Who seems, as high his monstrous bulk he heaves,
A massive island rising from the waves;
And yet spouts water as a gamesome boy,
Aloft who throws it in a fit of joy.
His eyes, effulgent with indignant scorn,
Are like the op'ning eyelids of the morn;
He swims the awful monarch of the flood,
And laughs at iron as at rotten wood.

240

245

250

In all the glorious works which thou hast made,
Various and countless living creatures tread;
They call upon thee for their daily food,
Thy hand thou op'nest, they are fill'd with good.
Thee all things praise to which thou givest birth,
In the high heav'n, or in the lower earth;
Angels and seraphs, who delight in love,
Proclaim thy praise in burning zeal above;
Thee praise th' apostles' consecrated band,
Who spread thy Gospel to each heathen land;
Thine own elected prophets speak thy praise,
And to each age their deathless voices raise;
The martyrs' glorious army lov'd thy name,
And cheerful prais'd it in surrounding flame.
When quick and dead appear of each degree,
And life's dread book stands open before thee;
When earth and heav'n shall vanish from thy face, 260
And carth and heav'n no more shall find a place;
Then ev'ry creature, blest with farther light,
Shall own in all th' Eternal God is right.
While I have being I will speak thy praise,
In that my voice triumphantly I'll raise.

255

265

BOOK THE FOURTH.

THE ARGUMENT.

Our Saviour's humanity next considered, as this virtue must naturally spring from true piety Without it, piety is vain, or an insult to God---Our Saviour's curing the dumb, lame, maniac, leper, lunatic, paralytic, and the blind-Reflections

upon the various miseries of blindness---It is the duty of Christians to relieve, wherever they can, the necessities of the blind-Our Saviour cures the man who is deaf and dumb--The unhappiness of such a condition--He feeds thousands with a few fishes and a little bread-He weeps from sympathy when he hears of the death of Lazarus from his friends-Great souls are liable to be melled---Little and contracted minds are obdurate---Praise of a feeling mind---It is a moral security of innocence---When, however, compassion is swayed by reason, and exerted from approbation and from choice, as it was by our Saviour, it is a virtue of the highest nature--Compassion was implanted into the breast of man, that he might become by its display the proxy of Heaven. FROM reas'ning of our Saviour's piety, We will descant on his humanity; Of God as true and well-directed love To love of man will naturally move. To all his creatures kindness it inspires, Whose happiness he zealously desires: And these two virtues must together reign, At least, the first without the latter's vain; For he who malice in his bosom bears, Insults the God of mercy by his pray'rs. His life's employ, the labour of his mind, Was to relieve and benefit mankind. Where'er he went, affliction and disease Fled, and to them succeeded joy and ease.

5

10

20

The blind, dumb, lame, and each imperfect man, 15
Felt second life, and saw, spake, leapt, or ran.
· And through his unconfin'd beneficence,
The furious maniac soften'd into sense.
Th' unhappy leper, that was whiten'd o'er
With an afflictive and a hideous sore,
Loath'd by himself, and by his neighbour left,
He cleans'd, and of his foul disease bereft.
The lunatic, poor wretch, was in the way,
The jest of brutal fools, the villain's prey;
The restless heavings of whose tortur'd heart
Would make him oft to a wild horror start;
But at his touch the phrenzy disappear'd,
The spirit fled him, and his senses clear'd.
Thus (if 'tis right to liken and set forth
The greatest things by those of lesser worth)

25

30

35

When an excelling artist's cunning hand
A harp, egregious source of joy, has scann'd;
Whose rugged sounds gave no delight to hear,
Uncouth, harsh, jangled, grating on the ear;
As o'er the chords his learned fingers fly,
Rough discord melts to truest harmony,
And all th' enchanting notes of dulcet melody.
When he was thus on acts of mercy bent,
And each infirmity to heal intent,
A paralytic to be cur'd they brought,
But vainly still to introduce they sought:
For at the door a various multitude
Press'd eager to behold, and to intrude.
At length the sick man o'er the tiles they bore,
And plac'd him in the midst, his Lord before.
Who, when their faith and firmness he perceiv'd,
His sins forgave: the Pharisees which griev'd.
Who said, what blasphemy is here made known!
Who can forgive our sins but God alone?

}

40

45

Line 40. Luke, v. 19. The learned Dr. Shaw, in his "Tra. vels into several parts of Barbary and the Levant," explains, in a very ingenious and satisfactory manner, the method by which the paralytic was let down in the midst before Jesus. See page 277, &c. Dr. Shaw says, that the words in Luke which are translated" they let him down through the tiling," should be translated," they let him down over, along the side, or by the way of the roof."

