The day was mingled with the night,
His feet on solid darkness trod,
His radiant eyes proclaim'd the God,

And scatter'd dreadful light;

He breath'd, and sulphur ran, a fiery stream:

He spoke, and (though with unknown speed he came)

Chid the slow tempest, and the lagging flame.

Sinai receiv'd his glorious flight,
With axle red and glowing wheel
Did the wing'd chariot light,

And rising smoke obscur'd the burning hill.
Lo, it mounts in curling waves,
Lo, the gloomy pride out-braves
The stately pyramids of fire;

The pyramids to Heaven aspire,

And mix with stars, but see their gloomy offspring higher.

So have you seen ungrateful ivy grow

Round the tall oak that six score years has stood, And proudly shoot a leaf or two

Above its kind supporter's utmost bough, And glory there to stand the loftiest of the wood.

Forbear, young Muse, forbear;

The flowery things that poets say,
The little arts of simile

Are vain and useless here;

Nor shall the burning hills of old
With Sinai be compar'd,

Nor all that lying Greece has told,
Or learned Rome has heard;
Ætna shall be nam'd no more,
Ætna the torch of Sicily;

Not half so high

Her lightnings fly,

Not half so loud her thunders roar

Cross the Sicanian sea, to fright the' Italian shore. Behold the sacred hill: its trembling spire Quakes at the terrors of the fire,

While all below its verdant feet,

Stagger and reel under the' Almighty weight; Press'd with a greater than feign'd Atlas' load, Deep groan'd the mount; it never bore Infinity before,

It bow'd, and shook beneath the burden of a Gov. Fresh horrors seize the camp; despair,

And dying groans, torment the air,

And shrieks, and swoons, and deaths were there;
The bellowing thunder and the lightning's blaze
Spread through the host a wild amaze;
Darkness on every soul, paleness on every face:
Confus'd and dismal were the cries,
Let Moses speak, or Israel dies:
Moses the spreading terror feels,
No more the man of God conceals
His shivering and surprise :
Yet, with recovering mind, commands

[bands.

Silence, and deep attention, through the Hebrew Hark! from the centre of the flame,

All arm'd and feather'd with the same, Majestic sounds break through the smoky cloud: Sent from the All-creating tongue,

A flight of cherubs guard the words along, And bear their fiery law to the retreating crowd. I am the Lord: 'tis I proclaim

That glorious and that fearful name,

1

Thy GoD and King: 'twas I, that broke
Thy bondage, and the' Egyptian yoke :
Mine is the right to speak my will,

And thine the duty to fulfil.

'Adore no God beside me, to provoke mine eyes; Nor worship me in shapes and forms that men devise;

With reverence use my name, nor turn my words to jest ;

Observe my sabbath well, nor dare profane my rest; Honour, and due obedience to thy parents give; Nor spill the guiltless blood, nor let the guilty live: Preserve thy body chaste, and flee the' unlawful bed; Nor steal thy neighbour's gold, his garment, or his

bread;

Forbear to blast his name with falsehood, or deceit, Nor let thy wishes loose upon his large estate.'

REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR, &c.

ECCLESIASTES XII.

CHILDREN, to your Creator, God,
Your early honours pay,
While vanity and youthful blood
Would tempt your thoughts astray.

The memory of his mighty name
Demands your first regard:

Nor dare indulge a meaner flame
Till you have lov'd the Lord.
VOL. XXIII.

G

Be wise, and make his favour sure,
Before the mournful days,

When youth and mirth are known no more,
And life and strength decays,

No more the blessings of a feast
Shall relish on the tongue,
The heavy ear forgets to taste
The pleasure of a song.

Old age, with all her dismal train,
Invades your golden years

With sighs and groans, and raging pain,
And death that never spares.

What will ye do when light departs,
And leaves your withering eyes,
Without one beam to cheer your hearts,
From the superior skies?

How will you meet God's frowning brow,
Or stand before his seat,

While nature's old supporters bow,
Nor bear their tottering weight?

Can you expect your feeble arms
Shall make a strong defence,
When death, with terrible alarms,
Summons the prisoner hence?

The silver bands of nature burst,
And let the building fall;

The flesh goes down to mix with dust,
Its vile original.

Laden with guilt, (a heavy load)
Uncleans'd and unforgiv'n.

The soul returns to' an angry God,
To be shut out from Heaven.

SUN, MOON, AND STARS,

PRAISE YE THE LORD.

FAIREST of all the lights above,

Thou sun, whose beams adorn the spheres, And with unwearied swiftness move,

To form the circles of our years;

Praise the Creator of the skies,

That dress'd thine orb in golden rays: Or may the sun forget to rise,

If he forget his Maker's praise.

Thou reigning beauty of the night,
Fair queen of silence, silver moon,
Whose gentle beams, and borrow'd light,
Are softer rivals of the noon;

Arise, and to that Sovereign Power
Waxing and waning honours pay,
Who bid thee rule the dusky hour,
And half supply the absent day.

Ye twinkling stars, who guild the skies When darkness has its curtains drawn, Who keep your watch, with wakeful eyes, When business, cares, and day are gone :