With reafon's line the boundless distance scan ?
Oppofe heaven's awful majefty to man?
To what a length his vast dimensions run!
How far beyond the journeys of the fun!
He hung yon golden balls of light on high,
And launch'd the planets through the liquid fky:
To rolling worlds he mark'd the certain space,
Fix'd and fuftain'd the elemental peace.

Unnumber'd as thofe worlds his armies move, And the gay legions guard his realms above; High o'er th'ethereal plains the myriads rise, And

pour their flaming ranks along the fkics: From their bright arms inceffant fplendors ftream, And the wide azure kindles with the gleam.

To this low world he bids the light repair, Down through the gulphs of undulating air: For man he taught the glorious fun to roll From his bright barrier to his western goal.

How then thall man, thus infolently proud, Plead with his judge, and combat with his God? How from his mortal mother can he come Unftain'd from fin, untinctur'd from the womb? The Lord, from his fublime empyreal throne, As a dark globe regards the filver moon. Thofe ftars, that grace the wide celeftial plain, Are but the humbleft fweepings of his train; Dim are the brighteft fplendors of the sky; And the fun darkens in Jehovah's eye. But does not fin diffuse a fouler ftain, And thicker darknefs cloud the foul of man? Shall he the depths of endlefs wisdom know? This fhort-liv'd fovereign of the world below? His frail original confounds his boast, [duft. Sprung from the ground, and quicken'd from the

24. The Song of Mofes, in the Fifteenth Chap

ter of Exodus, paraphrased. PITT. THEN to the Lord, the vast triumphant throng Of Ifrael's fons, with Mofes, rais'd the fong. To God our grateful accents will we raife, And every tongue fhall celebrate his praife: Behold difplay'd the wonders of his might; Behold the Lord triumphant in the fight! With what immortal fame and glory grac'd! What trophies rais'd amid the watery wafte! How did his power the steeds and riders sweep Ingulph'd in heaps, and whelm'd beneath the deep! Whom should we fear, while he, heaven's awful Unfheaths for Ifrael his avenging fword? [Lord, His outstretch'd arm, and tutelary care, Guarded and fav'd us in the last despair : His mercy eas'd us from our circling pains, Unbound our fhackles, and unlock'd our chains. To hin our God, our father's God, we'll rear A facred temple, and adore him there With vows and incenfe, facrifice and prayer. The Lord cominands in war: his patchlets might

}

Hangs out and guides the balance of the fight:
By him the war the mighty leaders form,
And teach the hovering tumult where to storm.
His name, O Ifrael, heaven's eternal Lord,
For over honour'd, reverene'd, and ador'd.

When to the fight, from Egypt's fruitful foil Pour'd forth in myriads all the fons of Nile; The Lord o'erthrew the courfer and the car, Sunk Pharaoh's pride, and overwhelm'd his war Beneath th'encumber'd deeps his legions lay, For many a league impurpling all the fea The chiefs, and fteeds, and warriors whirl around,

Lay midft the roarings of the furges drown'd. Who fhall thy power, thou mighty God, with ftand,

And check the force of thy victorious hand? Thy hand, which red with wrath in terror rofe, To crufh that day thy proud Egyptian foes. Struck by that hand, their drooping fquadrons fall, Crowding in death; one fate o'erwhelms them all.

Soon as thy anger charg'd with vengeance came, They funk like ftubble crackling in the flame. At thy dread voice the summon'd billows crowd, And a ftill filence lulls the wondering flood: Roll'd up, the crystal ridges strike the skies, Waves peep o'er waves, and feas o'er feas arife. Around in heaps the liftening furges ftand, Mute and obfervant of the high command. Congeal'd with fear attends the watery train, Rous'd from the fecret chambers of the main. With favage joy the fons of Egypt cry'd, (Vaft were their hopes, and boundlefs was their Let us purfue thofe fugitives of Nile, [pride) This fervile nation, and divide the spoil; And fpread fo wide the flaughter, till their blood Dyes with a ftronger red the blushing flood. Oh what a copious prey their hofts afford, To glut and fatten the devouring fword!

