Old Satan lent them fiery stores,

Infernal coal, and sulph'rous flame, And all that burns, and all that roars, Outrageous fires of dreadful name.

Beneath the senate and the throne,
Engines of hellish thunder lay;
There the dark seeds of fire were sown,
To spring a bright but dismal day.

Thy love beheld the black design,

Thy love that guards our island round; Strange! how it quench'd the fiery mine, And crush'd the tempest under ground.

Assume, my tongue, a nobler strain,
Sing the new wonders of the Lord;
The foes revive their pow'rs again,
Again they die beneath his sword.

Dark as our thoughts our minutes roll,
While tyranny possess'd the throne,
And murderers of an Irish soul

Ran, threat'ning death, through every town.

The Roman priest, and British prince,

Join'd their best force, and blackest charms, And the fierce troops of neighbouring France Offer'd the service of their arms.

"Tis done, they cried, and laughed aloud,
The courts of darkness rang with joy,
Th' old serpent hiss'd, and hell grew proud,
While Zion mourn'd her ruin nigh.

But, lo, the great Deliverer sails,
Commission'd from Jehovah's hand,
And smiling seas, and wishing gales,
Convey him to the longing land.

The happy day, and happy year,
Both in our new salvation meet:

The day that quench'd the burning snare,
The year that burnt the invading fleet.†

Now did thine arm, O God of hosts,

Now did thine arm shine dazzling bright, The sons of might their hands had lost, And men of blood forgot to fight.

Brigades of angels lined the way,
And guarded William to his throne;
There, ye celestial warriors stay,

And make his palace like your own.

Then, mighty God, the earth shall know
And learn the worship of the sky:
Angels and Britons join below,

To raise their hallelujahs high.

All hallelujah, heavenly King!

While distant lands thy victory sing, And tongues their utmost powers employ, The world's bright roof repeats the joy.

THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE.

FAR in the heav'ns my God retires-
My God, the mark of my desires-
And hides his lovely face;

When he descends within my view,

He charms my reason to pursue,

But leaves it tir'd and fainting in th' unequal chase.

Or if I reach unusual height

"Till near his presence brought,

There floods of glory check my flight,

And all untune my thought;

Plung'd in a sea of light I roll,

Where wisdom, justice, mercy, shine;

Infinite rays in crossing lines

Beat thick confusion on my sight, and overwhelm my

soul.

Come to my aid, ye fellow-minds,

And help me reach the throne;

(What single strength in vain designs,

United force hath done;

Thus worms may join, and grasp the poles,

Thus atoms fill the sea ;)

But the whole race of creature-souls,

Stretch'd to their last extent of thought, plunged and are lost in thee.

Great God, behold my reason lies
Adoring; yet my love would rise

On pinions not her own:

Faith shall direct her humble flight,

Through all the trackless seas of light,

To thee, th' Eternal Fair, the Infinite Unknown.

A SIGHT OF HEAVEN IN SICKNESS.

OFT have I sat in secret sighs,

To feel my flesh decay,

They groan'd aloud with frighted eyes,
To view the tott'ring clay.

But I forbid my sorrows now,
Nor dares the flesh complain;
Diseases bring their profit too;
The joy o'ercomes the pain.

My cheerful soul now all the day
Sits waiting here and sings;
Looks through the ruins of her clay,

And practises her wings.

Faith almost changes into sight,
While from afar she spies

Her fair inheritance, in light,
Above created skies.

Had but the prison walls been strong,
And not a flaw reveal'd,

In darkness she had dwelt too long,
And less of heaven beheld.

But now the everlasting hills
Through every chink appear,
And something of the joy she feels
While she's a pris'ner here.

O may these walls stand tott'ring still,
The breaches never close,

If I must here in darkness dwell,
And all this glory lose!

Or rather let this flesh decay,
The ruins wider grow,

"Till glad to see th' enlarged way,
I stretch my pinions through.

THE UNIVERSAL HALLELUJAH.

Psalm exlviii. Paraphrased.

PRAISE ye the Lord with joyful tongue,
Ye pow'rs that guard his throne;
JESUS the man shall lead the song,
The God inspire the tune.

Gabriel, and all th' immortal choir
That fill the realms above,
Sing; for he form'd you of his fire,
And feeds you with his love.

Shine to his praise, ye crystal skies,
The floor of his abode,

Or veil your little twinkling eyes
Before a brighter God.

Thou restless globe of golden light,
Whose beams create our days,
Join with the silver queen of night,
To own your borrow'd rays.

Blush and refund the honours paid
To your inferior names:

Tell the blind world your orbs are fed
By his o'erflowing flames.