Electronic library


read the book
eBooksRead.com books search new books russian e-books
Samuel Johnson.

The works of the English poets; with prefaces, biographical and critical (Volume 56)

. (page 1 of 11)

Mi




^4 â–  >



^



%



r



ir



ii



m^



This book is DUE on the last date stamped bel



nra A •: h



MV Hi!



33 #*



R7 1973



DEC 3 (] .^,.

AP« ? \M
M'i 5 1947

JUN 1 1 1S47
APR 1 8 I960



..iiUi*l|.i^^|Ai4




5'orm L-9-15/(( 10.'25



WM^MWW



ftEC'D LD-URL!
iSl mar 7137:



VED

DESK



^'HfT^'IMF/i



THE

WORKS

O F T H E

ENGLISH POETS,

w i't h

p r: e f * a " c e ' s,

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL,

BY SAMUEL JOHNSON.

VOLUME THE FIFTY-SIXTH.
LONDON:

TRINTZD BY M. BROWN;

TOl J. BTTCKI.AKD, J. RIVINGTON AND SONS, T. PAYNE AN»
SONS, L. pt'VVIS, B. WHITE AND SON, T. LO^-G:vIA^•, B. LAW
J. DODSLEY, H. BALDWIN, J. RnBSON, C. DILLY, T. CADELL
J. NICHOLS, J. JOHNSON, G. G. J. AND J. ROBINSON;
R. BALDWIN, H. L. GARDNER, ?. ELMSLY, T. EVANS
G. NICOL, LEIGH AND SOTHEBY, J. BEW, N. CONANT
J. MURRAY, J. SEWELL, W. GOLDSMITH, W. RICHARDSON
T. VERNCR, W. LOWNDES, W. BENT, W. OTRIDGE, T. AND
J. tGERTON, S. HAYES, R. FAULDER, T. EDWARDS, C. AND
..^- WILKIE, W. NICOLL, OGILVY AND SfEARE, SCATCHERD
^JaVO WHITAKER, W. FOX, C. STALKER, E. NEWBERY. I75O.



111 I

T H 2

FIFTY-SIXTH VOLUME

OF THE

ENGLISH POETS,

C O N" T A I N I N G

The second PART of WATTS,



Vol., LVI.



THE



POEMS



o F



Dr. watts.



CONTINUED.



Vol. LVI.



[ 3 1



LYRIC POEMS



CONTINUED.



The following Poems of this Book are peculiarly
dedicated to

DIVINE LOVE*.



The Hazard of loving the Creatures.

WT HER E-E ' E R my flattering paffions rove^

^ ^ I find a lurking fnare ;
*Tis dangerous to let loofe our love
Beneath th' Eternal Fair.

Souls whom the tie of friendfhip binds.

And partners of our blood.
Seize a large portion of our minds.

And leave the lefs for. God.

* DirFerent ages have their different airs and fa/hions of writing.
It was much more th» fafliioii of the age, wh3n thefe poems were
written, to treat of divine fubjcfls in the ftjle of Sobmon's Song
than it is at this day, which will afford fjms apology for the writer,
i^ his younger years.

B 2 Nature



4' WATTS's POE MS.

Nature has foft but powerful bands.

And reafon (he controls ;
While children with their little hands

Hang clofeil: to our fouls.

Thoughtlefs they a6l th' old ferpent's part 5
What tempting things they be !

Lord, how they twine about our heart.
And draw it off from thee 1

Our hafty wills ru(h blindly on

Where rifmg paffion rolls.
And thus we make our fetters ftrong

To bind our llavifli fouls.

Dear Sovereign, break thefe fetters oifi

And fet our fpirits free;
God in himfelf is bhfs enou^»

For we have all in Thee.



Desiring to love CHRIST,

COME, let me love : or is thy mind
Harden'd to ftone, or froze to ice ?
I fee the bleffed Fair-one bend
And ftoop t' embrace me from the fkies !

O ! 'tis a thought would melt a rock.
And make a heart of iron move,
Thar thofe/ fweet lips, that heavenly look.
Should feek and vvifli a mortal love 1



I was



LYRIC POEMS, BOOKt.

I was a traitor doom'd to fire.
Bound to ruitain eternal pains ;
He flew on wings of llrong deilr-e,
Airum'd my guilt, and took my chains.

Infinite grace ! Almighty charms !
Stand in amaze, ye vvhirling fkies !
Jefus the God, with naked arms.
Hangs on a Crofs of Love, and dies.