As thus the yawning gulf the boasters pafs'd, At thy command rufh'd forth the rapid blast. Then, at the fignal given, with dreadful fway, In one huge heap roll'd down the roaring fea; And now the disentangled waves divide, Unlock their folds, and thaw the frozen tide. The deeps alarm'd call terribly from far The loud, embattled furges to the war; Till her proud fons aftonifh'd Egypt found Cover'd with billows, and in tempefts drown'd. What God can emulate thy power divine, Or who oppofe his miracles to thine? When joyful we adore thy glorious name, Thy trembling focs confefs their fear and fhame, The world attends thy abfolute command, And nature waits the wonders of thine hand. That hand, extended o'er the fwelling sea, The confcious billows reverence and obey. O'er the devoted race the furges fweep, And whelm the guilty nation in the deep. That hand redeem'd us from our fervile toil, And each infulting tyrant of the Nile: Our nation came beneath that mighty hand, From Egypt's realms, to Canaan's facred land. Thou werttheirGuide,theirSaviour,and theirGod, To fmooth the way, and clear the dreadful road. The diftant kingdoms fhall thy wonders hear, The fierce Philiftines fhall confefs their fear; Thy fame fhall over Edom's princes fpread, And Moab's kings, the univerfal dread;

While the raft fcenes of miracles impart
A thrilling horror to the braveft heart.
As through the world the gathering terror runs,
Canaan hali hrink, and tremble for his fons:
Till the haft Jacob from his bondage brought,
At in a vast expence of wonders bought,
To Caraan's promis'd realms and bleft abodes,
Led through the dark receffes of the floods,
Crown'd with their tribes fhall proud Moriah rife,
And rear his fummit nearer to the skies.
Through ages, Lord, shall stretch thy bound-
lets power,

The throne fhall frand when timeshall be no more:
For Pharaoh's fteeds, and cars, and warlike train,
Leap'd in, and boldly rang'd the fandy plain:
While in the dreadful road, and defert way,
The thining crowds of gasping fifhes lay :
Til, all around with liquid toils befet,
The Lord fwept o'er their heads the watery net.
He freed the ocean from his fecret chain, [main.
And on each hand difcharg'd the thundering
The loofea'd billows burft from every fide,
And whelm the war and warriors in the tide ;
But on each hand the folid billows ftood,
Like lofty mounds to check the raging flood;
Till the bleft race to promis'd Canaan past
O'er the dry path, and trod the watery wafte.

25. The 139th Psalm paraphrased. PITT. DREAD Jehovah! thy all-piercing eyes Explore the motions of this mortal frame, This tenement of duft: Thy ftretching fight Suveys th'harmonious principles, that move In beauteous rank and order, to inform This cafk, and animated mafs of clay. Nor are the profpects of thy wondrous fight To this terreftrial part of man confin'd; But fhoot into his foul, and there difcern The firft materials of unfafhion'd thought, Yet dim and undigested, till the mind, Big with the tender images, expands, And, fwelling, labours with th'ideal birth. Where'er I move, thy cares pursue my feet Attendant. When I drink the dews of fleep, Stretch'd on my downy bed, and there enjoy A fweet forgetfulness of all my toils, Unfeen, thy fov'reign prefence guards my fleep, Wafts all the terrors of my dreams away, Sooths all my foul, and foftens my repote. Before conception can employ the tongue, And mould the ductile images to found; Before imagination stands difplay'd, Thine eye the future eloquence can read, Yet unarray'd with fpeech. Thou, mighty Lord! Haft moulded man from his congenial duft, And fpoke him into being; while the clay, Beneath thy forming hand, leap'd forth, infpir'd, And ftarted into life: through every part, At thy command, the wheels of motion play'd. But fuch exalted knowledge leaves below, And drops poor man from its fuperior phere. In vain, with reafon's ballaft, would he try To stem th'unfathomable depth; his bark

O'erfets, and founders in the vaft abyss.
Then whither fhall the rapid fancy run,
Though in its full career, to fpeed my flight
From thy unbounded prefence? which, alone,
Fills all the regions and extended space
Beyond the bounds of nature! Whither, Lord!
Shall my unrein'd imagination rove,
To leave behind thy Spirit, and out-fly [fpread,
Its influence, which, with brooding wings out-
Hatch'd undedg'd naturefrom the dark profound?

