When thou, O Lord, shalt stand disclosed
In majesty severe,
And sit in judgment on my soul,
O how shall I appear!
But thou hast told the troubled mind
Who does her sins lament,
The timely tribute of her tears
Shall endless woe prevent.
Then see the sorrows of my heart,
Ere yet it be too late;
And hear my Saviour's dying groans,
To give those sorrows weight.
For never shall my soul despair
Her pardon to procure,
Who knows thine only Son has died
To make her pardon sure.
The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim:
The unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty hand.
Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wond'rous tale, And nightly to the list'ning earth
Repeats the story of her birth:
Whilst all the stars that round her burn, And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
What though, in solemn silence, all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball?
What though no real voice nor sound
Amidst their radiant orbs be found?
In Reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
For ever singing as they shine,
"The hand that made us is divine."
THAT early love of creatures yet unmade,
To frame the world the Almighty did persuade :
For love it was that first created light,
Moved on the waters, chased away the night
From the rude chaos, and bestow'd new grace
On things disposed of to their proper place,
Some to rest here, and some to shine above:
Earth, sea, and heaven, were all the effects of love.
And love would be return'd, but there was none
That to themselves or others yet were known.
The world a palace was without a guest,
Till one appears that must excel the rest :
One like the Author, whose capacious mind
Might by the glorious work the Maker find;
Might measure heaven, and give each star a name,
With art and courage the rough ocean tame;
Over the globe with swelling sails might go,
And that 'tis round by his experience know;
Make strongest beasts obedient to his will,
And serve his use the fertile earth to till.
When by his word God had accomplished all,
Man to create he did a council call;
Employ'd his hand to give the dust he took
A graceful figure and majestic look ;
With his own breath convey'd into his breast
Life and a soul, fit to command the rest,
Worthy alone to celebrate his name,
For such a gift, and tell from whence it came :
Birds sing his praises in a wilder note,
But not with lasting numbers, and with thought,
Man's great prerogative. But above all,
grace abounds in his new fav'rite's fall. If he create, it is a world he makes;
If he be angry, the creation shakes.
From his just wrath our guilty parents fled;
He curst the earth, but bruised the serpent's head.
PARAPHRASE ON PSALM CXLVIII.
YE who dwell above the skies
Free from human miseries,
You whom highest heaven embowers,
Praise the Lord with all your powers.
Paraphrase on Psalm cxlviii.
Angels, your clear voices raise,
Him your heavenly armies praise;
Sun, and moon with borrow'd light,
All you sparkling eyes of night,
Waters hanging in the air,
Heaven of heavens his praise declare.
His deserved praise record,
His who made you by his Word,
Made you evermore to last,
you bounds not to be past.
Let the earth his praise resound,
Monstrous whales and seas profound;
Vapours, lightnings, hail and snow,
Storms which when he bids them, blow
Flowery hills and mountains high;
Cedars, neighbours to the sky;
Trees that fruit in season yield;
All the cattle of the field,
Savage beasts, all creeping things,
All that cut the air with wings;
You who awful sceptres sway,
You inured to obey,
Princes, judges of the earth,
All of high and humble birth ;
Youths and virgins flourishing
In the beauty of your spring,
You who bow with age's weight,
You who were but born of late
;
Praise his name with one consent.
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