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So pure an instance of true glory!
And is the furious bigot Saul
Become, indeed, the humble Paul?
Strange pow'r of all-transforming grace,
The lamb assumes the lion's place!
So blind, when persecution's rod
He held, he thought 'twas serving God:
But now so meek, himself he paints
"Less than the least of all the saints!"
Stephen! thy prayer in death preferr'd
To save thy enemies, is heard ;
And Paul perhaps the earliest fruit
Of the first martyr's dying suit.

Forgive the Muse if she recall
So oft to mind the sainted Paul;
We pass the awful truths he tells,
His labours, woes, and miracles;
We pass the pow'rs his cause who heard;
How Felix trembled, Festus fear'd;
Pass, how the Jewish king receiv'd
The truth, half doubted, half believ'd;
We pass the different works of grace
In Lydia, and the jailor's case;
We pass the perils Paul endur'd
From stripes; in prisons how immur'd ;
In nakedness and hunger groan'd;
Betray'd, thrice beaten, shipwreck'd, ston'd!
In every varying state, we see
Only a change in misery.

How oft has admiration hung
On the great lyric bard, who sung
The warrior fam'd in Punic story,
Who swell'd the tide of Roman glory!
With magnanimity heroic,
He dignifies the noble Stoic.
See the illustrious captive stand,
Resolv'd unshaken, on the strand.
Imploring friends around him weep;
All mourn the hero all would keep.
E'en the stern senators in vain
The patriot would at last detain.
No blessings of domestic life,
No darling child, nor tender wife
He heeds; repels his wife's embrace,
Th' endearments of his infant race.
No sigh he heaves, he drops no tear,
Nought but his oath and country dear.
He knows the tortures which await,
Knows all the horrors of his fate;
By death in direst shapes unmov'd,
He coolly quitted all he lov'd.
Compos'd, as if hard law-suits past,
He sought a calm retreat at last;
Such calm as crowns Venafrian fields,
Such charms as cool Tarentum yields.
The great Apostle now behold,

A hero cast in Christian mould;
Though learn'd, he will not take his rule
from Doctors of the Stoic school.
Religion stops not nature's course,
But turns to other streams its force.
Forewarn'd, he knew where'er he went
Twas prison, death, or banishment.
'Twas not a vague, uncertain fear;
God's Spirit show'd him what was near,
Show'd him the woes which must befall,
Not in one country, but in all.
Behold him now encircled stand,

Like the brave Roman on the strand :
A lovelier scene* adorns no page
Than that which now our thoughts engage.
Weeping, his Christian friends surround,
Their tender anguish knows no bound;
Their tears to him their grief impart,
'Mean you to weep and break my heart?'
Hear him with modest grace record
His toils for his forgiving Lord :
Pour out the tender love he feels,
Then to their justice he appeals.
Still to your highest interests true,
Witness, I sought not yours, but you.
This heart, for you my daily care,
Is lifted up in ceaseless prayer;
These hands have oft procur'd my bread,
And labour'd that the poor be fed.
O treasure close in every breast,
Your Saviour's posthumous bequest,
If 'tis a blessing to receive,

Far more a blessing 'tis to give;
Then warns to feed the Church of God,
Purchas'd by his redeeming blood.

Thrice bless'd the Pastor who, like Paul,
The past with comfort can recall;
His life and doctrine both review
To auditors who feel both true;
Fears not his conduct to declare
Holy, unblameable, sincere.
His preaching catholic; he speaks
Impartially to Jews and Greeks.
No words of doubtful disputation
Allure from his grand end-salvation;
Faith and repentance form his theme,
Compendium of the Christian scheme!
No searching truth he e'er conceal'd,
But God's whole counsel still reveal'd.

He speaks:-The woes which must
befall

My trusting soul shall ne'er appal.
If I for God my span employ ;
If He my course may crown with joy;
If I may spend my painful race,
To testify redeeming grace;
No dread of death my soul shall move,
Secure in Him I serve and love.'

His friends, lamenting, crowd the shore,
They part, they see his face no more:
Their sorrows and his own to cheer,
He consecrates the scene with prayer.

PART THE FOURTH.

