Classic Poem

"And other wond'rous works were done
No mem'ry can recall;
Which were they number'd every one,
Not all the space beneath the sun
Cou'd hold the fair detail of all.'

The text is full, and strong to do
The glorious subject right;
But on the working mind's review
The letter's like the spirit true,
And clear and evident as light.

For not a particle of space
Where'er his glory beam'd,
With all the modes of site and place,
But were the better for his grace,
And up to higher lot redeem'd.

For all the motley tribe that pair,
And to their cover skim,
Became his more immediate care,
The raven urgent in his pray'r,
And those that make the woodland hymn.

For every creature left at will
The howling WASTE to roam,
Which live upon the blood they spill,
From his own hands receive their fill,
What time the desert was his home.

They knew him well, and could not err,
To him they all appeal'd;
The beast of sleek or shaggy fur,
And found their natures to recur
To what they were in Eden's field.

For all that dwell in depth or wave,
And ocean--every drop--
Confess'd his mighty pow'r to save,
When to the floods his peace he gave,
And bade careering whirlwinds stop.

And all things meaner from the worm
Probationer to fly;
To him that creeps his little term,
And countless rising from the sperm
Shed by sea-reptiles, where they ply.

These all were bless'd beneath his feet,
Approaching them so near;
Vast flocks that have no mouths to bleat,
With yet a spirit to intreat,
And in their rank divinely dear.

For on some special good intent,
Advancement or relief,
Or some great evil to prevent,
Or some perfection to augment
He held his life of tears and grief.

'Twas his the pow'rs of hell to curb,
And men possess'd to free;
And all the blasting fiends disturb
From seed of bread, from flow'r and herb,
From fragrant shrub and stately tree.

The song can never be pursu'd
When Infinite's the theme--
For all to crown, and to conclude,
He bore and bless'd ingratitude,
And insult in its worst extreme.

And having then such deeds achiev'd
As never man before,
From scorn and cruelty repriev'd,
In highest heav'n he was receiv'd,
To reign with God for evermore.