The watchmen that go about the city found 
 me ; to whom I said, <s Saw ye him, whom my soul 
 loveth?" Jesus hath appointed watchmen, who go 
 about his Zion, telling the bulwarks thereof, who, in- 
 stant in season and out of season, proclaim to the 
 citizens of Jerusalem, " Thy God reigneth !" They 
 saw my distress, they beheld the anxiety of my heart; 
 I enquired of them, u Have ye seen my Lord ? saw 
 ye him whom my soul loveth ? know ye which way he 
 went, or where he takes up his abode ? tell me, O ye 
 favored ambassadors, ye messengers of peace, that I 
 may fly on the wings of the wind, and fall at his feet 
 again : it was but a little that I passed from them, 
 but I found him whom my soul loveth," 
 
 When Jesus, by the secret influence of his Spirit) 
 convinced me that his servants were not able to help 
 me, could not bring me to him after whom I was seek- 
 ing, nor afford me that consolation I vainly expected 
 
184 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 from (hem ; but gave me to look to the everlasting 
 hills, from whence cometh salvation ; and from heart- 
 felt experience to say, " My expectation is from thee, 
 
 Lord". ...I found him whom my soul loveth. Jesus 
 the Saviour and friend of my soul, again whispered 
 peace to his disconsolate bride ; again he returned to 
 his throne in my heart, dispersing my fears, subduing 
 my foes, and giving me to exult in the favor of him, 
 who is the joy of angels, the glory of saints ; in 
 whom dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily : 
 
 1 held him, and would not let him go; tasting again 
 the sweet sense of his love, I clung to his arms by 
 the power of faith ; thou art my supreme and only 
 good ; O bind me, my beloved, by the sweet bands 
 of thy love, to the horns of the altar, the precious 
 wounds of my Saviour ; that I may never depart from 
 thy feet ; never lose sight of that dear Immanuel, 
 who is exalted as a prince and Saviour, to bless me 
 
 mm tne Diessings 01 an cvcna a u.. s VV;^I , ... 
 
 whom all my happiness centers; in whom all my 
 treasures are eternally laid up : thou art my beloved, 
 and thou art my friend ; whom have I in heaven but 
 thee, there is none upon earth I would desire in com- 
 parison of thee. I charge you, O ye daughters of 
 Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, 
 that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please: 
 let nothing disturb the repose of my Lord ; he rests 
 in my arms, he abides in my heart. I charge you, 
 O ye indwellers there ; I charge you that are round 
 about me, that ye offend not my Saviour ; that ye 
 grieve not his Spirit, nor cause him again to depart 
 in displeasure. 
 
MEDITATIONS. 186" 
 
 u Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness, 
 like pillars of amoak, perfumed with myrrh and frank- 
 incense, with all powders of the merchant I" Who 
 is this that having been long imprisoned in the dreary- 
 confines of an howling wilderness, now abideth no 
 longer in the tents of Kedar, but travelleth towards 
 Zion, the city of the living God, like pillars of smoak 
 perfumed with myrrh ? She is black, she is polluted 
 with sin, a smoaking brand plucked out of the fire ; 
 yet she is adorned out of the treasures of heaven, 
 with fine linen, white and clean ; yea, her garment 
 is of wrought gold ; her smell is as the smell of a 
 field well watered by the Spirit from above. Jesus in- 
 quires, " Doth he not know?" yes, he declares, she 
 is his spouse, his well-beloved ; the very delight of his 
 soul: he says of her, " Behold thou art fair, my love, 
 behold thou art fair; thou hast dove's eyes: I have 
 washed thee, I have cloathed thee, I have sanctified 
 thee: thou hast dove's eyes within thy locks; thy 
 hair is as a flock of goats that appear from mount 
 Gilead ; thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are 
 even shorn, which came up from the washing, where- 
 of every one bear twins, and none is barren among 
 them : thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy 
 speech is comely ; thy temples are like a piece of a 
 pomegranate within thy locks ; thy neck is like the 
 tower of David, built for an armory, whereon there 
 hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men ; 
 thy breasts are like two young roes that are twins, 
 which feedeth among the lilies : until the day break, 
 and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the 
 mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense : 
 o^2 
 
186 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 I will come unto thee, my beloved, and abide in thine 
 heart for ever ; I will visit thee with the sweet visita- 
 tions of my grace and favor, till the bright day of 
 eternity break ; till every dark intervening cloud dis- 
 appear, and the shadows of night are dispersed for 
 ever ; for thou art fairer and sweeter in thy Saviour's 
 esteem, than whole mountains of spices, or groves 
 of myrrh ; yea, thou art all fair, my love ; there is 
 no spot in thee. Come with me from Lebanon, my 
 spouse, with me, from Lebanon : look from the top 
 of Amana, from the top of Shenir, and Hermon, 
 from the lion's den, from the mountains of the leop- 
 ards. Come my beloved, with thy Saviour and King, 
 who hath loved thee, and betrothed thee to himself, 
 in an everlasting covenant : O come with me, my 
 beloved, from Lebanon ; look from the things which 
 are seen and are temporal, to the things which, though 
 unseen, are of eternal duration, and infinite : look 
 from the deceitful pleasures and deluding vanities of 
 time, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the habitation of my 
 holiness, the place where mine honor dwelleth ; where 
 flows the water of life, and where that tree, whose 
 leaves are for the healing of the nations, blooms for 
 ever : look from the lions' dens, the mountains of the 
 leopards : thy spiritual enemies are numerous and 
 various, they rage and roar, threatening to devour 
 thee ; but look not to their power, their strength, or 
 their might, lest thou faint under a sense of thy own 
 weakness, and forget thy Almighty Saviour, who is 
 engaged to deliver thee ; whose everlasting arms are 
 underneath thee ; who goeth before thee, and is thy 
 rere-ward, and as a wall of fire round about thee : 
 
MEDITATIONS. 187 
 
 thine enemies shall fight against thee, but they shall 
 not prevail ; for I am with thee to save thee, and to 
 deliver thee, saith the Lord ; and I will deliver thee 
 out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee 
 out of the hand of the terrible ; thou shalt not be 
 ashamed, nor confounded, world without end. 5 ' 
 
 " A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse ; thy 
 plants are an orchard of pomegranates :" I am the 
 careful husbandman, I am the watchful gardener ; I 
 water thee with the waterings of my Spirit, the gentle 
 showers of my reviving grace, the soft and sweet dew 
 of my blessings : I have planted my graces in thy 
 heart, and will cause them to grow, to bud, blossom, 
 and bring forth fruit, to the praise of the glory of my 
 free grace : I will root up the weeds and prune thy 
 branches, and cut off whatever is not of my right hand 
 planting, and make thee to prosper as the garden of 
 the Lord, even as Eden, my ancient delight : thou art 
 inclosed in the arms of my love, I have fenced thee 
 about with walls of salvation ; this is a hedge no rob- 
 ber can break through, no beast of prey demolish, no 
 subtle enemy undermine : it is built on a sure founda- 
 tion, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, it is firm 
 as the rock of everlasting ages, and shall emdurg to 
 the days of eternity." 
 
 " Awake ! O north wind, and come thou south, 
 blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may 
 How out.. ..Fragrant and sweet as thou art, my beloved, 
 in the gracious and precious things with which I have 
 adorned thee, unless thou art continually watered by 
 
I3B MEDITATIONS. 
 
 the showers from above, every moment refreshed by 
 the quickening power of my Spirit, thou wouldest 
 fade as the leaf, and wither as the rose, and sink into 
 the cold, benumbing arms of spiritual death, forgetful 
 of thy Saviour, thyself, and thy home. Come then, 
 my eternal, co-equal, co-essential Spirit, breathe on 
 my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out ; 
 breathe on my beloved with all thy cheering influence; 
 quicken her faith, confirm her hope, inflame her soul 
 with my pure, my holy love ; increase in her soul that 
 deep humiliation and self-abhorrence, which shall lay 
 her in the dust at my feet ; shed thy divinest rays on 
 the beloved of my soul ; and as I have clothed her in 
 wrought gold, and given her raiment of fine needle- 
 work, do thou take of that grace which is treasured 
 up in my fulness, adorn her, and make her all glori- 
 ous within/ 1 
 
 " Awake ! O north wind, and come thou south, 
 blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may 
 flow out.... Let my beloved come into his garden, and 
 eat his pleasant fruits." I am thine, O thou Saviour of 
 sinners ; my blessed and adorable Jehovah Jesus, thine 
 in the sweet bonds of an everlasting covenant : thou 
 hast bought me with a price, and I am still thy own ; 
 I am thy new creation, thy garden of delights : let 
 my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant 
 fruits : come into my soul, O my king and my God ; 
 set up thy throne in my heart, there reign with the 
 golden sceptre of love, Lord of my soul, without a 
 rival : thou hast adorned me with the graces of thy 
 Spirit, the peaceable fruits of thy righteousness : 
 
MEDITATIONS. 18$ 
 
 Lord, I lay them all at thy feet, thine they are, and 
 not my own ; take the glory, take the everlasting 
 praise ; as all the work is thine, be thine the honor : 
 for thou workest all our good works in us. O Lord, 
 take up thine abode in my heart. O my beloved, 
 create it anew by thy power, that I may know thee ? 
 and the power of thy resurrection." 
 
 " I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse • 
 I have gathered my myrrh with my spice ; I have 
 eaten my honey-comb with my honey ; I have drank 
 my wine with my milk ; eat, O friends,; drink, yea, 
 drink abundantly, O beloved : 1 have taken up mj 
 abode in thy heart, O thou fairest among women ; I 
 have made it the palace where I delight to dwell, even 
 an habitation of God, through the Spirit, having wash- 
 ed thee in my bloody and made thee white in the foun- 
 tain I have opened for sin and uncleanness : having 
 accepted thee in the righteousness I have wrought crJ: 
 for thee ; I have smell eel the sweet savour of those 
 precious graces, with which I have perfumed thy soul S 
 they are pleasant to my eye, and sweet in my nostrils 3 
 I have feasted with thee, my beloved, in the secret 
 chambers ; I have delighted in thee, from the days of 
 eternity ; I am that bread of life, that heavenly manna, 
 which came down from above, for the life of thy soul s 
 feed on me, O my sister, my spouse ; drink of the 
 water of life, which I freely bestow : whosoever 
 drinketh of those living streams, shall never thirst 
 again ; they shall spring up in thy heart, as a well of 
 water, unto eternal life. Eat, O my friend, drink, yea, 
 drink abundantly : O beloved, receive out of my ful- 
 
190 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 ness, grace upon grace ; be not content with a little, 
 just to keep thee from starving, but abundantly receive 
 from my infinite treasure, that grace which shall make 
 thee strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, 
 that thou mayest mount heavenwards, as on eagles* 
 wings ; run with divine alacrity thy heavenly race, be 
 more than conqueror over all thy foes, and be filled 
 with all the fulness of God ; plenteous grace is laid 
 up in thy Saviour, I give it freely to them that need.... 
 O come unto me my friend, my beloved ; look unto 
 me by an eye of faith, and I will pour into thy empty 
 vessel, the blessings of peace, the sweet treasures of 
 my love, and all the good things which were given thee 
 in that covenant of peace which is steadfast as the 
 throne of God ; settled in all things and sure : I came 
 into the world not for my own sake but thine, O be- 
 liever ; that thou mlghtest have life, and that more 
 abundantly," 
 
 I sleep, but my heart waketh ; it is the voice of my 
 beloved that knocketh, saying, " Open to me, my 
 sister, my love, my dove, my undefined ; for my 
 head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops 
 of the night."..,.! sleep ; alas ! sinful slumber hath 
 taken hold of my soul ; my drowsy powers relax ; 
 a heavy weight hangs upon my eyes, so that I cannot 
 behold the sun of righteousness; presses me down to 
 the cold regions of earth, so that I grovel as a worm 
 thereof; my chariot wheels are taken off, which used 
 to be as the chariots of Aminadab, so that I go slowly, 
 heavily, mournfully on : I lag, and faint, and tire, 
 amid the heavenly road, and freeze in the benumbing 
 
MEDITATIONS, 191 
 
 chains of cold and barren winter. I sleep, but my 
 heart waketh : still, O my blessed and adorable Jesus* 
 there is somewhat in my soul, which panteth after 
 thee ; that living, inward principle, which thou hast 
 imparted, a blessed spark of thine eternal flame . 
 though covered with ashes, and surrounded with death, 
 still it remains, still it lives and glows, though with 
 faint and feeble desires after a Saviour, after him 
 whom my soul loveth : I sleep, but my heart waketh : 
 who is this that disturbs my slumbers with repeated 
 knockings ? it is the voice of my beloved, it is the 
 voice of my friend ; of that ever faithful, compassion- 
 ate Jesus, who hath betrothed me to himself in ever- 
 lasting loving-kindness ; in the bonds of a covenant 
 which cannot be broken, although I have ungratefully 
 strayed from his bosom, where only peace and rest is 
 to be found. ...though I have forsaken him, the foun- 
 tain of living waters, and hewn out to myself cisterns, 
 broken cisterns that can hold none of the water of life ; 
 yet, behold he standeth at the door and knocketh : he 
 dealeth not with me as with one who hath broken 
 wedlock, and shed blood : he cometh not in the thun- 
 ders to alarm my soul; but gently knocketh at the 
 door of my heart, saying, " Open to me, my sister, 
 my love, my dove, my undefiled ; though thou hast 
 wandered from me, yet thou art still my own ; I have 
 loved thee with an everlasting love : thou art still my 
 beloved and the delight of my soul : thou art my un 
 defiled one, though thou hast again and again made thy 
 garments filthy, and been weary of me thine eternal 
 lover ; thou hast not brought me the small cattle of 
 thy burnt offerings, neither hast thou honored me with 
 
192 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with 
 an offering, nor wearied thee with incense : thou hast 
 bought me no sweet cane for money, neither hast thou 
 filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices ; but thou hast 
 made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied 
 me with thine iniquities ; yet I, even I, am he that 
 blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, 
 and will not. remember thy sins....O Israel, thou shall 
 not be forgotten of me ; I have blotted out as a thick 
 cloud fchy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins : re- 
 turn unto me, for I have redeemed thee. 
 
 " Ope me, O my sister, my love, my dove, my 
 underlie •, for my head is filled with dew, my locks 
 with the drops of the night. ...behold me, who have 
 laid the foundations of the earth, and stretched the 
 line upon it ; who bringeth forth Mazzeroth in his 
 season, and guidest Arcturus with his sons. ...behold 
 me, bowed beneath the heavy load of thy iniquities, 
 in the melancholy groves of shady Gethsemane, amid 
 all the damp vapors of the night ; and (be amazed at 
 the thought) vindictive justice, pouring floods of tem- 
 pestuous, stormy wrath upon my head....justice stood 
 forth and cried, Where is the sinner ? where is the 
 rebel, who hath broken my laws, and brought dishonor 
 on the name of infinite deity ? and I, thy friend, thy 
 surety, thy Saviour, interposed !....!, who knew no 
 sin, was made sin for thee ; I was wounded for thy 
 transgressions, I was bruised for thine iniquities ; the 
 chastisement of thy peace was upon me, and with 
 my stripes thou art healed. I am the man that hath 
 seen afHiction* by the rod of God's wrath : he hath 
 
MEDITATIONS. lf>3 
 
 bent his bow, and set me as the mark for the arrow : 
 he hath caused the arrow of his quiver to enter into 
 my reins : I was poured out like water, and all my 
 bones were out of joint : my heart was like wax, my 
 strength was dried up like a potsherd : my tongue 
 clave to my mouth, and he brought me into the dust 
 of deatho Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by ?.... 
 Behold, and see if there be any sorrows like unto my 
 sorrow, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me, in the 
 day of his fierce anger ; my soul hath it still in re- 
 membrance. With this great sacrifice of myself, I 
 reconciled God to thee : with the blood of my cross? 
 I made thy everlasting peace : wrath hath forsook the 
 throne, and grace, love, and mercy, reign for ever ; 
 mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and 
 peace have kissed each other : therefore, open to me> 
 my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled, for my 
 head is filled with clew, and my locks with the drops 
 of the night." 
 
 " My beloved put his hand by the hole of the door ? 
 and my bowels were moved for him :" Jesus accom- 
 panied his word to my heart by the power of his Spi- 
 rit, and my affections ran out after the Lord of my 
 soul. " I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had 
 withdrawn himself and was gone ; my soul failed 
 when he spake : I sought him, but I could not find 
 him ; I called him, but he gave me no answer." The 
 beloved, the delight of my soul was retired from my 
 view : alas ! I could not behold the light of his coun- 
 tenance, the joy of his salvation : I sought him, but I 
 found him not : I called him, but he gave me no an- 
 
 R 
 
194 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 swer. Where art thou, my beloved, my Saviour, my 
 spouse ? hast thou cast me off forever ? wilt thou no 
 more be gracious ? O Lord God of my salvation, I 
 cry day and night before thee, for my soul is full of 
 trouble, and my life draweth nigh unto the grave ; 
 thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the 
 deeps : mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction. 
 Lord I call daily unto thee ; I stretch out my hands 
 unto thee ; why casteth thou off my soul ? why hidest 
 thou thy face from me ? O God, my soul is cast down 
 within me ; deep calleth unto deep, at the noise of thy 
 water spouts ; and all thy waves and thy billows are i 
 gone over me ; I am troubled, I am bowed down 
 greatly : I go mourning all the day long, for my loins 
 are filled with a loathsome disease, and there is no 
 soundness in my flesh : I am feeble and sore broken ; 
 I have roared because of the disquietness in my heart. 
 Lord, all my desires are before the e,and my groaning 
 is not hid from thee ; my heart panteth, my strength 
 faileth mc ; as for the light of mine eye it also is 
 gone from me : Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and 
 there is none to comfort her ; yet the Lord is righ- 
 teous, for I have rebelled against his commandments ; 
 behold, O Lord, for I am in distress, my bowels are 
 troubled, my heart is turned within me, for I have 
 grievously rebelled. 
 
