Poems on Several Occasions (Broome)/Part of the 38th and 39th Chapters of Job. A Paraphrase

by William Broome

 

Part of the 38th and 39th Chapters of Job.

A PARAPHRASE.

 

$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$Now from the Splendors of his bright Abode
On Wings of all the Winds th' Almighty rode,
And the loud Voice of Thunder spoke the God.
Cherubs, and Seraphs from cœlestial Bow'rs,
Ten thousand thousand! bright, ethereal Pow'rs!
Ministrant round, their radiant Files unfold,
Arm'd in eternal Adamant, and Gold!
Whirlwinds, and thundrous Storms his Chariot drew
'Tween Worlds and Worlds, triumphant as it flew:
He stretch'd his dark Pavilion o'er the Floods,
Bade Hills subside, and rein'd th' obedient Clouds,
Then from his awful Gloom the Godhead spoke,
And at his Voice affrighted Nature shook.

Vain Man! who boldly with dim Reason's Ray
Vies with his God, and rivals his full Day!
But tell me now, say how this beauteous Frame
Of all Things, from the Womb of Nothing came;
When Nature's Lord with one Almighty Call
From no where rais'd the World's capacious Ball?
Say if thy Hand directs the various Rounds
Of the vast Earth, and circumscribes the Bounds?
How Orbs oppos'd to Orbs amid the Sky,
In Consort move, and dance in Harmony?
What wondrous Pillars their Foundations bear
When hung self-ballanc'd in the fluid Air?
Why the vast Tydes sometimes with wanton Play
In shining Mazes gently glide away;
Anon, why swelling with impetuous Stores
Tumultuous tumbling, thunder to the Shores?
By thy Command does fair Aurora rise,
And gild with purple Beams the blushing Skies?
The warbling Lark salutes her chearful Ray,
And welcomes with his Song the rising Day;
The rising Day ambrosial Dew distils,
Th' ambrosial Dew with balmy Odour fills
The Flow'rs, the Flow'rs rejoice, and Nature smiles.
Why Night, in Sable rob'd, as Day-light fades,
O'er half the Nations draws her awful Shades?
Now peaceful Nature lies diffus'd in Ease;
A solemn Stillness reigns o'er Land and Seas.
Sleep sheds o'er all his Balm! to Sleep resign'd,
Birds, Beasts lie hush'd, and busy Human Kind.
No Air of Breath disturbs the drowzy Woods,
No Whispers murmur from the silent Floods!
The Moon sheds down a silver-streaming Light,
And glads the melancholic Face of Night:
Now Clouds swift-skimming veil her sullied Ray,
Now bright she blazes with a fuller Day:
The Stars in Order twinkle in the Skies,
And fall in Silence, and in Silence rise:
Till as a Giant strong, a Bridegroom gay,
The Sun springs dancing thro' the Gates of Day:
He shakes his dewy Locks, and hurls his Beams
O'er the proud Hills, and down the glowing Streams:
His fiery Coursers bound above the Main,
And whirl the Car along th' ethereal Plain:
The fiery Coursers and the Car display
A Stream of Glory, and a Flood of Day.
Did e'er thy Eye descend into the Deep,
Or hast thou seen where Infant Tempests sleep?
Was e'er the Grave or Regions of the Night,
Yet trod by thee, or open'd to thy Sight?
$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$Has Death disclos'd to thee her gloomy State,
The Ghastly Forms, the various Woes that wait
In terrible array before her awful Gate?
Know'st thou where Darkness bears eternal Sway,
Or where the Source of everlasting Day?
Say, why the driving Hail with rushing Sound
Pours from on high, and rattles on the ground?
Why hover Snows, down-wav'ring by degrees,
Shine from the Hills, or glitter from the Trees?
Say, why in lucid Drops, the balmy Rain
With sparkling Gems impearls the spangled Plain?
Or gath'ring in the Vale, a Current flows,