THE EPISTLES,

NEXT Come the ROMANS, here we trace
The flagrant manners of their race.
Tho' Nero then Rome's sceptre sway'd,
Yet conscientious Paul obey'd;
Fearless he taught that all should bring
Allegiance to their rightful king.
In this epistle we may find

The depths and heights of his great mind :
Here rhetoric and logic meet
The cause of faith to vindicate.

Acts, chap. xx.

Paul, when the rich CORINTHIANS came,
Found much to praise and much to blame :
Luxurious, negligent, and proud;
No error was by him allow'd.
As Christian truth should still be told,
The righteous Paul is meekly bold;
And yet such tenderness appears,
His very frowns are mix'd with tears!
One glorious truth he here defends,
That truth on which all truth depends;
Labours one doctrine to maintain,
Which if not true, he preach'd in vain ;
Vain to their faith, which might not trust
The resurrection of the just.

Then mounting above space of time,
He soars with energy sublime;
Exhausts on this grand contemplation
High argument, bold illustration!
Created nature see he brings,
Attested to the truth he sings:
All grain, all flesh, their tribute lend;
The diff'ring stars the truth defend :
If these proclaim God's glory true,
When the material heavens we view,
His glory sun and moon declare,
When on this doctrine brought to bear.

In vain shall death his prey devour,
'Twas sown in weakness, rais'd in power!
Nor slow the process: Heaven is nigh:
Quick, in the twinkling of an eye,
Methinks I see the mould'ring clay
Start into life, wake into day!
Dread sound! 'tis the last trumpet's voice!
Reviv'd, transported, all rejoice.
Hark! heard I not that rapturous cry,
Death's swallow'd up in victory?
Jesus-the ransom'd' join to sing,
Jesus, oh, Death! extracts thy sting.
Can Paul, absorb'd in scenes so bright,
Again on earth vouchsafe to light?
To drop from his exhaustless store,
One parting, pointed moral more?
One added precept deign to press ?
He can-awake to righteousness:
In God's great work still more abound,
Nor shall your labours vain be found.

The bold GALATIANS Paul reproves,
And much he blames, tho' much he loves;
Condemns the teachers whom he saw
Exchange the Gospel for the law.
To clear his doctrine from suspicion,
He vindicates his heavenly mission.

Th' EPHESIANS stand in glory bright,
On whom Paul shed the Gospel-light:
Where great Diana was ador'd,
They follow'd on to know the Lord!
This matchless letter you will find
A perfect model of its kind.

Where Anthony with Brutus fought,
There Christian Paul a refuge sought.
Yet e'en PHILIPPIANS could be found
The Saviour in his saint to wound :
A prison the reward they gave
The man who came their souls to save.
Did Paul the cruelty resent,
Or in reproach his anger vent?
No;-if the saint exceeds in love,

Invokes more favours from above :
If e'er his full o'erflowing heart
Sought warmer blessings to impart;
If more for any friends he pray'd,
For showers of mercies on their head;
It was for this distinguish'd place,
The scene of his most foul disgrace!
How does his fervent spirit burn
Their recent kindness to return!
What terms, what arguments employ,
To fill their hearts with holy joy !
What consolation from above;
What comfort from eternal love;
From God's blest Spirit drawing nigh;
Communion sweet, communion high!
Such strong persuasion must controul,
Convince the reason, melt the soul!
He urges motives as a law,

Which some would think deter, not draw.
'Take as a gift reserv'd for you,
Power to believe, and suffer too!'

The good COLOSSIANS now stand forth,
Excell'd by none in grace and worth,
Behold the saint his touchstone give
To try with Christ if Christians live.
Oh, let your aspirations rise,
Nor stop at aught beneath the skies,
Your fruitless cares no more bestow
On perishable things below.
From sordid joys indignant fly;
Know, avarice is idolatry,
To images of wood and stone;
False worship's not confin'd alone
Whate'er you grasp with eager hold,
Honours or pleasures, fame or gold;
These are your idols, these you'll find,
Possess your soul, engross your mind.
Heaven will with idols have no part :
That robs your God which steals your heart.