 " I called, but he gave me no answer : the watch- 
 men that go about the city found me, they smote me J 
 they wounded me." The ministers of Jesus beheld! 
 my distress, but they afforded me no consolation : they 
 applied no healing balsam to soften the corroding an- 1 
 
MEDITATIONS. 195 
 
 guish and alleviate the sorrow of my soul, but treated 
 me with harsh and severe reproaches, and bitter 
 words, which like so many daggers pierced my heart, 
 encreased my distraction and almost sunk me into the 
 black gulph of despair. To whom shall I look ? I 
 have grieved my Lord, and he hath turned away in 
 displeasure ; he shutteth his ears against my prayers; 
 where shall I go to find my beloved, the consolation of 
 Israel, and desire of nations ? " I charge you, O 
 daughters of Jerusalem (ye, who like me, are seek- 
 ing a Saviour) if Jesus favors you with the light of 
 his countenance, if he takes you into the arms of his 
 love, O remember, remember me ; think upon me 
 his forlorn bride ; tell him, O tell him I am sick of 
 love ; tell him the desire of my heart is towards him ; 
 tell him I faint because he is absent, and let him not 
 rest 1:111 he return and bless me." 
 
 u What is thy beloved more than another beloved, 
 O thou fairest among women ? what is thy beloved 
 more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge 
 us ?" " My beloved is white and ruddy ; the chiefest 
 among ten thousand ; he is the eternal and Almighty 
 God, whose goings forth have been from everlasting : 
 the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- 
 suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth : before 
 his throne, the bright armies of heaven veil their faces, 
 and cease not day and night, saying, " Holy, holy, 
 holy Lord God Almighty. "....Fountain of light, of 
 life and love ; possessing the essential perfection of 
 every good. He is the man, the exalted man, whom 
 saints unseen adore : he cometh from Edom with 
 
196 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 dyed garments from Bozrah, glorious in his apparel, 
 travelling in the greatness of his strength : he goeth 
 from conquering to conquer, mounted on his white 
 horse, and in his chariots of salvation : he is faithful 
 and true, and in righteousness doth he judge and 
 make war ; his eyes are a flame of fire, and on his 
 head are many crowns ; he is clothed with a vesture 
 dipped in blood, and his name is called the word 0£ 
 God : the armies of heaven follow him, and out of 
 his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should 
 smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of 
 iron ; he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of 
 the wrath of Almighty God ; he hath on his vesture, 
 and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and 
 Lord of lords : he is the lion of the tribe of Judahj 
 which has prevailed: from the prey he is gone up* 
 He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old 
 lion, who shall rouse him up ? he is not only thus awful 
 in majesty, glorious in holiness, but he is also that 
 meek and lowly lamb, which God hath appointed for 
 a burnt-offering, a great and sufficient sacrifice for the 
 sins of his people ; he offered up himself on that 
 great altar, which sanctifieth the gift, and now he ap- 
 pears in the midst of the throne as a lamb newly 
 slain ; he is a great high-priest forever, after the orde? 
 ©f Melchisedek, such an high-priest as becometh us, 
 who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sin- 
 ners and made higher than the heavens ; who not by 
 the blood of goats or calves, but by his own blood he 
 once entered into the holy place, having obtained eter- 
 nal redemption for us, and by one offering forever per- 
 fected them that are sanctified ; he is the Mediator of 
 
MEDITATIONS* 197 
 
 the New Testament, the great peace-maker between 
 God and man : that blessed days-man who layeth his 
 hand upon both parties, and hath found out a way by 
 which God can be just, and yet justify sinners believ- 
 ing in Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life ; 
 the way by which God can receive into his favor rebels 
 who have sinned and transgressed against him. ...the 
 way by which sinners can come into the presence of 
 Jehovah, as to their reconciled, forgiving, covenant 
 God ; and by the power of his Spirit, in the language 
 of faith, call him Abba Father.. ..the way by which 
 they receive every covenant blessing in time, and by 
 which they have abundant entrance administered to 
 them, into the kingdom of their beloved, the heavenly 
 Canaan, the new Jerusalem, the city of the living God, 
 whose gates shall not be shut at all by day, and there 
 is no night there, but the glory of God doth lighten it> 
 and the lamb is the light thereof. He is the truth, that 
 is his name ; he is the faithful witness, God that can- 
 not lie ; the fountain of life, the author and giver of 
 eternal life to his people : because he liveth, they shall 
 live also ; he is their advocate in the court of heaven ; 
 he is one with the Father, and he ever lives to r plead 
 their cause ; he thoroughly understands the law ; he 
 well knows ail their malicious accusers, and is capable 
 to answer all their allegations, and triumphantly bring 
 off that poor sinner, who commits his cause, though a 
 bad one, into his hands. Satan says, that soul hath 
 sinned ; shall it live ? thou hast said, the soul that sin- 
 neth it shall die ; canst thou be just, O God, and not 
 execute this sentence ? but Jesus, our adorable advo- 
 cate is by ; he says, " It is true, that soul hath sinned} 
 
 K 2 
 
198 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 but I have died. Father, behold my hands, my feet, 
 my side: Why was I crowned with thorns on Calvary? 
 Why was I crushed beneath the weight of thy wrath ? 
 was it not for that soul that it might not perish ? all its 
 iniquities thou hast laid upon me ; I have made my 
 soul an offering for its sins ; thy justice is satisfied, I 
 have paid his debt.. ..thy law is magnified, I have made 
 it honorable ; thou art a just God, therefore pardon 
 and justify that sinner ; I have bought him at the price 
 of my blood ; I have taken away his filthy garments 
 and clothed him with change of raiment. Father, I 
 will, that he whom thou hast given me, be with me 
 where I am, that he may behold my glory : the Lord 
 rebuke thee Satan, even the Lord that has chosen Je- 
 rusalem rebuke thee : is not this a brand plucked out 
 of the fire ?" Thus Satan is disappointed, thus the sin- 
 ner is saved, and God forever glorified in the Son of his 
 love, whose name is called wonderful counsellor, the 
 everlasting Father, and the prince of peace. He is 
 Jesus, a Saviour i no name so sweet to the ears of a 
 sensible sinner; a name which can bring peace to the 
 distressed conscience, and lay every storm of guilt in 
 the delightful repose of calm serenity : though we are 
 continually wandering from thy fold like lost sheep, 
 still thy Saviour is called Jesus ; thou art an everlast- 
 ing Saviour : this is my beloved, and this is my friend : 
 O ye daughters of Jerusalem, is he not the altogether 
 jovely ? 
 
 " Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest 
 among women ? whither is thy beloved turned aside, 
 that we may seek him with thee?" Since he is this 
 
MEDITATIONS. t9& 
 
 all-glorious Saviour ; this adorable, superlatively ex- 
 cellent person ; tell us, O thou his beloved and bride, 
 whither he is turned aside, where he takes up his 
 abode ? that we may seek him with thee, that wc 
 may inquire after the knowledge of him, whom to 
 know, is life eternal ; that we may partake of his 
 saving benefits, receive out of his abundant fulness, 
 and share those rich blessings he so freely bestows. 
 
 M My beloved is gone down into his garden to the 
 beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather 
 lilies :" God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with 
 the sound of a trumpet ; he is ascended into the hea- 
 ven of heavens, leading captivity captive, having re- 
 ceived gifts for sinners, even for the rebellious ; he 
 is entered into the holy place, and hath sat down on 
 the right hand of the majesty on high : there he reign- 
 eth, there he walketh among his saints in light; those 
 trees of righteousness, who are like green olives, and 
 full of sap ; of his own right hand's planting, whose 
 pleasant fruits are sweeter than camphire, with trees 
 of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, with all the chief 
 spices : there he unfolds the bright beams of his glory, 
 and displays the sweet smiles of his face; yet he bows 
 his ear to the cry of his beloved, who hath not yet ar- 
 rived at that glorious haven of eternal rest, but is still 
 like a ship in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, 
 and contrary winds ; he is the pilot ; he sitteth at the 
 helm, and will steer her safe to the good port, the 
 heavenly harb,or, where she would be, O that men 
 would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for hk 
 
30$ MEDITATIONS* 
 
 wonderful works to the children of men: ray beloved 
 is mine, and I am his, he feed : among ^he lilies. 
 
 " Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair 
 as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army 
 with banners f" who but the beloved, the spouse of 
 Jesus, in whose heart the sun of righteousness is 
 beginning to rise ; her light, her excellency and beauty 
 shineth not forth at once, but when the day-spring 
 from on high hath visited her soul, she shineth 
 brighter and brighter, to the perfect day, going iVom 
 strength to strength, and from glory to glory, till she 
 appear before the God of gods in Zion : she is fair 
 as the moon, for as that receives all its splendor from 
 the sun, so Zion, the perfection of beauty, receives 
 all her loveliness from the fulness of Jesus ; and be- 
 ing filled with his grace, shines with bright celestial 
 lustre, in the midst of a dark, benighted world : but 
 though she is bright, adorned with silver rays, she is 
 not altogether a fair orb of light; many, too many 
 dark spots of sin abide in her heart, and appear in 
 her conversation ; yet, though fair as the moon, she 
 is clear as the sun, without spot or blemish, or any- 
 such thing, being complete in Jesus, made white in 
 the blood of her beloved, and cloathed in the spotless 
 robe of his everlasting, glorious righteousness ; she is 
 as blameless, as sinless, as perfectly righteous, as the 
 great God-man, Immanuel, the beloved of God, in 
 whom his soul delighteth, and in whom he is eternally 
 well-pleased, who hath declared that Satan hath no 
 part in him. This her glory, is for ever the same ; 
 it neither waxeth nor waneth, nor is subject to change » 
 
MEDITATIONS* 2Ql 
 
 but endures to the clays of eternity, unsullied, undi- 
 minished ; brighter than the angels of light, those 
 fair sons of the morning. She is terrible as an army 
 ■with banners, standing with her loins girt about with 
 truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness, 
 her feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of 
 peace, and having above all, the shield of faith, which 
 is able to quench ail the fiery darts of the devil : on 
 her head, the helmet of salvation ; in her hand, the 
 sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God ; pray- 
 ing always, with all prayer and supplication. Thus 
 armed and prepared for the battle, she follows the 
 great captain of salvation, to a sure and certain vic- 
 tory ; she wrestles not only against Hesh and blood, 
 but against principalities and powers, the rulers of the 
 darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in 
 high places, but looking to Jesus, her strong deliverer, 
 having on the whole armor of God, she fights the good 
 fight of faith, and is more than conqueror, through him 
 who hath loved her; she is terrible as an army with 
 banners ; her enemies fail before her, for he that h 
 the mighty God of Jacob, hath promised, no weapon 
 formed against thee shall prosper ;" he saith, " Fear 
 not, for I am with thee ; be not dismayed, for I am thy 
 God ; I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee? 
 yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my 
 righteonsness: behold all they that were incensed 
 against thee shall be ashamed and confounded, they 
 shall be as nothing, and they that strive with thee shall 
 perish ; thou shalt seek them, and shall not find them, 
 even them that contended with thee ; they that war 
 against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of 
 
202 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 naught ; for I the Lord thy God, will hold thy right 
 hand, saying* unto thee, " Fear not, I will help thee, 
 fear not, thou worm Jacob, saith the Lord, and thy 
 Redeemer, the holy one of Israel : behold I will make 
 4iee a new sharp threshing instrument, having teeth ; 
 thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, 
 and shall make the hills as chaff: thou shait fan 
 them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the 
 whirlwind shall scatter them, for ail things are possi- 
 ble to him that believeth ; and thon shalt rejoice in 
 the Lord, and shalt gIoi7 in the holy one of Israel." 
 
 lt How beautiful are thy feet with shoes; O prince's 
 •Brighter," thou hast clipped thy foot in oil ; thy shoes 
 are iren and brass ; yea, I have shod thee with the pre- 
 paration of the gospel of peace. Says Jesus, the Sa- 
 viour and friend of his church, " It was impossible for 
 thee to walk with me in a state of nature, because it is 
 enmity against me : can two walk together, unless they 
 are agreed ? but I have not only slain that enmity by 
 the blood of my cross, but have subdued the power of it 
 in thy heart, bringing home to thy son! that gospel of 
 peace which publisheth salvation, which declares I am 
 reconciled unto thee, by the Sacrifice of myself ; having 
 communicated to thy heart, my gospel grace, thou art 
 not only able to walk, but run in the ways of my com- 
 mandments: the dreary waste, through which thou 
 art travelling, abounds w T ith burning sands, rough 
 and uneven places, rugged ways, sufficient to turn thy 
 naked feet out of the way, and to thrust thee down into 
 the bottomless pit of inexpressible perdition ; but I 
 have given thee for shoes, the gospel of peace, in 
 
HESITATIONS. 203 
 
 which thou shalt tread on the necks of thine enemies ; 
 before it, the rough places shall all become smooth, 
 and every mountain become a plain ; safely mayest 
 thou travel through an enemy's land, till thou arrivest 
 on Immanuel's ground ; it is an everlasting salvation, 
 shoes that will never wear out." 
 \ 
 " Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, 
 leaning upon her beloved ? I raised thee up under the 
 apple tree, there thy mother brought thee forth, there 
 she brought thee forth that bear thee.".. ..O my belov- 
 ed, thou that art journeying from time to eternity, 
 that art flying from Babylon, the city of destruction, 
 to that good land overiiowing with wine and oil, even 
 the heavenly Jerusalem, the Mount Sion, the city of 
 the living God: thou art not come to Mount Sinai, 
 that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness 
 and tempest, but thou art come to the general assem- 
 bly and church of the first-born, whose names are 
 written in heaven ; to the spirits of just men made 
 perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new and bet- 
 ter covenant, to the blood of sprinkling, which speak- 
 eth better things than that of Abel ; that cried from 
 the earth for vengeance ; this speaketh peace to the 
 distressed conscience, burdened with guilt, afflicted 
 with a sense of sin. Thou art coming up from a desart 
 place, barren of every good thing ; a waste, howling 
 wilderness, full of evils, surrounded with enemies : 
 thou art weak and void of strength, in thee is no 
 might at all, but thou leanest on thy beloved, on him 
 that is mighty to save : fear not then, thou worm Ja- 
 cob, but still repose on thy Saviour's bosom : cast aM 
 
804 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 thy fears, thy cares and burdens upon me ; repose thy 
 confidence in my faithfulness, willingness and ability 
 to save ; depend on my word which endureth forever; 
 remember my covenant which is ordered in all things 
 and sure, and standeth eternally fast.. ..Look unto me, 
 and be ye saved, O thou beloved of my soul, for I am 
 the mighty God of Jacob, thy strong deliverer, thy 
 Almighty friend: I raised thee up from that state of 
 spiritual death in which thou wert by nature immersed ; 
 I saw thee in that iniquity wherein thou wert born i 
 that state of darkness, blindness, and total depravity ; 
 a slave to thy own deceitful heart, led captive by the 
 prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now 
 worketh in the children of disobedience. ...I saw thee, 
 I beheld thee in this forlorn, detestable, wretched con- 
 dition : I set my love upon thee from the days of eter- 
 nity ; I looked and there was none to help, and I won- 
 dered there was none to uphold ; therefore mine own 
 arm brought salvation unto me ; the angel of my 
 presence saved thee ; in my love and in my pity, I re- 
 deemed thee, and raised thee up in my own appointed 
 time, from the death of sin to a life of righteousness ; 
 with a mighty hand, and a stretched out arm, exalting 
 my throne in thine heart, my purchased possession.... 
 set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine 
 arm : thou art graven upon my heart, and upon the 
 palms of my hands : O set me as a seal upon thine, 
 for love is strong as death ; yea, my love to thy soul 
 is stronger than death ; it hath combated with and'over- 
 come that tyrant ; it hath drawn his sting, and broken 
 his dart ^ my love is higher than heaven, and deeper 
 than hell ; it is from everlasting and to everlasting ; it 
 
MEDITATIONS. £05 
 
 hath looked orer all difficulties, and esteemed them 
 light, that it might redeem thee from the hand of thine 
 enemies, of those that hated, and were sworn to destroy 
 thee, for the joy that was set before me, even of sav- 
 ing thy soul from death, of rescuing thee out «f the 
 jaws of hell, I despised the sharne and endured the 
 cross, and am now set down in my heavenly kingdom, 
 expecting to see of the travail of my soul ; to divide 
 the spoil with the strong, and be abundantly satisfied 
 with the reward of my labor: my love is stronger 
 than death, my jealousy is cruel as the grave ; the 
 coals thereof are coals of fire which hath a most 
 vehement flame. '■' I am a jealous God, I will hot en- 
 dure a rival in thy heart ; I will not divide and give 
 my glory to another ; I will not be satisfied with a 
 divided heart ; I must have all or none. 
 