Did pity ever ftoop fo low,
Drefs'd in divinity and blood ?
Was ever rebel courted fo
In groans of an expiring God ?

Again he lives ; and fpreads his hands.
Hands that were nail'd to torturing fmart ;
By thefe dear wounds, fays he ; and Hands
And prays to clafp me to his heart.

Sure I muft love; or are my ears
Still deaf, nor will my paffion move ?
Then let me melt this heart to tears ;
This heart fhall yield to death or love.



The Heart given away.

T F there are pafiions in my foul,
•*- (And palTions fure they be)
Now they are all at thy control.
My Jefus, aU for Thee.

Bi If



5 WATTS's POEMS.

If love, that pleafing power, can reft

In hearts fo hard as mine.
Come, gentle Saviour, to my breaft.

For all my love is thine.

Let the gay world, with treacherous art

Allure my eyes in vain :
I have convey 'd away my heart.

Ne'er to return again.

I feel my warmeft paffions dead

To all that earth can boaft ;
This foul of mine was never made

For vanity and duft.

Now I can fix my thoughts above,
Amidft their flattering charms.

Till the dear Lord that hath my love
Shall call me to his arms.

So Gabriel, at his King's command.

From yon celeftial hill.
Walks downward to our worthlefs land.

His foul points upward ftill.

He glides along my mortal things.

Without a thought of love.
Fulfils his tafk, and fpreads his wings

To reach the realms above.



Medita-



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK I.



Meditation in a Grove.

O WEET Mufe, defcend and blefs the ihade,
^ And blefs the evening grove ;
Bufinefs, and noife, and day, are fled.
And every care, but love.

But hence, ye wanton young and fair,

Mine is a purer fiame ;
No Phyllis fhall infedl the air.

With her unhallovv'd name.

Jefi-is has all my powers poffeft.

My hopes, my fears, my joys :
He, the dear Sovereign of my brea{l>

Shall Hill command my voice.

Some of the faireft choirs above

Shall flock around my fong.
With joy to hear the name they love

Sound from a mortal tongue.

His charms ftiall make my numbers flow.

And hold the falling floods.
While filence fits on every bough.

And bends the liftening woods.

I'll carve our paflion on the bark

And every wounded tree
Shall drop and bear fome myllic mark

That Jefus dy'd for me.

B4 The



$ WATTS's POEMS.

The fwains fhall wonder when they read,

Infcrib'd on all the grove.
That heaven itfelf came down, and bled

To win a mortal's love.



The Fairest and the Only Beloveb.

HONOUR to that diviner ray
That firft allur'd my eyes away
From every mortal fair ;
All the gay things that held my fight
Seem but the twdnkling fparks of night,
And languifliing in doubtful light
Die at the morning-ftar.

Whatever makes the godhead great.

And fit to be ador'd.
Whatever fpeaks the creature fweet.
And worthy of my paffion, meet

Harmonious in my Lord.
A thoufand graces ever rife

And bloom upon his face ;
A thoufand arrows from his eyes
Shoot through my heart with dear furprife.

And guard around the place.

All nature's art fhall never cure
The heavenly pains I found.
And 'tis beyond all beauty's power
To make another wound :

Earthly



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK!. 9

Earthly beauties grow and fade ;
Nature heals the wounds fhe made.
But charms fo much divine
Hold a long empire of the heart ;
What heaven has join'd fliall never part.
And Jefus mull be mine.

In vain the envious Ihades of night.

Or flatteries of the day
Would veil his image from my fight.

Or tempt my foul away ;
Jefus is all my waking theme,
His lovely form meets every dream

And knows not to depart ;
The paflion reigns
Through all my veins.
And, floating round the crimfon Hream,

Still finds him at my heart.

Dwell there, for ever dwell, my love ;

Here I confine my fenfe ;
Nor dare my vvildeft wilhes rove

Nor ftir a thought from thence.
Amidft thy glories and thy grace
Let all my remnant-minutes pafs ;

Grant, thou Everlafcing Fair,

Grant my foul a manfioa there :
My foul afpires to fee thy face
Though life ihould for the vifion pay ;
So rivers run to meet the fea.
And lofe their nature in th' embrace.

Thoii



fQ. WATTY'S POEMS.

Thou art my ocean, thou my God ;
In Thee the paiTions of the mind
With joys and freedom uncanfin'd
Exult, and fpread their powers abroad.
Not all the glittering things on high
Can make my heaven, if thou remove ;
I fhall be tir'd, and long to die ;
Life is a pain without thy love ;

Who could ever bear to be

Curft with immortality
Among the ilars, but far from Thee ?