The THESSALONIANS next appear,
The bountiful and the sincere.
Here precept pure and doctrine sound,
In sweet accordance may be found.
Mark the triumphant Christian's voice,
'Rejoice, again 1 say, rejoice!'
As he would echo back to heaven,
The holy transport grace had given.

Young TIMOTHY is on record,
Who sought betimes to know the Lord.
Here true maternal love we find,
Which form'd the heart, and taught the

mind,

Here may the British mother learn,
Her child's best interests to discern;
Her faithfulness to God best prove,
And best evince her Christian love.

Paul, while his pupil's good he seeks,
Thro' him to unborn pastors speaks:
Reprove, exhort, be earnest still
Your high commission to fulfil;
Watch, labour, pray; in these consist
The works of an Evangelist.'
As Bishop, he commands again,
Commit the trust to faithful men ;'
Bids him observe, that those who preach
Need to remind as well as teach.

To raise his soul to solemn thought,

God's judgment is before him brought;
When seated in tremendous state,
The blest and only Potentate,
The members of the living head
Shall meet the Judge of quick and dead,
Then Christ his faithful sons shall own,
Who bore his Cross, shall wear his Crown.
Next TITUS, youthful yet discreet,
First Bishop of the Isle of Crete.
Here prudent Paul, divines to show
They ought their people's faults to know,
Quotes their own poet, to declare
The Cretans sensual, insincere.
Such knowledge teaches to reprove
The erring, and the just to love.
Now in the gentle tone of friend
See him to private life descend;
The sober duties to impart,
Which grace the life, and mend the heart.
Shows on what consecrated ground
Domestic happiness is found;
Warns the fair convert not to roam :
The truest joys are found at home;
'Tis there the chaste obedient mind
Will life's best charm confer, and find.
Follows PHILEMON, who forgave,
Yea, honour'd, his converted slave.
Paul to the HEBREWS writes:-O, then,
What inspiration guides his pen!
Let wits revile, let Atheists rail,
Such evidence shall never fail,
As the first pages here supply
Of Christ's unclouded Deity.

As he proceeds, to faith 'tis given
To soar on loftier wing to heaven.
See here the doctrine prov'd by facts,
Belief exhibited in acts.

See conquering Faith's heroic hand
Church-militant in order stand!
The Red-Sea passengers we view,
Jephtha and Gideon, Barak too.
Had we all time, the time would fail
Of heroes to record the tale,
Whose deeds their attestation bring
That faith is no ideal thing.
Say, could ideal faith aspire
To quench the violence of fire?
To stop the famish'd lion's rage!
With dread temptations to engage;
All deaths despise, all dangers dare,
With no support, save God and prayer?

A substance firm whereon to lean.
Go search the cottager's lone room,
The day scarce piercing thro' the gloom:
The Christian on his dying bed
Unknown, unletter'd, hardly fed;
No flatt'ring witnesses attend,
To tell how glorious was his end;
Save in the book of life, his name
Unheard, he never dreamt of fame.
No human consolation near,

Tis pride,' the sneering Sceptic cries,
Rank pride, the martyr's strength supplies:
His fortitude by praise is fed,
Praise is Religion's daily bread.
The public show, the attendant crowd,
The admiration fond and loud;
The gaze, the noise his soul sustains,
Applause the opiate of his pains;
Withdraw the charm spectators bring,
And torture is no joyous thing.'

Thy triumphs, Faith, we need not take
Alone from the blest martyr's stake;
In scenes obscure, no less we see
That faith is a reality.

An evidence of things not seen,

No voice to soothe, no friend to cheer.
Of every earthly stay bereft,
And nothing-but his SAVIOUR left.
Fast sinking to his kindred dust,
The Word of Life is still his trust.
The joy God's promises impart
Lies like a cordial at his heart;
Unshaken faith its strength supplies,
He loves, believes, adores, and dies.

The great Apostle ceases;-then
To holy JAMES resigns the pen;
James, full of faith and love, no doubt,
The practical and the devout.

