Before the loud melodious spheres Their tuneful round begun Before the shining roads of heav'n Were measur'd by the sun :

Ere through the empyrean courts One hallelujah rung;

Or to their harps the sons of light Ecstatic anthems sung:

Ere men ador'd, or angels knew,

Or prais'd thy wond'rous name; Thy bliss, O sacred Spring of life! Thy glory, was the same.

And when the pillars of the world
With sudden ruin break,
And all this vast and goodly frame
Sinks in the mighty wreck;

When from her orb the moon shall start,
Th' astonish'd sun roll back,
And all the trembling starry lamps
Their antient course forsake,

For ever permanent and fix'd, From agitation free, Unchang'd in everlasting years, Shall thy existence be...

$9. Another Hymn, from Psalm 148th. Ogilvie.
BEGIN, my soul, th' exalted lay!
Let each enraptur'd thought obey,

And praise th' Almighty's name:
Lo! heaven and carth, and seas and skies,
In one melodious concert rise,

To swell th' inspiring theme.
Ye fields of light, celestial plains,
Where gay transporting beauty reigns,
Ye scenes divinely fair!

Your Maker's wond'rous power proclaim,
Tell how he form'd your shining frame,
And breath'd the fluid air.

Ye angels, catch the thrilling sound!
While all th' adoring thrones around
His boundless mercy sing:
Let ev'ry list'ning saint above
Wake all the tuneful soul of love,

And touch the sweetest string. Join, ye loud spheres, the vocal choir ; Thon dazzling orb of liquid fire, The mighty chorus aid : Soon as grey ev'ning gilds the plain, Thou, moon, protract the melting strain, And praise him in the shade

Thou heav'n of heav'ns, his vast abode, Ye clouds, proclaim your forming God,

Who call'd yon worlds from night: "Ye shades, dispel !"-th' Eternal said: At once th' involving darkness fled, And nature sprung to light. Whate'er a blooming world contains, That wings the air, that skims the plains, United praise bestow :

Him wouldst thou please? With rev'rend awe
Observe the dictates of his Law:
In secret on thy couch reclin'd
Search to its depth thy restless mind,
Till hush'd to peace the tumult lie,
And wrath and strife within thee die.
With purest gifts approach his shrine,
And safe Him thy care resign.
I hear a hopeless train demand,
"Where's now the wish'd Deliv'rer's hand ?"

Ye fair, by nature form'd to more,
O praise th' eternal Source of love,
With youth's enlivening fire:
the tuneful lay,
Let take up
age
Sigh his bless'd name—then soar away,
And ask an angel's lyre.

Merrick.

my

§ 10. Psalm 4th. DEFENDER of my rightful cause, While anguish from bosom draws The deep-felt sigh, the ceaseless pray'r, O make thy servant still thy care. That aid, which oft my griefs has heal'd, To aid again, entreated, yield. How long, ye sons of pride, how long Shall falsehood arm your impious tongue, And erring rage your breast inflame, My pow'r to thwart, my acts defame? To God my heart shall vent its woe, Who, prompt his blessings to bestow On each whose breast has learn'd his fear, Bows to my plaint the willing ear.

Do Thou, my God, do Thou reply,
And let thy presence from on high
In full effusion o'er our head
Its all-enlivening influence shed.
What joy my conscious heart o'erflows!
Not such th exulting lab'rer knows,
When to his long expecting eyes
The vintage and the harvests rise,
And, shadowing wide the cultur'd soil,
With full requital crown his toil.
My weary eyes in sleep I close,
My limbs, secure, to rest compose;
For Thou, great God, shall screen my head,
And plant a guard around my bed.

§11. Psalm 5th.

Merrick.
THE words that from my lips proceed,
My thoughts (for Thou those thoughts canst
[read,)
My God, my King, attentive weigh,
And hear, Ó hear me, when I
pray.
With earliest zeal, with wakeful care,
To Thee my soul shall pour its pray's,
And, ere the dawn has streak'd the sky,
To Thee direct its longing eye:

To Thee, whom nought obscur'd by stain
Can please; whose doors to feet profane
Inexorable stand; whose Law
Offenders from thy sight shall awe.
Let each whose tongue to lies is turn'd,
Who lessons of deceit has learn'd,
Or thirsts a brother's blood to shed,
Thy hate and heaviest vengeance dread.
But I, whose hope thy Love supports,
(How great that Love!) will tread thy courts,
My knees in lowliest reverence bend,
And tow'rd thy shrine my hands extend.
Do thou, just God, my path prepare,
And guard me from each hostile snare;
O lend me thy conducting ray,
And level to my steps thy way.
Behold me by a troop inclos'd,
Of falsehood and of guilt compos'd:
Their throat a sepulchre displays,
Deep, wide, insatiate; in their praise
Lurks flatt'ry, and with specious art
Belies the purpose of their heart.
O let the mischiefs they intend
Retorted on themselves descend,
And let thy wrath correct their sin,
Whose hearts thy mercy fails to win.
May all whose trust on Thee is plac'd,
Peace and delight perpetual taste,
Sav'd by thy care, in songs of joy
Their ever grateful voice employ,

And

And share the gifts on those bestow'd, Who love the name of Jacob's God. To each who bears a guiltless heart, Thy grace its blessings shall impart; Strong as the brazen shield, thy aid Around him casts its cov'ring shade.

§ 12. Psalm 6th. Merrick. O SPARE me, Lord, nor o'er my head The fulness of thy vengeance shed. With pitying eye my weakness view, Heal my vex'd soul, my strength renew; And O, if yet my sins demand The wise corrections of thy hand, Yet give my pains their bounds to know, And fix a period to my woe. Return, great God, return, and save Thy servant from the greedy grave. Shall Death's long-silent tongue, O say, The records of thy pow'r display, Or pale Corruption's startled ear, Thy praise within its prison hear? By langour, grief, and care opprest, With groans perpetual heaves my breast, And tears, in large profusion shed, Incessant lave my sleepless bed. My life, though yet in mid carcer, Beholds the winter of its year, (While clouds of grief around me roll, And hostile storms invade my soul.) Relentless from my cheek each trace Of youth and blooming health erase, And spread before my wasting sight The shades of all-obscuring night. Hence, ve profane: My Saviour hears; While yet I speak, he wipes my tears, Accepts my pray'r, and bids each foe With shame their vain attempts forego, And, struck with horror from on high, In wild disorder backward fly,

His rank awhile, by thy decree,
Th' Angelic Tribes beneath them see,
Till round him thy imparted rays
With unextinguish'd glory blaze.
Subjected to his feet by Thee,
To him all Nature bows the knee;
The beasts in him their Lord behold;
The grazing herd, the bleating fold,
The savage race, a countless train,
That range at large th' extended plain,
The fowls, of various wing, that fly
O'er the vast desert of the sky,
And all the wat'ry tribes, that glide
Through paths to human sight deny'd.
Immortal King! Through Earth's wide frame,
How great thy honor, praise, and name!

§14. Psalm 23d, Merrick. Lo, my Shepherd's hand divine! Want shall never more be mine. In a pasture fair and large He shall feed his happy Charge, And my couch with tend'rest care Midst the springing grass prepare. When I faint with summer's heat, He shall lead my weary feet To the streams that still and slow Through the verdant meadow flow, He my soul anew shall frame, And, his mercy to proclaim, When through devious paths I stray, the better way. Teach my stepe Though the dreary vale I tread By the shades of death o'erspread; There I walk from terror free, While my ev'ry wish I see By thy rod and staff supplied; This my guard, and that my guide. While my foes are gazing on, Thou thy fav'ring care hast shown. Thou my plenteous board hast spread; Thou with oil refresh'd my head; Fill'd by Thee my cup o'erflows; For thy Love no limit knows. Constant, to my latest end, This my footsteps shall attend, And shall bid thy hallow'd Dome Yield me an eternal home.

How thick the shades of evening close! How pale the sky with weight of snows! Haste, light the tapers, urge the fire, And bid the joyless day retire! Alas, in vain I try within To raise the dull, dejected scene, While rous'd by grief these fiery pains Tear the frail texture of my veins; While winter's voice, that stormis around, And you deep death-bell's groaning sound Renew my mind's oppressive gloom, Till starting horror shakes the room.

Is there in Nature no kind power To sooth affliction's lonely hour? To blunt the edge of dire disease, And teach these wintry shades to please? Come CHEERFULNESS, triumphant fair, Shine through the painful cloud of care: O sweet of language, mild of mien, O Virtue's friend and Pleasure's queen! Assuage the flames that burn my breast, Attune my jarring thoughts to rest; And while thy, gracious gifts I feel, My song shall all thy praise reveal.