Mutual Love Wronger than Death,

T^T O T the rich world of minds above
•^ ^ Can pay the mighty debt of love

I owe to Chrift my God :
With pangs which none but he could feel
He brought my guilty foul from hell :
Not the fir ft feraph's tongue can tell

The value of his blood.

Kindly he feiz'd me in his arms.

From the falfe world's pernicious charms

With force divinely fweet.
Had I ten thoufand lives my own.
At his demand.
With chearful hand,
I'd pay the vital treafure do\yn
In hourly tributes at his feet*



But,



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK I. n

But, Saviour, let me tafte thy grace

With every fleeting breath ?
And through that heaven of pleafure pafs

To the cold arms of death ;
Then I could lofe fuccelTiv^e fouls

Fall as the minutes fly ;
So billow after billow rolls

To kifs the fliore, and die*



The fabftance of the following Copy, and many of thfe
lines, were fent me by an efleemed friend, Mr. W.
Nokes, with a delire that I would form them into a
Pindaric Ode ; but I retained his meafures, leil I
fhould too much alter his fenfe.

A Sight of CHRIST.

A N G E L S of light, your God and King furround,
•^^^ With noble fongs ; in his exalted flefii
He claims your worlhip : while his faints on earth,
Blefs their Redeemer-God with humble tongues.
Angels with lofty honours crown his head ;
We bowing at his feet, by faith, may feel
His diftant influence, and con'fefs his love.

Once I l>eheld his face, v^hen beams divine
Broke from his eye-lids, and unufual light
Wrapt me at onee in glory and furprife.

My



I* WATT S^s POEMS.

My joyful heart higli leaping in my breail
With tranfpcrt cry'd. This is the Chrift of God ;
Then threw my arms around in fweet embrace.
And d?.fp'd, and bow'd adoring low, till I was loft in him*

While he appears, no o'her charms can hold
Or draw my foul, alham'd of former things.
Which no remembrance now deferve or name.
Though with contempt ; heft in oblivion hid.

But the bright fhine and prefence foon withdrew |
I fought him whom I love, but found him not ;
I felt his abfence ; and with ftrongeft cries
Proclaim'd, Where Jefus is not, all is vain.
Whether I hold him with a full delight.
Or feek him panting with extreme defire,
'Tis he alone can pleafe my wondering foul ;
To hold or feek him is my only choice.
If he refrain on me to caft his eye
Down from his palace, nor my longing foul
With upward look can fpy my deareft Lord
Through his blue pavement, I'll behold him flill
With fweet refledion on the peaceful crofs.
All in his blood and anguilh groaning deep,

Gafping and dying there

This fight I ne'er can lofe, by it I live :
A quickening virtue from his deatli infpir'd
Is life and breath to me; his flefh my food;
His vital blood I drink, and hence my ftrength.

I live, I'm ftrong, and now eternal life
Beats cpick within my breaft ; my vigorous mind

Spurns



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK I,

Spurns the dull earth, and on her fiery wings
Reaches the mount of purpofes divine,
Counfels of peace betwixt th' Almighty Thrre
"Conceiv'd at once, and fign'd without debate.
In perfect union of th' eternal mind.
With vaft amaze I fee th' unfathom'd thoughts.
Infinite fchemes, and infinite defigns
Of God's own Heart, in which he ever rells.
Eternity lies open to my view ;
Here the Beginning and the End of all
I can difcover ; Chi ill the End of all.
And ChrilT: the great Beginning; he my Head,
My God, my Glory, and my All in A4II,

O that the day^ the joyful day were come.
When the hrlt Adam from his ancient dull:
Crown'd with new honours fhall revive, and fee
Jefus his Son and Lord; while Ihouting faintij
Surround their King, and God's Eternal Son
Shines in the midfl, but v/ith fuperior beams.
And hke himfelf ; then the myfterious Word
Long hid behind the letter fhall appear
All fpirit and life, and in the fullell light
Stand forth to public view : and there difclofe
His Father's facred works, and wonderous ways ;
Then wifdcm, righteoufnefs, and grace divine.
Through all the infinite tranfadions paft
Inwrought and fhining, fliall with double blaze
Strike our aftonifh'd eyes, and ever reign
Adp^.lr'd q,nd glorious in triumphant I''ght.



