Nor shall the burning hills of old
With Sinai be compar'd,

Nor all that lying Greece has told,
Or learned Rome has heard;
Ætna shall be nam'd no more,
Etna, the torch of Sicily;
Not half so high

Her lightnings fly,

Not half so loud her thunders roar

'Cross the Sicanian sea, to fright the Italian shore. Behold the sacred hill: its trembling spire Quakes at the terrors of the fire,

While all below its verdant feet

Stagger and reel under the Almighty weight: Press'd with a greater than feign'd Atlas' load. Deep groan'd the mount; it never bore Infinity before,

It bow'd and shook beneath the burden of a God.

Fresh horrors seize the camp; despair,

And dying groans torment the air,

And shrieks, and swoons, and deaths were there: The bellowing thunder, and the lightning's blaze Spread thro' the host a wild amaze ;

Darkness on every soul, and pale was every face:
Confus'd and dismal were the cries,

"Let Moses speak, or Israel dies: "
Moses the spreading terror feels,
No more the man of God conceals
His shivering and surprise;

Yet, with recovering mind, commands

Silence, and deep attention, through the Hebrew "bands.

Hark! from the centre of the flame,

All arm'd and feather'd with the same, Majestic sounds break through the smoky cloud: Sent from the All-creating tongue,

A flight of cherubs guard the words along, And bear their fiery law to the retreating crowd.

"I am the Lord: 'tis I proclaim
"That glorious and that fearful name,
"Thy God and King: 'twas I that broke
"Thy bondage, and the Egyptian yoke:
"Mine is the right to speak my will,
"And thine the duty to fulfil.

"Adore no God beside me, to provoke mine eyes: "Nor worship me in shapes and forms that men "devise ;

"With reverence use my name, nor turn my words

"to jest ;

"Observe my sabbath well, nor dare profane my "rest:

"Honour and due obedience to thy parents give; "Nor spill the guiltless blood, nor let the guilty live: "Preserve thy body chaste, and flee the unlawful "bed:

"Nor steal thy neighbour's gold, his garment, or "his bread

"Forbear to blast his name with falsehood or

"deceit,

"Nor let thy wishes loose upon his large estate."

REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR, &c.

ECCLES. XII.

CHILDREN, to your Creator, God,
Your early honours pay,
While vanity and youthful blood
Would tempt your thoughts astray.

The memory of his mighty name,
Demands your first regard;
Nor dare indulge a meaner flame,
Till you have lov'd the Lord.

Be wise, and make his favour sure,
Before the mournful days,

When youth and mirth are known no more,
And life and strength decays.

No more the blessings of a feast
Shall relish on the tongue,
The heavy ear forgets the taste
And pleasure of a song.

Old age, with all her dismal train,
Invades your golden years

With sighs, and groans, and raging pain,
And death, that never spares.

What will ye do when light departs, And leaves your withering eyes Without one beam to cheer your hearts, From the superior skies?

How will you meet God's frowning brow,
Or stand before his seat,

While nature's old supporters bow,
Nor bear their tottering weight?

Can you expect your feeble arms
Shall make a strong defence,
When death, with terrible alarms,
Summons the prisoner hence?

The silver bands of nature burst,
And let the building fall;

The flesh goes down to mix with dust,
Its vile original.

Laden with guilt (a heavy load!)

Uncleans'd, and unforgiven,
The soul returns to an angry God,

To be shut out from heaven.

SUN, MOON, AND STARS, PRAISE YE THE LORD.

FAIREST of all the lights above,

Thou sun, whose beams adorn the spheres, And with unwearied swiftness move,

To form the circles of our years;

Praise the Creator of the skies,
That dress'd thine orb in golden rays;
Or may the sun forget to rise,
If he forget his Maker's praise.

Thou reigning beauty of the night,
Fair queen of silence, silver moon,
Whose gentle beams, and borrow'd light,
Are softer rivals of the noon;

Arise, and to that Sovereign Power,
Waxing and waning honours pay,
Who bade thee rule the dusky hour,
And half supply the absent day.

Ye twinkling stars, who gild the skies
When darkness has its curtains drawn,
Who keep your watch, with wakeful eyes,
When business, cares, and day are gone;