 Behold, my beloved, what I have done ; behold, 
 my beloved, how I have loved thee ; how I have suf- 
 fered and bled for thy sins ; I have betrothed thee to 
 myself in everlasting loving-kindnesses, in righteous- 
 ness, faithfulness and truth. Canst thou, O canst 
 thou forget thy Saviour ; him who hath been a hus- 
 band unto thee, and place thine affections on any 
 thing else? I know thou canst, thy heart is fickle, 
 light and inconstant as the waves of the sea ; but I 
 will not have it so ; I am a jealous God, I will hide 
 the light of my countenance from thee ; I will hedge 
 up thy way with thorns, and make a wall that thou 
 shalt not find thy paths : though thou go after many 
 lovers, thou shalt not overtake them, for they would 
 lead thee to the pit of destruction: though thou dost 
 
206 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 run away from me, thy friend and Saviour, yet my 
 goodness and mercy shall follow thee all the days of 
 thy life, and bring thee back to my feet, though with 
 broken bones and aching heart ; for thou shalt find it 
 a bitter thing to depart from the Lord thy God ; yet, 
 I will allure thee and bring thee into the wilderness, 
 and speak comfortably unto thee ; for how shall I give 
 thee up Ephraim, how shall I deliver thee, Israel? 
 how shall I make thee as Admah ? how shall I set 
 thee as Zeboim ? my heart is turned within me ; my 
 repentings are kindled together : I will not execute 
 the fierceness of mine anger ; I will not return to 
 destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not man, the holy 
 one of Israel, in the midst of thee. 
 
 u Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the 
 floods drown it ;" so vast, so strong, so immense is 
 my love to thee, ungrateful, unkind, and prone to 
 backslide as thou art, that neither earth nor hell can 
 decrease or queuch it ; not all the affronts thy foolish 
 heart is continually putting upon it, can prevent its 
 infolding thee still in its everlasting arms : not all 
 the floods of thine iniquities, which, wave after wave, 
 are continually arising, put a damp on that bright eter- 
 nal flame, which burns, and shall burn for ever ; it 
 shall never go out, it shall never decay, but uninter- 
 ruptedly continue the same ; in thy joy, in thy sorrow, 
 in thy life and death, during the utmost period of time, 
 and throughout the infinite space of an ever advancing, 
 never ending eternity ; when thou shalt be swallowed 
 up in that vast ocean of love divine which knows no 
 shore, and shall be able to comprehend wKat is the 
 
MEDITATIONS. 207 
 
 breadth and length, the depth and height of that love 
 of Christ which passeth knowledge; being filled with 
 all the fulness of God ; for I am love, my nature and 
 my name is lo^e...." 
 
 " Thou that dwellest in thy gardens, thy compan- 
 ions hearken to thy voice : cause me to hear it," thou 
 king of saints, and Lord of life and glory ; thou good 
 shepherd of Israel, the keeper thereof, who never 
 slumbers, never sleeps ; whose watchful eyes are 
 continually upon me for good. ...Thou that dwellest in 
 the gardens, those blissful seats of everlasting peace, 
 where spotless purity and perfect love for ever reign : 
 those upper chambers, those heavenly mansions, 
 where the cherubic legions bow before trfee, and all 
 the dazzling choirs of seraphim unite to ch aunt thine 
 everlasting praise.. ..where all the white robed saints, 
 my elder brethren, receive that crown, that palm of 
 victory which thou hast purchased, which thou hast 
 promised, in that copy of the heavenly records, which 
 thou hast handed down to earth : they listen to thy 
 voice with delight ; it fills their souls with extatic 
 transport, for the heaven of heavens is in communion 
 with thee ; thou dwellest also in thy garden below, 
 even in the hearts of thy ransomed ones: there thou 
 walkest, there thou takest up thine abode. O cause 
 me to hear thy voice, unstop my deaf ears, that I may 
 hear the voice of Jesus, my beloved, speaking in his 
 word, speaking to my soul by the secret influence of 
 his eternal Spirit, saying, " I have loved thee, I have 
 laid down my life for thee : I am given for the cove- 
 nant of nhe people; this is the way, walk ye in hV > 
 
308 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Incline my ears, incline my heart, O thou God of 
 grace, to listen with the most divine attention, to the 
 soft, gentle whisper of my Saviour's voice, that I may 
 fall at thy feet in the obedience of feith, filled with 
 wonder, love and praise, till time shall be exchanged 
 for eternity, earth for heaven, and all the anxieties of 
 this valley of tears, for the full fruition of eternal 
 blessedness ; when I shall put off this polluted gar- 
 ment of mortality, and be conveyed on the wings of 
 ministering spirits, to the bosom of my God, leaving 
 my sins, sorrows, and fears behind, for ever.... 
 
 O then make haste my beloved, and be thou like to 
 a roe, or a young hart upon the mountains of spices : 
 why are thy chariot wheels so long a coming? Make no 
 long tarrying, O my God, but quickly bow thine hea- 
 vens and come down ; speed away the moments on 
 their swiftest wings, and hasten that blessed, that de- 
 lightful period when the great angel of the covenant, 
 who standeth on the earth and on the sea, shall lift up 
 his hand to heaven, and swear by him that liveth for 
 ever and ever, that time shall be no longer. 
 
 How long wilt thou delay, O Saviour of sinners ? 
 how long shall thy forlorn bride mourn in the wilder- 
 ness ? rise, O thou bright eternal sun of righteous- 
 ness ; disperse the dark shadows of night, and hasten 
 the dawning of that eternal day, when the heavens 
 shall be rolled up as a scroll, the earth depart forever, 
 when thy redeemed shall lift up their heads with joy, 
 knowing their complete redemption draweth nigh ; 
 all that have thy new name engraven on their fore- 
 
MEDITATIONS. 209 
 
 heads shall meet thee in the air with songs of triumph, 
 saying, " This is our God, we have waited for him ; 
 this is our beloved, our redeemer and friend :" then 
 shall the ransomed of the Lord return and come to 
 Zion with songs and everlasting joy and gladness $ 
 and sorrow and sighing shall flee away forever. 
 
 O quickly let thy chariot wheels appear, 
 Darting bright beams of glory thro', the air ; 
 Bid the archangel sound, bid worlds draw nigh., 
 To meet the awful judge enthron'd on high : 
 And while confusion, wrath and woe are huiTd 
 With dreadful uproar, on a guilty world. 
 Thou wilt unfold the glories of thy face, 
 In full meridian on thy chosen race ; 
 They shall with joy behold, with joy confess 
 Their Saviour-God, the Lord their righteousness I 
 And full of thee, forever shall remain, 
 Live in thy life, and in thy glory reign : 
 With loving heart and grateful voice shall raise 
 A tuneful chorus of seraphic lays, 
 Eternal anthems of eternal praise, 
 Thro* the wide arches of the courts above, 
 While all their theme and all their bliss is love. 
 
 i 
 
 ^"VN/VN/^^ 
 
 s 2 
 
CHRIST ALL IN ALL. 
 
 Whither shall I go, but unto thee, O Lord ? 
 thou hast the words of eternal life, thou art life, and 
 in thee it is I live and move, and have my being ; I am 
 a poor stranger in this world, and a traveller as all 
 my fathers were, journeying from time to eternity, 
 from this vale of tears, this region of sin and sorrow* 
 to the heavenly Jerusalem, the Mount Sion, the city 
 of the living God, whither my great forerunner is 
 already entered, even Jesus, to prepare a place for 
 me : that is my rest, there my treasures are laid up, 
 there I shall behold my Father's face without a cloud ; 
 there all tears shall be wiped from my eyes ; I shall 
 no more hang my harp on the willows, but forever 
 join the harmonic chorus of uninterrupted hallelu- 
 jahs, singing the songs of Moses and the lamb, with 
 those who have washed their robes and made them 
 white in the blood of the lamb, and therefore are be* 
 fore the throne forever. But I am not yet called 
 home to my Father's house : I am a poor exile, pass- 
 ing through a wilderness in my way to glory ; I must 
 be tried in the furnace of affliction before I come out 
 bright gold ; but when I walk through the fire, I have 
 the word of an unchangeable God that he will be 
 with me, and when I pass through the waters he hath 
 promised they shall not overflow me j therefore, I may 
 
MEDITATIONS. 211 
 
 boldly press on, for though hosts of foes will rise 
 against me ; by the strength of my God, I shall leap 
 over them all ; for though storms may roar and temp- 
 ests blow, yet Jesus my God is mightier far than 
 they ; when he says, " peace be still I" they shall all 
 be hushed into a calm. 
 
 While I am in the world, I am beset with enemies, 
 enemies on all sides, within and without ; within a 
 heart deceitful above all things, and desperately wick- 
 ed ; a heart in league with hell, to stop me in my heav- 
 enly race ; prone to wander from the God of love ; a 
 heart which is by nature the sink of sin, ready every 
 moment to betray me into the hands of my spiritual 
 enemies, this is my nearest and greatest foe ; and 
 when I should soar on the wings of faith and love, 
 far above the things which are seen and are temporal, 
 to those which are unseen and eternaj, this weighs 
 me down, this keeps me grovelling in the dust, and 
 will do so, more or less, till the chain is broke, the 
 bond dissolved, and my fettered soul set at liberty ; 
 then I shall fly away upborne on angels' wings to my 
 heavenly home, and leave sin and mortality behind 
 forever : but that time is not yet come, I am yet in 
 the body waiting for the hour when Jesus shall say, 
 " Come up hither :" till then, I remain in an howling 
 wilderness full of burning sand, beasts of prey and 
 fiery flying serpents. The world is a subtile enchant- 
 ress, she lays her snares on every side to catch the 
 unwary traveller's feet, and we not only fight with flesh 
 and blood, but with principalities and powers, the 
 rulers of the darkness of this world ; with spiritual 
 
212 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 wickednesses in high places. O, who shall deliver 
 my soul from all this host of foes ? I am but a worm? 
 I have no might, my strength is perfect weakness ; 
 but the Lord ruieth on high, Jesus reigns, he is the 
 king of Israel and the Saviour thereof. Rejoice then 
 ye citizens of Zion, in the recollection of this truth, Je- 
 sus is King of kings, and Lord of lords ; all power is in 
 his hand, he reigns in and over our hearts, by the gol- 
 den sceptre of his grace ; he ruieth over the world by 
 Ills providential empire, and he reigneth over the de- 
 vils with a rod of iron; he hath ascended up on high, 
 leading captivity captive, and he shall reign till all 
 things are put under his feet. 
 
 But I am not only surrounded with enemies, while 
 passing through the valley of the shadow of death ; I 
 am altogether an unclean thing, and all my righteous- 
 nesses are as filthy rags ; born in sin, and by nature 
 corrupted, all I do is defiled with sin ; I am a leper, 
 unclean throughout, and God is of purer eyes than to 
 behold iniquity, he hath declared he .will by no means 
 clear the guilty : to whom should I turn ? to whom 
 should I go ? Lord thou hast the words of eternal life ; 
 Jesus is a priest upon his throne, a great high-priest, 
 who is entered into the holy place, not made with 
 hands ; who himself bare our sins in his own body on 
 the tree, and by that oblation of himself once offered, 
 hath forever perfected them that are sanctified, being 
 himself at once the sacrifice and sacrificer, and the 
 offended Jehovah, to whom he made the atonement : 
 for God was in Christ, reconciling the w T orld unto 
 himself... .these are mysteries the world receiveth not. 
 
MEDITATIONS. 213 
 
 To thee then I come, O my compassionate high- 
 priest, to be washed in that fountain, which thou hast 
 opened for sin and for all uncleanness ; from thy heart, 
 thy hands, and thy feet, flowed blood and water, to 
 cleanse and to redeem : wash me in that precious 
 flood, O thou Saviour of sinners, and I shall be clean* 
 Come hither, O ye wounded souls ; ye that are pricked 
 to the heart, that are crying out your wounds are in- 
 curable ; behold your priest, behold your sacrifice ; 
 behold the lamb of God that takes your sins away : 
 he hath given his life a ransom for many, and there 
 is balm in Gileacl, there is a kind physician there : be- 
 hold him by faith \ he spreads his pierced hands to re- 
 ceive you, your names are engraven on the palms of 
 his hands, and he will bid you go in peace. He now 
 appears before the throne, as a lamb newly slain, and 
 he ever lives to make intercession for us. 
 
 Sin hath blinded our eyes, hath stopped our ears, 
 and shut up our hearts in more than Egyptian dark- 
 ness ; Lord, I am as a brute beast before thee, I 
 know not the ways of God, nor the way in which I 
 should walk : I am by nature intirely immersed in 
 blindness and ignorance ; to what teacher should I go, 
 but to thee, thou great prophet of thy church ? thou 
 art the wisdom of God ; thou art made unto us wisdom, 
 and it is thy office to open the eyes of the blind, to 
 unstop the deaf ears, to teach thy people by thy Spirit, 
 all truth, and to make fools wise unto salvation. Lis- 
 ten then, my soul, to thy heavenly teacher ; hear him 
 in his word, directing thy feet into the way of peace* 
 
214 MEDITATIONS, 
 
 Hear him say, " This is the way, walk ye in it ; go 
 not after thine own will, but follow the lamb whither- 
 soever he goeth, and he will lead thee to the good 
 land, the heavenly Canaan, where thou shalt be satis- 
 fied with the blessings of his kingdom ; and though 
 ^he way may lay through many a dark path, Jesus 
 will be thy light and defence, thy x sun, and thy shield ; 
 the sun of righteousness v/ill rise upon thee, with 
 healing underneath his blessed wings ; will shed his 
 divinest influence upon thee, direct thee by his wis- 
 dom, guide thee by his eye, lay his everlasting arms 
 underneath thee, and be thy God } and thy Saviour in 
 time and eternity. When thou, poor silly sheep, wan- 
 derest from the fold, the good shepherd will keep his 
 eye upon thee, he will not suffer the wolf to devour 
 thee; but by the chastisement of his rod will bring 
 thee back ; when thou art weary and faint in thy mind, 
 thy all-skilful physician will make thee whole ; he will 
 heal all thy backslidings, and love thee freely ; for 
 with him there is no variableness, neither shadow of 
 changing. Rejoice then, O my soul, and ye saints of 
 God, rejoice in that Jehovah Jesus, who is the Alpha 
 and Omega; if he is our king, none can hurt us; if 
 he is our priest, he will save us ; if he is our prophet, 
 he will guide us right, for he is called wonderful, coun- 
 sellor. We, indeed are poor and blind, naked and 
 miserable in ourselves, but Jesus is made unto us, of 
 God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and re- 
 demption : if we are nothing, he is all. 
 
 Now to him who hath loved us, and washed us from 
 ©ur sins in his own blood, and made us kings and 
 
MEDITATIONS. 215 
 
 priests unto God, be honor and glory, thanksgiving 
 and praise, from all the inhabitants of heaven, and re- 
 deemed saints upon earth, henceforth and forever*,.. 
 Amen, and Amen. 
 
SUMMER DAY'S EXCURSION. 
 
 Farewell ye horrors of winter ; ye have fled to 
 your bleak habitation in the north ; and even gentle 
 spring with all her " vernal airs," have taken flight : 
 summer, rosy summer, triumphs in her turn, and 
 spreads verdure, health and festivity through the 
 vegetable, animal and rational worlds. 
 
 Come, my Miranda, friend of my heart, let us walk 
 forth with the early dawn ; let us contemplate the dew 
 drops that shine upon the grass, those bright dia- 
 monds of the morning; let us admire the rising sun, 
 while he permits us to behold his glories ; ere long 
 his rays will be too powerful, and his splendors too 
 refulgent for us to bear : but now the air is balmy, 
 cool, and delightful, we may lift up cur eyes, and be- 
 hold the wonders of the heavens.. ..See the eastern 
 clouds glow with most magnificent colors, azure, pur- 
 ple and gold : Phoebus has just mounted his flaming 
 car, Aurora flies before him, and the hours in dance, 
 follow in his train ; and are they silent ? Is the pro- 
 gress of the bright, imperial king of day uncelebrated 
 with celestial song ? No, methinks I hear the music 
 
MEDITATIONS. 2 it 
 
 •f the 3pheres....Listen, my Miranda, listen O my 
 soul, for meditation has an ear can catch the most 
 distant sound ; softly wafted on gentle echo's wing it 
 comes. 
 
 Fly, shadows fry, bright Sol appears, 
 
 Obtrusive darkness, haste away j 
 His flowing robe of light he wears, 
 
 And pours around a flood of day. 
 
 Rejoice ye grove-crown'd hills rejoice. 
 Ye humbler vallies laugh and sing ; 
 
 Let universal nature's voice 
 
 Raise the loud triumphs of her king, 
 
 God of the sun, his brightest rays 
 Sink into night, compar'd with thine ; 
 
 In his refulgent noontide blaze, 
 
 The glimm'rings of thy glories shine* 
 
 Yes, O sun ! bright and glorious as thou art, how 
 infinitely brighter, how inconceivably more glorious 
 must he be, who called thee into being by his word, 
 created and upholds thee by his power, and from whom, 
 as the great fountain of light, thou receivest all thy 
 splendors. And who is this infinite being, this glorious 
 God, but the Lord Jesus Christ? Col. i. 16. For by 
 him were all things created that are in heaven, and 
 and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether 
 they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or pow- 
 ers, all things were created by and for him. Yes, O 
 my soul, he that created the heavens and formed the 
 
 T 
 
218 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 earth, is no other than the great God thy Saviour ! how 
 sweet, how delightful a reflection ; the Creator and . 
 preserver of all the grand and noble objects around 
 me, became a babe at Bethlehem, a man of sorrows 
 and acquainted with grief, for me... .lived forme, died 
 for me ! O how grand, how noble* how sufficient and 
 infinite must that atonement, that righteousness and 
 intercession be, which is the work of no less a person 
 than the author of universal nature : Is his work o* 
 creation perfect ? so is his grand work of redemption. 
 Yes, my soul, his works are all perfect, all complete* 
 and thou art complete in him, Col. ii. 10. 
 
 How cheerful, my dear Miranda, appears the face 
 of nature; a little while ago it was covered with the 
 shades of night; all was silent and solemn ; but now 
 the rising sun has dissipated the gloom, the fields look 
 gay, the flowers open to drink in the dew and the first 
 gales of the morning, while the little feathered warbler 3 
 of the grove are sending up a sweet song to their great 
 Creator and benefactor, without whose permission a 
 sparrow cannot fall to the ground. And O how cheer- 
 ful is the believer in Jesus, when after a long night of 
 sorrow, the sun of righteousness rises upon him with 
 healing in his wings, heals his sorrows, speaks peace 
 to his soul, discovers some of the glories of his per- 
 son and offices, and gives the soul to see and enjoy a 
 little of the wonders of redeeming grace and dying 
 love : how sweet, how 7 inexpressibly sweet is such a 
 transition \ then the believer experiences the truth of 
 the psalmist's assertion, u sorrow may endure for a 
 night, but joy cometh in the morning." 
 