IS



14. WATTS's POEMS.

Death, and the tempter, and the man of fm.
Now at the bar arraigned, in judgement caft.
Shall vex the faints no more : but perfedl love
And loudeft praifes perfedi: joy create.
While ever-circling years maintain the blifsful Hate.

Love on a Cross, and a Throne.

â– ^TOW let my faith grow ftrong, and rife,
â– ^ ^ And view my Lord in all his love ;
Look back to hear his dying cries.
Then mount and fee his throne above.

See where he languilh'd on the Crofs ;
Beneath my fins he groan'd and dy'd;
See where he fits to plead my caufe
By his Almighty Father's Side.

If I behold his bleeding Heart,
There love in floods of forrow reigns.
He triumphs o'er the killing fmart.
And buys my pleafare with his pains.

Or if I climb th' eternal liills
Vv^'here the dear Conqueror fits enthron'd.
Still in his heart compaffion dwells.
Near the memorials of his v/ound ;

How fiiall a pardon'd rebel ihow
How much J love my dying God ?
Lord, here I banifh every foe,
I hate the fms tliat coil thy blood.



I hold



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK I. 15

I hold no more commerce with hell.
My deareft lufts Ihall all depart i
But let thine image ever dwell
Stampt as a feal upon my heart.

A Preparatory Thought for the Lord's Supper,

In Imitation of Isaiah Ixiii. i, 2, 3.

TT7' HAT heavenly Man, or lovely God, '

Comes marching downward from the fkieS|
Array'd in garments roU'd in blood.
With joy and pity in his Qycs.

The Lord! the Saviour 1 yes, 'tis he;
I know him by the fmiles he wears ;
Dear glorious A^an that dy'd for me,
Drench'd deep in agonies and tears !

Lo, he reveals his fhining breaft ;
I own thofe wounds, and I adore :
Lo, he prepares a royal feail.
Sweet fruit of the iharp pangs he bore t

Whence flow thefe favours fo divine !
Lord ! why (o la villi of thy blood ?
Why for fuch earthly fouls as mine.
This heavenly flefn, this facred food ?

'Twas his own love that made him bleed.
That naii'd him to the curfed tree ;
'Twas his own love this table fpread
For fuch unworthy vvorms as ws.

Then



iS WATTS's POEMS.

Then let us taile the Saviour's love ;
Come, faith, and feed upon the Lord :
With glad confent our lips (hall move.
And fweet Hofannas crown the board.



Converse with Christ.

T ' M tir'd with vifits, modes, and forms.
And flatteries paid to fellow-worms ;

Their converfation cloys ;
Their vain amours, and empty fluff:
But I can ne'er enjoy enough
Of thy beil company, my Lord, thou life of all my joys.

When lie begins to tell his love.
Through every vein my pafTions move.

The captives of his tongue :
In midnight fhades, on frofly ground,
I could attend the pleafing found, ['ong.

Nor Ihould I feel December cold, nor think the darknefs

There, while I hear my Saviour- God
Count o'er the fms (a heavy load)
He bore upon the tree.
Inward I blufli with fecret fliame.
And weep, and love, and blefs the name [for me.
That knew not guilt nor grief his own, but bare it all
Next he defcribes the thorns he wore.
And tail^s his bloody paffion o'er.

Till



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK I. 17

Till I am drown'd in tears :
Yet with the fmypathetic fmart
There's a ftrange joy beats round my heart ;
The curfed tree has bleffings in't, my fweetell balm it
bears.

I hear the glorious TufFerer tell.

How on his crofs he vanquifn'd hell.
And all the powers beneath :

Tranfported and infpir'd, my tongue

Attempts his triumphs in a fong ; [^ory, death I"

'' How has the ferpent loft his fling ! and where's thy vie-
But when he fhews his hands and heart.

With thofe dear prints of dying fmart.
He fets my foul on £re :

Not the beloved John could refl

With more delight upon that breafl, [defire.

Nor Thomas pry into thoie wounds with more intenfe

Kindly he opens me his ear.

And bids me pour my forrow there.

And tell him all my pains :
Thus while I eafe my burdened heart.
In every woe he bears a part, [fuflains.

His arms embrace me, and his hand my drooping head

Fly from my thoughts, all human things.
And fporting fwains, and fighting kings.

And tales of wanton love :
My foul difdains that Httle fnare
The tangles of Amira's hair ; [remove.

Thine arms, my God, are fweeter bands, nor can my heart
Vol. LVI. C Grace



i8 WATTS'3 POEMS.

Grace shining, and Nature fainting.

