Wisdom they shall all adore And joyful Tydings hear they never heard before Tydings that new and wondrous Things assert That God the Nations will at length convert And of his Kingdom make the Heathen World a part CH. LIII When the Messiah by his Love inclin'd And tender Mercy mov'd to lost Mankind From his Immortal Throne on high descends To compass all his great and glorious Ends Who in the blest Redeemer will believe who 'll the Divine Commissioner receive Or to his Heav'nly Message Credit give He 'll not advance in Pomp and regal State No shouting Crowds shall on his Chariot wait No Harbengers or Heralds shall proclaim His coming down and spread abroad his Fame He shall no Guards no long Retinue take Like earthly Kings that Publick Entrys make He 'll not as Lords and mighty Conq'rours do Vast Armys head the Nations to subdue And found an Empire for th' ambitious Jew Mean and obscure shall be my Servants Birth As that of Plants in dry and barren Earth Expecting some great Gen'ral should arise The Jews his Poor Extraction shall despise They will his Sacred Person too condemn And the great Pow'r and Word of God blaspheme As his Condition and his Birth are low Mean and despis'd his Person too is so They 'll in his Face no Air of Greatness see Nor in his Mâ—en the marks of Majesty He 'll by uncommon Beauty ne'er be known Distinguish'd by Calamity alone His Presence will not cause or Love or Aw But great Contempt from all Spectators draw Hence Men will my Commissioner neglect And all his gracious Overtures reject His Life shall be but one continu'd Chain Of Labour Sorrow and consuming Pain He dayly shall converse with Grief and Woe And with Affliction shall familiar grow Unmeasured Suff'rings exquisite Distress And pondrous Trouble shall his Soul oppress These sad Companions shall around him stay Consume his Flesh and on his Vitals prey Th' obdurate Jews my Servant will defame And of his low Estate express their Shame The guiltless just and wondrous Man shall bear Such heavy Grief and Torments so severe Th' Almighty's high displeasure to atone For other Mens Transgressions not his own He shall the whole Collected Guilt assume Of lost Mankind and suffer in their room Yet will the spiteful Jew blaspheme and say That God did all this Vengeance on him lay To punish his enormous Crimes who ne'er Was known from Virtue 's strictest Rule to err No our Offences all his Pains procure For our Transgressions he 'll his Wounds endure By his most free and merciful Consent He 'll undergo the mighty Punishment Due to the Sins of Men and so remove Th' Almighty's Wrath and make our Peace above He on his Guiltless self our Guilt shall take And by his Suff'rings full attonement make By his sharp Stripes he 'll Ease to us procure And by his Death Eternal Life ensure Since Adam fell all his degenerate Kind The Heav'nly Paths of Virtue have declin'd Fond of their own pernicious sinful way They 're lost like straggling Sheep and gone astray All-gracious God has on his Servant laid The Sins of all for all have disobey'd All the black Streams of Guilt do hither flow As all the Rivers to the Ocean go He that so vast a load would not decline Must sure be conscious of a Strength Divine Justice incens'd did Punishment demand Exacting Payment at th' offenders Hand And since we could not pay so great a Sum The blest Messiah Surety did become He did himself the mighty Debt discharge Due to offended Heav'n and Man enlarge When God's Right-Hand with Vengeance arm'd design'd To execute his Wrath on Humane Kind He interposing on his Guiltless Head Receiv'd the Blow and suffer'd in our Stead For as the harmless Sheep beneath the Shears Is Dumb and all his Suff'rings meekly bears Dos ev'n without Resistance Noise or Strife When to the Slaughter led lay down his Life With like Submission does the Lamb of God Bear furious Persecution's Iron Rod. In prosecution of his blest design His Pains he 'll undergo his Life resign Serene as Heav'n and mild as Love Divine 'T is true at last he shall surmount his Woes Break all the Pow'rs that his high Aims oppose And Triumph o'er the Malice of his Foes He 'll from the Iron Prisons of the Dead And from the Dust raise his Victorious Head He shall with brighter Glory to the Skys After a red and bloody Seting rise The Conq'rour shall ascend in Royal State And Death it self in Chains shall on him wait When thus Exalted he shall live to see A numberless believing Progeny Of his Adopted Sons the Godlike Race Exceed the Stars that Heav'n's high Arches grace A willing Victim he resign'd his Breath In all the Tortures of a ling'ring Death To suffer as a Criminal convey'd The Grave his Bed he with the Wicked made Tho' so much Pain and Shame he underwent Yet was he Righteous Pure and Innocent He all his Ignominious Torments bore Man to his Maker's Favour to restore To raise laps'd Adam's Race from Death and Hell To the most happy State from whence they fell Tho' he was just and spotless yet his God Was pleas'd to bruise and wound him with his Rod. When that a Ransom may for Man be paid He of his Life an Off'ring shall have made He from the Grave shall as a Conq'rour come And next his Father's Throne his former Seat resume Where he shall dwell secure from Death and Pain And endless as his Life shall be his Reign A numerous Seed a pure and Godlike Line Breathing Repentance and Belief Divine Quicken'd by his Prolifiâ— Death shall crown His Suff'rings past and him their Father own His work compleated he 'll with great content Review the Torments which he underwent He shall enjoy the Travel of his Soul Pleas'd to have drank th' Almighty's wrathful Bowl The Glory of his Father he 'll regard And Man's Redemption as a ful reward For by his Knowledge and Celestial Grace 〈◊〉 many save of Adam's sinful Race He of their Guilt shall the vast Burden bear Shall all their Debt by Sin contracted clear And at th' Almighty's Bar their Advocate appear Therefore th' Eternal said above the Skys My righteous Servant shall in Triumph rise He with the Mighty and the Great shall share Renown Applauses and the Spoils of War Wide as the World shall be his regal Sway And subject Monarchs shall his Laws obey He all triumphant Conq'rours shall excel Rich with the spoils of Death the Grave and Hell His Chariot-Wheels shall drag along the ground Destruction ruin'd with a deadly Wound Captivity expos'd to publick scorn A fetter'd Slave his triumph shall adorn These Honours on my Servant I 'll confer Because he chose the Pains of Death to bear From Man impending Vengeance to avert And of the ruin'd Race a chosen part To save from Death and Hell their due desert THE III Ch. of Habakkuk PARAPHRAS'D AS God