MEDITATIONS. 2J,0 
 
 Now blooms the rose, now the noble lily rears its 
 stately head ; the garden puts on its most lovely ap- 
 pearance, and emits its most fragrant perfumes ; while 
 the fields look gay, though clad with more artless 
 attire ; there the yellow butter-flower, the humble dai- 
 sy, the sweet smelling violet and spiral sorrel, ming- 
 ling with the tender grass, form a delicate carpet of 
 the most varied colors... .and the softly breathing ze- 
 phyr, carries on his gentle wings far and wide, the 
 healthful and pleasing effluvia of the new made hay 
 How delightful and wide extended is the prospect 
 around us ; the meadows are covered with flocks ; 
 here are sheep feeding in green pastures, while the 
 playful lambs are frisking hither and thither, and the 
 contented shepherd sitting under yon lofty oak, di- 
 verts himself with his pipe, enjoys the beauteous 
 scene, unenvious of the pomp and magnificence of the 
 great. On the other hand, see that vast ridge of hills 
 that rises as it were half way to heaven, and forbids our 
 sight to penetrate any farther : how sublimely majes- 
 tic they appear. O ! ray Miranda, who would not 
 leave the confinement and confusion of the city, for the 
 calm delights of so sweet a retirement, and to con- 
 template the beauties of such a prospect as this ; and 
 yet how far more noble a prospect, how infinitely more 
 grand a scene does the believer in Jesus behold, when 
 he is enabled to view by faith, ImmanuePs land, the 
 the kingdom of grace and glory, where his inherit- 
 ance is. u All things are yours, whether Paul, or 
 Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, o r 
 things present, or things to come ; all are yours, and 
 ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's," 1 Cor. Hi. 21,23. 
 
220 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Here are heights and depths of salvation ; lengths 
 and breadths of astonishing grace : and all this our 
 own ; yes, my friend, it was for us and all the heirs of 
 glory that the heavens and the earth were created ; it 
 is for us they are still continued ; for us the sun shines, 
 the rains descend, the dews distil ; for us the earth is 
 crowned with fruitfulness and fragrance : the wicked 
 partake of the bounties of providence, but they are 
 not the proprietors of them. This world is a grand 
 school, erected by the omnipotent God, in which he 
 ehuses to educate his children, and when their educa- 
 tion is complete, he will present them to himself, a 
 glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any such 
 thing ; and then he will pull down the school as a use- 
 less place : then sun, moon, and stars shall be swept 
 away, and all the wonders of the first creation sink into 
 nothing to make room for the superior glories of the 
 second ; that brighter, better world, where the sun of 
 righteousness shall shine in his meridian splendor, and 
 to which the ransomed of the Lord shall return and 
 come with singing and everlasting joy upon their 
 heads. 
 
 Upon what swift pinions doth time fly I already 
 hath the sun entered the zenith : all nature seems to 
 faint under his scorching beams ; the flowers droop, 
 the cattle take refuge under the wide spread shadow 
 of the oak, the elm or the walnut tree. Come, my 
 Miranda, let us retire to yonder rural bower ; it is 
 composed of laurel and bay, it is ornamented with 
 jessamine and honeysuckles ; O how sweet, how de- 
 lightful a retirement. The robin has come hither-be- 
 
MEDITATIONS. 221 
 
 fore us ; see he sits on yonder bough and whistles 
 forth his joy. Here let us sit down and recollect for 
 a moment, that if this retreat from the sultry beams 
 of noon is so welcome, so desirable, so refreshing to 
 our wearied bodies and fatigued spirits, how precious, 
 how inexpressibly precious must the Lord Jesus 
 Christ be to that soul, who when fainting under the 
 fiery temptations of Satan, the scorching heat of per- 
 secution and overwhelming afflictions is brought to 
 sit down under his shadow ; for one of the glorious 
 characters he sustains, is that of a shadow from the 
 heat, Isaiah xxv. 4. u The shadow of a great rock in 
 a weary land." 
 
 The Lord Jesus may be compared to a rock, because 
 of his immutability, and everlasting strength ; and 
 to a great rock, because he is the great God. " Tel! 
 me," says the spouse in the Canticles, u tell me, O 
 thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest? where 
 thou makest tjjy flock to rest at noon ?" the good shep- 
 herd leads his Bock to green pastures 5 he feeds them 
 tinder his own shadow, and upon the finest of the 
 wheat ; his everlasting love, his exceeding great artd 
 precious promises, his unchangeable veracity, his all- 
 sufficient power, the riches of his grace, the infinite 
 merit of his life and death, his covenant and oath. O 
 my dear friend, are not these some of the branches of 
 that glorious apple-tree, under whose shadow you and 
 I have oft-times sat down with great delight ? are not 
 these some of the rich fruit upon which we have fed? 
 when the king has taken us into his banqnetting house, 
 and made his banner over us to be love ? These are soft 
 
£2£ ^EBITATIOKS* 
 
 resting places, quiet and secure resting places ; the 
 apostle Paul found them so, and therefore could say> 
 " I know in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded 
 that he is able to keep that which I have committed 
 unto him against that day," 2 Tim. i. 12. It was a 
 sultry noon of persecution with Paul, when he wrote 
 these words; but, notwithstanding, he could sweetly 
 rest in peace, under the shadow of an Almighty Sa- 
 viour. 
 
 What gradual advances doth Phoebus make in hi* 
 diurnal journey? he doth not burst upon us with a 
 flood of light and heat, out of the womb of midnight 
 darkness, but arises upon our world by gentle degrees, 
 till at length . he arrives at his zenith ; then he blazes 
 forth in his full refulgence ; and not only the corn is 
 ripened, the fruit matured, but his piercing rays pen- 
 etrate to the deepest recesses of the earth, and shed 
 their influences upon the most solid rock, to form the 
 diamond, to bid the ruby glow, and to adorn the em- 
 erald, the amythist, and the pearl with all their varied 
 beauties. Thus gradual, thus progressive were the 
 dicoveries of the Lord Jesus Christ, and his great sal- 
 vation, made to a lost, fallen world ; the sun of righ- 
 teousness did not arise at once, his first rising beams 
 •shone but faintly, the great designs of Jehovah were 
 revealed at first in dark sayings, mystical ceremonies, 
 types so enveloped with clouds that nothing but the 
 eye of faith could penetrate them ; then brighter, 
 and still brighter displays of sovereign grace and 
 mercy in the person of Christ, were given by the di- 
 vinely inspired lips of the prophets ; and in the ap- 
 
MEDITATIOKS. 232 
 
 pointed time, the sun of righteousness shone forth m 
 his meridian splendor, " God was manifest in the 
 flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached 
 unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received 
 up into glory," 1 Tim. iii. 16. In this gradual man- 
 ner also, does the Lord Jesus carry on his work in the 
 hearts of his people ; the holy Spirit sheds a little of 
 his divine light on their dark understandings, and the 
 night of nature is, in a measure, dissipated ; but they 
 perceive spiritual objects in a very imperfect manner, 
 like the man whose eyes, when once touched by the 
 hand of Christ, saw men as trees walking; but the 
 sun of righteousness shines with brighter and brighter 
 beams, and they see more and more of his beauty and 
 excellence; their faith is strengthened, their hope is 
 confirmed, their hearts glow with stronger beams of 
 divine love; they become more and more acquainted 
 with their own viieness, wretchedness, and helpless- 
 ness 5 and thus they go from one degree of grace to 
 another, from strength to strength, till they appear 
 before the Lord in Zion. " The path of the just is 
 like the shining light, which, shineth more and more 
 unto the perfect day." 
 
 What little dependence is to be placed on the wea- 
 ther ; how very uncertain is all created good ; see, my 
 Miranda, the sun has hid his radiant head ; the 
 clouds gather, they appear dark and gloomy, and 
 threaten a shower. Well, it will be a welcome re- 
 freshment to the gardens, the fields will smell more 
 aromatic; see! it comes already ; in what gentle drops 
 it falls ; there are no thunders to alarm, no vivid light- 
 
224 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 nings to terrify us ; it is not attended with a storm, it 
 does not descend in a rapid torrent ; no, it is a mild 
 pacific shower, the clouds drop fatness ; it will revive 
 and invigorate all nature : so when the clouds of af- 
 fliction gather around the christian, there is no real 
 cause for him to be terrified and affrighted, there is no 
 storm of divine wrath to overwhelm him, no thunder s 
 of Sinai, no curses of a fiery law to consume him ; 
 they are quenched in the precious blood of Jesus : thy 
 darkest cloud, O believer, will produce nothing but 
 the gentle chastisement of a Father's hand ; it will 
 drop fatness on thy paths, humble thy spirit, soften 
 thy hard heart, and in due time bring forth the peace- 
 able fruits of righteousness : then shall thy sun again 
 shine forth ; and till he does, wait patiently for him, 
 and remember that he abideth faithful, he is the same 
 yesterday, to-day and forever. 
 
 The rain is over, the clouds break off, the blue hea- 
 vens again appear in their etherial beauty and ele- 
 gance ; again the sun sends forth his golden beams 
 to drink up the residue of tire late fallen shower, but 
 he shines in milder beams, abated splendor; in the calm 
 hour of morn he crowned the eastern clouds with gold 
 and purple, but now he illuminates the western hem- 
 isphere with his glories, and instead of the sultry blaze 
 of noon, presents us with the cool delights, the re- 
 freshing breezes of the sober evening. Welcome? 
 <; sweet hour of prime," thou art sacred to medita- 
 tion, devotion and the Muses : thus peaceful, thus 
 serenely calm is the conscience sprinkled with the 
 blood of Jesus : but hark, my P?Iiranda 3 friend of my 
 
MEDITATIONS. 225 
 
 heart, did I not hear the cuckoo's cheerful note ? yes, 
 yonder he sits perched on that tall fir, and repeats, 
 and again repeats his pleasing tale : wherever he is, 
 he has but one theme to record, and though he con- 
 stantly pays us a visit with every returning May, yet 
 his story is always the same, his song never varies. 
 Will not this remind us, my dear Miranda? that the 
 joyful sound of the glorious gospel in all ages, in all 
 climates is constantly, unalterably, invariably the 
 same ? The Lord Jesus Christ is its grand theme; he is 
 the illustrious object it incessantly displays. God 
 the Father presents him to our view and says, a This 
 is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear 
 ye him?" Matt. xvii. 5» The holy Spirit leads the re- 
 penting sinner to none but Jesus, as the great author 
 and finisher of salvation ; " He shall glorify me/' says 
 the Saviour, " for he shall receive of mine? and shall 
 shew it unto you," John xvi. 14. '* He shall testify 
 of me," ibid. xv. 26. The Lord Jesus is the grand 
 subject of the scriptures, both of the Old and New 
 Testament : " Search the scriptures, for in them, ye 
 think ye have eternal life, and they are they that tes- 
 tify of me," John v. 39. " To him all the prophets 
 witness," Acts x. 43. And the apostle of the Iamb 
 had nothing else to preach or write of, but the sove- 
 reign love, free grace, and rich, abundant mercy of 
 a triune Jehovah, as manifested in the person of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the prophet, the priest, the king, 
 the wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemp- 
 tion of his people. O, my Miranda, if this joyful 
 sound has reached our ears, has penetrated our hearts, 
 has filled our souls with triumph ; this will be, yes, 
 
226 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 and this is our language, God forbid that we should 
 glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ ; I 
 am determined to know nothing among you, O ye 
 -sons and daughters of this world, but Jesus Christ, 
 and him crucified. 
 
 The shadows of evening are lengthening apace, and 
 warn us of the approach of night ; the moon is rising 
 in cloudless majesty. Come, my dear friend, let us 
 return to our habitation ; how short is the longest 
 day : thus when in the evening of life, the night of 
 death approaches, may it find my dear Miranda and 
 her friend, thus fearless, thus calm and peaceful : yes, 
 O thou gloomy tyrant of the grave, we shall triumph 
 over thee ; Jesus our all-conquering God and Saviour 
 hath taken away thy sting, and he is gone as our great 
 forerunner to prepare us an habitation among the 
 blessed ; he hath given us an inheritance among the 
 saints in light ; there our sun shall no more go down, 
 neither shall our moon withdraw itself; there the 
 Lord shall be unto us an everlasting light, and our 
 God our glory ; there we shall enjoy an eternal sum- 
 mer, and employ our golden harps through endless 
 ages in celebrating the God of our salvation, to whom ' 
 we would join v/ith angels and archangels, and all the 
 ransomed throng, in ascribing glory and praise forever, 
 Amen. 
 
 v/\^\y\rv/\y\/* 
 
MEDITATION FOR THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 See, O my soul, thy condescending Saviour has 
 spread a table for thee in the midst of this howling 
 wilderness.*. .thy great Melchisedek brings fort bread 
 and wine to regale thee, and this is the language of 
 his heart, " Eat, O my friend, drink, yea, drink abund- 
 antly, O beloved, and as often as thou doest this* do it 
 in remembrance of me." My Saviour, i .Lord and 
 my God, I would fain obey thy gracious command, I 
 would fain remember thee ; but ah ! thou knowest the 
 stupidity of my heart, how apt it is to forget thee ; 
 Lord, it is dead, O breathe upon it the breath of life ; 
 it is insensible, O quicken it by the Almighty agency 
 of thy good Spirit ; lead me to Gethsemane ; lead me 
 to Calvary ; there open to my view the heights and 
 depths, the lengths and breadths of thine inexpressi- 
 ble, inconceivable love ; there let me sit at thy feet, 
 O thou whom my soul loveth, and remember with un- 
 utterable joy, with heart-felt delight, with the deepest 
 contrition and humiliation, let me remember that I 
 have redemption in the blood of Jesus, the forgiveness 
 of my sins.' 
 
228 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 u Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed 
 garments from Bozrah ?" Lord, I remember thee ; 
 thou art the mighty God, the everlasting father, the 
 prince of peace ; thou art the self-existent Jehovah ; 
 the God whom angels and arch-angels adore ; they 
 bow at thy footstool, they fly at thy bidding ; universal 
 nature depends upon thee, thou art the Creator and pre- 
 server of all things ; thou art my God ; I fall at thy 
 feet, and remember with astonishment, that thou hast 
 so loved me, as to become for my sake a man, a man 
 of sorrows, and acquainted with grief! I see thee 
 born in a stable, laid m a manger, grown up to a ma- 
 ture age in poverty and obscurity, under the deep dis- 
 guise of a carpenter's son. O ye angels of God, ye 
 bright etherial sons of the morning, how did your se- 
 raphic bosoms swell with astonishment, for ye beheld 
 him, ye acknowledged him for your sovereign, though 
 the world knew him not. 
 
 I see thee, O Immanuel, my king and my God, 
 prostrate in Gethsemane : there I remember thy soul 
 was sorrowful, sorrowful even unto death : I see thee 
 silent at Pilate's bar, and groaning out thy spirit upon 
 Calvary's cross ; and I remember, that in all this, 
 thou stoodest forth as my faithful surety and bonds- 
 man, bound by thy own solemn engagement to pay 
 to divine justice the infinite debt I had contracted ; 
 and now I see thee inviolably faithful to thy covenant, 
 clearing off my long arrears, with groans, with blood, 
 with agony, and death. Lord, I remember thy dying 
 love, and blush that I have ever forgot it... .be ashamed? 
 O my soul, that thou art so little mindful of thy 8a« 
 
Meditations* 2%9 
 
 viour ; be ashamed that thou canst think of any thing 
 else but him. O thou bleeding lover of my soul, I am 
 amazed and confounded, I am covered with self-abase- 
 ment, at the vileness, the base ingratitude, and stupi- 
 dity of my heart, which, after all thou hast done, after 
 all thou hast suffered, is so awfully prone to wander 
 from and forget thee, the fountain of all blessedness. 
 Thou hast set me as a seal upon thy heart ; thou 
 hast graven me upon the palms of thine hands ; 
 and though thou art exalted upon a throne of glory, 
 yet thou wilt not for a moment forget me; thy watchful 
 eye is continually upon me for good ; thine ear is 
 continually open to my prayer, and thine hand is every 
 moment stretched out to bless me ; thy heart is now 
 glowing with the same ineffable, unbounded love to 
 me, which constrained thee to die for my sake ; all 
 the waters of my ingratitude, all the floods of my 
 forgetful ness of thee, has not been able to quench 
 that infinite flame. O my God, here is my happiness, 
 thou wilt, thou dost love me still : surely then thou 
 deservest all the affections of my soul. Thou sayest, 
 " My son, my daughter, give me thine heart." O 
 take it, by the omnipotent power of thy Holy Spirit ; 
 set thyself as a seal upon my heart ; I would offer it 
 as a thank offering unto thee, do thou bind the sacri- 
 fice to the horns of the altar, by the-silken cords of 
 love divine ; stamp thy own holy image upon this un- 
 grateful, forgetful heart ; and as thou dost pardon its 
 vileness and baseness, O hold it so fast in thine Al- 
 mighty hand, that it may never wander from, never 
 forget thee more, thou God of my salvation. 
 
230 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Midst the solemn shades of night, 
 
 Let my soul remember thee ; 
 Midst the noontide blaze of light, 
 
 Thou, my sun, shine bright on me j 
 Ever present be thy grace, 
 
 Be thy power ever nigh ; 
 Till I see thy smiling face, 
 
 In the realms above the sky- 
 
 »/\/\*\/V/\/N/V 
 
MEDITATION ON REV. XII. 6. 
 
 *' And the woman Jied into the wilderness, where she hath 
 a place firefiared of God, that they should feed her 
 there, a thousand two hundred and threescore days." 
 