If mounted on my tow'ring thoughts I climb
Into the heaven of heavens, I there behold
The blaze of thy unclouded majesty!
In the pure empyrean thee I view,
High thron'd above all height, thy radiant fhrine
Throng'd with the proftrate Seraphs, who receive
Beatitude paft utterance! If I plunge
Down to the gloom of Tartarus profound,
There too I find thee, in the lowest bounds
Of Erebus, and read thee in the scenes
Of complicated wrath: I fee thee clad
In all the majefty of darkness there.

If, on the ruddy morning's purple wings Upborne, with indefatigable course I feek the glowing borders of the east, Where the bright fun, emergent from the deeps, With his first glories gilds the fparkling feas, And trembles o'er the waves; ev'n there thy hand Shall thro' the watery defert guide my course, And o'er the broken furges pave my way, While on the dreadful whirls I hang fecure, And mock the warring ocean. If, with hopes As fond as false, the darkness I expect To hide, and wrap me in its mantling shade, Vain were the thought; for thy unbounded ken Dartsthro'the thick'ning gloom,and priesthrough The palpable obfcure. Before thy eyes [all Thevanquish'dnight throws off her dufky throwd, And kindles into day: the fhade and light To man ftill various, but the fame to thee. On thee is all the ftructure of my frame Dependant. Lock'd within the silent womb Sleeping I lay, and rip'ning to my birth; [there; Yet, Lord, thy outstretch'd arm preferv'd me Before I mov'd to entity, and trod The verge of being. To thy hallow'd name I'll pay due honours; for thy mighty hand Built this corporcal fabric, when it laid The ground-work of existence. Hence I read The wonders of thy art. This frame I view With terror and delight; and, wrapt in both, I ftartle at nyfeif. My bones, unform'd As yet, nor hardening from the viscous parts, But blended with th'unanimated mafs, Thy eye diftinctly view'd; and, while I lay Within the earth, imperfect, nor perceiv'd The firft faint dawn of life, with cafe furvey'd The vital glimmerings of the active feeds, Juft kindling to exiftence, and beheld My fubftance fcarce material. In thy book Was the fair model of this ftructure drawn, Where every part, in juft connection join'd, Compos'd and perfected th’harmonious piece, Ere the dim ipeck of being learn'd to stretch

28. Another Hymn. ANON. WHEN rifing from the bed of death, O'erwhelm'd with guilt and fear,

1 fee Maker face to face, my

?

O how fhall I appear
If yet, while pardon may be found,

And mercy may be fought,
My heart with inward horror fhrinks,
And trembles at the thought;

When thou, O Lord, fhalt ftand difclos'd
In majefty fevere,
And fit in judginent on my foul,

O! how thall I appear?

But thou haft told the troubled foul,
Who does her fins lament,

The timely tribute of her tears

Shall endless woe prevent.

Then fee the forrows of my heart,

Ere yet it be too late;

And hear my Saviour's dying groans,
To give thofe forrows weight.
or never fhall my foul despair

Her pardon to procure,

Who knows thy only Son has died
To make that pardon fure.

THOMSON.