proffligate and impious Men should go unpunish'd and having themselves often seen as well as heard by Tradition from their Forefathers that wicked Nations and Families had frequently by the just Judgment of God been utterly destroy'd concluded that Job notwithstanding the outward Figure he made of a very upright and religious Person must needs be guilty of some great tho' secret Crimes Otherwise they could not conceive how it was consistent with Divine Justice and Mercy to suffer him to be so very miserable Their Opinion was that a good Man such as Job was suppos'd to be could never be so far forsaken of God and abandon'd to such prodigious Sufferings This is the Point they labour to prove They press this very hard on their afflicted Friend hoping thereby to bring him to a Confession of his Sins and a sutable Repentance upon which they believ'd as they often assur'd him God would withdraw his afflicting hand ease his Complaints and restore him to his former Prosperity On the other hand Job who was sure he was no Hypocrite but that he was in good earnest a Lover of God and of his Neighbour and was not conscious of any such conceal'd and secret Guilt as his Friends reproach'd him with asserts in his defence that his Friends proceeded in their Debates on erroneous grounds That they mistook his Case and the Methods of relieving him He affirms that neither their Notions nor their Observations were true For tho' they asserted the contrary he was fully assur'd that God did often afflict even with the greatest Severity many just and upright Men and suffer'd in the mean time the Enemies of God and Man to live in the most flourishing Condition and that therefore there could be no Argument drawnfrom 〈◊〉 Mans Sufferings that he was a wicked and unrighteous Person In some of his Debates on this Head he is so far transported as to censure rashly the Divine Administration as if God had too little regard to the Piety and Righteousness of good Men whom he punish'd with so severe a hand whilst he favour'd the Wicked and prosper'd their Vndertakings or at least that he made not that distinction between them that the Iustice of Righteous Government requires But as to himself his Anguish and Impatience rose to such a degree as vented themselves in many Expressions relating to God's Severity to him unbecoming an humble and patient Sufferer which made a learned Critick say that Job who had a good Cause discomposed by his Impatience manag'd it ill as his Friends had a bad one but manag'd it well Their Debates being ended Elihu a wise young Man that had heard the Arguments on either side undertakes as Moderator to compose the Controversie and set them both right He agrees with Eliphaz and his two Companions that God was a Hater of Wickedness and Irreligion and that he often punished those that were guilty of them but then he will not allow that Job may from thence be justly condemn'd as a wicked Man because a good Man may often be afflicted by God for great and wise Ends. On the other side tho' he does not censure Job for his Hypocrisie or any concealed or secret Guilt yet he condemns him for the Impatience he express'd in his Sufferings and for his bold and rash Expressions that seem'd to charge God with Injustice After this God himself condescends to speak and put an end to their long Debate He condemns Eliphaz and his two Friends for their unjust Censures of Job and Job for his unjust Censures of Divine Providence but on the comparison declares that Job had the better Cause and had spoken better of him than his Friends had done perhaps that Expression of Job's is alluded to The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord. Then he delivers him from his great Afflictions and restores him to his former happy Condition 'T is evident that the Design of the Book is to show that the Providence of God does not only guide and over-rule the highest and most important Affairs The Enterprizes of aspiring Princes and the Rise and Fall of States and Empires but that it interâ—sts and mingles it self with all the Concerns of Humane Life and thereby prepares the Mind of the Reader to acknowledge him as the great Moderator of the World the Director of all our Actions and Disposer of all the Events that happen to Mankind By which Impression he is dispos'd to submit himself and all his Concernments with humble Resignation to the Almighty's Righteous and Unerring Conduct And more particularly the Design is to justifie the Divine Providence in suffering impious and flagitious Men to live in the undisturbed Enjoyment of all the Power and Plenty their Hearts can desire while good and upright Men are often overwhelmed with Poverty and Distress and expos'd to the scorn and outrage of their insulting Enemies The solving of this difficulty which has so often puzled the Understanding and discomposed the Temper of the Wisest and Best of Men seems to be chiefly aim'd at in this Writing And 't is observable that in the Debates between Job and his Friends when they are prest with any difficulty concerning the Divine