With roscid radiance. They, harmonious, roll In majesty of motion, solemn, loud, The universal hallelujah; sphere,
In lucid order, quiring sweet to sphere, Deep-felt and loftier than a Seraph's song; The symphony of well according worlds! But man, thy beam, thy breath, thy image, shines The crown, the glory, and the lord of all; Of all below the stars! a plant, from heaven Traduced, to spread the riches of its bloom O'er earth, and water'd with etherial dews; Incorruptible aliment! The birds
Warble among his boughs; the cattle, safe, Pasture within his shade; and earth, beneath The' imperial umbrage of his branches, smiles. The smiling earth, the spangled spheres, and man Their great Creator praise! but praise how long, Unless by thy Almighty Arm upheld,
Preserver infinite? By Thee unless
Upheld, the earth would from her basis reel; The spheres forego their courses (off their orbs The silver softness melted into shade), Obscurely dissonant; and mortal man (Void of thy fostering fires) his stately form To dust be moulder'd: Chaos would resume Her ancient anarchy; Confusion rule; And Darkness swallow all. In Thee we live, In Thee we move: our beings, in Thy chain Link'd to eternity, fasten on Thee,
The pillar of our souls! For me (how late A neighbour of the worm!) when I forget The wonders of thy goodness ray'd on me, And cease to celebrate, with matin harp Or vesper song, thy plenitude of love
And healing mercy; may the nightly Power, Which whispers on my slumbers, cease to breathe Her modulating impulse through my soul, Untuned, unhallow'd! Discord string my lyre, Idly my finger press the fretted gold, Rebellious to the dictates of my hand, When indolent to swell the notes for Thee, Father of heaven and earth!-Coeval Son! (His Word, his Essence, his Effulgence pure!) Not less thy filial likeness I adore,
Nor from thy Father's glory aught disjoin, Redeemer! Mediator! from the birth
Of uncreated Time, thy Father's wrath (Sprung from Omniscience!) to appease; for man, Upright as yet, to mediate, Mercy waked Unbounded love in Thee; unbounded love Contracted to the measure of a span Immensity of Godhead, and thy crown
Reft from thy faded brow. Listen, O earth! And wonder, O ye heavens! shall He, whose feet Are clothed with stars (the glory of his head For who can tell?) whose looks divine illume The dazzled eyes of cherubs, and the youth Of saints with everlasting bloom renew; Shall He, whose vital smiles with splendour fill The circuits of creation, and sustain
The' abodes of all existence, from the depths Of hell beneath, above heaven's highest orb, With life, and health, and joy! shall He, to God Dear as his eye and heart, engraving there Deep from eternity; alone beloved, Alone begotten! say, shall He become
A man of grief-for man? nay, more, his foe, Rebellious next the fiends?-Astonishment
Had chain'd my tongue to silence, if the powers' Of tenderest pity and of warmest love
Provoked not pensive measures, sadder strains Of elegiac sorrow, with the theme
Mournfully varying. Take, my soul redeem'd! O, take the moaning dove's dew-dropping wing, Fly, fly to Solyma! and melt thy woe To Cedron's murmurs. Thence extend thy flight To Golgotha's accursed tree. Behold! [wrath Clouds roll'd on clouds of wrath (the blackest Of an offended God!) His beauties shade; But shade not long it soon in drops dissolves, Sweet to the soul as manna to the taste,
As pride of summer flower to sight or smell! Behind this shadowing cloud, this mystic gloom, The Sharon rose, dyed in the blood of Heaven, The lily of the valley, white from stain, Bows the fair head, in loveliness declines, And, sweetly languishing, it droops and dies. But darkness veils the sun: a curtain draw Before the Passion; beyond wonder great, Great beyond Silence! (Awe-struck, pause a And heavy as the burden of our sins! [while-) ''Tis finish'd!'-Change the lyre, the numbers change;
Let holy anthem airs inspire the hymn.
Glory in heaven! Redemption to mankind, And peace on earth! dominion! blessing! praise! Thanksgiving! power! salvation to our God! Salvation to our God, and to the Lamb! And, coexisting Spirit! Thou, whose breath My voice informs, shall it be mute to Thee, Eternal Paraclete? in order, last,
Equal in glory to Omnipotence
The First, as to the Second; and from both Proceeding; (O inexplicable Name!) Mystical link of the unnumber'd Three! To learning, night; to faith, the noontide day. Soul of the Universe! thy wisdom first The rage composed of warring elements (The subject of a nobler future song *), Yon all surrounding heavens with crystal orbs Garnish'd, and living gems, in goodly ranks And disciplined array; dividing night From day, their ordinances stablish'd sure. Moving the waters saw Thee o'er their face, O God, the waters saw thee, and afraid, Into their channels shrunk (capacious bed Of liquid element!) and own'd their bounds Impassable, as that eternal gulf
[beams "Twixt bliss and woe. The Prince of Peace thy Largely imbibed, when, dovelike, o'er his head, Fast by the banks of Jordan's sacred stream, Thy mantling wings diffused their heavenly hues ; And Abba glorified his Only Son,
Well pleased. From thy tongues of cloven fire Kindled, the nations burn'd in flaming zeal, And unextinguish'd charity, dispersed And glowing as the summer blaze at noon. The rushing winds, on all their wings convey'd Thy doctrine, strong to shake the guilty soul; As, erst, the dome, low-stooping to its base, Before thy mighty presence learn'd to bend. Thou, from the morning womb, upon our souls, Barren and dry, thy sanctifying dews, Abroad, in silent softness shedst; the dews Of Love unspotted, uncorrupted Joy;
The Elements. A Poem: in Four Books.
Obedient Goodness, Temperance subdued, Unshaken Faith, and Meekness without guile. Hence flow the odours out, our prayers perfume, Like incense, rising fragrant on the Throne, From golden vials pour'd, by elder hands! Extinct thy influential radiance, Sin, Incumbent on the soul, as black as hell, Holds godless anarchy: by Thee refined, Incensed, sublimed, and sanctified, the soul Invites the Holiest (O abyss of love!) To choose a temple, purer than the Sun, Incorruptible, formed not by hands,
Where best He loves to dwell. Thou all my bed, Most holy Comforter! in Sickness smooth'd, And violet buds, and roses without thorn, Showered round the couch. From darkness and the vale
Of shadowy Death, to pastures fair, and streams Of comfort, thy refreshing right hand led My wearied soul, and bathed in health and joy! To light restored, and the sweet breath of heaven,
Beneath thy olive boughs, in plenteous flow, The golden oil effusing on my head
Of gladness, let me ever sit and sing,
Thy numerous Godhead sparkling in my soul, Thyself instilling praises, by thy ear
Not unapproved! For wisdom's steady ray, The' enlightening gift of tongues, the sacred fires Of poesy are thine; United Three!
Father of Heaven and Earth! Coeval Son!
And coexisting Spirit! Trinal One!
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