[Page]
[Page]
POEMS.
THE Conflagration, Applied to that grand Period or Catastrophe of our World, when the Face of Nature is to be changed by a Deluge of Fire, as formerly it was by that of Water.
THE God of Tempest AND Earthquake.
BOSTON, Printed; And Sold by D. FOWLE in Ann-street, and by Z. FOWLE in Middlestreet.
[Page]
THE sentiments of authors are various in regard to the cause whence the Conflagration is to arise, and the effects it is to produce. Divines will have it take its rise from a miracle, as a fire from heaven; but philosophers contend for its being produced from natural causes: some think an eruption of the central fire sufficient for the purpose; others look for the cause in the atmosphere. The astrologers account for it from a conjunction of all the planets in the sign Cancer, as they say the deluge was occasioned by the conjunction in Capricorn: but others assure themselves that the world is to undergo its conflagration from the near approach of a comet in its rereturn from the sun; as these huge bodies, by the intensity of their heat, and their wandering transverse motion across the earth's orbit, threaten to produce the most signal changes and revolutions in the system of things.
New Dictionary of Arts and Sciences.
[Page 3]
The Conflagration.
IN some calm Midnight, when no whisp'ring Breeze
Waves the tall Woods, or curls th' undimpled Seas,
Lull'd on their oazy Beds, the Rivers seem
Softly to murmur in a pleasing Dream;
The shaded Fields confess a still Repose,
And on each Hand the dewy Mountains drowse:
Mean time the Moon, fair Empress of the Night!
In solemn Silence sheds her Silver Light,
While twinkling Stars their glimm'ring Beauties shew,
And wink perpetual o'er the heav'nly blue;
Sleep, nodding, consecrates the deep Serene,
And spreads her brooding Wings o'er all the dusky Scene:
Through the fine Aether moves no single Breath;
But all is hush as in the Arms of Death.
At once, Great GOD! thy dire Command is giv'n,
That the last Tempest shake the Frame of Heav'n.
Strait thick'ning Clouds in gloomy Volumes rise,
Gather on Heaps, and blacken in the Skies;
Sublime through Heav'n redoubling Thunders roll,
And gleamy Lightnings flash from Pole to Pole.
Old Ocean with presaging Horror rores,
And rousing Earthquakes rumble round the Shores;
Ten thousand Terrors o'er the Globe are hurl'd,
And gen'ral Dread alarms a guilty World.
But Oh! what Glory breakes the scatt'ring Glooms
Lo! down the op'ning Skies, he comes! he comes!
The Judge descending flames along the Air;
And shouting Myriads pour around his Carr:
[Page 4]Each ravish'd Seraph labours in his Praise,
And Saints, alternate, catch th' immortal Lays;
Here in melodious Strains blest Voices sing,
Here warbling Tubes, and here the vocal String,
Here from sweet Trumpets Silver Accents rise,
And the shril Clangour echo's round the Skies.
And now, O Earth! thy final Doom attend,
In awful Silence meet thy fiery End.
Lo! rising radiant from his burning Throne,
The Godhead, thund'ring, calls the Ruins on.
"Curst Earth! polluted with the Prophets Blood,
"Thou, the vile Murd'rer of the Son of GOD,
"Full ripe for Vengeance, Vengeance be thy Due,
"Perish in Flames, refine, and rise anew!
Thus as he speaks, all Nature owns the GOD,
Quiver the Plains, the lofty Mountains nod.
The hollow winding Caverns echo round,
And Earth, and Sea, and Air, and Heav'n resound.
Now ratt'ling on tremendous Thunder rolls,
And loudly crashing, shakes the distant Poles;
O'er the thick Clouds amazing Lightnings glare,
Flames flash at Flames, and vibrate through the Air;
Roaring Vulcanoes murmur for their Prey,
And from their Mouth curls the black Smoke away;
Deep groans the Earth, at its approaching Doom,
While in slow Pomp the mighty Burnings come.
As when dark Clouds rise slowly from tne Main,
Then, in swift Sluices, deluge all the Plain,
Descending headlong down the Mountains Sides,
A thousand Torrents roll their foamy Tides,
The rushing Rivers rapid roar around,
And all the Shores return the dashing Sound:
[Page 5]Thus awful, slow, the fiery Deluge low'rs,
Thus rushes down, and thus resounding rores.
But O! what Sounds are able to convey
The wild Confusions of the dreadful Day!
Eternal Mountains totter on their Base,
And strong Convulsions work the Valley's Face;
Fierce Hurricanes on sounding Pinions soar,
Rush o'er the Land, on the toss'd Billows rore,
And dreadful in resistless Eddies driv'n,
Shake all the chrystal Battlements of Heav'n.