Administration of Affairs and are at a loss how to reconcile Occurrences with their own Notions of Iustice and Goodness they fly to God's Infinite Greatness and seem to resolve the Controversie into his absolute Sovereignty and uncontroulable Power which occasions many wonderful Descriptions of God's Majesty and Omnipâ—tence They seem to think that when we are puzled and confounded and after all our Attempts can by no means account for the Proceedings of Divine Providence that directly thwart our Opinions of Wisdom and Justice we should enter upon the Contemplation of the Glorious Attributes of God and consider they so far transcend all the low created Perfections in Man that ours are by no means to be a measure of his They may and do assist us in many Instances as faint Representations of the Divine Excellency but whenever we see any Conduct of Divine Providence that we can't reduce to our ways of Reasoning we should humbly adore and not dispute We should fetch a Solution from the Sovereignty and boundless Perfections in God who is always Good and Iust and Wise even when in his Administration he seems to be most the contrary And 't is very plain that when God bespeaks them in the latter end of the Book he insists on no other Justification of his Proceedings with Men than his Dominion and Property his absolute Sovereignty and transcendent Greatness that render him unaccountable able to his Creatures for all his Actions And therefore in the sharpest and severest Trials when Providence seems vigilant and industrious as Job expresses it to find occasions of afflicting when it runs counter to all our Desires defeats our Hopes and disappoints all our Designs in such a hard Case we are to moderate our Passions submit our
Life defend Which on his Head were ready to descend Oâ—t does th' Almighty to the Mind convey Divine Instruction by a sharper way Sickness and Pain at his Command assail The strongest Man and in th' Assault prevail Ev'n he who prospers in his youthful Pride And feels within a vig'rous vital Tyde When e'er the Infection thro' his Veins is spred Shall groaning lye extended on his Bed The secret Poison will his Beauty blast Unbrace his Sinews and his Vigour wast He 'll languish and abhor th' offensive sight Of those rich Meats that were his great delight He who before had such a beauteous Air And pamper'd with his Ease seem'd plump and fair Does all his Friends amazing Change surprise With pale lean Cheeks and ghastly hollow Eyes His Bones a horrid Sight start thro' his Skin Which lay before in Flesh and Fat unseen His throbbing Heart in Pain and Labour beats And Life pursu'd thro' every Vein retreats His Friends believe each gasp will end his Toil And Death stands ready to possess her Spoil If then a Man who does the rest out-shine In sacred Knowledge and in Gifts Divine Some rare and God-like Messenger be sent To teach the Sick and bring him to repent If by his Words the dying Person 's Mind Is form'd to Virtue and to Heav'n inclin'd Then he with due Compassion touch'd shall pray That God his Mercy would extend and say In Pity Lord to spare his Life consent Chastise but not destroy a Penitent Let it suffice that thou didst him Correct And that thy Rod has wrought its due effect Then presently th' Almighty shall restore The Health and Ease which he enjoy'd before He in his Blood reviving Heat shall find Renew'd as well in Body as in Mind Again shall all his Bones be cloath'd with Flesh That like a Child's looks beautifully fresh He shall as bold and vigorous become As when he flourish'd in his youthful Bloom When he his Veins swoln with a noble Tyde Did in the fullness of his Strength confide His humble Prayer shall be to Heav'n addrest And God well-pleas'd shall grant him his request He shall the House of God approach with Joy And his glad Lips in Songs of Praise employ Th' Almighty reconcil'd shall then Acquit And to his Favour this Poor Man admit Then to his Neighbours round him he 'll confess His Errors past and thus himself express Against th' Almighty I have sinn'd and he For my Offence has justly punish'd me To my desert he suited a Reward But has my Life in great Compassion spar'd He kindly interpos'd his Hand to save A helpless Creature sinking to the Grave And more is pleas'd reviving Hopes to give That I again in Wealth and Joy shall live Therefore let all his wondrous Goodness praise That finds t' admonish Man so many ways To turn him from the evil Paths that led His Feet so near the Chambers of the Dead To raise him from the Grave to live in Peace And see his Riches and his Friends increase Mark well O Iob for this is thy concern And I 'll instruct thee on if I discern Thou art dispos'd attentively to learn Or if what I advance thou canst deny And to the Reasons I have urg'd reply A speedy Answer to my Reasons give Before th' important Subject I revive For 't is my ardent Wish thou shouldst appear From every Crime and every Error clear But if thou think'st my Words have weight and force Continue to attend to my Discourse CH. XXXIV After a pause Iob making no reply The wise young Man proceeded thus Should I Presume to judge alone in such a Cause I should receive Contempt and not Applause Wherefore to you who Knowledge have acquir'd Who are as Men of mighty Reach admir'd To all the Wise among you I appeal For Truth to you her Secrets will reveal As by the Palate various Meats are try'd So does the Mind what 's true or false decide Let us a strict Examination make That we in judging may right Measures take Let us the matter carefully debate Let us the weighty Subject justly state For Iob asserts his Innocence and says My Heart is pure and Righteous are my Ways Yet God in my Affliction takes Delight And tho I pray denys to do me Right Evasions I 'll not use in my Defence Nor shall a Lye support my Innocence I must assert I have not Justice found