Ye rich, the saint indignant cried,
Curs'd are all riches misapplied!
Abhorr'd the wealth which useless lies,
When merit claims, or hunger cries!
The wise alike with scorn behold

The hoarded as the squander'd gold.
In man opposing passions meet
The liberal feelings to defeat?
PLEASURE and AVARICE both agree
To stop the tide of charity:

Tho' each detests the other's deeds,
The same effect from both proceeds:
Curs'd is the gold, or sav'd, or spent,
Which God for mercy's portion meant:
Chemists in transmutation bold
Attempt to make base metals gold.
Let Christians then transmute their pelf
To something nobler than itself;
On heaven their rescued wealth bestow,
And send it home before they go :
HE will the blest deposit own:
Who seals the pardon, gives the crown.

PETER the bold, who perils hail'd
Who promis'd much, and much he fail'd;
Peter, the generous, rash, and warm,
Who lov'd his Lord, but shrunk from harm;
Peter the coward and the brave,
Denying him he wish'd to save;
O Peter, what reproachful word,
What dagger keen, what two-edg'd sword,
Could pierce thy bosom like the last,
Last look thy Saviour on thee cast?
That speechless eloquence divine,
No pen, no pencil can define.
Peter, how bitter were thy tears!
Remorse absorb'd thy guilty fears.

Still, Peter, did thy risen Lord,
Conqueror of death, his grace afford;
Not to the men of faith approv'd,
Not to the saint whom Jesus loved,
It was to heal thy broken heart,
Comfort to anguish to impart :
Yes-'twas to Peter that by name
Alone the glorious tidings came.

Now mark the wond'rous power of grace!
His character has chang'd its face;
The noblest attitude assumes:
Who now on his own strength presumes?
Where now his fears? we only see
True Christian magnanimity.
Who now the foremost to declare
Their grand commission? who to dare
The standard of the cross to raise,
And his ador'd Redeemer praise?
Applause he scorn'd however true,
But gave the glory where 'twas due.
With what majestic grace he rose,
Fearless of all surrounding foes;
Brought the old Scriptures to apply
His argument from prophecy :
From miracles which well accord,
He prov'd that Jesus was the Lord.
When requisite in some hard case
To check deceit, unmask the base,
'Twas Peter's office: see him dare
Seize the prevaricating pair.*
One question stops the fraudful breath,
And blasts them both with instant death.

Ask you the truth he lov'd to teach,
The theme selected first to preach?
Repentance-What he felt he taught:
A mighty change his preaching wrought.
The fruits were equal to the zeal,
They best can teach who deepest feel.
Crown'd were his labours: Peter died
A martyr to the CRUCIFIED.

With love his pure EPISTLES fraught,
JOHN teaches what his gospel taught:
He needs no argument to prove,
Save his own heart, that God is love,

JUDE, what his letter wants in length,
Redeems by energy and strength.
Confirms the truth from revelation
Of Enoch's marvellous translation.
Hear him in awful terms declare,
The mis'ries which the ungodly share!
Clouds without water, dark yet dry,
Spots in the feasts of charity;
Trees withering, destitute of fruit,
Exterminated branch and root.

Now in its pomp and dread array,
He summons to the judgment-day.
O, what conflicting trains of thought,
Has this amazing image brought!
O, what a fire this spark has kindled,
Of terror and of transport mingled!
Spirits who lost their first estate
Retaining their immortal hate,

Ananias and Sapphira,

The bold impenitent shall hear
His doom; his sentence black despair.
The hypocrite detected lie,
Naked, laid bare to every eye.
To crown the horrors which await,
All feel the justice of their fate.
Their fears their punishment foretell,
And conscience does the work of Hell.
They as the acme of their pain,
Acquit their Judge themselves arraign.
No shelter now from rocks or caves,
No refuge from the fiery waves;
What wonder, wildly if they call
The mountains on their heads to fall.

Then see the Man of Sorrows found,
The Lord of life and glory crown'd.
Jesus appears, as Enoch paints,
Surrounded by ten thousand saints.
Lo! heaven and earth their tribute bring
Of glory to the eternal king!
Angels, archangels, each degree
Of heaven's celestial hierarchy!
The noble martyr's valiant band
Before their conq'ring Captain stand!
The goodly prophets here, behold
Fulfill'd the scenes they once foretold:
Their Lord encircling, here we see
The Apostles' glorious company :
Heaven kindly veils from human sight
All that dread day will bring to light.

THE REVELATION.