 The church of Christ, his mystical body, those 
 whom he loved in eternity, redeemed in time, calls 
 by his Spirit to the knowledge of themselves, and of 
 him, whom to know, is life eternal, and finally brings 
 to his kingdom and glory. •..This elect church of God, 
 we find in the scriptures of truth, described under 
 various characters, typified by various things, but all 
 significant, either of what it is in itself, or of what 
 it is in its glorious head ; thus, it is sometimes called 
 a worm, a vine, an helpless infant, descriptive of its 
 weakness, imbecility and want of support ; for what is 
 more despicable and weak than a worm ? what stands 
 in more need of support than a vine ? and what is more 
 incapable of helping itself than a new-born infant?*.., 
 we know it is totally void of the power of defence, and - 
 of every means of providing for its own subsistence : 
 and so, in a spritual sense, is the church of God 
 totally weak, void of power, and without strength, 
 and utterly unable to provide for itself, stand against 
 
232 3tfEDI¥ATI©NS. 
 
 tiny of its numerous enemies, or extricate itself out of 
 the many dangerous and disagreeable situations it is 
 often, very often brought into. On the other hand, 
 H I have compared thee, O my love," says the Lord, 
 by the mouth of an inspired penman, " to a company 
 of horses in Pharaoh's chariot." Now we know that 
 horses are creatures possessed of a very large portion 
 of strength, and were they capable of knowing their 
 own strength, there remains a doubt, whether or no 
 they would be subject to man : but the church is weak, 
 and in itself without strength ; therefore, this charac- 
 ter of horses, can only relate to them as they are con- 
 sidered in Jesus ; for in the Lord Jehovah, they have 
 not only righteousness, but also strength ; strength to 
 conquer sin, strength to conquer devils, and strength 
 to conquer death, their last enemy ; for all the strength 
 and power of a triune God, an omnipotent Jehovah, 
 is engaged on their side, to fight their battles for them, 
 to tread their spiritual enemies under their feet, to 
 give them the victory, and make them finally more 
 than conquerors over all that rise against them; and 
 were they but more sensible of this ; could they, when 
 feeling their own insufficiency, behold and rely on that 
 Almighty arm, that infinite strength, and everlasting 
 power, which is engaged by covenant, by promise, 
 and by oath, to be exercised for them;. ...had they but 
 full views of this, they would never be subject to 
 sinking fears, and evil questioning, dark surmises* 
 and unbelieving doubts, which often arise in their 
 hearts, and sometimes hold their troubled spirits in 
 bondage, under the gloomy apprehension of being 
 finally overcome by their enemies, and snatched from 
 
MEDITATIONSt 23^ 
 
 the arms and torn from the bosom of him, who hath 
 sworn never to let them go ; no, they would rather 
 cry out with the psalmist, " The Lord is the strength 
 of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? when the 
 wicked, even my enemies and foes, came upon me to 
 eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell; though an 
 host should encamp against me, my heart shall not 
 fear ; though war should arise against me, in this will 
 I be confident, the Lord is with us, the God of Jacob 
 is our refuge :" and add with the apostle, " if God be 
 for us, who can be against us ? who shall separate us 
 from the love of Christ ? shall tribulation, or distress 
 or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or 
 Sword ? nay, in all these things we are more than con- 
 querors, through him that loved us ; for I am per- 
 suaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 
 principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
 things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love 
 y of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
 
 Thus we find, that the church in scripture is de- 
 scribed under various figures, and perhaps out of many 
 more instances that might be brought, none are more 
 strikingly beautiful, more picturesque, or fuller of di- 
 vine consolation to the church in general, and every 
 individual member in particular, than the text I would 
 desire, under the divine influences of the Lord the Spi- 
 rit, now to contemplate ; for as he is the author of 
 these lively oracles, he must be also the revealer of 
 them to our hearts, or we shall see no beauty in them, 
 and consequently receive no divine consolation, no 
 u 2 
 
234 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 heavenly blessings from them. Come then, O thou 
 divine paraclete, and with thy light illuminate my 
 darkness, with thy fire warm my cold heart, with 
 thine unerring hand direct my pen into the paths of 
 sacred truth, because thou hast engaged to be an in- 
 structor to the ignorant, a teacher of babes...." And the 
 *woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a 
 place prepared of God, that they should feed her there, 
 a thousand two hundred and threescore days/ 1 
 
 If we attend to the origin of woman, we find that 
 she received her life and being from the side of man ; 
 " The Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon 
 Adam and he slept, and he took out one of his ribs, 
 and closed up the flesh instead thereof, and the rib 
 which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a 
 woman, and brought her to the man ; and Adam said, 
 this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh : 
 she shall be called woman, because she was taken out 
 of man," Gen. ii. 21, 22, 23. Analogous to this, the 
 church may very properly be called a woman ; for as 
 Eve received life from the side of Adam, so the church 
 receives her spiritual, divine, eternal life, from the side 
 of her dying Christ, the second Adam, the Lord from 
 heaven. The Lord God put Adam into a deep sleep, 
 while he took from him the rib of which he created him 
 a wife, and Jesus was fast locked in the arms of death ? 
 when his side was pierced, from whence flowed that 
 precious fountain of atoning blood, which purchased 
 him a bride, and streams of water, significant of thaj 
 holy Spirit, which should convey to his church that 
 life, and those blessings he had purchased for her. 
 
MEDItfATieNS. 235 
 
 When Eve was created, Adam awaked from his 
 profound slumber ; and so, when the great work of 
 redemption was completed, when the justice of God 
 was fully satisfied, his law gloriously magnified, sin 
 made an end of, transgression finished, and everlasting 
 righteousness brought in for the church, the lamb's 
 wife ; then the Almighty conqueror, the victorious Sa- 
 viour burst the bars of death, snapped asunder the 
 power of the grave and rose triumphant, to reap the 
 fruits of his pains, to receive the reward of his labour, 
 and see of the travail of his soul, and be abundantly 
 satisfied. 
 
 The Lord God having made the woman, brought 
 her unto the man : she did not come to him of herself, 
 and being brought unto him by God, Adam received 
 her joyfully, with ail the marks of the most tender 
 affection, acknowledging her to be bone of his bones, 
 and flesh of his flesh, and called her woman, because 
 she was taken out of man ; so the church of Christ, 
 the purchase of his blood, though she has cost him 
 dear, and stands under infinite obligations to him, 
 comes not to him of her own accord, but is brought 
 unto him by God. " No man cometh unto me," says 
 the Saviour, " except the Father draw him." We do 
 not read that Eve had any objection to coming to 
 Adam, but the church has numberless objections to 
 coming to Christ ; her understanding is darkened, she 
 does not see her need of him, her will is depraved, 
 she is positively determined never to come to him, and 
 her affections are so alienated from him, thai she hates 
 him, desires not his presence, seeks not his love ; but 
 
236 MEDITATIONS, 
 
 every thing that is contrary to him, that she loves, that 
 she seeks, and pursues with delight and greediness ; 
 she is in no concern about his displeasure, she fears 
 not his wrath, but she wraps herself up in a false secu- 
 rity, and vainly imagines that she has made a covenant 
 with death, and with hell is at agreement : she thinks 
 herself safe, though her refuge is a refuge of lies ; and 
 says in the pride and deceit of her heart, " When the 
 overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not 
 come nigh me ; I set a queen, and shall never see e^il-* 
 This is her miserable situation by nature, and while it 
 is so, alas, there is little appearance of her coming to 
 Christ : but what is to be done in this case ? why, the 
 promise is, " All that the Father giveth me ? shall 
 come unto me." The Father therefore draws her to 
 the Son, that she may be betrothed unto him in righ- 
 teousness, faithfulness and truth, and that forever : 
 he sees the pride of her heart, and the iron sinew that 
 is in her neck, and has determined that it shall be no 
 prevention to his bringing about, and fully accomplish- 
 ing his gracious designs towards her. He therefore 
 declares, " Because ye have said, we have made a 
 covenant with death, and with hell are we at agree- 
 ment; when the overflowing scourge shall pass 
 through, it shall not come unto us, for we have made 
 lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid our- 
 selves : therefore, thus saith the Lord God, " Behold I 
 lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a 
 precious corner stone, a sure foundation ; judgment 
 also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the 
 plummet ; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge 
 x>f lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place, 
 
MEDITATIONS. 237 
 
 and your covenant with death shall be disanulled, and 
 your agreement with hell shall not stand ; when the 
 overflowing scourge shall pass through, ye shall be 
 trodden down by it ; from the time that it goeth forth 
 it shall take you ; for morning by morning shall it 
 pass over, by day and by night ; and it shall be a vex- 
 ation only to understand the report ; for the bed is 
 shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it, 
 and the covering narrower than that he can wrap him- 
 self in it ; for the Lord shall rise up as in Mount Per- 
 azim ; he shall be wrath as in the valley of Gibeon, 
 that he may do his work, his strange work, and bring 
 *o pass his act, his strange act," Isa. xxviii. 16, 2.4. 
 
 This is the way God the father brings the church to 
 Christ; she is proud and stout hearted, and fortified 
 with all the armour that Satan can put upon her, but 
 the Lord God knows how to humble her pride, to break 
 her stout heart, and to take away all the false props in 
 which she trusted.. ..he has laid a sure foundation for 
 her everlasting happiness, and he will place her upon 
 it, in spite of all that hell and she can do against it ; to 
 this end he arrests her by his Spirit, apprehends her 
 by his powerful grace, and convinces her of sin, brings 
 her conscience to the bar of his justice, and obliges 
 her to plead guilty ; and though she may perhaps 
 endeavor to hide herself under the lying refuge of a 
 righteousness of her own, yet he will hunt her out of 
 this false covert; the hail, the storm, shall sweep it 
 away ; he will lay judgment to the line, and righteous*, 
 ness to the plummet, and convince her that she is not 
 only a sinner by actual transgression, but that the 
 
238 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 fountain is corrupt, that her heart is depraved, that 
 her nature is not only dead, but opposite to God, and 
 that God's holy, righteous law has passed the sen- 
 tence of condemnation upon her: he will lay judg- 
 ment to the line and righteousness to the plummet ; 
 he will convince her of the spiritual nature of the law ; 
 how holy, how perfect, how righteous it is : she will 
 find it not only condemns her nature and evil prac- 
 tice, but when she bring her best things unto it, her 
 refuge of lies, in which she trusted, and which she 
 called righteousness ; when she sees this weighed in 
 the awful balance of the sanctuary, and finds it found 
 wanting ; lighter than air, and altogether vanity ; a 
 shadow without any substance, a phantasm without 
 any reality ; finds it is sin, altogether sin, and as 
 such, the law of God condemns it ; as such, it stinks 
 in the nostrils of the infinitely holy Jehovah, who casts 
 it from his presence as a polluted garment, and 
 esteems it but filthy rags. When she sees and feels this, 
 she is ready to cry out, in the anguish of her heart, 
 u Woe is me, for I am undone ;" and why so? even 
 because the^haii hath swept away her refuge of lies, 
 and the overflowing storm destroyed her hiding-place ; 
 she finds that the wrath of God is revealed from hea- 
 ven, against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of 
 men ; and alas, she feels that she is nothing but an 
 unrighteous sinner ; and this humbles her haughty 
 heart, this bows her stubborn will, and makes her 
 glad to come weary and heavy laden to Jesus Christ, 
 for life and salvation. Thus the Lord accomplishes 
 his strange work, his wonderful work, his emipotent 
 work;, the conversion of a sinner, the bringing a ruined 
 
MEDITATIONS. 2S9 
 
 soul) a ruined church, to a crucified Saviour; and 
 never did Adam receive his new created Eve, with 
 that joy, that heartfelt delight and complacency, that 
 Jesus Christ receives the poor, ill, and hell deserving 
 sinner, that comes to him by faith ; being drawn by 
 the father unto him, he acknowledges him for his 
 own. He says, " Thou art the purchase of my blood ; 
 I loved thee in eternity, I laid down my life for thy 
 ransom ; for thee I labored, bearing the contradiction 
 of sinners : I stood in thy place, and fulfilled all 
 righteousness for thee, in order that I might wipe the 
 tears of sorrow from thine eyes ; I sweated blood ; my 
 soul was sorrowful, sorrowful even unto death, and I 
 never left off toiling, and suffering for thee, till I bowed 
 my head on the cross, and had finished thy salvation* 
 Behold then, how I loved thee ! come and look into 
 my heart that was pierced for thee, and behold thy 
 name engraven there, in characters never to be erased ; 
 yea, thy name is engraven upon the palms of my 
 hands, and thy walls are continually before me." 
 
 Thus the church may very properly be compared 
 to a woman, because of the analogy there is betwixt 
 it and the first woman, the mother of all living ; and 
 as Eve was the beloved spouse of Adam, so is the 
 church, of Christ: he has declared he is " married 
 unto her," Jer. iii- 14. And says in another place, 
 " Thy maker is thine husband, the Lord of hosts is his 
 name," Isa. liv. 5. " And (says the apostle) we are 
 members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones," 
 Eph. v. 30; but the husband is in heaven, and the 
 wife upon earth ; the bridegroom is in a palace, and 
 
24G MEDITATIONS. 
 
 the bride in the wilderness: "For," saith the text, 
 " the woman fled into the wilderness." Now a wilder- 
 ness is remarkable for two things ; first, there is nothing 
 in it that is profitable or delightful ; but every thing 
 that is frightful, dangerous, and distressing : there 
 are no overshadowing branches to screen the fainting 
 traveller from the scorching heat of the meridian sun, 
 no cooling streams to allay his thirst, and afford him 
 some kind refreshment ; no beds of roses, no vernal 
 bowers to rest his weary limbs, when fatigued with 
 his journey ; no delicious fare to abate his hunger, re- 
 cruit his spirits, or increase his strength.. ..nothing but 
 burning sands and fiery serpents, howling winds and 
 barren wilds, or only fruitful in producing briars and 
 thorns, which prick his feet, and retard his pace, and 
 make him cry out, " O that I had wings like a dove, 
 that I might flee away and be at rest." Or, in the 
 language of an inspired apostle, " O wretched man 
 that I am !"....Such a wilderness is this world, though 
 it is full of beauty, crowned with verdure, and adorn- 
 ed by the hand of its infinite Creator, with every thing 
 that can accommodate and supply our bodies, yet it 
 is void of every thing which is spiritually profitable ; 
 there is nothing in it which can satisfy the vast desires 
 of an immortal soul ; nothing which can comfort, sup- 
 port, or console the mind of the pilgrim, who is jour- 
 neying through it, from time to eternity, from earth 
 to heaven: no, he finds it a barren desart, void of 
 every thing that is substantially and abidingly good ; 
 but it is filled with every thing that can hurt and annoy 
 him; snares, and nets, and gins, are continually laid 
 for his feet; briars and thorns are often besetting him 
 
MEDITATIONS* 241 
 
 round, and hedging up his way, that he cannot go 
 forward; besides, it is infested with beasts of prey; 
 the roaring lion of hell wanders up and down therein, 
 seeking whom he may devour ; and happy, happy, 
 yea, thrice happy is he who escapes his ravenous jaws : 
 burning sands of fierce temptation, blustering winds 
 and rushing storms oft-times surprise him ; so that 
 sometimes his day is turned into night, his joy into 
 sorrow, and his very heart thrills with fear, lest he 
 should lose his way, perish in the wilderness, and 
 never reach the good land, the heavenly Canaan he is 
 seeking. 
 
 This is the wilderness in which the church of God 
 is scattered ; but, blessed be God, though she is in a 
 wilderness, she is not alone ; that were a dismal situa- 
 tion truly, for were she alone in the wilderness, she 
 would soon be overwhelmed by the whirlwind, or car- 
 ried away by the storm : but, though the Lord is in 
 heaven, and she upon earth ; though, if considered as 
 man, the heavens have received, and must contain 
 him till the great day of restitution comes; yet as 
 Jehovah, God over all, blessed for ever, he fills all space 
 and crowns immensity with his presence ; and he hath 
 said to his spouse, his purchased inheritance, " I will 
 never leave thee nor forsake thee:" his eye is inces- 
 santly upon her, his everlasting arms are underneath 
 her ; when she passes through fire, and through wa- 
 ter, he is nigh, and is as a Wall of fire round about 
 her. Jesus is with her in the wilderness as a guide, 
 she often takes wrong steps, and is frequently at the 
 point of losing her way, but then she hears his friendly 
 
242 MEDITATIONS* 
 
 voice behind her, saying, " This is the way, walk thou 
 therein.".. ..He is not only with her as a guide, but he 
 is with her as a guard, to protect her from her ene- 
 mies : when the lion roars, she trembles ; when her 
 foes, strong and mighty approach, she stands aghast ; 
 but the Lord her shield advances, spreads over her the 
 shadow of his wing, and taking the battle into his own 
 hand, girds his sword upon his thigh, and rides on 
 conquering and to conquer, for they are all to him as 
 the dry stubble is to the burning flame ; by the breath 
 of his mouth he scatters them as the small dust is 
 dispersed abroad, by the force of the irresistible whirl- 
 wind, and they are obliged to fall before him, as Da- 
 gon fell before the ark, or as a worm would be crush- 
 ed under the foot of one of the mighty sons of Anak. 
 
