An HYMN to the SUPREME BEING.

In Imitation of the CIVth Pfalm.

Quid prius dicam folitis parentis
Laudibus? qui res hominum ac deorum,
Qui mare et terras, variifque mundum
Temperat boris?

A

HOR.

RISE, my foul! on wings feraphic rife,

And praise th' almighty Sov'reign of the

fkies;

In whom alone effential glory fhines,

Which not the heav'n of heav'ns, nor boundless fpace confines.

WHEN darkness rul'd with universal sway, He spoke, and kindled up the blaze of day; First, fairest offspring of th' omnific word! Which like a garment cloath'd its fov'reign Lord. On liquid air he bade the columns rise,

That prop

the starry concave of the skies;

Diffus'd the blue expanse from pole to pole,

And spread circumfluent æther round the whole.

5

10

SOON

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『,

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Soon as he bids impetuous tempefts fly, To wing his founding chariot thro' the sky; Impetuous Tempefts the Command obey, Sustain his flight, and fweep th' aerial way. Fraught with his mandates, from the realms on high, Unnumber'd hofts of radiant heralds fly From orb to orb, with progrefs unconfin'd, As lightning swift, refiftlefs as the wind.

In ambient air this pond'rous ball he hung, And bade its center reft for ever ftrong;

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Heav'n, air, and fea, with all their storms, in vain Affault the bafis of the firm machine.

Ar thy almighty voice old Ocean raves,

Wakes all his force, and gathers all his waves;
Nature lies mantled in a wat'ry robe,

And shoreless billows revel round the globe;
O'er highest hills the higher furges rife,

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Mix with the clouds, and meet the fluid fkies. 30 But when in thunder the rebuke was giv'n,

That fhook th' eternal firmament of heav'n;

The grand rebuke th' affrighted waves obey,
And in confufion fcour their uncouth way;

And

And pofting rapid to the place decreed,

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Wind down the hills, and fweep the humble mead.
Reluctant in their bounds the waves fubfide,
The bounds, impervious to the lashing tide,
Restrain its rage; whilft, with inceffant roar,

It shakes the caverns, and affaults the shore,

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By him, from mountains cloath'd in lucid fnow, Through fertile vales the mazy rivers flow,

HERE the wild horfe, unconfcious of the rein, That revels boundless o'er the wide campaign, Imbibes the filver furge, with heat oppreft, To cool the fever of his glowing breaft.

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HERE rifing boughs, adorn'd with fummer's pride,
Project their waving umbrage o'er the tide ;
While, gently perching on the leafy spray,
Each feather'd warbler tunes his various lay: 50
And, while thy praife they fymphonize around,
Creation echoes to the grateful found.

Wide o'er the heav'ns the various bow he bends,
Its tinctures brighten, and its arch extends:
At the glad fign the airy conduits flow,
Soften the hills, and chear the meads below:

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By

By genial fervour, and prolific rain,
Swift vegetation cloathes the fmiling plain :
Nature, profufely good, with blifs o'erflows,
And still is pregnant, tho' fhe still bestows.

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HERE verdant pastures wide extended lie, And yield the grazing herd exuberant fupply. Luxuriant waving in the wanton air, Here golden grain rewards the peafant's care: Here vines mature with fresh carnation glow, And heav'n above diffuses heav'n below. Erect and tall here mountain cedars rise, Wave in the starry vault, and emulate the skies. Here the wing'd croud, that skim the yielding air With artful toil their little domes prepare; Here hatch their tender young, and nurse the

rifing care.

Up the steep hill afcends the nimble doe,
While timid conies fcour the plains below,

Or in the pendant rock elude the fcenting foc,
He bade the filver Majesty of night
Revolve her circles, and encrease her light;
Affign'd a province to each rolling fphere,
And taught the fun to regulate the year.

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At

At his command, wide hov'ring o'er the plain, I Primaeval night refumes her gloomy reign : 80 Then from their dens, impatient of delay, The savage monsters bend their speedy way, Howl thro' the spacious wafte, and chase their frighted prey.

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Here stalks the shaggy monarch of the wood,
Taught from thy providence to ask his food,
To thee, O Father, to thy bounteous skies,
He rears his mane, and rolls his glaring eyes;
He roars; the defart trembles wide around,
And repercuffive hills repeat the found.
Now orient gems the eastern skies adorn,
And joyful nature hails the op'ning morn ;
The rovers, conscious of approaching day,
Fly to their shelters, and forget their prey.
Laborious man with mod'rate flumber bleft,
Springs chearful to his toil from downy rest; 95
Till grateful evening, with her argent train,
Bid labour ceafe, and eafe the. weary fwain.
"HAIL! fov'reign goodness, all-productive mind!
On all thy works thyfelf infcrib'd we find:

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