If such the operations of his power,
Which at all seasons and in every place
(Rul'd by establish'd laws and current nature)
Arrest th' attention; Who! O Who shall tell
His acts miraculous? when his own decrees
Repeals he, or suspends, when by the hand
Of Moses or of Joshua, or the mouths
Of his prophetic seers, such deeds he wrought,
Before th' astonish'd Sun's all-seeing eye,
That Faith was scarce a virtue. Need I sing
The fate of Pharaoh and his numerous band
Lost in the reflux of the watry walls,
That melted to their fluid state again?
Need I recount how Sampson's warlike arm
With more than mortal nerves was strung t' o'erthrow
Idolatrous Philistia? shall I tell
How David triumph'd, and what Job sustain'd?
— But, O supreme, unutterable mercy!
O love unequall'd, mystery immense,
Which angels long t' unfold! 'tis man's redemption
That crowns thy glory, and thy power confirms,
Confirms the great, th' uncontroverted claim.
When from the Virgin's unpolluted womb
Shone forth the Sun of Righteousness reveal'd,
And on benighted reason pour'd the day;
Let there be peace (he said) and all was calm
Amongst the warring world — calm as the sea,
When O be still, ye boisterous Winds, he cried,
And not a breath was blown, nor murmur heard.
His was a life of miracles and might,
And charity and love, e'er yet he taste
The bitter draught of death, e'er yet he rise
Victorious o'er the universal foe,
And Death and Sin and Hell in triumph lead.
His by the right of conquest is mankind,
And in sweet servitude and golden bonds
Were ty'd to him for ever. — O how easy
Is his ungalling yoke, and all his burdens
'Tis ecstacy to bear! Him, blessed Shepherd,
His flocks shall follow thro' the maze of life
And shades that tend to Day-spring from on high;
And as the radiant roses after fading
In fuller foliage and more fragrant breath
Revive in smiling spring, so shall it fare
With those that love him — for sweet is their favour,
And all eternity shall be their spring.
Then shall the gates and everlasting doors,
At which the KING OF GLORY enters in,
Be to the Saints unbarr'd: and there, where pleasure
Boasts an undying bloom, where dubious hope
Is certainty, and grief-attended love
Is freed from passion — there we'll celebrate,
With worthier numbers, Him, who is, and was,
And in immortal prowess King of Kings,
Shall be the Monarch of all worlds for ever.