Sol. Song i. 3. & ii. 5. & vi. 5,

'T^E L L me, faireft of thy kind,
•■- Tell me Shepherd, all divine.
Where this fainting head reclin'd
May relieve fuch cares as mine :
Shepherd, lead me to thy grove ;
If burning noon infedl the iky.
The fickening Iheep to covert fly.
The Iheep not half fo faint as I,
Thus overcome with love.

Say, thou dear Sovereign of my breaft.
Where doll thou lead thy flock to reft :

Why ftiould I appear like one

Wild and wandering all alone,

Unbeloved and unknown ?

O my Great Redeemer, fay.

Shall I turn my feet aftray !
Will Jefus bear to fee me rove.
To fee me feek another love ?

Ne'er had I known his deareft name.
Ne'er had I felt this inward flame.
Had not his heart-ftrings firfl began the tender found %
Nor can I bear the thought, that He
Should leave the fky.
Should bleed and die.
Should love a wretch fo vile as me
Without returns of palEon for his dying wound.

His



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK I. i»

His eyes are glory mix'd with grace ;

In his delightful awful face

Sits majefty and gentlenefs.
So tender is my bleeding heart
That with a frown he kills 5

His abfence in perpetual fmart

Nor is my foul refin'd enough

To bear the beaming of his love.
And feel his warmer fmiles.

Where Ihall I reft this drooping head ?
J love, I love the fun, and yet I want the (hade.

My fmking fpirits feebly ftrive

T' endure the extafy ;
Beneath thefe rays I cannot live.

And yet without them die»
None knows the pleafure and the pain
That all my inward powers fuftain
Butfuch as feel a Saviour's love, and love the God again.

Oh, why Ihould beauty heavenly bright
Stoop to charm a mortal's fight.

And torture with the fwect excefs of light ?
Our hearts, alas ! how frail their make I
With their own weight of joy they break.

Oh, why is love fo ftrong, and nature's, felffb wea]^?

Turn, turn away thine eyes,
Afcend the azure hills, and fhine
Among the happy tenants of the fkies,
Tiiey can fuftain a viion fo divine.

C 3 O tura



lo WATTS's POEMS.

O turn thy lovely glories from me.
The joys are too intenfe, the glories overcome me.

Dear Lord, forgive my rafn complaint.
And love me frill
Againll: my froward will ;
Unveil thy beauties, though I faint.

Send the great herald from, the fky.

And at the trumpet's awful roar

This feeble flate of things fliall fly.

And pain and pleafure mix no more :

Then fiiall I gaze with ftrengthened fight

On glories infinitely bright.
My heart fiiall all be love, my Jefus all delight.

Love to CHRIST prefent or abfent.

/^ F all the joys we mortals know,
^-^ Jefus, thy love exceeds the refi:;
Love the befl: blefling here below.
And nearell image of the bleft.

Sweet are my thoughts, and foft my cares.
When the celeftial flame I feel ;
Li all my hopes, and ail my fears.
There's fomething kind and pleafing fiill.

While I am held in his embrace.
There's not a thought attempts to rove ;
Each fmile he wears upon his face
Fixes, and charms, and fires my love.



He



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK I.

He {peaks, and ftraic immortal joys
Run through my ears, and reach my heart ;
My foul all melts at that dear voice.
And pleafure fhoots through every part.

If he withdraw a m.oment's fpace.
He leaves a facred pledge behind ;
Here in this breafl: his image ftays.
The grief and comfort of my mind.

While of his abfcnce I complain.
And long, and weep as lovers do.
There's a llrange pleafare in the pain.
And tears have their own fweetnefs too.

When round his courts by day I rove.
Or alk the watchmen of the night
For fome kind tidings of my love.
His very name creates delight.

Jefus, my God ; yet rather come ;
Mine eyes would dwell upon thy face ;
'Tis bell to fee my Lo/d at home.
And feel the prefence of his grace.



The Absence of CHRIST,

/^ O M E, lead me to fome lofty fhade
^^ Where turtles moan their loves ;
T^ll fhadows were for lovers made ;
" Arid grief become, the groves.

C 3 'Th



^^ WATTS*s POEMS..

'Tis no mean beauty of the ground

That has inflav'd mine eyes ;
I faint Jbeneath a nobler wound.

Nor love below the Udes.

Jefus, the fpring of all that's bnght.

The Everlafling Fair,
H: aven's ornament, and heaven's delight.

Is my eternal care.

But, ah ! how far above this grave
Does the bright charmer dwell ?

Abfence, thou keeneft wound to love*
That Iharpsft pain, I feel.