Mine tho' a fatal is a causless Wound A Man like Iob say have you ever known So Arrogant and so Licentious grown One who instead of honouring his God And humbly suff'ring his Chastising Rod Justice Divine presumptuously arralgns And of his Wrongs receiv'd from Heav'n complains Who boldly does contemptuous Language vent Against th' Almighty and his Government Who joyns himself with th' Irreligious Crew And speaks of God just as the Wicked do He seems this impious Doctrine to defend That tho' a Man should all his Days contend To please his God yet should he nothing gain And therefore all Religion is in vain Ye Wise to whom I first my self addrest At this what Passions rise within your Breast Say do not you such impious thoughts detest Can God the sacred Rules of Right transgress God who does all things in himself possess He by his full and rich Sufficiency Is from Temptation to Injustice free He on his Independent Throne secure No favour courts and dreads no greater Power Th' Almighty so much weakness ne'er betrays But deals with Man according to his Ways Ne'er is the bold obdurate Sinner spar'd Nor does the Righteous miss a just Reward Sure none can censure me when I assert Our great Creator cannot Right pervert Who shall of Fraud or Violence condemn Nature's Despotic Lord and Judge supream Is there a Being of superiour Sway Whose Laws oblige th' Almighty to obey For which of all his Kingdoms does he Homage pay With his great Power what Prince does him entrust Whose Frowns should him incline to be unjust He that with all Perfections does abound He must with perfect Justice too be crown'd His Mind without a Stain shines pure and bright No Spot appears in uncreated Light He who is Lord of all can injure none Whate'er he takes he but resumes his own All Beings are the Creatures of his Power And only while he pleases they endure Should he recall the Breath and Vital Fire With which at first he did our Breasts inspire Mankind would perish and to Common Dust Would strait return from whence they came at first If thou art Wise these Observations mind And well attend to what is yet behind The God from whom that Truth and Justice flow Which we observe in Kings that Rule below He who with Power does Potentates entrust Only for Good can he be thought unjust Should we Terrestrial Kings as Tyrants blame Their Wrath would show how they abhor the Name If to inferiour Rulers we object That they in judging Law and Right neglect Would they th'
Let this be done lest on your guilty Head My Vengeance fall because as I have said My ways you wrested to an evil sense And represented ill my Providence And would not hear my Servant Iob's defence These three wise Friends of Wrath Divine afraid Their due Submission to th' Almighty made And Iob to be their Intercessour pray'd His humble Prayer th' Almighty did receive And these Offenders for his sake forgive While Iob this Duty for his Friends discharg'd God from his Straights the Patient Man enlarg'd He now began that Vigour to restore And all the Blessings he enjoy'd before Nor did he cease his Bounty to repeat Till he had made him twice as rich and great Then all his Friends and Kindred who as Foes Had Iob deserted in his Straits and Woes Of his Deliv'rance when they heard the Fame To show their Joy in Throngs around him came And when they first his Losses had condol'd And for his Suff'rings past their Sorrow told They their Congratulations did express For this his unexpected Happiness Each in his Hand did for a Present bear Or Coyn or golden Pendant for the Ear. Thus God chastis'd him with a kind intent And made him Poor his Riches to augment The Herds and Woolly Flocks he once possest Now to a double number were increast His fruitful Wife his Offspring to restore Sev'n goodly Sons and three fair Daughters bore One was Iemima one Kesia nam'd The third was Kerenhappuch Virgins fam'd For charming Beauty which the Sister 's blest Beyond the fairest Daughters of the East Iob did not as the Custom was to do These with small Portions of his Goods endow But being with his Sons Coheirs declar'd With them his vast Inheritance they shar'd God after this so happy turn of Fate Encreast his Years as much as his Estate Of Years an Hundred and twice Twenty more To those were added which he liv'd before So the Good Man his numerous Progeny Did to the fourth Succession live to see Then ripe with Hoary Age and fully pleas'd He dyed or rather he from Living ceas'd THE SONGS of Moses Deborah c. WITH SOME Select Psalms and Chapters of Isaiah AND THE Third Chapter of Habakkuk PARAPHRAS'D By Sir Richard Blackmore Kt. M. D. THE Song of MOSES PARAPHRAS'D EXODUS Chap. XV. YOur Shouts to Heav'n ye Sons of Iacob raise And celebrate in Songs of Praise The glorious Triumphs of Iehovah's Pow'r Applaud th' Almighty Conquerour Let all the wide stretcht Mouths of Fame From Pole to Pole his wondrous Work proclaim To make Men tremble and adore his Name Let it to all the Realms around be known How he his Foes has overthrown How he disclos'd the Water's hideous Womb And did in Crystal Graves their Troops entomb They sunk and perish'd in the Tyde Where now triumphant Waves o'er Horse and Horsemen ride He is our Bulwark and Defence Shielded by his Omnipotence We all the Heathen World defy This mighty Warriour this our great Ally With his Etherial Shield and Arms Divine Does at the head of our Battalions shine Griping his bright Immortal Lance He does before our Host to charge the Foe advance Israel by strength deriv'd from him is strong And as he is our Strength he shall be too our Song He to discharge us from our Bondage broke Th' inexorable Tyrant's Yoke He from our heavy Chains our Feet releas'd And our gall'd Shoulders of their Burdens eas'd He brought us from th' inhospitable Land And rescu'd us from Pharoah's salvage hand He terribly chastis'd these Pagan Pow'rs And as this