has hitherto attended the progress of faith, we are

encouraged and warranted to look forward to the

consummation of our belief, that the whole world

shall eventually be under the dominion of the Word of God.

THE

CITY OF REFUGE.

Book the First

I.

THY beauty, Zion, be the theme I sing,

Zion, fair city of my God and King!

(Not that proud temple, which, of old so nam'd,

For gorgeous art and sanctity was fam'd,

Once the world's pride, its wonder, and its trust,

Now shunn'd as darkness, and debas'd as dust,
Impartial fate, despoiling ev'n the tow'rs

Built for her God, when built with mortal pow'rs.)

But who can give due glory to the grace,

And royal grandeur of that dwelling-place,

Which the great Being for himself hath made,

Not of frail dust, nor with another's aid?

Where the bold angel finds his art excell'd,

Can man put forth an effort, unrepell'd?

II.

Not with the vain attempt, immortal King!

T'explore thy reign with emulative wing;

That were a thought, which none but fools possess,

That were a folly, which thou could'st not bless.

But with deep awe, and grateful for the view,

I track th' angelic ardour, and pursue,

Distant, yet longing to behold thy day,

And sing of Zion, as I wing my way.

-Mysterious dwelling, tow'rd yon pale blue sky

Thoughtful I turn, but thou art full as high!
Thence, in my mother earth, I trace thy deeps,
Where, in the grave, thy silent empire sleeps.

And far as sight or sense can stretch around, Thy courts extend, and still without a bound. -Vast as thy limits are, beyond compare,

So are thy prospects fairest of the fair;

The sun,
the moon, the starry hosts display
Earth's borrow'd hue; but thou, sublime as they,
Art crown'd, in purer light, without their aid,

And they shall fail, but thou shalt never fade.

III.

Nor less, ye pilgrim-train, whose spirits long For future rest, your tale shall be my song! Like Israel journeying in the waste, ye cope With hostile bands, array'd against your hope. Hearken, whilst I recite the mingled cares,

The weighty charge, each brother soldier bears, The strange vicissitudes of loss and gain,

The tears and triumphs of this dread campaign.

What arms and armour each must wield; what foes

Seen or unseen, afar or near, oppose;

Where lies his weakness, where his strength abounds,

And who must soothe his pains, and heal his wounds. So vast the toil, and such the glory giv'n

To those, who tread the narrow path to heav'n.

IV.

Say first, whose wings approach to worlds unknown,
To distant ages-whose? O Faith, thine own!

Thou, with an eagle's eye, hast pierc'd the blaze,
Which veils yon bright abode from mortal gaze,
Hast search'd the myst'ries of th' eternal plan;-
Faith, messenger of God, and friend of man!

In mercy sent to win, to teach, to prove,

To lead from hell beneath to heav'n above.
Infallible, by heav'nly Wisdom taught;

Free as the sun, unmerited, unbought!