The glories of his power, and glories of his grace: Of those celeftial facred things, In that majestic face. That face did all his gazing powers employ, He ftood adoring by; With all his shining kindred of the sky. Ye feraphs that furround the throne, Tell how his name was through the palace known, How warm his zeal was, and how like your own: Speak it aloud, let half the nation hear, And bold blafphemers fhrink and fear † : Impudent tongues! to blaft a prophet's name! The poifon fure was fetch'd from hell, Where the old blafphemers dwell, To taint the pureft duft, and blot the whiteft fame' [through, Impudent tongues! You should be darted Nail'd to your own black mouths, and lie Ufelefs and dead till flander die, Till flander die with you. "We faw him, faid th' ethereal throng, "We faw his warm devotions rife, "We heard the fervour of his cries, "And mix'd his praises with our fong: "We knew the fecret flights of his retiring hours, Nightly he wak'd his inward powers, "Young Ifrael rofe to wrestle with his God, "And with unconquer'd force fcal'd the celeftial 66 towers, "To reach the bleffing down for those that fought "his blood. "Oft we beheld the thunderer's hand "Rais'd high to crush the factious foe; As oft we faw the rolling vengeance stand "Doubtful t' obey the dread command, "While his afcending prayer upheld the falling "blow." Draw the paft fcenes of thy delight, With pious crowds, while from his tongue Till warm devotion rais'd the current strong: O might we dwell for ever there! Palions of terror and delight, Demand alternate fway. Though he was fo great and good a man, he did not ejape cenfure. Behold the man, whofe awful voice Round the high roof the curfes flew Far from th' unequal war the atheist fled, His arrows ftrike the atheift through, And o'er his inmolt powers a fhuddering horror fpread. The marble heart groans with an inward wound; Blafpheming fouls of harden'd steel Shriek out amaz'd at the new pangs they feel, And dread the echoes of the found. In gaudy pride finks down his impious head, Now, mufe, affume a fofter ftrain, Now foothe the finner's raging smart, To calm the furging confcience, and affwage the He from a bleeding God derives Life for the fouls that guilt had flain, And ftrait the dying rebel lives, The dead arife again; The opening fkies almoft obey [pain; [day. His powerful fong; a heavenly ray Awakes defpair to light, and fheds a cheerful His wondrous voice rolls back the spheres, Recalls the fcenes of ancient years, To make the Saviour known; Come, he invites our feet to try Afresh the purple fountain flow'd; And trickled to the ground, While every accent gave a doleful found, Sad as the breaking heart-ftrings of th' expiring God. Down to the manfions of the dead, There the dear prince of light reclines his head With pleafing horror we furvey The caverns of the tomb, Where the belov'd Redeemer lay, And fed a fweet perfume, Old Satan foams and yells aloud, [the wheels. And gnaws th' eternal brafs that binds him to The opening gates of blifs receive their king, The Father God fmiles on his Son, Pays him the honours he has won, The lofty thrones adore, and little cherubs fing. Behold him on his native throne, Glory fits faft upon his head; Drefs'd in new light, and beamy robes, His hand rolls on the feafons, and the fhining globes, And fways the living worlds, and regions Bright the credentials he could show, [dead. of the While every ear in rapture hung. Upon the charming wonders of his tongue! Life's bufy cares a facred filence bound, Attention ftood with all her powers, With fixed eyes and awe profound, Chain'd to the pleasure of the found, Nor knew the flying hours. But O my everlasting grief! Ye remnants of the facred tribe Or language fo divine? Our paflions want the heavenly flame, Almighty Love breathes faintly in our fongs, And awful threatenings languish on our tongues; Howe is a great but fingle name: Amidst the crowd he stands alone: Stands yet, but with his ftarry pinions on, Dreft for the flight, and ready to be gone. Eternal God, command his ftay, Stretch the dear months of his delay; Send an Elisha down, a foul of equal fize, fkies. DIVINE SONGS FOR CHILDREN. MY FRIENDS, PREFACE. TO ALL TAAT ARE CONCERNED IN THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. It is an awful and important charge that is committed to you. The wisdom and welfare of the fucceeding generation are intrufted with you beforehand, and depend much on your conduct. The feeds of mifery or happiness in this world, and that to come, are oftentimes fown very early ? and therefore, whatever may conduce to give the minds of children a relish for virtue and religion, ught, in the first place, to be proposed to you. Verfe was at firft defigned for the fervice of God, though it hath been wretchedly abufed fince. The ancients, among the Jews and the Heathens, taught their children and difciples the precepts of morality and worship in verfe. The children of Ifrael were fes, Deut. xxxi. 19, 30, and we are directed in the New Teftament, not only to fing "with grace "in the heart, but to teach and admonish one an"other by hymns and fongs," Ephef. v. 19. And there are thefe four advantages in it. I. There is a great delight in the very learning of truths and duties this way. There is fomething fo amusing and entertaining in rhymes and metre, that will incline children to make this part of their business a diverfion. And you may turn their very duty into a reward, by giving them the privilege of learning one of these fongs every week, if they fulfil the bufinefs of the week well, have learnt ten or twenty fongs out of it. and promifing them the book itself, when they II. What is learnt in verfe, is longer retained in memory, and fooner recollected. The like founds, and the like number of