Lord of Hosts was ours He was our Fathers All-sufficient God We therefore will prepare him an Abode We will an Altar and a Temple reer A sacred Place of Praise and Pray'r There we 'll adore our great Deliverer Th' Eternal does in Arms excel What Pow'r can his projected Darts repel Who can against his Thunder stand Or who elude his never-erring Hand Let him but weild his dreadful Blade Of malleable Light'ning made Let him advance into the Field And lift on high his Adamantine Shield Whose brighter Lustre drowns the waining Sun As much as that the sick'ning Moon Let him with his Celestial Equipage March on as ready to engage And where 's th' undaunted Man that would not fly Or if he stay'd would not with Terror dye He sharply has rebuk'd th' Egyptian's Pride Who his Almighty Arm defy'd Against their mighty Host he did prepare An unexpected Watry War He on the Deep his Terrors did display And drew his rolling Legions in Array He bad the Waves in Martial Order flow And made his fluid Squadrons charge the Foe Th' amaz'd Egyptians fled for fear While roaring Surges hung upon their Rear The foaming Files o'ertook them in the Chase And overwhelm'd the cruel Race Bows Banners Spears an unexampled Wreck Lay floating on the Ocean's back While Chariots Horse and Horsemen kill'd The Seas inferiour Chambers fill'd The mighty Host the Caves beneath opprest And the low horrors of the Deep increast Of such a wealthy Spoil the Sea before Ne'er rob'd the Land while pent within the Shore While no Detachment of its Waves it made The Frontier Regions to invade No Watry Partys sent abroad To sweep the neighb'ring Fields and plunder Mâ—ns Abode High heaps of Swords and Bucklers stood Like Rocks of polish'd Iron in the Flood The Fish made hast to seize their Prey But when they saw the shining Shields display Thro' the dark Realm a monstrous unknown Day And how the Dead in Armour shone With scaly Sides far brighter than their own Away th' affrighted Spoilers fled And thus their Arms that could not give Protection to th' Egyptians when alive Protected them when Dead Like Stones they sank beneath the Flood And the Red Sea appeas'd their Thirst of Blood Glorious in Pow'r great Lord of Hosts Is thy right hand which such Atchievments boasts Which has defeated Pharoah's Troops And sunk to Hell the proud Egyptian's Hopes In the low Prisons of the Deep Thou dost thy Captive Rebels keep Mountains of liquid Crystal on 'em cast Secure the Doors and bar the Dungeons fast Array'd with fearful Glory girt with Might Thou didst thy Peoples Battels fight Thou hast o'erthrown the impious Foes Who against thee and Israel rose They were in Storms of Fury on them pour'd As Stubble is by raging Flames devour'd Commanded by thy Breath th' obsequious Main Stood still and gather'd up its flowing Train Th' Almighty did the Sea divide And as he rends the Hills he split the cleaving Tyde Benumb'd with fear the Waves erected stood O'erlooking all the distant Flood Mountains of Craggy Billows did arise And Rocks of stiffen'd Water reach'd the Skys Remoter Waves came crowding on to see This strange Transforming Mystery But they approaching near Where the high Crystal Ridges did appear Felt the Divine Contagion's Force Mov'd slothfully a while and then quite stopt their course Upon their March they insolently cry'd Let us pursue the flying Slaves
our Liberty And keep our Kingdoms from Oppression free We 'll ne'er agree to vindicate the Cause Of this new King nor e'er obey his Laws Th' Almighty sets his Fav'rite up in vain We 'll ne'er consent to this Usurper's Reign We his proud Yoke will never tamely bear But will his servile Chains asunder tear But the great God who sits enthron'd on high Above the Starry Convex of the Sky Insultingly will mock their foolish Pride Laugh at their Threats and their vain Plots deride In fiery Indignation he shall pass A dreadful Sentence on this impious Race The marks of high Displeasure he shall show And pour Destruction on th' audacious Foe Thus from his Throne sublime th' Eternal spoke And with his awful Voice the Frame of Nature shook In spite of all the Princes that combine Or to retard or frustrate my design On Sion's Hill my Fav'rite I 'll enthrone And fix upon his Head th' Imperial Crown Submissive States his Empire shall obey And at his Footstool Kings their Scepters lay He shall Tyrannic Cruelty correct And tenderly his Subject's Rights protect He shall assert Divine Religion's Cause Heav'n's sacred Int'rests manage with Applause And rule the World with just and equal Laws To execute his high important Charge My Viceroy I invest with Pow'r at large Vast Pow'r I give him but I give him none But what is mixt with Mercy like my own No other Pow'r but what is understood To be intended for his Subjects good His just and gentle Conduct shall confess He seeks his Glory in their Happiness I to the World will publish thy Decree That raises me to Regal Dignity Thus said the Lord let it this Day be known That thou art my begotten only Son Thy high Descent let all the Nations own Thou art intitul'd by thy Royal Birth To all the Realms and Nations of the Earth Make thy demand and by my Grant divine The Pagan States and Kingdoms shall be thine I 'll subject all the spacious tracks of Land From Pole to Pole to thy supream command Thou shalt of all the Regions be possest From the Sun's rising to the adverse West Only the limits which the World surround Thy Universal Monarchy shall bound Arm'd with a Rod of Iron thou shalt reign O'er proud Oppressors and their Rage restrain Thou shalt in pieces dash like Potters Clay Thy stubborn Foes who insolently say We 'll ne'er his Title own nor his Commands obey Ye foolish Kings and Potentates be wise And be instructed where your Safety lies The Son of God with Acclamations meet And prostrate lye adoring at his feet Bow down your Necks to take his gentle Yoke