 He is not only with her as her guide and protector, 
 but also to supply all her wants, and comfort her under 
 all her oppressions. ...She is often cast down and af- 
 flicted ; often grieved and distressed ; but when this 
 is the case, Jesus draws nigh, says to her soul? 
 " Peace be unto thee; in the world ye shall have tri- 
 bulation, but in me ye shall have peace." When she 
 hungers, he feeds her with the bread of heaven ; and 
 when she thirsts, he leads her to the wells of salvation, 
 and gives her to drink of the water of life, those rivers 
 of pleasure which flow at his right hand for evermore 
 ....when she is fainting, he strengthens her; when fall- 
 ing, raises her; and when she is wounded by the 
 beasts of prey, stung by the poisonous nettles, with 
 which this world, this wilderness abounds, he makes 
 her whole, and restores her to health by applying to 
 
MEDITATIONS. 243 
 
 her wounds the healing balsam of his atoning blood, 
 the cheering unction of his holy Spirit ; for she is not 
 to be destroyed in the wilderness ; it is a place pre- 
 pared of God, he built it ori purpose for her recep- 
 tion ; there she is exercised, tried, purified, and made 
 capable of enjoying that better portion reserved in 
 heaven for her...." the woman fled into the wilderness, 
 where she hath a place prepared of God, that they 
 should feed her there:" indeed she hath aright to be 
 fed, for she is not a widow, her husband is living, 
 and lives for evermore, and it is the privilege of every 
 wife to be maintained by her husband, if he has it in 
 his power to maintain her, at least she has a certain 
 right to expect it; and if he neglects or refuses to do 
 it, when able, every one will allow he is a bad husband^ 
 and deserves no better character than that of a villain; 
 but Jesus is a faithful husband, a tender, affectionate 
 husband ; he loves his bride, he purchased her with 
 an infinite price, and has it well in his power to pro- 
 vide for all her wants ; the treasures of his love are 
 past finding out ; the riches of his grace are unsearch- 
 able, and the earth is the Lord's and the fulness 
 thereof; therefore she hath a right upon the best 
 and surest foundation, and it is her privilege to lookup 
 to him, not for a scanty allowance, but a full and am- 
 ple supply of all she stands in need of; for as she 
 possesses his hand and his heart, all that he has is 
 her's ; " for," saith the apostle (and he knew his mas- 
 ter's mind) " all things are yours, whether Paul or 
 Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or 
 things present, or things to come, all are yours, and 
 ye aje Christ's^ and Christ is God's," 1 Cor, hi. 21, 23* 
 
244 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 This is a large grant, a very valuable possession, if 
 we had but eyes to behold the extent of it ; but 
 our sight is now weak, and therefore we can view but 
 a little, very little part of it ; however, since this is 
 the case, the church is in no danger of starving ; 
 God hath determined she shall be fed ; he will feed 
 her soul with his word and Spirit, and feed her body 
 by a thousand providences ; and though her spiritual 
 and temporal enemies, wicked men and wicked devils, 
 are striving continually to cut off her supplies, and to 
 cause her to perish by famine, from off the face of 
 the earth, yet, blessed be God, they are striving in 
 vain ; for infinite wisdom knows how to counter-work 
 all their designs, and can, and often does, out of the . 
 strongest temptation, out of the bitterest affliction, 
 bring forth some sweet and savory meat to feed the 
 souls and bodies of his children. Job's afflictions 
 were calculated to feed his soul with heavenly manna, 
 to bring him off from feeding upon that which is not 
 bread, even the mouldy husks of his own righteous- 
 ness, that he might be fed with immortal food, the all- 
 sufficient righteousness of God his Saviour : while 
 Jacob's trouble was evidently designed for the tempo- 
 ral preservation of himself and his house, at a time 
 when famine and scarcity overspread the earth : thus, 
 " the woman fled into the wilderness where she hath a 
 place prepared of God, that they should feed her there 
 a thousand, two hundred and threescore days." 
 
 Blessed be God, though the church is in a wilder- 
 ness at present, she is not to abide there forever, she 
 shall not be ajways beset with dangers, surrounded by 
 
MEDITATIONS. 245 
 
 enemies, and filled with affliction and sorrow; no, her 
 beloved has not only prepared a place for her in this 
 tumultuous sea of fire and glass, where she is to be 
 fed and preserved, but he is also gone as her great 
 forerunner, to prepare a place in his palace, a mansion 
 in his heaven for her ; and at the set time, the appoint- 
 ed time, the expiration of that thousand, two hun- 
 dred and threescore days, he will come himself and 
 fetch her to partake of his glory, to share in his king- 
 dom, and sit down on his throne, to enjoy the utmost 
 that a covenant God can bestow on the beloved of his 
 soul....O eternal life ! who can describe thee ? what 
 can we say of thee ? alas, we can say but this, we 
 know not fully what thou art ; for eye hath not seen, 
 nor ear heard, neither hath it or can it enter into the 
 heart to conceive, what it is to be with God forever. 
 He that hath enjoyed most of the light of his counte- 
 nance, most of the joy of his salvation, most sensible 
 communion with a condescending Saviour, has but as 
 it were sipped of the cup, caught a drop from the in- 
 finite ocean ; just tasted the fruits of the good land :.... 
 but when the time, the appointed period arrives, that 
 wished for period, which the saints of God long for, 
 when the Lord Jesus, the mighty, yea Almighty God 
 shall appear, then shall we appear with him in glory, 
 and be like him ; for we, his church, the purchase of 
 his blood, shall see him as he is : but O, with what 
 eyes shall we behold him ! with what hearts shall we 
 love him I and with what triumphant songs shall we 
 proclaim his honors, when we enter into that kingdom 
 which was prepared for us before the foundation of the 
 
 world .••...then, and not till then, shall we be able clear- 
 
 w 2 
 
246 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 ly to expatiate on that infinite privilege of the believe? 
 in Jesus.*.. eternal life ! 
 
 Great day of God, O when wilt thou appear, 
 To usher in the grand sabbatic year, 
 When Jesus* saints shall enter into rest, 
 And soul and body be completely bless'd ; 
 When in full choir they shall their king adore, 
 And hear the rude alarms of war no more ; 
 When immortality shall crown the just, 
 And all their enemies shall lick the dust ; 
 O'erwhelm'd in awful wrath's indignant show'r, 
 And death, and hell, confess a victor's pow'r. 
 " Great day ! where art thou ? angels cannot tell," 
 Tho* nigh the throne their shining orders dwell ; 
 *Tis hid from angels' ken, but known to thee, 
 Great three in one, eternal one in three ; 
 Thy great decree has fix'd the period sure, 
 When sin shall vex and saints shall weep no more* 
 
 j**r*s**r \r*r*r< 
 
LETTERS. 
 
 Til' I . **' 
 
 LETTER I. 
 TO MR. AND MRS. M..,., N. 
 
 J/* t/«? continue in my word) then are ye my discifiles in- 
 deed.:*John viii. 31. 
 
 DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 Agreeable to my promise, I now sit down to 
 write to you ; and, according to your request, have 
 taken for a motto the text I mentioned to you when 
 at our house : it affords rne, I assure you, no little 
 pleasure to see you both setting out in the good ways 
 of God ; you may remember I told you, I hoped to 
 meet you, not only at, but also in the kingdom of hea- 
 ven. This is a pleasing hope ; may it be fully accom- 
 plished in due time. In the first place, give me leave 
 to assure you, that I did not mention this text with any 
 view to discourage you ; perhaps you are already 
 troubled upon this subject, and afraid lest you should 
 not continue.. ..I know young converts are very apt to 
 be cast down upon this account, but would not wish 
 you at present to be troubled about this ; your princi- 
 
24S tETTEJtS. 
 
 pal concern should be, to see that you set out right, for 
 all depends upon that..., Many set out in the profession 
 of religion who do not continue, and are presently 
 blown away by the wind of temptation and trial ; the 
 reason is, they did not begin aright, they were vj t 
 disciples indeed. " If," says Christ, "ye continue 
 in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." 
 
 This is a consolatory text, for it proves, that they 
 who are real disciples, or disciples indeed, dojcontinue; 
 the great thing then is, to become disciples indeed ; 
 they who are such, are kept by the power of God, 
 through faith, unto salvation, 1 Pet. i. 5. A disciple 
 indeed, is that in heart which others are in shew ; he 
 has not only the leaves of profession, but he has also 
 the root of grace ; without that root the leaves will 
 presently wither, and the fairest blossoms fade : but, 
 where that root is, though it may sometimes experi- 
 ence a spiritual winter, yet it shall, notwithstanding, 
 bud and blossom, and bring forth fruit, even unto old 
 age. Mere professors are very well contented with 
 their profession, and however others may fear and 
 tremble for them, they seldom fear and tremble for 
 themselves ; but those who are disciples indeed, espe- 
 cially when first called by divine grace, are deeply 
 concerned to know whether they are right ; they are 
 subject to many fears and doubts about this matter, 
 and are frequently much troubled and distressed, with 
 the apprehensions of being deceived, or mistaken ; 
 and are, in the general, much more perplexed with 
 doubts about the reality of the work of grace in their 
 hearts, than eiiher of the power or willingness of 
 
BETTERS. 249 
 
 Christ to save them : you, perhaps, may feel some* 
 thing of this* Now there is none, but the Holy 
 Ghost himself, that can put this matter entirely out 
 of doubt, but it has pleased him to lay down in his 
 word some characteristics of those who are disciples 
 indeed, and it is our duty to examine whether those 
 characteristics belong to us ; if they do, it becomes 
 our privilege to draw the most obvious conclusion 
 from them, viz. that God hath not appointed us to 
 wrath, but to obtain salvation, by our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. The first characteristic I shall mention, is 
 this, (and I mention this because, twenty-one years 
 ago, I myself experienced the sweetness and consola- 
 tion of it) " whosoever shall call upon the name of 
 the Lord shall be saved," Acts ii. 21, Joel ii. 32.*.* 
 This is an absolute promise to, as well as a descrip- 
 tion of, the people of God. Here is one great differ- 
 ence between the disciple indeed, and the mere pro- 
 fessor ; the one prays, and the other appears to pray ; 
 could you look into the heart of a mere professor of 
 religion, you would not find one grain of the spirit of 
 grace and supplication in it, though perhaps, he may 
 be able to say much by way of prayer, even in the 
 great congregation; but the disciple indeed, though 
 he may not be able to say much in public, yet could 
 you take a peep into his heart, you would find him a 
 wrestling Jacob. Some of God's people have much 
 of the gift of prayer, but they all have the grace of 
 prayer ; the experiences of God's people are various 
 in some things ; some are led by the deep waters of 
 conviction, and much sorrow upon the account of sin ; 
 others are gently led forth out of a state of nature* 
 
250 LETTERS, 
 
 into a state of grace, by the stili waters, and drawn 
 by the cords of love ; but which ever of these is the 
 case, they unite in this, viz. being wrestling Jacobs, 
 before they become prevailing Israels : and the reason 
 of this is evident ; every disciple indeed, feels the im- 
 portance of everlasting things, feels the necessity of 
 salvation, of being horn again, of being washed in the 
 blood of the lamb, and cloathed in his righteousness, 
 for he finds he has none of his own, and according to 
 the degree of the sense he has of these wants, he be- 
 comes a wrestler with God for-a supply of them ; he 
 cannot be easy, he cannot be contented, he cannot be 
 happy in time or eternity, without these bie ssings ; 
 he finds, in his flesh dwelleth no good thing, but he 
 sees that in Christ all fulness dwells ; and he hears 
 him say, " Ask, and ye shall have ; seek, and ye 
 shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you : 
 whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, I will do it, that 
 the Father may be glorified in the Son," John xiv. 10. 
 This encourages his hope, the desires of his soul aspire 
 after heaven and heavenly things ; and the earnest, the 
 constant language of his heart and lips is, " I will not 
 let thee go until thou bless me." He loses all relish for 
 the pleasures of the world: he despises them as trifling 
 trash, unworthy of a soul that is horn for eternity ; the 
 things which he formerly loved, he now hates, and the 
 things which before were disgustful and disagreeable 
 to him, now become objects of his delight ; he now 
 finds wisdom's ways to be ways of pleasantness, and all 
 her paths peace.. ..this is the disciple indeed. The 
 mere professor, though he may attend to ail the out- 
 ward forms of religion, yet remains destitute of the 
 
LETTERS. 251 
 
 power of it ; bis heart feels no want, and consequently 
 he seeks no supply ; but when God says to the seed of 
 Jacob, " Seek ye my face ;' ■ their hearts reply, u Thy 
 face, Lord, will I seek." And then says the promise, 
 " Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall 
 be saved ; your hearts shall live that seek God." 
 Psalm Ixix, 32. 
 
 Now, my dear friends, I hope and believe, that in 
 the above little description of a disciple indeed, you 
 will find something of your own picture. Do you feel 
 the importance of everlasting things ? Do you feel the 
 necessity of being born again of God, of being washed 
 in the blood, and clothed in the righteousness of Jeho- 
 vah Jesus, and so interested in his complete salvation ? 
 Do you so feel the necessity of these things as earnestly 
 to desire them ? and do these desires lead you to call 
 upon God for them, in the name of Jesus ? Are the 
 secret breathings of your soul aspiring to him, when 
 no eye but his is upon you ? If so, remember the pro- 
 mise.... all who call upon the name of the Lord, shall 
 be saved ; for none but disciples indeed, so call upon 
 him. Have the pleasures of the world lost their relish 
 in your esteem I Can you, will you chuse affliction 
 with the people of God, before the pleasures of sin 
 for a season ? This must be done, but none can do 
 it, but those who are disciples indeed ; if it is the 
 choice of your heart, happy are you ; the family of 
 God, both in heaven and earth, will give you the right 
 hand of fellowship. Is it the sincere wish, the un- 
 feigned desire of your inmost, souls to be devoted to 
 God, that he may purify your hearts by faith, and make 
 
352 LETTER£> 
 
 you holy as well as happy ? and do you find his ways 
 delightful to you ? Is a day in his house sweeter to you 
 than a thousand spent elsewhere ? and do you desire 
 to continue in his ways ? Do you dread going back ? 
 and is it the ardent wish of your heart, that you may be 
 kept by his power through faith unto salvation ? If you 
 can go with me thus far, I have no doubt but you will 
 go with me a step farther, that is, to heaven ; for the 
 Lord who gives grace, gives glory also ; none but the 
 disciple indeed, can go thus far ; mere professors know 
 nothing of these things. 
 
 In the next place, how is it that disciples indeed 
 continue in the word of Christ, and by so persevering, 
 give evidence of what they are ? Even because they 
 are like the house that is founded upon a rock ; the 
 floods arise, and the winds blow, and the rain de- 
 scends, but the house stands safe, because it is found- 
 ed upon a rock ; so the believer is built upon Christ ; 
 he is a sure foundation ; and another reason is, be- 
 cause God the Holy Ghost has promised that he will 
 abide with the christian forever, John xiv. 1 6. None 
 but he who first made the christian, can keep him 
 when made ; it was God the Spirit first quickened 
 you ; had it not been for his almighty and gracious 
 influence, you might have sat under the gospel a mil- 
 lion of years, and remained dead in trespasses and 
 sins ; and I would wish you to remember and never 
 forget, that even now you are not sufficient to think a 
 good thought of yourselves ; you cannot keep your- 
 selves a moment from sin ; you cannot overcome the 
 world or the devil, but by the almighty power of the 
 
LETTERS. 253 
 
 Holy Ghost ; if he has wrought divine faith in your 
 hearts, remember you cannot exercise that faith, nor 
 any other grace, but while under his influence ; you 
 can have no spiritual strength, no increase of grace 3 
 no divine consolation, but from him ; therefore, prize 
 him highly for he has promised to abide with you for 
 ever : it is only he can make his word powerful and 
 profitable to you ; therefore pray much for his pre- 
 sence and influence and teaching : seek him in all his 
 ways, for we can do nothing spiritual without him ; 
 love the means of grace, use them diligently : he has 
 promised to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him, 
 Luke xi. IS. "And," says the Lord, " lam come 
 that they might have life, and that they might have it 
 more abundantly :" never be satisfied with present at- 
 tainments, but seek after more. The promise is ? 
 " They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
 strength," Isa, xl. 31. Search the scriptures, and 
 carefully avoid all erroneous preachers and books ; let 
 the bible be your chief study ; visit other good authors 
 sometimes, but dwell with the word of God. You will 
 find many spiritual enemies to encounter with ; there 
 is much contained under these three heads, the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil ; but remember, this is the 
 victory, even our faith, 1 John v. 4. There is nothing 
 can conquer sin and Satan, but faith and prayer ; but 
 faith and prayer assuredly will conquer, because Jesus 
 Christ, who is the object of faith, is almighty to save ? 
 and has promised to save ; he is always faithful to his 
 engagements, and when faith lays hold of his power 
 and faithfulness, and calls upon him to fulfil his word, 
 this brings the very omnipotence of Jehovah to the be- 
 
254 LETTERS. 
 
 liever's aid, and then sin and Satan fly before him, and 
 the christian experiences the truth of that word, " to 
 hirn that believeth, all things are possible," but yet re- 
 member the power is God's and not the christian's.... 
 We do not always conquer, because we are slow of 
 heart to believe the promises of God, and his power 
 and faithfulness to fulfil them ; for want of this, the 
 christian is often worsted by his spiritual enemies, but 
 notwithstanding- this, he that is a disciple indeed, shall 
 overcome at the last ; he shall endure to the end, be- 
 cause he is kept by the mighty power of God, through 
 faith unto salvation. God is glorified by the persever- 
 ance of his saints in holiness ; and by so continuing in 
 the good ways of God, they prove to the angels, and 
 to devils, to good men, and bad men, that they are 
 disciples indeed, and also get a good evidence to their 
 own souls, that they are amongst the number of those 
 of whom Christ says, " I give unto them eternal life, 
 and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck 
 them out of my hand," John x. 8. I could say a great 
 deal more upon this subject, but having already ex- 
 ceeded the moderate bounds of a letter, shall postpone 
 any further remarks till another opportunity, and shall 
 conclude with observing, that they who know most of 
 divine things in this world, know but little ; they who 
 are most kept by the power of God, have most reason 
 to be thankful : by faith we stand, " but let him that 
 thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall ;" we are 
 never safe but when we are nothing in our own eyes ; 
 when we are weak, then we are strong ; when we are 
 most sensible of our own weakness, then the power 
 of Christ rests upon us. May you and I, then, my 
 
LETTERS. 255 
 
 dear friends, be very humble, very thankful ; may we 
 press towards the mark for the prize of the high call- 
 ing of God in Christ Jesus ; may we be enabled to 
 glorify him on earth, and may we meet in his king- 
 dom to praise his name, and to ascribe salvation to 
 God and the lamb, throughout the countless ages of 
 eternity. 
 
