"How will your brighter glóries fhine,
"When your bleft eyes fhall open be!
""Twill make your excellence divine,
"For you fhall know as well as he."
This take; and Satan's plot fucceeds,
While Eve gives ear to his address:
With flatt'ring hopes her fancy feeds,
That the fhall deity poffefs.
Approaching near the tree, fhe stood,
And views the fruit with wifhful eyes;
And fees it to be good for food,
Defireable to make one wife.
She plucks and eats, then trips about,
Full fraught with matter, longs to tell,
Soon as the finds her Adam out,
What in his abfence her befel.
Not long fhe fought, but he appear'd,
And meets her with a tender kifs:
At large the story she declar'd,
And joys at her expected blifs.
She prais'd the fruit, and gives him fome;
He eats, whereat the Devil fmiles,
To fee both him and her o'ercome,
At once by his deceitful wiles.
VOL. I.
Thus man, to better his estate,
The Serpent's counsel does embrace; And swallowing down the fatal bait, Destroy'd himself and all his race.
ERE Time's divifion, while the ruder earth
From swelling waters was not feparated;
Ere Phoebus or his fifter had their birth,
Or great Elohim had ought elfe created; While darkness cover'd th' unmade fea and
The product of th' Almighty's first command, Was light, a fit foundation for his work in hand.
Light first created, the formless parts afford
A fitter subject for their Maker's use;
From whence Heav'ns Architect by his plaftic
word,
In time and order all things did produce. But why was light brought forth before the rest? Could he want light, who always light poffeft? Mortal, forbear to afk; his wisdom thought it
But fee the method which th' Almighty us'd,
In th' old Creation when the world began ;
The felf-fame method hath his wifdom chus'd
In that more glorious work, new-making man.
Though differing fubjects, yet th' effects agree;
Where God begins to work, the shadows flee,
In that he firft form'd light, in this he makes
man fee.
On the Hypocrite and the Apoftate.
THO' in a diff'rent dress, and diff'rent name,
When search'd, their pedigree appears the fame :
Both fprung from unbelief, a spurious brood,
Haters of God, and all that's truly good.
What one denies, the other feems to say;
Yet both agree to walk the self-same way.
One wears a painted vizor on his face,
T'other's an open enemy to grace:
The former wears a cloak, this naked goes;
One is, but t'other is not what he fhews.
The laft was once the first, the first will be,
In time, as shameless and as bold as he;
Their work, their wages, and their end agree :
They're graceless both, herein the diff'rence lies,
The laft's unveil'd, the former's in disguise.
The Impotency of Man's Word.
MAN's word's a feeble instrument, whereby
His mind he can but barely fignify;
Speak to the ear, but can't controul the will,
No more than Xerxes could the ocean ftill.
It boasts great things, commands in thunder's wife;
But wanting power in execution, dies.
'Twill prove to any who depend thereon,
As weak as Samfon when his hair was gone;
A blaft of founding air, that nothing can
Produce, to purpose, 'tis the word of man.
The Efficiency of God's Word.
WHEN great Jehovah doth his will proclaim
Each word's an agent to perform the fame.
'Tis done as foon as fpoke, fuch pow'r proceeds
With his commands, as turns his words to deeds.
No fooner had th' eternal mind declar'd
That light should be, but ftraightway light appear'd,
Diffus'd about the yet diforder'd frame;
So every thing at the firft fummons came.
The word, that will'd it, gave each creature birth,
Spangled the Heavens, and adorn'd the earth;
Prepar'd the fea, appointed each his station,
Made both the form and fubftance of creation.
Oh! wond'rous agent! whofe almighty word
Doth fuch miraculous effects afford;
Far above Reason's reach, past human skill,
The word that fpeaks it executes thy will:
Laz'rus, come forth the grave; young man, arife;
Come, Bartimeus, exercife thine eyes.
Oh! power divine! the word's no fooner spoken,
But dead men live, the blind man's eyes are open.
Since, Lord, thou canft, at fuch an easy rate,
Cure ev'ry grief, tho' ne'er so desperate;
See, fee my cafe, O bleffed Jefus, fee;
I'm helpless, hopeless, caft thine eyes on me.
Deign to exprefs thy fov'reign fkill, oh! favour
A wretched patient, and become my Saviour.
Help, great Phyfician; fhew thy fovʼreign art,
Speak fome
great word, and quicken my dead heart;
Sweet Jefus, heal my grief, regard my moan,
Command deliv'rance, and the work is done.
|