Lest your neglect his Fury should provoke If you refuse this Monarch to obey Be sure you 'll perish in your wicked way For if his Wrath so dreadful does appear When scarcely kindled what have you to fear Who by your desp'rate Provocations raise The Spark to Flames and make his Fury blaze No longer your Subjection then delay The safe and happy Men are only they Who as their Refuge and secure Defence Repose in him their Trust and Confidence THE CIVth PSALM PARAPHRAS'D MY grateful Soul th' Almighty's Name adore Great is his Being great his Works of Pow'r Immortal Honours Majesty Renown And Dignity Divine his Temples crown His Robe of State is wrought with Light reâ—in'd An endless Train of Lustre flows behind His Throne 's of massy burnish'd Glory made With Heav'nly Pearl and Gems Divine inlaid Whence Floods of Joy and Seas of Splendour flow On all th' Angelic gazing Throng below Who drink in Pleasures by their ravish'd Sight Delug'd in vast ineffable Delight He as a Tent the Heav'n's expansion reers And as a Curtain stretches out the Sphears He makes the Mists his Pillars to sustain His airy Rooms and lays their Beams in Rain The Clouds th' Almighty's rolling Chariots bear Their Lord thro' all the spacious Fields of Air. He harnasses the manag ' Winds and flys On their swift Wings to visit all the Skys The various Meteors of the Air above Wait his Commands and by his Order move Tempests and Windy Vapours rais'd on high To do his Will like Menial Servants fly Lightnings and all his wildest Works of Fire His Ministers to serve their Lord conspire These sensless Creatures such Obedience shew To their great Master as his Angels do To him her Father Nature owes her Birth He laid the deep Foundations of the Earth He hung the pondrous heap in fluid Air And made its weight it s own Supporter there Then he the Waters o'er its Bosom roll'd And liquid Garments did the Earth enfold The Rocks and Hills conceal'd in Billows stood And o'er the Mountains tops the Deluge rais'd its Flood God's great Command chastis'd the Water's Pride He bad the Flood call down its tow'ring Tide And strait the ebbing Deluge did subside Th' Almighty form'd a vast capacious Deep Where he his Watry Regiments might keep The waves file off and thither make their way To form the mighty Body of the Sea Where they encamp and in their Stations stand Entrench'd in Works of Rock and Lines of Sand. Yet some Deserters still the Sea forsake And from their Posts by stealth Excursions make The Sun to some lets down his helping Ray They climb the golden Line and thus convey Themselves in Vapours high amidst the Air And to the Hills aspiring heads repair Others by secret Channels from the Deep Pass undiscern'd and up the Mountains creep Whence gushing out in Springs they downward flow And thro' the flowry Vales back to the Ocean go While God in Prison holds the mighty Deep And does in rocky Chains the raging Monster keep That it may ne'er surmount the ambient Shore And with its Flood may drown the Earth no more He to refresh and cloath the Meads with Grass Bids all his Rivers thro' the Vallys pass Kindly their course th' indented Banks restrain Kindly the Hills retard their gliding train For thus the ling'ring Streams at leisure flow And greater Riches on the Fields bestow Beasts tame and salvage to the River's brink Come from the Fields and Wilderness to drink Thither the feather'd Singers of the Air To quench their thirst and prune their Wings repair Then midst the Willows that adorn the Flood Or on the Branches in some neighb'ring Wood The painted Heralds in melodious Lays Proclaim their gracious Benefactor 's Praise He from his high Aerial Chambers where Th' Almighty Chymist does his Works prepare Digests his Lightnings and distills his Rain Pours down his Waters on the thirsty Plain He sends refreshing Showers to cheer the Hills And with his Bounty all the Vally fills The Earth made fruitful with his Heav'nly drops With a rich Harvest crowns the Farmer 's Hopes He does the Fields his open Table spred Where all the Beasts with grassy Meat are fed He Plants for Food and Physic does produce Thro' all the Earth for Man his Viceroys use He pours from
That made thy Flood break Nature's Laws Thy Course thou didst not only stop And roll thy liquid Volumes up But didst ev'n backward flow to hide Within thy Fountain's Head thy refluent Tyde What did the lofty Mountains ail What Pangs of Fear did all the Hills assail That they their Station could not keep But scar'd with danger run like tim'rous scatter'd Sheep But why do I demand a Cause Of your Amazement which deserves Applause Yours was a just becoming Fear For when th' Almighty does appear Not only you but the whole Earth should quake And out of Rev'rence should its place forsake For he is Nature's Sov'raign Lord Who by his great commanding Word Can make the Floods to solid Crystal grow Or melt the Rocks and make their Marble flow THE CXLVIII PSALM PARAPHRAS'D YE bright Immortal Colonys That People all the Regions of the Skys That in your blissful Seats above Inhabit Glory dwell in Light and Love Ye mighty Gen'rals who command Th' Almighty's Host ye Ministers that stand In his blest Presence to receive What Orders he is pleas'd to give Ye Guards and Houshold Servants who resort To pay attendance at his Court Ye Saints and Seraphs who astonish'd see His Greatness and essential Majesty Tune your Celestial Harps and sing The Triumphs of th' Eternal King All ye his Heav'nly Hosts applaud In long continu'd Shouts your wonder-working God Ye Sun and Moon and Stars that grace the Night Praise him the unexhausted Spring of Light Whence your dependent Influence streams Whence you derive your delegated Beams Exalt his Name and spread his Praise As far as you diffuse your Rays Let all the glorious Worlds above agree In this Celestial Harmony And let the dancing ecchoing Sphears