As once ('was in Astrea's reign) The vernal pow'rs renew'd their train,

It happen'd that immortal Love
Was ranging thro' the spheres above,
And downward hither cast his eye,
The year's returning pomp to spy:
He saw the radiant God of day
Lead round the globe the rosy May;
The fragrant Airs and genial Hours
Were shedding round him dews and flowers;
Before his wheels Aurora pass'd,
And Hesper's golden lamp was last.
But, fairest of the blooming throng,
When Health majestic mov'd along,
All gay with smiles, to see below
The joys which from her presence flow,
While earth enliven'd hears her voice,
And fields, and flocks, and swains rejoice;
Then mighty Love her charms confess'd,
And soon his vows inclin'd her breast,
And, known from that auspicious morn
The pleasing Cheerfulness was born.

Thou, Cheerfulness, by Heav'n design'd To rule the pulse that moves the mind, Whatever fretful passion springs, Whatever chance or nature brings To strain the tuneful poize within, And disarrange the sweet machine; Thou, Goddess, with a master-hand Dost each attemper'd key command, Refine the soft and swell the strong, Till all is concord, all is song.

Fair guardian of domestic life, Best banisher of home-bred strife, Nor sullen lip, nor taunting eye, Deform the scene where thou art by No sickening husband damns the hour That bound his joys to female pow'r : No pining mother weeps the cares That parents waste on hopeless heirs: Th' officious daughters pleas'd attend; The brother rises to the friend: By thee their board with flowers is crown'd, By thee with songs their walks resound, By thee their sprightly mornings shine, And evening-hours in peace decline.

Behold the youth, whose trembling heart
Beats high with Love's unpitied smart;
Tho' now he strays by rills and bowers,
And weeping wears the lonely hours;
Or, if the nymph her audience deign,
Shames the soft story of his pain
With slavish looks, discolor'd eyes,
And accents faltering into sighs:
Yet thou, auspicious power, with ease
Canst yield him happier hearts to please;
Exalt his mien to manlier charins,
Instruct his tongue with nobler arms,
With more commanding passion move,
And teach the dignity of love.

Friend to the Muse and all her train,
For thee I court the Muse again;
And may the votive lay disclose
How much to thy fair aid she owes!
See, when thy touch reveals her mine,
How pure the stores of fancy shine;

Hark!

Hark! when thy breath her song impels, How full the tuneful current swells.

$

Let Melancholy's plaintive tongue
lastruct the nightly strains of Y-
But thine was Homer's antient might,
And thine victorious Pindar's flight:
Thy myrtles crown'd the, Lesbian meads:
Thy voice awak'd † Sicilian reeds;
Thy breath perfumes the Teian rose,
And Tiber's vine spontaneous flows;
While Horace wantons in thy quire;
The gods and heroes of the lyre.

See where the pale, the sick'ning sage (A prey perhaps to fortune's rage, Perhaps by tender griefs opprest, Or glooms congenial to his breast) Retires in desert-scenes to dwell, And bids the joyless world farewell. Alone he treads th' autumnal shade, Alone beneath the mountain laid, He sees the nightly damps arise, And gathering storms involve the skies; He hears the neighb'ring surges roll, And raging thunders shake the pole; Then, struck by every object round, And stunn'd by ev'ry horrid sound," He pants to traverse nature's ways: Ilis evils haunt him thro' the maze: He views ten thousand demons rise, To wield the empire of the skies, And Chance and Fate assume the rod, And Malice blots the throne of Gov. -O Thou, whose pleasing power I sing! Thy lenient influence hither bring; Compose the storm, dispel the gloom Till Nature wears her wonted bloom, Till fields and shades their sweets exhale, And music swell each opening gale: Then o'er his breast thy softness pour, And let him learn the timely hour To trace the world's benignant laws, And judge of that presiding cause Who founds in discord beauty's reign, Converts to pleasure every pain, Subdues the hostile forms to rest, And bids the universe be blest.

Still

O Thou, whose pleasing power I sing! If right I touch the votive string, If equal praise I yield thy name, govern thou thy poet's flame; Still with the Muse my bosom share, And sooth to peace corroding care. But most exert thy genial power On friendship's consecrated hour: And while my Agis leads the road To fearless wisdom's high abode; Or, warm in freedom's sacred cause, Pursues the light of Grecian laws; Attend, and grace our gen'rous toils With all thy garlands, all thy smiles. But if, by fortune's stubborn sway From him and friendship torn away, I court the Muses healing spell For griefs that still with absence dwell,

Alcæus and Sappho.