ISAAC WATTS.

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MESSIAH.

    A SACRED ECLOGUE, IN IMITATION OF VIRGIL’S POLLIO.

  Ye nymphs of Solyma! begin the song: 
  To heavenly themes sublimer strains belong. 
  The mossy fountains and the sylvan shades,
  The dreams of Pindus and th’ Aonian maids,
  Delight no more—­O thou my voice inspire
  Who touched Isaiah’s hallowed lips with fire! 
    Rapt into future times, the bard begun: 
  A Virgin shall conceive, a Virgin bear a Son! 
  From Jesse’s root behold a branch arise,
  Whose sacred flower with fragrance fills the skies: 
  Th’ ethereal spirit o’er its leaves shall move,
  And on its top descends the mystic Dove. 
  Ye Heavens! from high the dewy nectar pour,
  And in soft silence shed the kindly shower! 
  The sick and weak the healing plant shall aid,
  From storm a shelter, and from heat a shade. 
  All crimes shall cease, and ancient frauds shall fail;
  Returning Justice lift aloft her scale;
  Peace o’er the world her olive wand extend,
  And white-robed Innocence from Heaven descend. 
  Swift fly the years, and rise th’ expected morn! 
  Oh spring to light, auspicious Babe, be born! 
  See, Nature hastes her earliest wreaths to bring,
  With all the incense of the breathing spring: 
  See lofty Lebanon his head advance,
  See nodding forests on the mountains dance: 
  See spicy clouds from lowly Saron rise,
  And Carmel’s flowery top perfumes the skies! 
  Hark! a glad voice the lonely desert cheers: 
  Prepare the way! a God, a God appears! 
  A God, a God! the vocal hills reply,
  The rocks proclaim th’ approaching Deity. 
  Lo, Earth receives him from the bending skies! 
  Sink down, ye mountains! and ye valleys, rise! 
  With heads declined, ye cedars, homage pay! 
  Be smooth, ye rocks! ye rapid floods, give way! 
  The Saviour comes! by ancient bards foretold: 
  Hear him, ye deaf! and all ye blind, behold! 
  He from thick films shall purge the visual ray,
  And on the sightless eyeball pour the day: 
  ‘Tis he th’ obstructed paths of sound shall clear
  And bid new music charm th’ unfolding ear: 
  The dumb shall sing, the lame his crutch forego,
  And leap exulting like the bounding roe. 
  No sigh, no murmur, the wide world shall hear. 
  From every face he wipes off every tear. 
  In adamantine chains shall Death be bound. 
  And Hell’s grim tyrant feel th’ eternal wound. 
  As the good shepherd tends his fleecy care,
  Seeks freshest pasture, and the purest air,
  Explores the lost, the wandering sheep directs,
  By day o’ersees them, and by night protects;
  The tender lambs he raises in his arms,
  Feeds from his hand, and in his bosom warms: 
  Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage,
  The promised Father of the future age.