D ANIEL A RASPES .

Ar. Proceed, proceed, thrice venerable sage!
Enlighten my darlt mind with this new ray,
This dawning of salvation! Tell me more
Of this expected King! this Comforter!
This Promise of the nations! this great Hope
Of anxious Israel! this unborn Prophet!
This Wonderful, this mighty Councellor!
This Everlasting Lord! This Prince of peace!
This Balm of Gilead, which shall heal the wounds
Of universal nature! this Messiak!
Redeemer, Saviour, Sufferer, Victim, God!
Dun. Enough to animate our faith we know,
But not enough to soothe the curious pride
Of vain philosophy! enough to cheer
Our path we see, the rest is hid in clouds;
And heaven's own shadows rest upon the view!
Ar. Go on, blest sage! I could for ever hear,
Untired, thy admonition! Tell me how
I shall obtain the favour of that God
I but begin to know, but fain would serve.
Dan. By deep humility, by faith unfeign'd,
By holy deeds, best proof of living faith!
O faith, thou wonder-working principle,
Eternal substance of our present hope,
Thou evidence of things invisible!
What cannot man sustain, sustain'd by thee!
The time would fail, and the bright star of day
Would quench his beams in ocean, and resign
His empire to the silver queen of night;
And she again descend the steep of heaven,
If I should tell what wonders faith achiev'd
By Gideon, Barak, and the holy seer,
Eikanah's son; the pious Gilendite,
Ill-fated Jephthah! He of Zorah too,
In strength unequall'd; and the shepherd-king,
Who vanquish'd Gath's fell giant! Need I tell
Of holy prophets, who by conqu'ring faith,
Wrought deeds incredible to mortal sense;
Vanquish'd contending kingdoms, quell'd the rage
Of furious pestilence, extinguish'd fire!
Victorious faith! others by thee endur'd
Exile, disgrace, captivity, and death!
Some, uncomplaining, bore (nor be it deem'd
The meanest exercise of well-tried faith)
The cruel mocking, and the bitter taunt,
Foul obloquy, and undeserv'd reproach;
Despising shame, that death to human pride!
Ar. How shall this faith he sought?
Dan. By earnest prayer
Solicit first the wisdom from above;
Wisdom, whose fruits are purity and peace!
Wisdom! that bright intelligence, which sat
Supreme, when with his golden compasses
Th' Eternal plann'd the fabric of the world,
Produced his fair idea into light,
And said, that all was good! Wisdom, blest beam!
The brightness of the everlasting light!
The spotless mirror of the power of God!
The reflex image of th' all-perfect mind!
A stream translucent, flowing from the source
Of glory infinite! a cloudless light!
Defilement cannot touch, nor sin pollute
Her unstain'd purity! Not Ophir's gold
Nor Ethiopia's gems can match her price
The ruby of the mine is pale before her!
And, like the oil Elisha's bounty bless'd,
She is a treasure which doth grow by use,
And multiply by spending! She contains
Within herself the sum of excellence.
If riches are desired, wisdom is wealth!
If prudence, where shall keen invention find
Artificer more cunning? If renown,
In her right hand it comes! If piety,
Are not her labours virtues? If the lore
Which sage experience teaches, lo! she scans
Antiquity's dark truths; the past she knows,
Anticipates the future; not by arts
Forbidden, of Chaldean sorcerer,
But from the piercing ken of deep foreknowledge.
From her sure science of the human heart
She weighs effects with causes, ends with means;
Resolving all into the sovereign will.
For earthly blessings, moderate be thy prayer,
And qualified; for light, for strength, for grace,
Unbounded thy petition.
Ar. Now, O prophet!
Explain the secret doubts which rack my mind,
And my weak sense confound. Give me some line
To sound the depths of providence! O say,
Why the ungodly prosper? why their root
Shoots deep, and their thick branches flourish fair
Like the green bay-tree? why the righteous man,
Like tender plants to shiv'ring winds expos'd,
Is stripp'd and torn, in naked virtue bare,
And nipp'd by cruel sorrow's biting blast?
Explain, O Daniel, these mysterious ways
To my faint apprehension! For as yet
I've much to learn. Fair truth's immortal sun
Is sometimes hid in clouds; not that her light
Is in itself defective; but obscur'd
By my weak prejudice, imperfect faith,
And all the thousand causes which obstruct
The growth of goodness.
Dan. Follow me, Araspes.
Within, thou shalt peruse the sacred page,
The book of life eternal! that will shew thee
The end of the ungodly; thou wilt own
How short their longest period; wilt perceive
How black a night succeeds their brightest day!
Thy purged eye will see God is not slack,
As men count slackness, to fulfil his word.
Weigh well this book; and may the Spirit of grace,
Who stamp'd the seal of truth on the bless'd page,
Descend into thy soul, remove thy doubts,
Clear the perplex'd, and solve the intricate,
Till faith he lost in sight, and hope in joy!