From heaven's four regions, with immortal force,
Angels drive on the winds impetuous course,
T' enrage the same: it spreads, it soars on high,
Swells in the storm, and billows through the sky:
Here winding pyramids of fire ascend,
Cities and deserts, in one ruin blend;
Here blazing volumes wafted, overwhelm
The spacious face of a far distant realm;
There, undermin'd, down rush eternal hills,
The neighb'ring vale the vast destruction fills.
Hear'st thou that dreadful crack? that sound
which broke Like peals of thunder, and the centre shook ? What wonders must that groan of nature tell! Olympus there, and mightier Atlas, fell; Which seem'd above the reach of fate to stand, A tow'ring monument of God's right-hand: Now dust and smoke, whose brow so lately spread O'er shelter'd countries its diffusive shade.
Shew me the celebrated spot, where all The various rulers of the sever'd ball Have humbly sought wealth, honour, and redress, That land which Heaven seem'd diligent to bless, Once calla Britannia: can her glories end? And can't surrounding seas her realm defend?
Alas! in flames behold surrounding seas;
Like oil, their waters but augment their blaze.
Some angel say, Where ran proud Asia's bound?
Or where with fruits was fair Europa crown'd?
Where stretch'd waste Lybia? Where did India's
store
Sparkle in diamonds, and her golden ore?
Each lost in each their mingling kingdoms glow,
And all dissolv'd, one fiery deluge flow:
Thus earth's contending monarchies are join'd,
And a full period of ambition find.
And now whate'er or swims, or walks, or flies,
Inhabitants of sea, or earth, or skies;
All on whom Adam's wisdom fix'd a name,
All plange, and perish in the conq’ring flame.
This globe alone would but defraud the fire,
Starve its devouring rage: the flakes aspire,
And catch the clouds, and make the heavens their
prey;
The sun, the moon, the stars, all melt away:
All, all is lost; no monument, no sign,
Where once so proudly blaz’d the gay machine.
So bubbles on the foaming stream expire,
So sparks that scatter from the kindling fire;
The devastations of one dreadful hour,
The Great Creator's six days work devour;
A mighty, mighty ruin! yet one soul
Has more to boast, and far outweighs the whole;
Exalted in superior excellence,
Casts down to nothing, such a vast expence.
Have ye not seen th’ eternal mountains nod,
An earth dissolving, a descending Gopi
What strange surprises through all nature ran!
For whom these revolutions, but for man!
For him, Omnipotence new measures takes,
For him, through all eternity awakes;
Pours on him gifts sufficient to supply
Heaven's loss, and with fresh glories fill the sky.
Think deeply then, O man! how great thou art, T'ay thyself homage with a trembling heart; What angels guard, no longer dare neglect, Slighting thyself, affront not God's respect. Enter the sacred temple of thy breast, And gaze,
and wander there, a ravish'd guest; Gaze on those hidden treasures thou shalt find, Wander through all the glories of thy mind. Of perfect, knowle:lge, see the dawning light Foretells a noon most exquisitely bright! Here, springs of endless joy are breaking forth! There, buds the promise of celestial worth!
| Worth, which must ripen in a happier clime,
And brighter sun, beyond the bounds of time.
Thou, minor, canst not guess thy vast estate,
What stores, on foreign coasts, thy landing wait:
Lose not thy claim, let virtue's paths be trod;
Thus glad all heaven, and please that bounteous
God,
Who, to light thee to pleasures, hung on high
Yon radiant orb, proud regent of the sky:
That service done, its beams shall fade away,
And God shine forth in one Eternal Day.
AND now on earth the seventh Evening arose in Eden, for the sun Was set, and twilight from the east came on, Fore-running night; when on the holy mount Of heaven's high-scated top, th' imperial throne Of Godhead, fix'd for ever firm and sure,
The Filial Power arriv'd, and sat him down
With his great Father, for he also went
Invisible, yet stay'd, (such privilege
Hath Omnipresence) and the work ordain'd,
Author and end of all things, and from work
Now resting, bless'd and hallow'd the seventh day,
As resting on that day from all his work,
But not in silence holy kept; the harp
Had work and rested not; the solemn pipe,
And dulcimer, all organs of sweet stop,
All sounds on fret by string or golden wire
Temper'd soft tunings, intermix'd with voice
Choral or unison: of incense, clouds
Fuming from golden censors hid the mount.
Creation and the six days acts they sung.
Great are thy works, Jehovah, infinite
Thy pow'r; what thought can measure thee, or
tongue
Relate thee? greater now in thy return
Than from the giant angels? thee that day
Thy thunders magnify'd; but to create
Is greater than created to destroy,
Who can impair thee, mighty King, or bound
Thy empire? Easily the proud attempt
Of spirits apostate and their counsels vain
Thou hast repell’d, w ni impiously they thought
Thee to diminish, and from thee withdraw
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