See the wild Winds, big-blustring in the Air,
Drive through the Forests, down the Mountains tare,
Sweep o'er the Vallies in their rapid Course,
And Nature bends beneath th' impetuous Force.
Storms rush at Storms, at Tempests Tempests rore,
Dash Waves on Waves, and thunder to the Shore.
Columns of Smoke on heavy Wings ascend,
And dancing Sparkles fly before the Wind.
Devouring Flames, wide-waving, roar'd aloud,
And melted Mountains flow a fiery Flood:
Then, all at once, immense the Fires arise,
A bright Destruction wraps the crackling Skies:
While all the Elements to melt conspire,
And the World blazes in the final Fire.
Yet shall ye, Flames, the wasting Globe refine,
And bid the Skies with purer Splendour shine,
The Earth, which the prolifick Fires consume,
To Beauty burns, and withers into Bloom;
Improving in the fertile Flame it lies,
Fades into Form, and into Vigour dies:
Fresh-dawning Glories blush amidst the Blaze,
And Nature all renews her flow'ry Face.
[Page 6]With endless Charms the everlasting Year
Rolls round the Seasons in a full Career;
Spring, ever-blooming, bids the Fields rejoice,
And warbling Birds try their melodious Voice;
Where e'er she treads, Lillies unbidden blow,
Quick Tulips rise, and sudden Roses glow:
Her Pencil paints a thousand beauteous Scenes,
Where Blossoms bud amid immortal Greens;
Each Stream, in Mazes, murmurs as it flows,
And floating Forests gently bend their Boughs.
Thou, Autumn, too, sitt'st in the fragrant Shade,
While the ripe Fruits blush all around thy Head:
And lavish Nature, with luxuriant Hands,
All the soft Months, in gay Confusions blends.
The holy Nation here transported roves
Beneath the spreading Honours of the Groves,
And pleas'd, attend, descending down the Hills,
The murm'ring Musick of the running Rills.
Anthems divine by ev'ry Harp are play'd,
And the soft Musick warbles thro' the Shade.
Hither, my Lyre, thy soft Assistance bring,
And let sweet Accents leap from String to String:
Join the bright Chorus of the future Skies,
While all around loud Hallelujah's rise,
And to the tuneful Lays the echoing Vault replies.
This blessed Hope, my ravish'd Mind inspires,
And through my Bosom flash the sacred Fires:
No more my Heart its growing Joy contains,
But driving Transports rush along my Veins;
I feel a Paradise within my Breast,
And seem already of a Heav'n possess'd.
[Page]
The GOD of Tempest and Earthquake.
1.
THY dreadful Pow'r, Almighty GOD,
Thy Works to speak conspire;
This Earth declares thy Fame abroad,
With Water, Air, and Fire.
2.
At thy Command, in glaring Streaks,
The ruddy Light'ning flies;
Loud Thunder the Creation shakes,
And rapid Tempests rise.
3.
Now gathering Glooms obscure the Day,
And shed a solemn Night;
And now the heav'nly Engines play,
And shoot devouring Light.
4.
Th' attending Sea thy Will performs,
Waves tumble to the Shore,
And toss, and foam amidst the Storms,
And dash, and rage, and rore.
5.
The Earth, and all her trembling Hills,
Thy marching Foot-Steps own;
A shudd'ring Fear her Entrails fills,
Her hideous Caverns groan.
6.
My GOD, when Terrors thickest throng,
Thro' all the mighty Space,
And rat'ling Thunders rore along,
And bloody Lightning, blaze:
7.
When wild Confusion wrecks the Air,
And Tempests rend the Skies,
Whilst blended Ruin, Clouds and Fire
In harsh Disorder rise:
[Page 8]
8.Amid the Hurricane I'll stand
And strike a tuneful Song;
My Harp all trembling in my Hand,
And all inspir'd my Tongue.
9.
I'll shout aloud, "Ye Thunders! roll,
"And shake the sullen Sky;
"Your sounding Voice from Pole to Pole
"In angry Murmmurs try.
10.
"Thou Sun! retire, refuse thy Light,
"And let thy Beams decay;
"Ye Lightnings, flash along the Night,
"And dart a dreadful Day.
11
"Let the Earth totter on her Base,
"Clouds Heav'ns wide Arch deform;
"Blow, all ye Winds, from ev'ry Place,
"And breathe the final Storm.
12.
"O JESUS, haste the glorious Day,
"When thou shalt come in Flame,
"And burn the Earth, and waste the Sea,
"And brake all Nature's Frame.
13.
"Come quickly, Blessed Hope, appear,
"Bid thy swift Chariot fly:
"Let Angels warn thy coming near,
"And snatch me to the Sky.
14.
"Around thy Wheel in the glad Throng,
"I'd bear a joyful Part;
"All Hallelujah on my Tongue,
"All Rapture in my Heart.
FINIS.