THE saint of Patmos last we meet,
And revelation stands complete.

In this bright vision, tho' he brings
Scenes of unutterable things;
He tempers heaven's effulgent light,
Too powerful else for mortal sight.
Partly by negatives are shown
Joys which hereafter shall be known:
Suffering, and sin, and death, are o'er,
For former things are seen no more;
No sorrow felt, and heav'd no sigh,
And tears are wip'd from every eye.

Yet not by negatives alone,
Consummate glory shall be known;
Not only, shall be found no night,
The LAMB himself shall be the light.
Sun, moon, and stars, shall fade away,
Lost in one cloudless, endless day;
Redemption finish'd, sin forgiven,
'Tis God's own presence makes it heaven.
Of future bliss, if such the sum,
Then come, Lord JESUS! quickly come!

SACRED DRAMAS:

CHIEFLY INTENDED FOR YOUNG PERSONS,

THE SUBJECTS TAKEN FROM THE BIBLE.

All the books of the Bible are either most admirable and exalted pieces of poetry, or the best materials in the world for it.-Cowley.

TO HER GRACE

THE DUTCHESS OF BEAUFORT,

THESE SACRED DRAMAS ARE, WITH THE MOST PERFECT RESPECT, INSCRIBED:

As, among the many amiable and distinguished qualities which adorn her mind, and add lustre to her rank, her excellence in the material character gives a peculiar propriety to her ptotection of this little work; written with an humble wish to promote the love of piety and virtue in young persons,

By her grace's most obedient, most obliged, and most humble servant,
HANNAH MORE.

ADVERTISEMENT.

I AM as ready as the most rigid critic to confess, that nothing can be more simple and inartificial than the plans of the following dramas. In the construction of them I have seldom ventured to introduce any person* of my own creation: still less did I imagine myself at liberty to invent circumstances. I reflected, with awe, that the place whereon I stood was holy ground. All the latitude I permitted myself was, to make such persons as I selected act under such circumstances as I found, and express such sentiments as, in my humble judgment, appeared not unnatural to their characters and situations. Some of the speeches are so long as to retard the action; for I rather aspired after moral instruction than the purity of dramathe composition. I am aware that it may be brought as an objection, that I have now and then made my Jewish characters speak too much like Christians, as it may be questioned whether I have not occasionally ascribed to them a degree of light and knowledge greater than they probably had the means of possessing: but I was more anxious in consulting the advantage of my youthful readers by leading then on to higher religious views, than in securing to myself the reputation of critical exactness.

It will be thought that I have chosen, perhaps, the least important passage in the eventful life of David, for the foundation of the drama which bears his name. Yet even in this his first exploit, the sacred historian represents him as exhibiting no mean lesson of modesty, humility, courage, and piety. Many will think that the introduction of Saul's daughter would have added to the effect of the piece and I have no doubt but that it would have made the intrigue more complicated and amusing had this drama been intended for the stage. There, all that is tender, and all that is terrible in the passions, find a proper place. But I write for the young, in whom it will be always time enough to have the passions awakened; I write for a class of readers, to whom it is not easy to accommodate one's subject,t so as to be at once useful and interesting.

The amiable poet, from whom I have taken my motto, after showing the superiority of the sacred over the profane histories, some instances of which I have noticed in my introduction, concludes with the following remark, which I may apply to myself with far more propriety than it was used by the author: I am far from assuming to myself to have fulfilled the duty of this weighty undertaking; and I shall be ambitious of no other fruit from this weak and imperfect attempt of mine, but the opening of a way to the courage and industry of some other persons, who may be better able to perform it thoroughly and successfully.'

*Never indeed, exeept in Daniel, and that of necessity; as the Bible furnishes no more than two persons, Daniel and Darius, and these were not sufficient to carry on the business of the piece.

It would not be easy, nor perhaps proper, to introduce sacred tragedies on the English stage. The pious would think it profane, while the profane would think it dull. Yet the excellent Racine, in a profligate country and a voluptuous court, ventured to adapt the story of Athalia to the French theatre; and it remains to us a glori rious monument of its author's courageous piety, while it exhibits the perfection of the dramatic art.

Cowley.

VOL. I.

11

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