The little rivulets no more
To larger ftreams their tribute pay,
Nor to the ebbing ocean they,
Which, with a strange unusual roar,
Forfakes those ancient bounds it would have pass'd before,
And to the monstrous deep in vain retires ;
For ev'n the deep itself is not fecure,
But belching fubterraneous fires,
Increases still the fcalding calenture,
Which neither earth, nor air, nor water can endure.
VII.
The fun by fympathy concern'd,
At thofe convulfions, pains, and agonies,
Which on the whole creation feize,
Is to fubftantial darknefs turn'd.,
The neighbouring moon, as if a purple flood
O'erflow'd her tottering orb, appears
Like a huge mass of black corrupting blood;
For fhe herself a diffolution fears.
The larger planets which once shone so bright,
With the reflected rays of borrow'd light,
Shook from their center, without motion lye,
Unwieldy globes of folid night,
And ruinous lumber of the sky.
VIII.
Amidst this dreadful hurricane of woes,
(For fire, confufion, horror, and defpair
Fill ev'ry region of the tortur'd earth and air)
The great archangel his loud trumpet blows,
At whofe amazing found, fresh agonies
Upon expiring nature feize;
For now fhe'll in few minutes know
Th' ultimate event and fate of all below.
Awake, ye dead, awake, he cries,
For all muft come:
All that had human breath, arise,
To hear your last unalterable doom.
At this the ghaftly tyrant, who had fway'd
many thoufand ages uncontrol'd,
No longer could his fcepter hold,
But gave up all, and was himself a captive made.
The scatter'd particles of human clay,
Which in the filent grave's dark chambers lay,
Resume their priftine forms again,
And now from mortal, grow
Stupendous energy of facred pow'r,
Which can collect, where-ever cast,
The smallest atoms, and that shape restore,
Which they had worn fo many years before,
Tho' thro' ftrange accidents and num'rous changes past.
X.
See how the joyful angels fly
From ev'ry quarter of the sky
To gather, and to convoy all,
The pious fons of human race,
To one capacious place
Above the confines of this flaming ball.
See with what tenderness and love they bear
Those righteous fouls thro' the tumultuous air;
Whilft the ungodly stand below,
Raging with fhame, confufion and despair,
Amidft the burning overthrow,
Expecting fiercer torments, and acuter woe.
Round them infernal fpirits howling fly;
O horror, curfes, tortures, chains, they cry:
And rore aloud with execrable blasphemy.
XI.
Hark how the daring fons of infamy,
Who once diffolv'd in pleasures lay,
And laugh'd at this tremendous day,
To rocks and mountains now to hide 'em cry;
But rocks and mountains all in ashes lye.
Their fhame's fo mighty, and fo ftrong their fear,
That rather than appear
Before a God incens'd, they would be hurl'd
Amongst the burning ruins of the world,
And lye conceal'd, if poffible, for ever there.
Time was, they would not own a Deity,
Nor after death a future ftate:
But now, by fad experience find too late,
There is, and terrible to that degree,
That, rather than behold his face, they'd ceafe to be.
And fure 'tis better, if heav'n would give consent,
To have no being; but they must remain
For ever, and for ever be in pain.
O inexpreffible ftupendous punishment,
Which cannot be endur'd, yet must be underwent.
XII.
But now the eastern skies expanding wide,
The glorious Judge omnipotent defcends,
And to the fublunary world his passage bends;
Where, cloth'd with human nature, he did once reside.
Round him the bright ethereal armies fly,
And loud triumphant Hallelujahs fing,
With fongs of praise, and hymns of victory,
To their celestial King :
All glory, pow'r, dominion, majesty,
Now and for everlasting ages be,
To the effential One, and co-eternal Three.
Perish that world, as 'tis decreed,
Which faw the God incarnate bleed!
Perish by thy almighty vengeance those
Who durft thy perfon, or thy laws expose,
The curfed refufe of mankind, and hell's proud feed.
Now to the unbelieving nations fhow,
Thou art a God from all eternity;
Not titular, or but by office so,
And let 'em the myfterious union fee,
Of human nature with the Deity.
With mighty transports, yet with awful fears,
The good behold this glorious fight,
Their God in all his majesty appears,
Ineffable, amazing bright,
And feated on a throne of everlasting light.
Round the tribunal, next to the most High,
In facred difcipline and order stand
The peers and princes of the sky,
As they excel in glory or command.
Upon the right hand that illustrious croud
In the white bofom of a shining cloud,
Whose fouls abhorring all ignoble crimes,
Did with a steady courfe purfue
His holy precepts in the worst of times;
Maugre what earth or hell, what men or devils could do.
And now that God they did to death adore,
For whom fuch torments and fuch pains they bore,
Returns to place them on those thrones above,
Where undisturb'd, uncloy'd, they will poffefs
Divine fubftantial happiness,
Unbounded as his pow'r and lasting as his love.
Go bring, the Judge impartial frowning cries,
Those rebel fons, who did my laws despise;
Whom neither threats nor promises could move,
Not all my fufferings, nor all my love,
To fave themselves from everlasting miseries.
At this ten millions of archangels flew
Swifter than light'ning, or the fwifteft thought,
And lefs than in an instant brought,
The wretched, curs'd, infernal crew,
Who with diftorted aspects come,
To hear their fad intolerable doom.
Alas! they cry, one beam of mercy show,
Thou all-forgiving Deity!
To pardon crimes is natural to thee;
Crush us to nothing, or fufpend our woe;
But if it cannot, cannot be,
And we must go into a gulf of fire,
(For who can with omnipotence contend)
Grant, for thou 'rt a God it may at last expire,
And all our tortures have an end.
Eternal burnings, Oh! we cannot bear!
Tho' now our bodies too immortal are.
Let 'em be pungent to the last degree;
And let our pains innumerable be,
But let 'em not extend to all eternity.
Lo, now, there does no place remain
For penitence and tears, but all
Muft by their actions stand or fall:
To hope for pity is in vain,
The dye is caft, and not to be recall'd again.
Two mighty books are by two angels brought,
In this impartially recorded stands
The law of nature, and divine commands;
In that, each action, word and thought, Whate'er was faid in fecret, or in fecret wrought. Then firft the virtuous, and the good,
Who all the fury of temptation ftood,
And bravely pafs'd thro' ignominy, chains and blood,
Attended by their guardian angels, come
To the tremendous bar of final doom.
In vain the grand accufer, railing, brings
A long indictment of enormous things,
Whole guilt wip'd off by penitential tears,
And their Redeemer's blood and agonies,
No more to their astonishment
But in the fecret womb of dark oblivion lyes.
Come now, my friends, he cries, ye fons of grace,
Partakers once of all my wrongs and shame,
Defpis'd and hated for my Name,
Come to your Saviour's, and your God's embrace
Afcend, and those bright diadems poffefs,
For you by my eternal father made,
E'er the foundation of the world was laid;
And that furprizing happiness,
Immenfe as my own Godhead, and will ne'er be less.
For when I languishing in prison lay,
Naked and starv'd almost for want of bread,
You did your kindly vifits pay,
Both cloth'd my body, and my hunger fed.
Wearied with fickness, or opprefs'd with grief,
Your hand was always ready to fupply.
Whene'er I wanted, you were always by,
To fhare my forrows or to give relief.
In all distress so tender was your love,
I could no anxious trouble bear,
No black misfortune, or vexatious care,
But you were still impatient to remove,
And mourn'd, your charitable hand, fhould unsuccessful
All this you did, tho' not to me
In perfon, yet to mine in mifery;
And fhall for ever live
In all the glories that a God can give, Or a created being's able to receive.
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