HORE LYRICÆ. BOOK I. SACRED TO DEVOTION AND PIETY. WORSHIPPING WITH FEAR. WHO dares attempt the' Eternal Name, Destruction waits to' obey his frown, Celestial King! our spirits lie To reach thy lofty seat. When shall we see the Great Unknown, And in thy presence stand? Reveal the splendors of thy throne, But shield us with thy hand. In thee what endless wonders meet! What various glory shines! Angels are lost in sweet surprise, And humble awe runs through the skies, When mercy joins with majesty To spread their beams abroad, Not all their fairest minds on high Are shadows of a Gon. Thy works the strongest seraph sings And labours hard on all his strings, Created powers how weak they be! ASKING LEAVE TO SING. YET, mighty GoD, indulge my tongue, Nor let thy thunders roar, Whilst the young notes and ventrous song To worlds of glory soar. If thou my daring flight forbid Her slender reed, inspir'd by thee, With blooming life on every tree, She mocks the trumpet's loud alarms But when she tastes her Saviour's love, And feels the rapture strong, Scarce the divinest harp above Aims at a sweeter song. GOD'S DOMINION AND DECREES. KEEP silence, all created things, And wait your Maker's nod: The Muse stands trembling while she sings Life, death, and hell, and worlds unknown, He sits on no precarious throne, Nor borrows leave to be. The' Almighty voice bid ancient night Her endless realm resign, And lo! ten thousand globes of light In fields of azure shine. Now wisdom with superior sway He spake; the sun obedient stood, Old Jordan backward drives his flood, Lord of the armies of the sky, Chain'd to his throne a volume lies, His Providence unfolds the book, And makes his counsels shine: Each opening leaf, and every stroke, Fulfils some deep design. Here he exalts neglected worms Not Gabriel asks the reason why, My God, I never long'd to see In thy fair book of life and grace DIVINE JUDGMENTS. NoT from the dust my sorrows spring, Their mingled curses on my head, How vain their curses, if the' Eternal King Are but his slaves, and must obey; They wait their orders from above, And execute his word, the vengeance, or the love. 'Tis by a warrant from his hand The gentler gales are bound to sleep: The north-wind blusters, and assumes command Over the desert and the deep; |