51.

The kind Redeemer in his Grave is laid;
For us he has a mighty Ransom paid,
And for our Sins full Satisfaction made.
With liveliest Colours in our Thoughts we'll paint
The buried Son, and the lamenting Saint;
By him she sits, with num'rous Woes opprest,
And wrings her Hands, and beats her snowy Breast:
With Sorrows, such as she ne'er felt before,
And Floods of Tears, she does her Loss deplore;
Fain wou'd she speak, but Words can find no way,
She must the Motions of her Grief obey,
And only by her Sighs her Thoughts convey.
Those thronging Dolors which her Soul molest,
Are much too great to be exprest;
They can't in sad Complaints a Passage find;
By their Excess, unhappily confin'd,
They still remain within, the Burthen of her Mind.

52.

Oh! who can see the holiest of her Kind,
With humble Duty to her God resign'd,
Bear such Afflictions with a Patient Mind,
And not with conscious Shame
Their own ungovern'd Tempers blame?
Ah! blessed Virgin, let us learn from thee
To live from all our sinful Passions free:
Let us no more at Providence repine,
But yield a calm Submission to the Will Divine:
Like thee all Injuries, all Losses bear,
And be contented when they're most severe.
Thy pious Grief succeding Times shall praise,
And to thy Honour lasting Trophies raise:
Where e'er thy Son extends his Heav'nly Laws,
And with his saving Precepts vicious Mortals awes;
Thy dear Remembrance ever shall remain,
And thou a mighty Veneration gain:
Thy blest Example shall our Pattern be,
We'll strive to live, to love, to grieve, like thee.

53.

Now cease to weep, thy Task of Grief is done;
Attend the Triumphs of thy conqu'ring Son:
He shall no longer in the Grave remain,
With Ease he breaks Death's adamantine Chain;
O'er it, and Hell, see him victorious rise,
And once again
Restore himself to thy desiring Eyes;
Make hake, make haste, with eager Raptures meet
Th' ascending God, and breath thy Transports at his Feet:
Make known thy Troubles, there thy Griefs repeat,
And let thy Joys, be like thy Sorrows, great.

54.

The holy Dead re-visit Earth again;
Those who whole Ages in their Graves had lain,
Awake from their long silent Night,
And croud to see the joyful Sight:
With them, the faithful Few on their dear Saviour gaze,
And lose their Reason in the blest Amaze:
With doubting Minds on his lov'd Face they look;
The welcom Vision strikes them with Surprize;
At once with Joy and Wonder strook,
They trembling stand, and disbelieve their Eyes;
Till his known Voice dispels their Fear,
That Voice, with Transports they were wont to hear
Go, my lov'd Followers, graciously he said,
Go, and the sinful World persuade;
I will my self your kind Endeavours aid:
First to the Jews my righteous Doctrines preach,
And then the Heathen Nation teach;
To them my sacred Laws make known,
I will by Miracles your Mission own:
Go, fearless on, and my Commands obey,
And slight those Dangers which obstruct your way.
Pursue those Paths which I have trod,
And boldly share the Suff'rings of your God:
Eternal Glory your Reward shall prove,
The dear-bought Purchase of your Master's Love.

55.

These charming Accents their glad Souls elate,
And reconcile them to their coming Fate;
To honour him who for their sakes had dy'd,
They Death, and its preceding Ills, defy'd:
Resolv'd they wou'd the cruel Jews oppose,
And preach Repentance to his barb'rous Foes:
They to remotest Countries dauntless go,
Thro' burning Sand, and chilling Snow:
No Pain, no Labour spare,
But ev'ry where
His sacred Truths declare:
Those sacred Truths which Souls refine,
And if they his Assistance have,
The most obdurate Sinners save.
While fill'd with Pleasure all Divine,
They gaz'd on the transporting Sight,
He his Blessing to them gave;
And then before their wond'ring Eyes
Return'd to his deserted Skies,
And re-assum'd his Regal State.
They saw him mount cloth'd with refulgent Light:
Th' incircling Air, made by Reflexion bright,
They saw with dazling Splendor shine.
And now above the Reach of Fate,
Beyond the narrow Verge of Time,
By his pleas'd Father's side he sits sublime;
With him ador'd, encompass'd round
With num'rous Crouds, who his due Praise resound:
There, he for ever will his Merits plead,
And with unweary'd Kindness intercede,
For such as here his just Commands obey,
And at his Feet their darling Int'rests lay.

56.