around Reverberate the Joy and propagate the sound Ye thin transparent Regions of the Air And all ye flying Nations there With one melodious Voice th' Eternals Praise declare Let Tempests with their stormy Noise And Thunder with its roaring Voice God's own Artillery proclaim Thro' all the list'ning World th' Eternal's Fame From ev'ry Quarter all ye Winds arise On whose swift Wings th' Almighty flys When he his Progress makes into th' inferiour Skys Blow all your Blasts and all your Breath employ In loud Applauses and in Songs of Joy Ye Vapours that by God's Command arise To fill Heav'n's Magazines with fresh Supplys And for the Meteors new Materials bring As you ascend to Heav'n th' Eternal's Praises sing Ye Clouds that by pursuing Winds are driv'n Pour with your Rain your Praises forth Let these ascend as high as Heav'n As that descends to bless the Earth Praise the Divine Artificer Ye Lightnings which his Hands prepare And all ye curious Fireworks of the Air. Praise him ye other Meteors of the Sky Ye Hailstones Mists and Woolly Snow The Manufactures which he works on high For Nature's Service here below Let Nature's mighty Sov'raign Lord Be by the Deep and all the Floods ador'd In Consort let the Billows roar And make his Praise rebound from Shore to Shore Let the scaly People dance Before 'em let their Lords the mighty Whales advance And high amidst the Air on this great Day Let all the Waterworks from their vast Nostrils play And while the Deep the Air and Sky Vocal become th' Almighty's Name to raise Let not the Earth stand silent by But joyn to celebrate his Praise Ye Dragons Wolves and all ye salvage Kind On ecchoing Hills in Consort joyn'd To him your Adoration pay Whose Bounty in the Desart finds you Prey Do you your Gratitude express And make his Praises ring thro' all the Wilderness Ye Pines and Cedars tune your selves to play Th' Almighty's Praises on this solemn Day And sing ye Mountains Hills and Floods To th' Instrumental Music of the Woods Ye Kings the King of Kings adore And at his Feet your borrow'd Scepters lay Applaud the Spring of all Imperial Pow'r You 're here but Subjects and should Homage pay Let Songs of Praise the Gratitude attest Of Aged Men long by his Favours blest Let rapt'rous Zeal Young Men and Maids inflame To celebrate their Maker's Fame Let lisping Infants at his Praises aim Let all th' Eternal's Works conspire To execute this blest design To praise him let them all combine And make the World one Universal Quire THE Song of MOSES PARAPHRAS'D DEUT. Chap. 32. ATtend O Heav'ns and you Empyreal Sphears Did you possess as many list'ning Ears As Starry Eyes all as you roll along Should be employ'd to hear my following Song To my important words a while attend And back my Notes in tuneful Ecchoes send Peace ye tumultuous Waters of the Deep A while ye yelling Monsters silence keep And let the Billows roll and rock themselves asleep Be still ye Earthquakes in the Caves beneath Ye Winds be husht and stop your stormy Breath Thunders your bellowing deaf'ning Noise forbear Tempests be gone and leave in Peace the Air That so the quiet Earth and Air and Sea Without disturbance may attention pay Whilst I th' Almighty's wondrous Deeds display And let not my Divine Discourse be vain Let it distill as Dew and drop as Rain That in their grassy Garments cloaths the Hills And with rich Fruits the smiling Vally fills Whilst I to all the World aloud proclaim His Majesty his great and awful Name Whilst I his Triumphs sing ye Tribes do you To God ascribe the Pow'r and Glory due God is a Rock unchang'd by Ages past And by the future shall unshaken last Perfect are all his Works and all his Ways From Truth 's Eternal Rule he never strays Upright and Equal all his Acts appear He 's just when kind and gracious when severe Therefore ye Sons of Iacob be it known On your own heads you 've pull'd Destruction down Your black Offences have incens'd your God And forc'd his hand to take his vengeful Rod. Say not that yours the Faults of Children are Which a kind Father is induc'd to spare Your Crimson Spots your foul and loathsome stains Tell the rank Poison that infects your Veins Your unexampled Contumacy shows You are not Children but invet'rate Foes Th' Almighty's Goodness do you thus despise Ah foolish Generation and unwise Your Great Deliverer do you thus requite His Pow'r and Mercy thus perversly slight You by a vast expence of Wonders bought He from your Bondage back from Egypt brought He then advanc'd you to Imperial Sway And made the Pagan Kings your Laws obey From all Mankind he chose you for his own And did your Sons with Pow'r and Plenty crown Consult our antient Fathers to the source Of our recorded Story have recourse You 'll find when God did with a lib'ral hand Among the Nations give the parted Land He Canaan's happy Region did divide Where Iacob's Offspring should at last reside He from the Pagan did his People bound And for himself fenc'd this Inclosure round And blest with his Abode the sacred Ground To Wealth and Pow'r he Israel did