Penfive I climb the facred hills.

And near him vent my woes ;
Yet his fweet face he ftill conceals.

Yet ItiU my paffion grows.
I murmur to the hollow vale,

I tell the rocks my flame.
And blefs the echo in her cell

That bell repeats her name.

My paffion breathes perpetual iighs^
Till pitying winds Ihall hear.

And gently bear them up the fides.
And gei?tly wound his ear.



I>ES|RIJJa



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK r.



Desiring his Descent to Earth.

T E S U S, I love. Come, deareft name,
^ Come and pofTefs this heart of mine;
I love, though 'tis a fainter flame.
And infinitely lefs than thine.

I if my Lord would leave the ikies,
Drell in the rays of mildeft grace.
My foul fhould haften to my eyes
To meet the pleafures of his face.

How would I feafl on all his charms.

Then round his lovely feet entwine ! *'

Worlhip and love, in all their forms.

Should honour beauty fo divine.

In vdn the tempter's flattering tongue.
The world in vain fliall bid me move.
In vain ; for I fliould gaze fo long
Till I were all transform'd to love.

Then (mighty God) I'd flng and fay,
" What empty names are crowns and kings !
" Amongft them give thefe worlds away,
*' Thefe little defpicable things."

1 would not afk to climb the fky
Nor envy angels their abode,

I have a heaven as bright and high
In the bleft vifion of my God.

C 4 Ascend-



i4 WATTS's POE'MS.



Ascending to him in Heaven.

^^~Y^ I S pure delight, without alloy,

-*- Jefus, to hear thy name.
My fpirit leaps with inward joy,

I feel the facred flame.

My paflions hold a pleafmg reign.

While love infpires my bread.
Love, the divineft of the train.

The fovereign of the relL
This is the grace mufl live and fmg.

When faith and fear fhall ceafe,
Muft found from every joyful firing

Through the fvveet groves of blifs.

Let life immortal feize my clay ;

Let love refine m.y blood ;
Her flames can bear my foul away.

Can bring me near my God.

Swift I afcend the heavenly place.

And haften to my home,
I leap to meet thy kind embrace,

I come, O Lord, I come.

Sink do-vvn, ye feparating hills.

Let guilt and death remove :
'Tis love that drives my chariot-wheels.

And death muft yield to love.



The



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK r. 25

The Presence of GOD worth dying for :
Or, the Death of Moses.

T ORD, 'tis an infinite delight
■*—' To fee thy holy face.
To dwell whole ages in thy fight.
And feel thy vital rays.

This Gabriel knows ; and fings thy name

With rapture on his tongue ;
Mofes the faint enjoys the fame.

And heaven repeats the fong.

While the bright nation founds thy praif^

From each eternal hiil,
Sv/eet odours of exhahng grace

The happy region fill.

Thy love, a fea v/ithout a fhore.

Spreads life and joy abroad :
O 'tis a heaven worth dying for

To fee a fmlling God !

Shew me thy face, and I'll away

From all inferior things ;
Speak, Lord, and here I quit my clay.

And ftretch my airy wings.

Sweet was the journey to the fky.

The wondrous prophet try'd ;
" Climb up the mount," fays God, " and die/'

The prophet climb'd and dy'd,

Sofily



iS WATTS's POEMS.

Softly his fainting head he lay

Upon his Maker's breail:.
His Maker kifs'd his foul away.

And laid his flefh to refl.

In God's ovvn arms he left the breath
That God's own fpirit gave ;

His was the nobleft road to death.
And his the fweetell grave.



Long for his R e t u r ?;.

f^ 'T W AS a mournful parting day !
^-^ Farewell, my Spoufe, he faid ;
(How tedious. Lord, is thy delay I
How long my Love hath llaid !)

Farewell ! at once he left the ground.

And climb'd his Father's Iky ;
Lord, I would tempt thy chariot down,

Or leap to thee on high.

Round the creation wild I rove.

And fearch the globe in vain ;
There's nothing here that's worth my love

Till thou return again.

My paflions fly to feek their King,

And fend their groans abroad.
They beat the air with heavy wing.

And mourn an abfent God •

With



LYRIC POEMS, BOOK I. 47

With inward pain my heart-ftrings found.

My foul dilTolves away :
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Using the text of ebook The works of the English poets; with prefaces, biographical and critical (Volume 56) by Samuel Johnson active link like:
read the ebook The works of the English poets; with prefaces, biographical and critical (Volume 56) is obligatory