Classic Poem

A SACRED ECLOGUE

Wide spreading o'er the purpl'd eastern sky,
See where yon crimson ensign waves on high;
Prepare, prepare! the ambrosial feast prepare,
With fragrant odours scent the ambient air,
For, lo, the God of Gods to earth descends,
Whose glory to the farthest orb extends.
But how, O nature! wilt thou bear the load,
Or meet the splendour of a coming God?
In vain I ask, but now yon parting sky,
Proclaims the grand celestial Saviour nigh.
Stand fast, ye steadfast pillars of the earth,
For since the early dawn of nature's birth,
Thy strong foundations never yet have bore,
Th' intolerable weight of God before.
But, hark! methinks far sweeter strains I hear,
Then ever sounded in the circling air,
Since first the world was made, or time began,
To sway the universe and conquer man;
The voice of harmony melts in my ears,
Dissolves my soul, disperses all my fears,
'Tis Gabriel's voice, full well I know the sound,
All mercy smiles with new-born grace around,
Let angels shout, rejoice thou earth and sea,
For lo, the God of Gods assume our clay:
Now see, in token of supernal grace,
The angry ensign shifting from its place!
Ten thousand milder glories now appear,
The voice of harmony wakes in each sphere,
Melodious thro' the wide expanse of light,
A gen'ral concert rings thro' heav'n's great height,
And all the burthen of the joyful choir,
Is never ceasing love: love strikes each lyre,
Astonish'd, angels view the wond'rous scene,
And long to know what all those wonders mean;
In vain they pry;—the boundless scheme, O man!
For thee was laid, e'er worlds or time began!
Or angels hymn'd to the eternal THREE,
The council sat, and mercy fix'd on thee!