He says, the houses in the east are made in the form of a quadran. gle, with an area in the middle, over which area they sometimes draw a kind of awning to shelter from the inclemencies of the weather. He supposes that they rolled up this awning when they let the paralytic down. They did all this from the house-top, which was terraced over, and on which they sat or walked in the cool of the evening. It was made flat, and surrounded with a parapet wall. Zephaniah speaks of " them that worship the host of heaven upon the house-tops," i. 5. Solomon says, "It is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house." Prov. xxiv. 25. It is said in Matthew, "That preach ye upon the house-tops." x. 27. If we consider these circumstances, we shall find the objections of Mr. Woolston against the probability of this miracle of our Saviour to be very fu tile. There was no danger that the people below would have their heads broken by tiles, for no tiles whatever were removed. The good man of the house had no cause to apprehend any injury to his property (which Mr. Woolston supposes), for nothing was done con. trary to custom.

But he who knew their murm'ring jealousies,
Said loudly to the paralytic," Rise;
Take up thy bed, and to thy house depart,
But doubt of nothing in thy grateful heart."
Straight to his breast a youthful vigour ran,
He looks, he moves, a firm effective man.
But they astonish'd and affrighted gave
Glory to God omnipotent to save.

And as he travell'd o'er the favour'd land,
Dispensing blessings with a lib'ral hand,
Behold, two men who were depriv'd of sight,
Cried, "Give, great Son of David, give us light!"
And looking on their piteous state, he saith,
"Have ye a lively and a settled faith,
That I at once, can this relief afford ?"

50

55

60

66

70

75

"Yea, this," they said, "we firmly think, dear Lord!"
Though dark without, depriv'd of nat'ral sight,
Yet on their minds had beam'd celestial light,
For him they knew, whom not the eagle eye
Of worldly penetration could descry.
Straight at his high invincible command,
As on their eyes he put his sacred hand,
The darken'd orbs let in the beamy day,
And mercy soften'd its unusual ray.
O sight, fair blessing of indulgent heav'n!
Among the sweetest that to man is giv'n!
For we enjoy through thy propitious mean,
The bliss that flows from many an earthly scene;
Of friendship, and of virtuous love the smile,
Which stern despair to comfort can beguile;
The cheering splendour of the glorious sun,
Rising, or when he near his course hath run;
The milder beauties of the sober night,
When the pale moon emits her silver light;
Or when the stars dispense a feeble day,
Scatter'd, or crowded in the milky way;
All that the seasons different disclose,
The vernal blossom, and the summer rose;
The varied leaf of the autumnal grove,
And winter's river which forgets to move;

80

85

The dawn of morning, and the close of ev❜n,
With all the fair magnificence of heav'n.
To him that's blind, ah! what afflictions flow!
Ah! pleasure how incapable to know!
To him to wander o'er the vernal fields,
Nature no heart-felt satisfaction yields:
For at each slow and trembling step he takes,
A thousand horrid fears suspicion wakes,
Lest he should tumble headlong in a pit,
Or aught his poor unguarded head should hit.
Idle at home, unnumber'd woes await,
His childlike, helpless, melancholy state;
At home, as well as ev'ry where abroad,
Subject to ceaseless wrong, abuse, and fraud.
Ah! when thou see'st the beggar wanting eyes,
Let gen'rous pity in thy bosom rise,

90

95

100

105

And cheerful something to the wretch dispense,
What thou superfl'ous hast from Providence!
As to the city Nain our Lord drew near,

He saw a youth upon his fun'ral bier;
Cropt like an early flow'r he lay thereon,
A lonely, weeping widow's only son.
She first had lost the husband of her youth,
The fond companion who had pledg'd his truth;

110

Line 105, &c. A Society for the Relief of the Indigent Blind has been some time instituted at Liverpool, which deserves, in many respects, to be imitated every where. Many blind poor of both sexes have been engaged in different branches of manufactures, and earn weekly from three to six shillings each. They were employed in spinning linen yarn, and reeling it; in making shirts, sheets, whips, woollen mops, baskets, hampers, &c. It was proposed also to instruct them in the principles of Christianity, which might afford them consolation in affliction. A sketch of this institution may be seen in the Edinburgh Magazine for March, 1792. A proposal for the adoption of the scheme in Edinburgh may be seen in the Edinburgh Magazine for June, 1792. A similar society for the relief of blind persons has since been instituted in Edinburgh, Bristol, and in London. Two noble societies have very lately been instituted in London; the one called "The Royal Infirmary for the Eye," the other, "The London Infirmary for the Eye." The reader may find an account of them in a pleasing and valuable work, entitled "Pietas Londinensis: the History, Design, and Present State of the Public Charities in and near London. By A. Highmore, Esq." London, printed, 1810. Mr. Highmore mentions other charities for the blind.