And on each Flow'r a sudden Spring bestows?
Say, why with gentle Sighs the Evening Breeze
Salutes the Flow'rs, or murmurs thro' the Trees!
Or why loud Winds in Storms of Vengeance fly,
Howl o'er the Main, and thunder in the Sky?
Say, to what wondrous Magazines repair
The viewless Beings, when serene the Air?
Till from their Dungeons loos'd, they roar aloud,
Upturn whole Oceans, and toss Cloud on Cloud,
While Waves encountring Waves in Mountains driv'n,
Swell to the starry Vault, and dash the Heav'n.
$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$Knowst thou, why Comets threaten in the Air,
Heralds of Woe, Destruction, and Despair,
The Plague, the Sword, and all the Forms of War?
On ruddy Wings why forky Lightning flies,
And rouling Thunder grumbles in the Skies?
Say, Can thy Voice when sultry Sirius reigns,
And Suns intensely glowing cleave the Plains,
Th' exhausted Urns of thirsty Springs supply,
And mitigate the Fever of the Sky?
Or when the Heav'ns are charg'd with gloomy Clouds,
And half the Skies precipitate in Floods,
Chase the dark Horror of the Storm away,
Restrain the Deluge, and restore the Day?
By thee does Summer deck herself with Charms,
Or hoary Winter lock his frozen Arms;
Say, if thy Hand instruct the Rose to glow,
Or to the Lilly give unsullied Snow?
Teach Fruits to knit from Blossoms by degrees,
Swell into Orbs, and load the bending Trees,
Whose various Kinds, a various Hue unfold,
With crimson Blush, or burnish into Gold?
Say, why the Sun arrays with shining Dyes
The gaudy Bow that gilds the gloomy Skies?
He from his Urn pours forth his golden Streams,
And humid Clouds imbibe the glittring Beams;
Sweetly the varying Colours fade or rise,
And the vast Arch embraces half the Skies.
Say, did it thou give the mighty Seas their Bars,
Fill Air with Fowl, or light up Heav'n with Stars,
Whose thousand times ten thousand Lamps display
A friendly Radiance, mingling Ray with Ray?
Say, canst thou rule the Coursers of the Sun,
Or lash the lazy Sign, Boötes on?
Dost thou instruct the Eagle how to fly,
To mount the viewless Winds, and tow'r the Sky?
On sounding Pinions born, he soars, and shrouds
His proud aspiring Head among the Clouds;
$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$Strong-pounc'd, and fierce, he darts upon his Prey,
He fails in triumph thro' th' ethereal Way,
Bears on the Sun, and basks in open Day.
Does the dread King, and Terror of the Wood,
The Lion, from thy Hand expect his Food?
Stung with keen Hunger from his Den he comes,
Ranges the Plains, and o'er the Forest roams;
He snuffs the Track of Beasts, he fiercely roars,
Doubling the Horrors of the midnight Hours;
With sullen Majesty he stalks away,
And the Rocks tremble while he seeks his Prey:
Dreadful he grins, he rends the savage Brood
With unsheath'd Paws, and churns the spouting Blood.
Dost thou with Thunder arm the generous Horse,
Add nervous Limbs, or Swiftness for the Course?
Fleet as the Wind, he shoots along the Plain,
And knows no Check, nor hears the curbing Rein;
His fiery Eye-balls formidably bright,
Dart a fierce Glory, and a dreadful Light,
Pleas'd with the Clank of Arms, and Trumpets Sound,
He bounds, and prancing paws the trembling Ground;
He snuffs the promis'd Battle from afar,
Neighs at the Captains Shouts, and Thunder of the War:
Rous'd with the noble Din and martial Sight,
He pants with Tumults of severe Delight;
His sprightly Blood an even Course disdains,
Pours from his Heart, and charges in his Veins;
He braves the Spear, and mocks the twanging Bow,
Demands the Fight, and rushes on the Foe.