Flushes the hill, and sets on fire the wood, Oh formidable glory! dreadful bright! Thus then, with fervency, till now unknown, 300 310 "O Thou! whose balance does the mountains weigh, "Whose will the wild tumultuous seas obey, "Whose breath can turn those watʼry worlds to flame, "That flame to tempest, and that tempest tame; "Earth's meanest son, all trembling, prostrate falls, "And on the boundless of thy goodness calls. 320 "Oh! give the winds all past offence to sweep, "To scatter wide, or bury in the deep: "Thy pow'r; my weakness, may I ever see, And wholly dedicate my soul to thee: "Reign o'er my will; my passions ebb and flow "At thy command, nor human motive know ! If anger boil, let anger be my praise, "And sin the graceful indignation raise: "f My love be warm to succour the distress'd, "And lift the burden from the soul oppress'd. "Oh may my understanding ever read "This glorious volume which thy wisdom made! Who decks the maiden Spring with flow'ry pride? "Who calls forth Summer, like a sparkling bride ? "Who joys the mother Autumn's bed to crown? "And bids old Winter lay her honours down? "Not the great Ottoman, or greater Czar, Not Europe's arbitress of peace and war. 330 *May sea, and land, and earth, and heav'n, bejoin'd, "To bring th' eternal Author to my mind! "When oceans roar, or awful thunders roll, 349 "May thoughts of thy dread vengeance shake my soul; "When earthi's in bloom, or planets proudly shine; Adore, my Heart! the Majesty Divine. "Thro' ev'ry scene of life, or peace, or war, Plenty, or want, thy glory be my care! "Shine we in arms? or sing beneath our vine? "Thine is the vintage, and the conquest thinè: Thy pleasure points the shaft, and bends the bow; "The cluster blasts, or bids it brightly glow: 350 "'Tis thou that leadst our pow'rful armies forth, "And giv'st great Anne thy sceptre o'er the North. . Grant I may ever, at the morning ray, "Open with pray'r the consecrated day; "Tune thy great praise, and bid my soul arise, "And with the mounting sun ascend the skies: "As that advances, let my zeal improve, "And glow with ardour of consummate love; "Nor cease at eve, but with the setting sun My endless worship shall be still begun. "And, oh! permit the gloom of solemn Night "To sacred thought may forcibly invite. "When this world's shut, and awful planets rise, "Call on our minds, and raise them to the skies; "Compose our souls with a less dazzling sight, "And shew all Nature in a milder light; "How ev'ry boist'rous thought in calm subsides! "How the smooth'd spirit into goodness glides! "O how divine! to tread the Milky Way, "To the bright palace of the Lord of day; "His court admire, or for his favour sue, "Or leagues of friendship with his saints renew; "Pleas'd to look down, and see the world asleep, "While I long vigils to its founder keep! "Canst thou not shake the centre? Oh, control, "Subdue by force, the rebel in my soul. "Thou who canst still the raging of the flood, "Restrain the various tumults of my blood: 360 370 "Teach me, with equal firmness, to sustain "And with strong faith foment the holy fire! 380 390 End of Book Second. BOOK III. Esse quoque in fatis reminiscitur, affore tempus, OVID MET. THE book unfolding, the resplendent seat |