 I am, my dear friends, 
 Yours most sincerely* 
 In the best bonds, 
 
 MARIA DE FLEURY* 
 
 ^+r*f*r*fw\j 
 
LETTER II. 
 TO MRS. B...... 
 
 MY BEAR MADAM, 
 
 It is with the greatest pleasure imaginable, that I 
 sit down to fulfil my promise of writing to you the 
 first opportunity ; indeed, those whose hearts are unit- 
 ed in the sacred bonds of friendship, find it a most 
 agreeable privilege to be able to converse together? 
 when distance of place puts a separation between 
 them. I hope you are better in health and spirits, than 
 when I saw you last. Ah, my dear friend, why do 
 you give yourself up to sorrow and anxiety ? Is it be- 
 cause you have no reason to rejoice ? that must be 
 impossible : indeed, immoderate grief is both unrea- 
 sonable and unprofitable, and therefore I cannot but 
 blame you for indulging it ; yet do not be angry with 
 me, for though I blame you, it is, I assure you, with a 
 heart which sincerely sympathizes with your affliction : 
 I am not a stranger to trouble, I am not a stranger to 
 grief; and I know, when carried to excess, it is dis- 
 honoring to God, and unprofitable to us...." Let not 
 your hearts be troubled," said the compassionate Re- 
 deemer to his disconsolate disciples, when they were 
 sinking under dreadful apprehensions of losing the 
 presence of their best friend : but alas, how apt are our 
 hearts to be troubled upon much slighter occasions ; in- 
 
LETTERS. 25? 
 
 deed, it is our folly, and we have reason to be humbled 
 in the dust upon the account of it ; not that I suppose 
 there is any thing desirable in the unfeeling disposi- 
 tion of a stoic ; no, such a temper is by no means the 
 fruit of the Spirit; the soul who is really gospelized, 
 is taught to weep with those who weep ; and if it is a 
 gospel precept to sympathize with the afflictions of 
 others, it is surely allowable to feel for one's own.... 
 Jesus wept over his dear deceased Lazarus, and ten- 
 derly shared in the sorrows of two amiable sisters, 
 who were lamenting the loss of a brother, who was, 
 perhaps, dearer to them than their lives ; we do not 
 find that he chid their sorrow, but he did chide their 
 unbelief. Afflictions, my dear madam, you are sensi- 
 ble, spring not out of the ground; they do not happen 
 to us by chance, but are a valuable part of the saint's 
 inheritance ; but though they are valuable and profit- 
 able, yet they are so exceedingly disagreeable to na^ 
 ture, so irksome and painful, that we are apt to start 
 back, and would fain, if possible, be excused from ac- 
 cepting this part of our portion : alas, we are foolish 
 children, but it h our mercy that we have a wise father, 
 who will not study our humors, but \vill give us that 
 which is most for our good : remember that you re- 
 ceive your afflictions by weight and measure ; there 
 has nothing happened to you but what your heavenly 
 father appointed for you, when he wrote your name in 
 the lamb's book of life ; and then infinite wisdom, 
 and infinite love, sat, as it were, in council, to contrive 
 what should be most for your advantage in time and 
 in eternity. O then, dry up your tears, and be no 
 more sad, but rejoice, for you have abundant reason ; 
 
 x 8 
 
258 LETTERS. 
 
 look away from the top of Amana, from the top of 
 Shenir and Hermon, from the lions* dens, from the 
 mountains of the leopards," Cant. iv. 3. 
 
 O, my friend, turn your eyes from your troubles, 
 your difficulties and enemies, especially from those 
 which are past, for they are gone forever, and with the 
 future you have nothing to do : and what shall you 
 behold? Indeed, there is a glorious prospect before you, 
 O that you might be enabled to view it through the 
 telescope of faith, and then I am sure it will cheer 
 your spirits, be they sunk ever so low: what says the 
 apostle, " Our light afflictions, which are but for a 
 moment, work out for us a far more exceeding and 
 eternal weight of glory," 2 Cor. iv. IT. There is 
 light affliction for you here, but a weight of glory in 
 reversion : have but a little patience, and sin and sor- 
 row will be no more. Could you borrow the wings of 
 a seraph, and ascend to the new Jerusalem, and there 
 inquire of the white robed inhabitants, the spirits of 
 just men made perfect, whether they, or any of them, 
 arrived at those mansions of blessedness any other 
 w r ay than by the* way of the cross, they would unani- 
 mously tell you, it was through much tribulation that 
 they entered the kingdom of God. Why then should 
 you be discouraged, who have the same Jehovah Jesus 
 to be your guide through the wilderness, that they 
 had ; the same exceeding great and precious promises, 
 and the same inexhaustible riches of grace to support, 
 to comfort and make you more than a conqueror 
 throut h him who hath loved you ? " Fear not," says 
 our divine master, " thou worm Jacob, I will help thee* 
 
LETTERS. 259 
 
 yea, I will strengthen thee ; yea, I will uphold thee 
 with the right hand of my righteousness." O how 
 safe and secure must you be then who have the right 
 hand of omnipotence exerted in your defence ! surely 
 you may say with the psalmist, " Though the hills be 
 removed, and the mountains carried into the sea, yet 
 will I not be afraid :" indeed, you have no reason to 
 fear, for the eternal God is your refuge, and under- 
 neath you are his everlasting arms, Deut. xxxiii. 27. 
 May these considerations, my dear Madam, in the 
 hand of him whose office it is to comfort those who 
 are cast down, afford yon strong consolation, may the 
 sun of righteousness arise and shine upon you, and 
 with his delightful, joy-inspiring beams disperse the 
 gloom which hangs upon your mind, and fill you with 
 peace in believing.. ..joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
 
 I beg your pardon for being so prolix, it is my 
 usual fault ; when I begin to scribble, I seldom know 
 when to leave off ; I wonder sometimes that my 
 friends have patience with me; however, friendship 
 can pardon the faults of a friend. 
 
 My father and brother unite with me in best wishes 
 
 to you, Madam, and Mr ; we hope he got safe 
 
 home on Tuesday night, and it will give us the great- 
 est pleasures in the world to see you both in town, as 
 soon as you please. 
 
 I am, my dear Madam, with the greatest respest, 
 Your most sincere friend and servant, 
 
 MARIA DE FLEURY. 
 
LETTER III. 
 TO MISS J Y. 
 
 DEAR MISS, 
 
 It being at the request of your honored father, 
 that the first poem in this volume was written, and in- 
 deed, the whole published, I hope it will not be deem- 
 ed an impropriety, i£ before I conclude it, I beg leave 
 to address a few lines to you.... You are young, my 
 dear Miss, but you are not too young to be happy, 
 you are not too young to die ; you are a young im- 
 mortal. May you be soo deeply impressed with a 
 sense of your true dignity, that all the gay, inchantingj 
 deceitful pleasures of. sin may appear in your view, 
 what they really are in themselves, unworthy your 
 pursuit ; while the pleasures of true religion, the 
 sublime enjoyments which a saving acquaintance with 
 God in Christ Jesus, brings home to the soul, may rise 
 high in your estimation, be your early choice, your 
 first and last pursuit. Your dear parents, I am per- 
 suaded, can tell you from their own experience, what 
 are the advantages of true, heart-felt religion, being 
 made partakers of its blessings themselves ; they 
 can, and I doubt not but they do, recommend it to 
 you as the one thing needful, and their prayers for 
 you incessantly are, that the same distinguishing 
 grace which has brought salvation to their hearts, 
 
LETTERS. 261 
 
 may be also bestowed upon you ; they wish you a 
 better portion than they can give you ; even, that 
 Immanuel, the great God, our Saviour, may give him- 
 self to you, as your everlasting portion ; and when 
 they shall see you enabled to devote yourself, your 
 youth, your soul and body, your all, as your reasonable 
 service to him, they will know that this is the case : 
 this is their wish for you, and this is my wish for you ; 
 may the great hearer of prayer, put his Amen to our 
 wishes, and say, so be it.-.. 
 
 When you read the first poem this volume con- 
 tains, you wiil remember that I wrote it at the request 
 of your father, and I am persuaded, that love to the 
 divine Redeemer, and zeal for his truth, were the 
 motives of that request ; may your father's God be 
 your God ; may the great and glorious* truths which 
 this poem contains, be so revealed to your soul by the 
 Spirit of truth, that Irnmanuel's name may become 
 precious to you, be the most charming sound to your 
 ears, and himself altogether lovely in your view ; 
 and if ever this is the case, which I hope and pray it 
 may, you will possess greater riches, and sublimer 
 happiness than the riches of Peru, or the empire of 
 the world could give you....May the divine Spirit ena- 
 ble you, my dear Miss, to seek for these durable riches, 
 and this sublime happiness : if you seek them with 
 your whole heart, you shall have them ; the Lord 
 Jesus gives them freely to every one who is really and 
 truly desirous to have them ; and it is his peculiar de- 
 light to give them to those who seek them in the early 
 part of life : he says, " I love them that love me, and 
 they that seek me early, shall find me," Prov. viii. 1 7- 
 
262 LETTERS^ 
 
 The Lord Jesus, when he was upon earth, was the 
 most gentle, kind and compassionate man in the 
 world ; he was easy to be intreated, he healed all 
 that came to him to be healed of their diseases, and 
 even died for sinners ; and now, though he is exalted 
 at God's right hand. ...nay, though he is himself the 
 eternal God, yet he is as kind and gracious as ever. 
 May this Holy Spirit convince you of your need of 
 his salvation, and cause you earnestly and diligently 
 to seek it, then shall you find him the kindest Father, 
 the most gracious Saviour, and the most faithful and 
 affectionate friend, all your future life ; he will be 
 your God and your guide unto death, and your glo* 
 rious portion in eternity. 
 
 That this may be your happy experience, is the 
 sincere wish, and shall be the hearty prayer of, 
 Dear Miss, 
 
 Your affectionate friend 
 
 MARIA DE FLEURY* 
 
I I c e t I 9 t t > » « t « H • « « ( ( t » t S 4 «1 4 
 
 eternal Cutoe 
 
 AN ODE. 
 
 BY RICHARD LEE. 
 
eternal HoDe: 
 
 AN ODEe 
 
 Now I attempt a vast immortal theme? 
 And try my voice to sing the Saviour's nameo 
 Thou sun of heaven ! source of celestial fire ! 
 Eternal Spirit ! my bold Muse inspire ; 
 Inflame the soul 3 and guide the raptur'd tongue 
 That dares aspire to so sublime a song. 
 
 Jesus I sing ; delightful name ! 
 
 I feel already the inspiring flame S * 
 Creation fades, and more than heav'n appears, 
 My soul flies back, beyond eternal years ; 
 
 There I behold th' Almighty Son, 
 
 'Midst of the everlasting throne, 
 One with the Father, with the Spirit one, 
 
 Array'd in uncreated light, 
 
 Bless'd in perfections all his own, 
 
 Glories immense and infinite, 
 Beam from his face, and rest upon his crown. 
 
 Then, vast immeasurable grace, 
 And purposes of love, 
 
 Love everlasting, great and undefin'4, 
 
 Fill'd the eternal mind ; 
 v 
 
266 
 
 ETERNAL LOVE. 
 
 And burn'd tow'rds our unworthy race, 
 
 Chose before seraphim, recovering grace to prove* 
 
 Before creation heard his grand behest, 
 
 And instant into being sprung ; 
 Before immensity of space was dress'd 
 With gems by harmony and order plac'd ; 
 Ere the young morning stars sparkled and sung, 
 
 Or ere this earth in <ether pendant hung,... 
 He thought on mortals ;....yea, he lov'd us then ! 
 " And his delights were with the sons of men !" 
 He fix'd the place 
 Where each of his redeem'd should dwell, 
 And lov'd their habitations well ; 
 He thought on Ceclron's brook and Calv'ry's height; 
 From everlasting years his heart was set, 
 There to exhibit everlasting grace I 
 
 Stupendous grace ! 
 Creatures of vile original and birth, 
 Offspring of dust and progeny of earth , 
 A fallen, guilty, and apostate race ; 
 Their hearts abominable and unclean, 
 Plung'd each day deeper in the filth of sin : 
 Their daring words and hands uplifted high, 
 In mad rebellion against the sky ; 
 With rancor fhTd against the living God, 
 And proud defiance of his threat'ning rod ; 
 His gracious pardon offer'd them in vain, 
 And sov'reign mercy treated with disdain. 
 To close the black, but yet imperfect list, 
 Impious despisers of the blood of Christ! 
 Wonder thou earth below i ye heavens above I 
 For these were lov'd. with everlasting love ! 
 
ETERNAL LOVE. 267 
 
 Let songs of praise from thee, O Zion ! rise, 
 Perfume the air, and glad the list'ning skies ; 
 Till angels hear, 
 Their notes forbear, 
 And yield to silence, struck with vast surprise : 
 
 Then ye bright immortal choirs ! 
 
 Sudden glow with brighter fires ! 
 
 Louder strike th< astonish'd lyres ! 
 Let ev'ry string with trembling rapture move ; 
 Bid the wrapt strains through distant planets rove, 
 And teach the rolling spheres to sing Eternal Love ! 
 
 Thou earth ! be vocal, with hosannas ring, 
 With thy inhabitants exult and sing. 
 
 Ye lofty mountains ! whose aspiring heights 
 Sublimely view the gliding clouds below, 
 Whose venerable heads are crown'd with ancient snow 
 Unsullied by the look of mortal eyes ; 
 
 As with prodigious, mighty joys elate, 
 Yet greater swell.... to loftier heights yet rise. 
 And give to heaven the spotless sacrifice. 
 
 O everlasting love ! thy praise extend ; 
 Let gladden'd nature feel the enliv'ning sound ; 
 From woods and forests let the strains rebound ; 
 Whose leafy tribes in stately grandeur rise ; 
 
 Your tribute pay, in lowly homage bend, 
 Wave your tall heads, and hail the smiling skies. 
 
 Ye laughing vallies, and ye verdant meads ! 
 
 Hear the bless'd song, and glow in brighter green; 
 Ye springing flow'rets, lift your fragrant heads. 
 
268 ETERNAL LOVE, 
 
 Unfold your bloom, 
 Shed your perfume ; 
 And add new beauties to the joyous scene. 
 
 Ye soft musicians of the air ! 
 Melodious tenants of the grove, 
 The poet's grand enthusiasm join ; 
 For noblest strains your sweetest powers prepare. 
 Let all your tender warblings be of love ; 
 Love is your darling theme, and this is love divine ; 
 Now swells your tuneful throats, 
 To pour the joyful notes; 
 Extol your kind, beneficent Creator, 
 And the eternal lover of our nature. 
 Let every purling rill and winding stream ; 
 Let every foaming flood, 
 That rolls a rougher tide, 
 Catch from your notes the captivating theme; 
 These smooth their surface, calmer glide : 
 Those gentler run along the pebbled road. 
 
 Eternal Love ! extend thy praise ! 
 Let every tongue prolong the blissful lays, 
 Which my unequal Muse so faintly sings ; 
 Waft it, ye winds, upon your balmy wings. 
 
 Across th' exulting seas, 
 To distant shores " Eternal Love" convey. 
 
 O heaven ! and nature sing ! 
 Let all existence in the work combine, 
 Let every order in creation join, 
 And praise the Eternal Love of our eternal king ! 
 
ETERNAL LOVE. 269 
 
 But, hark !........! hear.......* 
 
 (Suspend your raptures with an awful fear) 
 
 Earth is convuls'd!....the skies in blackness veiPd...« 
 
 I hear a deep, tremendous groan, 
 
 That bursts the grave and tears the solid stone ! 
 
 The God incarnate to a gibbet nail'd, 
 
 Fulfils his part in the eternal plan, 
 
 And gives his life to ransom dying man ! 
 
 Thrones and dominions bending from, above, 
 Here read the wonders of Eternal Love, 
 Engrav'd indelible in crimson lines, 
 Through gathering clouds of horror, lo ! it shines ; 
 Love reigns victorious ; on a cross it reigns, 
 And triumphs in unutterable pains ! 
 The swelling floods of God's Almighty ire 
 G'erwhelms his soul.. ..yet burns the sacred fire.... 
 Yet unabated burns the quenchless passion, 
 Which urg'd him first to undertake salvation. 
 He drinks the cup full charg'd with wrath divine, 
 Though free from sin, he bears the curse of mine. 
 Eternal love displays his heart, 
 And bids stern justice strike th* insatiate dart, 
 Pointed with keenest anguish ; barb'd with deathly- 
 smart. 
 
 Let silence, ye celestials ! reign, 
 Silence, expressive of profoundest awe ; 
 Let all your harps, untun'd, 
 Forget their usual sound, 
 Nor even sigh one melancholy strain ; 
 While ye behold this great unequal'd scene; 
 
 y 2 
 
270 ETERNAL LOVE. 
 
 A greater scene th' eternal never saw i 
 
 Jehovah's fellow and co-equal son, 
 
 The sharer of his undivided throne, 
 
 Now droops beneath his father's fiercest frown ; 
 
 The sun of glory, heaven's supreme delight, 
 
 Sinks in the horrors of infernal night ; 
 
 The fount of bliss endures a hell within ; 
 
 The Lord of life, the source of being dies ; 
 
 Eternal purity becomes for sin 
 
 A free and voluntary sacrifice ; 
 
 Who calls eternity his dwelling-place, 
 
 Lies circumscrib'd within the grave's embrace ; 
 
 Wounded and bruis'd in earth's dark prison lies, 
 
 That we might solace in celestial joys ; 
 
 That we might rise exulting from the tomb, 
 
 Shine in the skies, arid'flourish in immortal bloom. 
 