While the Disciples with attentive Eyes
Fixt their Regards on the resplendent Skies,
And view'd those distant Tracts of Light
Which their dear Lord had left behind,
Two glorious Forms appear'd before their Sight,
And with fresh Wonder fill'd each Mind:
Beauteous they were as new created Day,
And did resistless Charms display:
Ætherial Splendors compass'd them around,
And they with glitt'ring Beams were crown'd:
With wondrous Grace, and a majestick Air,
They to th'astonish'd List'ners said,
Why, O ye Galileans , stand ye gazing here,
By too much Love betray'd
To groundless Fear?
He is not lost, for whom you mourn;
You shall once more see him return:
From Heav'n he shall descend again
Attended by a pompous Train:
Myriads of Angels, than the Sun more bright,
Clad all in Robes of shining white,
Shall on his radiant Chariot wait,
Resounding trumpets shall proclaim his coming State,
While bending Clouds their glorious Weight disclose,
And show th'avenging God to his despairing Foes.

57.

That God whom they did once despise,
Shall then become the Terror of their Eyes:
With swiftest Haste they'll his dread Presence shun,
And to dark Caves, and closest Caverns run:
With deaf'ning Clamors to the Hills they'll call,
And wish the Mountains on their Heads wou'd fall;
Beneath the mighty Ruins they wou'd hide,
Or in unfathomable Depths abide:
As They with Horror, so the Good with Joy,
Shall on the bright Appearance gaze,
And meet their God with cheerful Songs of Praise:
He comes! he comes! exultingly they'll sing,
He comes the wicked to destroy!
Those long since dead, and those that yet remain,
He dooms! he dooms! to everlasting Pain:
But from each Land his suff'ring Saints will bring:
From their long Sleep his injur'd Servants wake;
They shall a Part of the resplendent Triumph make:
In pure, immortal Bodies they shall rise,
And mount, all-glorious mount the Skies:
Where free from Sin, from Pain, from Fear,
They shall the welcom Euge hear;
Well done, well done, shall their pleas'd Saviour say;
Come, and receive a Recompence from me;
You've been my Follo'wers in the rugged Way,
And now shall taste of my Felicity.
Go, these important Truths make known;
His Resurrection joyfully declare;
Not to the Jews alone;
Let the whole World in the glad Tidings share.
They said; and as a transient Flash of Light,
With Swiftness glances on Spectators Sight,
And in a moment mingles with the Air,
And loses all its Splendor there;
Such was the quick Appearance, such the quick Remove,
Of those bright Forms, those Ministers of Love.

58.

Replete with Joy, by flaming Ardor sway'd,
The pleas'd Disciples their lov'd Lord obey'd:
With prosp'rous Haste his holy Faith they spread,
And his Name restor'd the Sick, and raisd'd the Dead;
That awful Name from which the trembling Devils fled!
Th'opposing World they for his sake defy'd,
For him they liv'd, and in his Service dy'd.
Thrice blest are you who still obey his Voice,
And make this dang'rous Proof of Zeal your Choice:
Who, by a Love for your dear Lord inspir'd,
And by diffusive Goodness fir'd,
Cross Seas unknown, thro pathless Deserts go,
And no Concern for your own Safety show;
Intrepid, and untir'd, no Toils decline
That may advance your great Design:
Contemning Dangers, still pursue your Way,
And far as the remotest Bounds of Day,
The glorious Ensign of your Suff'ring God display.

59.

Let Israel , that distinguish'd Race,
Those Darlings of almighty Love,
Whom Heav'n has bless'd with his peculiar Grace,
To their great Benefactor thankful prove:
To him, who in their infant State,
When they, expos'd and helpless, lay,
To ev'ry threatning Ill a Prey:
Obnoxious to the Storms of Fate,
And their insulting Neighbours Hate,
Kept them from all approaching Harms
Secure, in his all-pow'rful Arms:
And who in their mature Estate,
When they Egyptian Fetters wore,
And cruel Pressures bore,
Then, even then, their Good design'd,
Midst all their Streights his Kindness shin'd,
And when resolv'd to set them free
By Methods All-divine,
He brought about his great Design;
And let the haughty Tyrant see,
That while he multiply'd their Pains,
And faster strove to tie their Chains,
He but his own Destruction wrought,
And on his Land a speedy Ruin brought.

60.

The fav'rite People safe remain'd,
While Plagues among his Subjects reign'd;
Such Plagues as with amazing Haste
Laid all his fruitful Country waste:
His fertile Nile with Blood made flow,
The sanguin Mischief thro' its Channels spread;
While from th' infectious Stench the poison'd Fishes fled,
And on the putrid Mud in noisom Heaps lay dead:
The Crocodiles their watry Haunts forsake,
And to the Land for Shelter go;
Where, all defil'd with Gore, they wall'wing lie,
And stretch'd at length, the bulky Monsters die:
The wretched Natives of these Ills partake;
Quite parch'd with Thirst, they all the Land survey'd,
Thro' ev'ry Field, and ev'ry Desart stray'd;
With wishing Eyes they search'd around,
But wholesom Streams they no where found:
In this Distress, upon their Gods they call;
Before their Shrines the fainting Suppliants fall:
They to their Isis , and Osiris cry'd,
But all in vain; their Wants were not supply'd.