29. A Hymn on the Seasons. THESE, as they change, Almighty Father, thefe Are but the varied God. The rolling year Is full of Thee. Forth in the pleafing Spring Thy beauty walks, thy tendernefs and love. Wide flush the fields; the foftening air is balm; Echo the mountains round; the foreft fimiles; And every fenfe and every heart is joy. Then comes thy glory in the Summer months, With light and heat refulgent. Then thy fun Shoots full perfection thro' the fwelling year: And oft thy voice in dreadful thunder speaks, And oft at dawn, deep noon, or falling eve, By brooks and groves, in hollow-whifp'ring gales. Thy bounty fhines in Autumn unconfin'd, And fpreads a common feaft for all that lives. In Winter awful thou! with clouds and ftorms Around Thee thrown, tempeft o'er tempeft roll'd, Majeftic darknefs! On the whirlwind's wing, Riding fublime, Thou bidft the world adore, And humbleft nature with thy northern blast. Myfterious round! what skill, what force diDeep-felt, in thefe appear! a fimple train, [vine, Yet fo delightful mix'd, with fuch kind art, Such beauty and beneficence combin'd; And all fo forming an harmonious whole, Shade, unperceiv'd, fo foftening into shade; That as they ftill fucceed, they ravish still. But wandering oft, with rude inconscious gaze, Man marks not Thee, marks not the mighty hand That, ever bufy, wheels the filent spheres; Works in the fecret deep; fhoots, fteaming, thence The fair profufion that o'erfpreads the spring; Flings from the fun direct the flaming day; Feeds ev'ry creature; hurls the tempeft forth,

And, as on earth this grateful change revolves,
With transport touches all the fprings of life.
Nature, attend join, every living foul
Beneath the fpacious temple of the sky,
In adoration join; and ardent raise

One general fong! To him, ye vocal gales,
Breathe foft, whofe fpirit in your frefhnefs breathes
Oh talk of him in folitary glooms,

Where o'er the rock the fcarcely waving pine
Fills the brown fhade with a religious awe!
And ye, whose bolder note is heard afar,
Who shake th'aftonifh'd world, lift high to heav'n
Th'impetuous fong, and fay from whom you rage.
His praife, ye brooks, attune, ye trembling rills;
And let me catch it as I mufe along.

Ye headlong torrents, rapid and profound;
Ye fofter floods, that lead the humid maze
Along the vale; and thou majestic main,
A fecret world of wonders in thyfelf,
Sound his ftupendous praife, whofe greater voice
Or bids you roar, or bids your roaring fali.
So roll your incenfe, herbs, and fruits, and flowers,
In mingled clouds to Him, whofe fun exalts,
Whofe breath perfumes you, and whofe pencil
paints.

Ye forefts bend, ye harvests wave, to Him;
Breathe your ftill fong into the reaper's heart,
As home he goes beneath the joyous moon.
Ye that keep watch in heav'n, as earth afsleep
Unconfcious lies, effufe your mildeft beams,
Ye conftellations, while your angels ftrike,
Amid the fpangled fky, the filver lyre.
Great fource of day! bleft image here below
Of thy Creator, ever pouring wide,
From world to world, the vital ocean round,
On nature write with every beam his praife.
The thunder rolls: be hufli'd the proftrate world;
While cloud to cloud returns the folemn hymn.
Bleat out afresh, ye hills; ye moffy rocks,
Retain the found: the broad refponfive low,
Ye valleys, raife; for the Great Shepherd reigns;
And his unfuffering kingdom yet will come.
Ye woodlands all awake: a boundlefs fong
Burft from the groves! and when the reftlefs day,
Expiring, lays the warbling world afleep,
Sweeteft of birds! fweet Philomela, charin
The liftening fhades, and teach the night his praife.
Ye chief for whom the whole creation finiles;
At once the head, the heart, the tongue of all,
Crown the great hymn! In fwarining cities vaft,
Affembled inen to the deep organ join
The long-refounding voice, oft breaking clear,
At folemn paufes, thro' the fwelling bafe;
And as each mingling flame increases each,
In one united ardor rife to heav'n.
Or if you rather chufe the rural shade,
And find a fane in every facred grove;
There let the fhepherd's flute, the virgin's lay,
The prompting feraph, and the poet's lyre,
Still fing the God of Seafons as they roll.
For me, when I forget the darling theme,
Whether the bloffom blows; the Summer ray
Ruffets the plain; inspiring Autumn gleams;
Or Winter rifes in the blackening caft;