 Zion is ransom'd, and Messiah rises ! 
 
 Infinite merit, blood divine suffices ; 
 
 Justice beholds, propitious from his throne, 
 
 Redemption finish'd, and salvation won ; 
 
 Deck'd with new honors, crown'd with brighter beams, 
 
 His great complacency he thus proclaims : 
 
 " I have receiv'd my full demand, 
 
 Illustrious sufPrer ! from thy hand ; 
 
 Thy spotless life and dying pains, 
 
 Atone for all thy people's sins. 
 
 I view them all complete in thee, 
 
 From ev'ry curse forever free. 
 
 Almighty hero ! leave the tomb, 
 
 From prison and from judgment come ; 
 
 In thee let all thy people rise, 
 
 In thee, ascend and claim the skies." 
 
ETERNAL LOYE- %f% 
 
 Zion is ransom'd, and Messiah rises \ 
 
 The stratagems of earth and hell prove vain 
 
 The fallen victor longer to detain ; 
 
 Jesus ! the God omnipotent ! despises 
 
 The cobweb-barriers of opposing men. 
 
 Death yields ; and crush'd beneath his ruin'd throne, 
 
 Resounds thro' hell, in a despairing groan, 
 
 His sceptre broken, and his empire lost ; 
 
 Hell hears, and trembles thro* her dread domains ! 
 
 The prince of darkness, and his vanquished host, 
 
 Roll in the lake, and gnaw their heavier chains. 
 
 Now sacred Muse ! glow with a seraph's fire 1 
 And bid fny lingers strike a seraph's lyre ; 
 Bear me aloft on thy unbounded wing, 
 Whilst I, a mortal, themes immortal sing, 
 And chaunt the glories of the conqu'ring king. 
 How bright he shines ! emerging from the tomb : 
 Inferior lustre, and less radiant beams, 
 Adorn the rising of the golden sun, 
 When nobly bursting through the scattered gloom 
 Along the pavement, see i diffusive streams 
 Supernal flame ; and playful lightnings run ; 
 See ! smiling cherubs, dress'd in rosy bloom, 
 On ardent wings his sapphire chariot bear, 
 Whose gentle gales leave fragrant all the air. 
 
 Is this the man ?...,the man of sorrows, late 
 The mark of malice, and contemptuous hate, 
 
 And cover'd o'er with foul reproach and shame ? 
 Yes! this is he ! but, oh ! behold him now, 
 How diff'rent this, from that his low estate ! 
 
$72 ETERXAL LOY£. 
 
 No thorny tortures pierce his sacred brow. 
 Nor crimson anguish from his temples flow, 
 No fiends incarnate mock and trifle with his woe ; 
 But see ! ten thousand ministers of flame. 
 The flower of heaven compose his guard, 
 Wrapt in reflected rays, 
 From deity's full blaze. 
 The bright effulgence of their rising Lord. 
 
 Hov'ring round, in order grand, 
 Sweetly sings the raptur'd band ; 
 Less sweet were the hymns which the princes of morn, 
 Sung to welcome and bail the creation new-born ; 
 The softest tun'd instruments brought from above, 
 Attend the bless'd spirits in chaunting my love ; 
 And loud-sounding trumpets by Michael first blown, 
 When Satan rebelling was fought and o'erthrown, 
 Now spread far and wide Jesu's martial renown. 
 
 By that inspiration whence flovv'd all their praise, 
 
 I now would re-echo the ravishing lays ; 
 
 CJ Hail ! God of salvation !....Thou valiant in fight. 
 
 Let laurels encircle thy brow, 
 
 Thy deeds let immensity know ; 
 Hail 1 seed of the woman ! Redeemer of men ; 
 All glory and honor dominion and might 
 Is thine ; alleluia ! amen ! 
 Worthy art thou to sit on the throne. 
 
 The diadem worthy to wear ; 
 Thy love is eternal, its limits unknown, 
 
 Thy wounds and thy sufferings declare. 
 Lift up your heads ! ye everlasting gates ! 
 Unfold ! ye doors of the celestial seats I 
 
ETERNAL LOVE, 273 
 
 The king of glory enters in, 
 
 Return'd from conqu'ring death and sin." 
 
 There as our intercessor and our priest, 
 
 He lives to plead our cause ; 
 Our names are deeply on his heart impressed* 
 Eternal Love still in his bosom glows, 
 Supplies our wants, and feels for all our woes* 
 
 From thence he saw me with a pitying eye. 
 Lost in the fall. 
 And ignorant of his Eternal Love*.** 
 He sent his holy Spirit from above. 
 
 Whose grace invincible and mighty call 
 From the impending ruin bid me fly. 
 
 But where, alas ! where could I fiy ? 
 
 So impotent and blind ? 
 Or, how avert the vengeance nigh, 
 
 And ease my troubled mind ? 
 I might have grop'd till doomsday there> 
 
 And never found relief; 
 I must have sunk in black despair. 
 
 And helpless grief* 
 
 But his dear Spirit pour'd a flood 
 
 Of day upon my eyes ; 
 I saw (O blest, consoling sight !) 
 I saw with wonder and delight 
 
 The dying lamb my sacrifice ; 
 And streams of rich atoning blood. 
 To clothe with grace the throne of God. 
 
274 ETERNAL LOVE. 
 
 I saw Eternal Love displayed, 
 Display'd in all its bleeding charms ; 
 " I pardon thee !" the Father said, 
 And clasp'd me to his arms. 
 
 Fresh sorrow overflow'd my heart ; 
 But, O how sweet that sorrow was ! 
 I saw my sins the cursed cause 
 
 Of all my Saviour's smart. 
 I strove lo banish from my heart, 
 Those foes which shed his blood ; 
 I bade the rebels all depart, 
 And let my Saviour and my God 
 Make there his permanent abode : 
 
 And now perpetual strife ensu'd : 
 
 The reign of grace oppos'd the life of sin; 
 
 I found corruptions would not be subdu'dj 
 
 And all their former influence lose, 
 
 By wishes, resolutions, and repeated vows. 
 
 For my poor strivings, they disdain'd to quit 
 
 Their long possess'd, long unmolested seat ; 
 
 Meanwhile earth's threat'ning frowns and luring 
 smiles, 
 
 And the dark tempter's smooth, deceitful wiles : 
 Join to assist the foe within. 
 
 But maugre each opposing ill, 
 
 That meets the pilgrim's way. 
 
 And threat'ning stand, his progress to obstruct.... 
 
 Jesus has prormVd that he will 
 
 By his Almighty arm, conduct 
 
 Thro' hosts of foes my soul to end-ess day ; 
 
ETERNAL LOVE, 2f* 
 
 Eternal Love and faithfulness engage. 
 
 To make me more than conqu'ror over all their rage. 
 
 The feeblest saint he will not overlook, 
 
 They all are objects of eternal care ; 
 And when at last he counts his ransom'd flock, 
 
 His weakest shall be there ; 
 Then shall the spirits of the just 
 
 Shine forth as jewels in the Saviour's crown ; 
 Zion shall rise, shake off the dust, 
 
 And put her bridal garments on ; 
 The glorious temple of the triune God, 
 Plan'd from eternity for his abode, 
 In stately grandeur, shall be seen complete, 
 For the ador'd inhabitant made meet ; 
 With sacred shoutings shall the top-stone rise, 
 And " grace ! free grace !" re-echo thro* the skies ! 
 
 Then shall Eternal Love 
 
 In all its boundless glories blaze, 
 And saints and seraphim united, prove 
 
 The fulness of recovering and preserving grace* 
 Tun'd for eternal praise, our raptur'd souls 
 
 Shall find their bliss in that sublime employ ; 
 Long as eternity's vast circle rolls, 
 
 Jehovah's love shall yield a heaven of joy. 
 And his high praises fill th' empyrean sky. 
 
APPENDIX.' 
 
 CjKtJmlammms, etc* 
 
 BY M. DE FLEURY. 
 

TO 
 
 MR. AND MRS. DE FLEURY, JUN'RS, 
 
 MARRIED NOVEMBER 25th, 1773, 
 
 THIS POEM, IS INSCRIBED BY THEIR AFFECTIONATE 
 SISTER, MARIA DE FLEURY, WISHING THEM GRACE,' 
 MERCY AND PEACE, FROM GOD. TK2 FATHER, AND 
 FROM JESUS C5RIST* OUR LORD. 
 
 Happy the pair, who're fitly join'd, 
 In heart, in temper, and in mind, 
 Made ope in Hymen's silken bands ; 
 United hearts, united hands, 
 Both children of eternal grace, 
 Both journeying to the heav'nly place, 
 Both taught in the Redeemer's school, 
 They make his will, his word their rule. 
 Helpmeets indeed, they kindly bear 
 And soften each the other's care. 
 Celestial friendship smiles around, 
 And all their hours with peace are crown'd: 
 They mount towards the realms of day, 
 And find a heaven all the way ; 
 
280 APPENDIX, 
 
 So Jesus loves his ransom' d bride, 
 
 For whom he groan'd, and bled, and dy'd, 
 
 Who life receives from his pierc'd side. 
 
 So Zion hangs on Jesus' name, 
 
 And calls him Lord, with tend'rest claim : 
 
 Her brother, Saviour, bridegroom, all ; 
 
 And on his love depends for all. 
 
 No harsh commands the Saviour lays, 
 
 No forc'd obedience Zion pays ; 
 
 A loving sceptre Jesus wields, 
 
 A free obedience Zion yields : 
 
 To do his will is her employ, 
 
 Because his will's her chiefest joy ; 
 
 She has her will, when his is done, 
 
 They will the same, for they are one. 
 
 Ye marry'd, would ye happy prove, 
 
 Remember all the charm is love. 
 
 i 
 
AN 
 
 EPITH ALAMIUM ; 
 
 OR, WEDDING SONG, 
 
 ADDRESSED TO MR. AND MRS. A. F. 
 
 Gentle Muse, awake and sing, 
 Hither bring thy softest lay, 
 Touch the viol's sweetest string, 
 To record the happy day : 
 Rise, O sun, divinely bright, 
 All thy radiant beams display, 
 Let thy fairest, purest light, 
 Crown the honors of the day. 
 
 Happy pair ! in silken band*, 
 Smiling Hymen, wedded love, 
 Union bless'd of hearts and hands, 
 Be your union seal'd above ; 
 From the bounteous hand of heav'n, 
 May abundant show'rs descend, 
 Love, and joy, and peace be giv'n, 
 And your future hours attend. 
 
 As the circling years roll on, 
 May your happiness increase, 
 z 2 
 
282 APPENDIX. 
 
 May the bliss this day begun? 
 Never faulter, never cease ; 
 Hand in hand in wisdom's ways, 
 May your path thro* life be trod, 
 Guided by the hand of grace, 
 Favor'd with the smiles of God. 
 
 Should a thorny path appear, 
 Gloomy clouds o'erhang the sky* 
 Fear not, there's salvation near. 
 Lo, a Saviour's ever nigh ; 
 On before you he will go, 
 Angel of the cov'nant still, 
 Strong to conquer ev'ry foe, 
 Strong to guard from ev'ry ill. 
 
 Mutual love, sweet sympathy, 
 Kindly soothing ev'ry care, 
 Keep your life from discord free, 
 Each the other's burden bear ; 
 While your Father's gracious eye. 
 And his providential hand, 
 Ev'ry want shall well supply, 
 Till you in his presence stand. 
 
 Then around his glorious throne. 
 Hand in hand to sing his praise, 
 On his head to set the crown, 
 Bless him thro' eternal days : 
 O may this your portion be ; 
 Happy pair, ye then shall prove 
 Genuine, rich felicity, 
 Here arid in the realms above* 
 
TO MR. AND MRS. T D , 
 
 ON THEIR MARRIAGE. 
 
 Hail I happy pair, whose hearts and hands, 
 United in the strongest bands 
 That heav'n can form, or love compose, 
 To soothe the weight of human woes ; 
 For you, shall rosy Hymen twine 
 A wreath of amaranth divine, 
 And smiling on your union, shed 
 His choicest influence on your head; 
 For you bright Sol, enthron'd on high, 
 Shall dart his glories through the sky, 
 Disperse the glooms, to grace the day, 
 And chace the wint'ry clouds away ; 
 For you, the gay, the new-born year 
 Shall in her vernal robes appear* 
 The blooming beauties of the spring 
 And friendship teach the Muse to sing. 
 
 Say, what can soothe the brow of care, 
 And life's rude breaches best repair ? 
 Say, what its brightest joys refine, 
 And happiness with wedlock join? 
 'Tis not the pompous glare of gold, 
 No, bliss is oft for mammon sold : 
 The sordid mind in ev'ry state, 
 Is poor, ('tis so decreed by fate), 
 *Tis mutual friendship, mutual love> 
 A sacred spark dropp'd from above, 
 
284 APPENDIX. 
 
 A pure, etherial, gen'rous flame, 
 A much dishonored, injur'd name, 
 Prophan'd too oft.. ..yet where 'tis founds 
 Peace and content are smiling round. 
 
 May this be yours, and as your clays 
 Increase, and time runs on his race, 
 Still may it deeper strike its root, 
 And then 'twill bear you precious fruit ; 
 'Twill soothe and soften ev'ry woe, 
 When in a painful path you go, 
 Refine your bliss, each joy exalt, 
 And kindly cover every fault ; 
 'Twill banish discord far away, 
 And make each morn your wedding day. 
 
 But Oh! reflect, sublunar bliss, 
 The highest earthly happiness, 
 The summit gain'd, must soon decay 5 
 Must fade, and droop, and die away ; 
 Death at one stroke, will lay it low, 
 And bid those joys no longer flow ; 
 Then seek those pleasures which endure 
 Forever vast, forever sure ; 
 Immortal souls should pant for joys 
 At God's right hand in paradise ; 
 Where interruption cannot come, 
 But life and bliss forever bloom : 
 There may you meet, in that great day, 
 When heav'n and earth shall pass away, 
 Arrayed in white, the bridal dress 
 Of Jesus' perfect righteousness, 
 And at the marriage supper prove 
 The wonders of redeeming love* 
 
TO MR. AND MRS. COLLIER, 
 
 A CONGRATULATORY ODE AND ACROSTIC, ON THEIR 
 MARRIAGE. 
 
 Where, gentle Muse, dost thou abide ? 
 
 If on Parnassus' verdant side, 
 
 Leaf crown'd, or in the fiow'ry dell, 
 
 Lowly recluse, thou lov'st to dwell : 
 
 Inspired by friendship, come away 
 
 And cheerful gratulations pay, 
 
 Melodious as the warbling lark, or softer linnet's lay. 
 
 As dew-drops sparkling o'er the lawn, 
 
 New from the eye of rosy morn, 
 
 Distils with each succeeding dawn ; 
 
 As Phoebus keeps a constant pace. 
 
 Nor tires amidst his glorious race, 
 
 Nor stops till in his noontide hour, 
 
 Earth glows beneath the genial pow'r. 
 
 
 Come thus, ye heav'nly show'rs, ye dews 
 
 Of grace and mercy, and diffuse 
 
 Love and joy, and peace around, 
 
 Let the pair by Hymen crown'd; 
 
 In the best of gifts divine 
 
 Ever prosper, ever shine, 
 
 Rich in the gracious smiles of heav'n benign. 
 
 i 
 
286 APPENDIX. 
 
 Hail 1 gentle pair, 
 Made one in Hymen's sacred bands, 
 United hearts, united hands : 
 
 Long may you share 
 Domestic happiness, and prove 
 The sweetness of connubial love, 
 Founded on its strongest base, 
 Deeply cemented by grace, 
 This will soften ev'ry woe. 
 If in painful paths you go, 
 Calm each storm, for storms oft rise, 
 Pilgrims know, below the skies : 
 
 May your Father's eye 
 Ever watchful, guard you round ; 
 
 May his liberal hand 
 Plenteous blessings on you pour, 
 
 Blessings of the upper sky ; 
 Blessings of the fruitful vale, 
 Till with truth and mercy crown'd : 
 Ev'ry storm and tempest o'er, 
 Soft and gentle be the gale, 
 Wafts you to the happy land, 
 Where the ransom'd of the Lord, 
 Tune their harps, and sing his praise* 
 Worthy he to be ador'd, 
 God of love, and God of grace. 
 
AN 
 
 EPITHALAMIUM, 
 
 ADDRESSED TO MR. AND MRS. M...„..J\r, 
 ON THEIR MARRIAGE. 
 
 Gentle Muse, awake and see 
 Sacred friendship waits for thee ; 
 Tune the harp, and strike the lyre, 
 Friendship shall the theme inspire ; 
 Joyful sounds, and sacred song 
 Do to wedded love belong. 
 
 Hail ! wedded pair, in Hymen's bands, 
 Since heav'n has kindly join'd your hands, 
 May that pow'r who reigns above, 
 God of grace and God of love, 
 From his radiant throne bestow 
 All can make you blest below ; 
 Smiling on your union, shed 
 Choicest blessings on your head ; 
 Constant as the rising sun. 
 Hastes his daily course to run : 
 Num'rous as distilling dews, 
 O'er the meads their drops diffuse, 
 Blessings of the upper springs, 
 Grace to make you priests and kinfrs. 
 
288 APPENDIX. 
 
 'Mongst Jehovah's royal train, 
 Saints who with the lamb shall reign, 
 Mutual love to keep your life 
 Free from jarring, free from strife ; 
 Mutual love your hearts to bless 
 With domestic happiness, 
 While his providential eye 
 Ev'ry want shall well supply. 
 So ye favor'd pair shall prove 
 Happy here, and bless'd above. 
 
 END. 
 
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