fyllables, exceedingly aflift the remembrance. And it may often happen, that the end of a fong running in the mind, may be an effectual means to keep off fome temptations, or to incline to fome duty, when a word of fcripture is not upon their thoughts. who has been long engaged in the work of cate chifing a very great number of children of all kinds, and with abundant fkill and fuccefs. So that you will find here nothing that favours of a party: The children of high and low degree, of the church of England or Diffenters, baptifed in infancy, or not, may all join together in these fongs. And as I have endeavoured to fink the language to the level of a child's understanding, and yet to keep it, if poffible, above contempt; III. This will be a conftant furniture for the minds of children, that they may have fomething to think upon when alone, and fing over to them-fo I have defigned to profit all, if poffible, and offelves. This may fometimes give their thoughts a divine turn, and raife a young meditation. Thus they will not be forced to feek relief for an emptiness of mind, out of the loose and dangerous fonnets of the age. IV. These Divine Songs may be a pleasant and proper matter for their daily or weekly worship, to fing one in the family, at fuch time as the parents or governors fhall appoint; and therefore I have confined the verfe to the moft ufual pfalm tunes. The greatest part of this little book was compofed several years ago, at the request of a friend, fend none. I hope the more general the fenfe is, thefe compofures may be of the more univerfal use and fervice. I have added at the end, fome attempts of fonnets on moral fubjects, for children, with an air of pleasantry, to provoke some fitter pen to write a little book of them. May the Almighty God make you faithful in this important work of education; may he fucceed your cares with his abundant grace, that the rifing generation of Great Britain may be a glory among the nations, a pattern to the Chriftian world, and a bleting to the earth. SONG I. A GENERAL SONG OF PRAISE TO GOD. How glorious is our heavenly King, Who reigns above the sky! How great his power is, none can tell, Not angels that ftand round the Lord, Then let me join this holy train, My heart refolves, my tongue obeys, SONG II. PRAISE FOR CREATION AND PROVIDENCE. I SING th' almighty power of God, That made the mountains rife, That spread the flowing feas abroad, I fing the wisdom that ordain'd The moon fhines full at his command, I fing the goodness of the Lord, If I furvey the ground I tread, Or gaze upon the sky! There's not a plant or flower below, Creatures (as numerous as they be) There's not a place where we can flee In heaven he fhines with beams of love, With wrath in hell beneath! 'Tis on his earth I ftand or move, And 'tis his air I breathe. His hand is my perpetual guard; SONG III. PRAISE TO GOD FOR OUR REDEMPTION. BLEST be the wisdom and the power, The juftice and the grace, That join'd in counsel to reitore, Our father ate forbidden fruit, And from his glory fell; And we his children thus were brought Bleft be the Lord that fent his Son There on a glorious throne he reigns, Redeems us from the flavish chains Of Satan and of Sin. Thence fhall the Lord to judgment come, O may I then with joy appear And with the blefs'd affembly there Not than others I deferve, ' more Yet God has given me more; How many children in the street Half naked I behold! While I am cloth'd from head to feet, While fome poor wretches fcarce can tell While others early learn to fwear, Are these thy favours day by day To me above the rest? Then let me love thee more than they, And try to ferve thee beft. SONG V. PRAISE FOR BIRTH AND EDUCATION IN A CHRISTIAN LAND. GREAT God, to thee my voice I raise, I would not change my native land Thy praife fhall still employ my breath, And waste the bleffings thou haft given. SONG VI. PRAISE FOR THE GOSPEL. LORD, I afcribe it to thy grace, And not to chance as others do, That I was born of Chriftian race, And not a Heathen or a Jew. 367 What would the ancient Jewish kings, How glad the heathens would have been, SONG VIII. THE EXCELLENCY OF THE BIBLE. GREAT God, with wonder and with praife On all thy works I look ; But ftill thy wisdom, power and grace,' Shine brightest in thy book. The ftars, that in their courfes roll, The fields provide me food, and show Here are my choicest treasures hid, And hence my hopes arise. Lord, make me understand thy law; Show what my thoughts have been: And from thy gospel let me draw Pardon for all my fin. Here would I learn how Chrift had dy'd Then let me love my Bible more, By day to read these wonders o'er, SONG VIII. PRAISE TO GOD FOR LEARNING TO READ. THE praises of my tongue I offer to the Lord, That I was taught, and learnt fo young To read his holy word. That I am brought to know That I am led to fee I can do nothing well; Informs me where to go, Here I can read, and learn How Chrift, the Son of God, Has undertook our great concern; Our ranfom coft his blood. And now he reigns above, He fends his Spirit down To fhow the wonders of his love, O may that Spirit teach, And make my heart receive Thofe truths which all thy fervants preach, And all thy faints believe. Then fhall I praife the Lord In a more cheerful, ftrain, That I was taught to read his word, SONG IX. THE ALL-SEEING GOE. ALMIGHTY God, thy piercing eye There's not a fin that we commit, Nor wicked word we say, And muft the crimes that I have done And blot them from thy book. Remember all the dying pains O may I now for ever fear! T' indulge a finful thought, Since the great God can fee and hear, And writes down every fault: SONG X. SOLEMN THOUGHTS OF GOD AND DEATÉ. There is a law which he has writ, Just as a tree cut down, that fell SONG XI. THERE is beyond the sky |