A COMPARISON

ON SEEING A SHIP LOST IN THE DOWNS.

TH

HE vent'rous merchant, fill'd with hopes of gain, Risks all his fortune on yon faithless main: Deep freighted vessels hoist the spreading sail, And smoothly fcud before the wafting gale. But lo! the skies, prophetic, fpeak aloud Of threat'ning winds in yon now distant cloud. The skilful failor, mindful of his store, Swift drops the fail which he just rais'd before. But all in vain-the boift'rous winds arise, And foaming furges dafh the low'ring skies! See, loft the mast-and now the rudder gone, The fteerlefs bark faft drives refiftlefs on. On pointed rocks, lo! ftrikes the foundering keel, And o'er the hatches the ftunn'd failors reel !

That heavy blow, alas! their fate decides,
And the wreck'd vessel into halves divides:
Behold! fhe finks-with her th' intrufted ftore,
Which late enrich'd the owner's calmer fhore:
Both buried lie in that deep wat'iy grave,
Nor fhip-nor cargo-could weak mortals fave.

The chriftian, thus, on life's tempeftuous fea,
Explores the climes of vaft eternity;
On fwelling waves behold him troubl'd roll;
Himself the BARK-the FREIGHT his precious foul !
Now adverse providence-now pale disease,
Now pain and anguifh the toft veffel feize;

Like

Like bluft'ring winds, or foaming billows rise,
And ftrike refiftlefs their long-beaten prize:
To fhun the ftroke, or heal the fatal blow,
Friends and physicians their kind aid bestow!
But all in vain-afflictions ftill pursue,
The force of nature and of art fubdue;
Like rushing feas, attack the weary'd breath,
And drive his veffel on the ROCKS of DEATH.

Now, loft the BARK-but where's her precious More choice than pearls or Ophir's golden ore? [ftore, That freight of nature on the fea of time, Convey'd to mortals and from clime to clime! Lo! from the wreck-th' immortal treasure bore; And now fafe landed on th' eternal fhore: The gracious owner view'd th' affaulted prize, Saw fwelling waves and each foul blast arise: Saw threat'ning dangers ere they came too near, And fav'd the CARGO he first trufted there.

EPIGRAM

ON THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL'S PASSAGE OUT OF EGYPT.

WHE

[fu'd, THEN Egypt's king God's chofen tribes purIn chrystal walls th' admiring waters stood; When thro' the defart wild they took their way, The rocks relented, and pour'd forth a fea. What limits can Almighty goodness know, Since feas can harden, and fince rocks can flow!

LOVE TO CHRIST. JOHN XXI. xvii.

BY MISS STEEL.

eye,

Ο

MNISCIENT Lord, before whose awful All undisguis'd, thy creatures actions lie; Thou feeft my heart through every winding maze, Each fecret thought thy piercing glance surveys. My Saviour God-and can I call thee mine? Can I each idol-vanity refign?.

Can I to thee appeal without a fear,

Thou know'ft I love thee with a flame fincere ?
Alas! I doubt my vile deceitful heart;

Back from my lips the half-form'd accents Hart:
A thousand meaner objects fhare my love,
From thee, from thee, my foolish paffions rove:
My conscious foul fhrinks at the folemn test,
And yet I fain would hope, I love thee best!
I fain would hope! unworthy, base return!
Can it be love, and yet so faintly burn ?
Didst thou forsake thy radiant courts on high,
And freely lay thy dazzling glories by?
Affume the human form, and wear the chains
Of guilty rebels doom'd to endless pains?
Bear all our fins, remove the pon'drous load
Of vengeance due from an incenfed God?
And bleeding, dying on the cross, atone
For mortal crimes in agonies unknown?
'Touch'd with the melting power of love divine,
Can I refufe this worthless heart of mine?

See,

See, deareft Lord, obedient to thy call,
Afham'd, repentant, at thy feet I fall,
And would refign myself, my foul, my all!
O let this ftubborn heart, this flinty rock,
Soften'd by heavenly love, with forrow broke,
Bath'd in the fountain of thy bleeding veins,
Be fully cleans'd from all its guilty stains:
'Till I can say, without a rifing fear,
Thou, who know'ft all things, know'ft my love
fincere.

EPIGRAM

ON HEARING A MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL

PREACH.

WHE

HEN Jacob's God arrang'd the priestly line, Attesting wonders fhew'd the work divine ! To filence doubt-or Ifrael's louder voice, The BUDDING-ROD on AARON fix'd the choice. So, when the Lord, a faithful fervant chofe, To found his gospel and maintain his laws; A wonder equal to the fertile rod, Confirm'd the work to be alike from God: Th' almighty Father-guardian of the weak, Stretch'd forth his arm, and made a BUTTON speak.

A RU

A RURAL MEDITATION.

BY MISS STEEL.

WH

HAT foft delight the peaceful bofom warms, When nature, dreft in all her vernal charms, Around the beauteous landscape fmiles ferene, And crowns with every gift the lovely scene! In every gift the donor fhines confeft,

And heavenly bounty chears the grateful breast.
Now lively verdure paints the laughing meads,
And o'er the fields wide-waving plenty spreads.
Here woodbines climb, difpenfing odours round,
There fmiles the pink, with humble beauties crown'd;
And while the flowers their various charms difclose,
Queen of the garden, shines the blushing rose.
The fragrant tribes display their sweetest bloom,
And every breezy whisper breathes perfume.
But this delightful feafon must decay;
The year rolls on, and steals its charms away.
How fwift the gaily tranfient pleafare flies!
Stern winter comes, and every beauty dies.
The fleeting bliss, while pensive thought deplores,
The mind in search of nobler pleasure foars;
And feeks a fairer PARADISE on high,
Where beauties rife and bloom, that never die.
There winter ne'er invades with hostile arms,
But everlasting spring difplays her charms :
CELESTIAL fragrance fills the bleft retreats,
Unknown to earth in all her flow'ry fweets.
D

En