empty Vanity in Arms. If God the Spring of Life and Pow'r By whose supplys his various Worlds endure Held back his Streams Mankind would soon expire Dissolve and into nothing strait retire Since his Perfections so transcendent are What Image can his Being represent What can you with Almighty Strength compare What Figure of Infinity invent The senseless Heathens to the Artist run Who deals in Deities of Wood and Stone The Fools bespeak an Antick lacker'd God To Guard their Persons and Abode The melted Metal in the Furnace flows Then in the Mould the stiff'ning Idol glows And when their God grows Hard and Cold The Workman makes him fine and daubs him o'er with Gold The Crowd their gaudy Deity admire Th' effect of Art the Creature of the Fire Then least their Feeble God should fall With Silver Chains they fix him to the Wall A likely Guardian this to save The Men that his Protection crave The Man that 's grown so Indigent and Poor He can't an Off'ring for his God procure To Idols he 's so much inclind Will ways to get Materials find And to engage the chiefest Artist's Care A Graven Image to prepare Tho' after all his Cost and Pains The worthless Piece fixt in his Place remains It can't advance a Step or move a Hand In his Defence that does his help demand Ye Pagan Realms that cover'd lie With the thick Darkness of Idolatry How can a Truth to all reveal'd As clear as Day be still from you conceal'd That is that God's the only God to whom You should with humble Adoration come The Starry Heav'ns which he has made The Earth whose deep Foundations he has laid His Being and his Majesty declare And shew how boundless his Perfectionâ— are Above the Circle of the Earth on high He sits enthroâ—'d amidst th' Emperial Sky Whence when he casts his Eyes around And views the Earth hung low in Air As little Insects creeping on the Ground Contemptible Mankind appear The Heav'nly Sphears as Curtains he expands With Orbs of Light Magnificent His fine transparent Ether with his Hands He spreads to form his Royal Tent. He at his Pleasure can destroy The Kings that greatest Pow'r and Wealth enjoy He can their royal Heads uncrown And from their Thrones can cast them headlong down Deep Root they shall not take nor spread Amidst the Clouds their shady Head Blasted and with th' Almighty's Breath opprest As with a furious Tempest from the East Their ruin'd Branches shall decay And fade like with'ring Plants away Where then says God can Men my Equal see What Object can resemble me Lift up O Man on high thy wond'ring Eyes Regard the Palace of the Holy One View the bright Constellations of the Skies Where he has â—ixt his Adamantine Throne Did not th' Eternal from th' Abyss of Night Call forth those Heav'ns and all those Orbs of Light Do they not run their Courses and dispence At his Command their Light and Influence He their great Gen'ral Day by Day Draws out his glitt'ring Armys in Array In constant Musters on th' Etherial Plains The Squadrons he reviews and all their Posts ordains As Master of his Starry Family He calls his shining Servants out by Name Gives them their Tasks to which they all agree Whereby his Pow'r and Greatness they proclaim Why dost thou say O Iacob I complain And make to God my moan in Vain He to my Sorrow no Compassion shows Neglects my Tears and disregards my Woes The proud Oppressors cruel Yoke Does not his vengeful Wrath provoke I am no more th' Almighty's Care Else he would hear my mournful Pray'r And not desert me in my deep Despair He 'll be no more my Advocate My Cause to manage in debate He will no more my Injuries redress No more condemn my Foes who me oppress He 's pleas'd so long his People to disown That now our Case is desp'rate grown Now if he would he can't assistance give We 're ruin'd and undone past all retrieve O dost thou not unthoughtful Iacob know Who made the Heav'ns above and Earth below Did not thy God th' Eternal Lord Create them with his great commanding Word He rules the World he made with equal Laws Will such a God desert his Peoples Cause Will he that all things wisely does direct His People's Interests neglect Will he their Suff'rings slight and earnest Pray'rs reject He grows not faint nor does his Vigour wast With Age or with his Labour past His undeclining Strength feels no decay Still can he punish those who disobey He can as strong an arm as e'er extend To crush his Foes his People to defend Nor dos he with a less attentive Ear The Crys of guiltless Suff'rers hear But then the Seasons of Deliv'rance rest As Secrets in th' Almighty's Breast The Depths of Providence are fathomless Nor will its Heights admit access And therefore in his Pleasure Man must Acquiesce He to his People still Deliv'rance sends When it promotes their Good and serves his glorious Ends. His Counsels which so far exceed our reach Sould Patience and Submission teach He gives supplies of Pow'r to those that want Strengthens the Feeble and revives the Faint The Youngest Men in whose distended Veins And brawny Nerves Athletic Vigor reigns If they on God should not rely Would quickly languish sink and die But those who humbly on his Strength depend Their stock of Vigor ne'er shall spend He 'll reinforce them with recruits of Pow'r And their decaying Strength restore They shall on Wings like Eagles mount on high And with like force and swiftness cut the Sky They shall or Walk or Run still forward press And ne'er complain of Weariness God daily shall their Strength encrease That they their Burdens may sustain with Ease Till he shall chuse his time his Captives to release Part of the LII And the whole LIII Chap. of Isaiah PARAPHRAS'D MY Servant shall acquire divine Renown And regal Honours shall his Temples crown Kings at his Feet their Diadems shall lay And all the willing World his Empire shall obey His Godlike Government and righteous Laws From Men and Angels shall receive applause He shall his own and Subjects Rights maintain Protect his Friends Oppressors rage restrain And everlasting Peace shall bless his glorious Reign As Men at his Affliction were amaz'd And on his wondrous Woe with Horror gaz'd Whose Face was so deform'd his Flesh so worn With all the Toyl and Torments he had born No Eye e'er saw no Tongue can e'er express Such perfect Grief such infinite distress So shall he be exalted and his height Shall bear proportion to his humble state His Heav'nly Doctrines on the Nations round Shall fall as dropping Rain upon the Ground Attentive Monarchs with a greedy Ear Shall all his wise Divine Instructions hear They 'll with profound Humility receive The Oracles and Counsels he shall give No more their impious Tongues shall him condemn No more Religion or its God blaspheme His Godlike