THE rife of Empires, and their weighty fall,
My Mufe advent'rous foars beyond them all;
Leaves empty fhews of grandeur far behind,
Nor to a grov'ling fubject is confin'd.
In vain I curb her eager flight,
Fain would she reach a tow'ring height,
She flies, and haftens to relate,
The laft, the dreadful ftroke of Fate.
I fee a great, a glorious Angel ftand,
One foot upon the fea, one on the land,
A rainbow round his head, cloth'd in a cloud,
He lifts his arm on high, and fwears aloud:
By him who lives, and ever reigns MOST HIGH,
Who made the Heav'ns, the Earth, the Sea, the Sky;
Whose Power, we fear, whofe Truth adore,
Nature expires, and Time fhall be no more.
This Sun that gilds the rolling spheres,
That marks out days, and months, and years;
The circling Seasons muft no longer fway,
He's run his laft, and number'd all his way.
All Nature ftarts, with wild amaze,
And groans thro' all her wide domains;
Loud thunders roll, fierce meteors blaze;
And gloomy horror reigns.-
But lo! th' ARCHANGEL's trumpet founds,
That Earth, and Air, and Hell confounds.
The Ocean other channels feeks;
The Earth-to her deep centre shakes;
The Sun's arrested in his
The Stars forget their course, and like loose Comets stray.
The hoary mountains quake with fear;
The graves unclofe, the dead appear:
The scattered atoms into bodies join,
Rang'd by the Chemistry divine,
And all the troubled elements their fecret trufts refign.
Ah what horrid forms appear!
What fhrieks I hear?
Some from falling cities fly,
Some in tears for mercy cry,
Some howl in wild despair :
Hell, from her yawning gulphs below,
Belches liquid floods of fire;
Exposes all the difmal feats of woe;
Where wrath refides that never can expire.
Where Destruction's jaws extend,
See accurfed fiends afcend,
Gnashing in pain, and defp'rate in their woe,
Which they must ever, ever undergo.
Mad with malice and despair,
Now earth no more is Providence's care;
They rush to haften Nature's overthrow;
And fomething find like joy to ruin all below.
Lo! from the Eaft, Death's Conqueror appears,
Cloth'd with Omnipotence the Judge defcends,
In his right hand a palm he bears,
Redemption in his looks he wears,
While heaven's radiant hoft around his Car attends,
Behold the Saints in white array'd,
Rufh to his banner wide difplay'd,
On fplendid clouds of light they rife,
To meet MESSIAH in the skies.
And now their virtue does its power display,
Refining all their drossy clay;
Triumphant ride on clouds, the facred throng,
And still they brighten as they move along.
While, in defpair, the wicked gnash below.
See what they've loft, and utter shrieks of woe.
What fmiles appear upon the SAVIOUR's face!
Welcome, he cries, ye Sons of Grace:
See now the fruits of all your woes,
Behold an end to all your shame;
Derifion now recoils upon your foes,
Who fpurn'd my laws, and fcorn'd my Name.
Now flames my rage, against the rebel crew,
Who hated me, who perfecuted you.
But firft, as ye have conquer'd, now receive,
Proofs of my Mercy, pledges of Love.
Afcend thefe Thrones, and fit at my right hand;
Judge ye thofe Tribes for whom I bled in vain:
See, in confufion, all your en'mies ftand,
Who, to their lofs, did proffer'd grace disdain.
Then enter Manfions, by my Father made,
Ere the foundations of the Earth were laid.
While I distress'd, in gloomy dungeons lay,
Loaded, by tyranny with chains;
You did your daily vifits pay,
To foothe my forrows, and divert my pains:
When I was naked, and in want of bread,
You did not then your aid deny;
You gave me clothes, my hunger fed,
Nor faw me fuffer with a scornful eye:
You heard my groans, my burning thirst allay'd;
You wip'd away my tears of grief,
When I, a ftranger, thro' your cities stray'd,
Weary and fick, and faint, ye gave relief.
Tho' not in person, this you did to me;
Yet this you did to mine in misery.
Therefore I on you bestow,
Blifs, that shall eternal flow;
Crowns, whofe honours ne'er fhall fade
Kingdoms hell fhall ne'er invade.
Now all your fuff'rings fhall for ever cease;
The wint'ry ftorms of Time are o'er:
Now reign with God, in everlasting peace,
As fons, as kings, as priests, for evermore,
Ye Powers, and Princes of the fky,
Hither bring the race abhor'd,
See now if they my wrath defy;
Their once defpis'd, but now exalted Lord.
The day foretold, the fignal day is come;
The day that death must have his doom;
On all my foes, I vengeance take,
And the dark kingdom, with its powers, do fhake.
With rapid flight, the heavenly host,
Obey their Lord's command;
And lo! appears a wretched band,
For ever, ever, ever loft.
Too late, they deprecate in tears,
Their Judge's wrath, He frowning hears,
Tells them that Juftice muft, as well as Mercy, fhine,
For both are attributes divine.
O! thou refplendent Deity, they cry,
Who fitt'ft enthron'd in Majefty,
One beam, one glance of pity fhew;
Be Mercy still thy great delight,
Annihilate in everlasting night;
Or mitigate our woe.
Or, if ftern Jufticc, vengeance does require,
And drives us to those lakes of fire,
At laft, O God, do thou thy wrath fufpend;
And though we torments undergo,
Thro' ages in unutterable woe;
O let them have an end.
But ah! the day of Grace is flown,
Too late they bend beneath his throne;
Go he cries; Ye mifcreants, Go;
Your pains fhall no ceffation know.
Fate feal'd the sentence with an iron pen;
Celestial Legions echo'd back-Amen.
Hell yawn'd beneath, Vice ftood appall'd,
While Vengeance loud on Justice call'd,
To yield the destin'd prey;
The waves of fire, more hideous roll,
The fiends in their dark caverns howl;
And, to complete the dread dismay,
Loud thunder fhakes their drear abode;
And hotter flames descend from an offended God.
Now rages all the tempeft of his wrath,
Now finks the rebel crew to fhades below,
To lakes of burning flame, the SECOND DEATH; And God himself, seals up the vast abyss of woe.
Now the bright Celestial throng,
Tune their harps, their voices raise,
And to their King exalt the Song,
Of triumph, gratitude and praife.
No more the clam'rous fons of ftrife,
Disturb the Saints, the heirs of life!
Nature awakes! and lo! the second birth,
Of a New Heaven, and a Glorious Earth.
Above, below, on all fides round,
Beauty and harmony abound:
Around the Earth his glories fhine,
The Heavens proclaim his Power Divine.
Saints and Angels join their strains,
To Him, who ever lives and reigns,
Holy, holy, holy Lord;
Ever be thy Name ador'd.
All Power in Heaven and Earth is thine,
Thou doft in radiant wonders shine;
A God of Mercy, glorious and divine.
But stop, my Muse, you strive in vain,
To reach to an immortal ftrain,
If Angels, while they fing his Grace,
Veil with their wings each radiant face;
Say, ought not I to drop my feeble lays,
Bend to the duft, and mufe his praise ?
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