"O Judah, if in this thy day / My Will thou purpose to obey, / Steel not thy breast to truths divine, / As erst the Fathers of thy line"
— Merrick, James (1720-1769)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
Reading
Publisher
Printed by J. Cornan and Co.
Date
1765
Metaphor
"O Judah, if in this thy day / My Will thou purpose to obey, / Steel not thy breast to truths divine, / As erst the Fathers of thy line"
Metaphor in Context
O come, and to th' eternal King
New songs of triumph let us sing;
With holy transport Him alone
The strength of our Salvation own;
Admitted to his presence pay
The tribute of the grateful lay,
And, while his Acts our mirth inspire,
Wake to his praise the vocal lyre.
Extended wide beyond all bound,
Beyond all height, his pow'r is found,
Nor Lords, with Him, nor Gods beside
The honours of his Throne divide.
Earth's stores, throughout its inmost frame,
He, great Proprietor, shall claim;
Your Range, Ye cloud-transcending Hills,
His pow'r commands, his presence fills.
Inrich'd by his prolific hand
In Him the All-productive Land,
In Him the Sea, that rounds its shore,
Their Maker and their Lord adore.
O come, and let your knees with mine
To Him in lowliest homage join;
In Him your God, your Father, see,
The People of his pasture Ye,
The Flock that guided by his care
The blessings of his bounty share.
O Judah, if in this thy day
My Will thou purpose to obey,
Steel not thy breast to truths divine,
As erst the Fathers of thy line;
Whose Bands th' inclosing Desert saw,
Rebellious to the Heav'n-taught Law,
With mad presumption from my hand
The signals of my pow'r demand;
Indulg'd, the wish'd for sight obtain;
And, seen, demand them yet again.
Through forty years the circling sun
Beheld their date of mercy run,
As, griev'd, I strove, but strove in vain,
Their growing frenzy to restrain;
Behold a Race, at length I cried,
Whose heart from Me has swerv'd aside,
(By Error's pow'r subdu'd,) nor known
That Wisdom's paths and Mine are one.
My Oath, for by Myself I swear,
My kindled anger shall declare,
And bar them from my Rest, decreed
To faithful Abrabam's chosen Seed.
New songs of triumph let us sing;
With holy transport Him alone
The strength of our Salvation own;
Admitted to his presence pay
The tribute of the grateful lay,
And, while his Acts our mirth inspire,
Wake to his praise the vocal lyre.
Extended wide beyond all bound,
Beyond all height, his pow'r is found,
Nor Lords, with Him, nor Gods beside
The honours of his Throne divide.
Earth's stores, throughout its inmost frame,
He, great Proprietor, shall claim;
Your Range, Ye cloud-transcending Hills,
His pow'r commands, his presence fills.
Inrich'd by his prolific hand
In Him the All-productive Land,
In Him the Sea, that rounds its shore,
Their Maker and their Lord adore.
O come, and let your knees with mine
To Him in lowliest homage join;
In Him your God, your Father, see,
The People of his pasture Ye,
The Flock that guided by his care
The blessings of his bounty share.
O Judah, if in this thy day
My Will thou purpose to obey,
Steel not thy breast to truths divine,
As erst the Fathers of thy line;
Whose Bands th' inclosing Desert saw,
Rebellious to the Heav'n-taught Law,
With mad presumption from my hand
The signals of my pow'r demand;
Indulg'd, the wish'd for sight obtain;
And, seen, demand them yet again.
Through forty years the circling sun
Beheld their date of mercy run,
As, griev'd, I strove, but strove in vain,
Their growing frenzy to restrain;
Behold a Race, at length I cried,
Whose heart from Me has swerv'd aside,
(By Error's pow'r subdu'd,) nor known
That Wisdom's paths and Mine are one.
My Oath, for by Myself I swear,
My kindled anger shall declare,
And bar them from my Rest, decreed
To faithful Abrabam's chosen Seed.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "breast" and "steel" in HDIS (Poetry)
Date of Entry
06/13/2005
