33 IS "BSIL ,^ kfcjf ■■' Bally The Justice of the Supreme Being THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME BEING, A POEM. By GEORGE BALLY, M.A. Fellow o^ King's College. CAMBRIDGE, Printed by J. BENT HAM Printer to the UNIVERSITY. Sold by W.THURLBOURN, and T.MERRILL, Bookfellers in Cambridge ; T. OSBORNE and J. SHIPTON in Gray's Inn, R. DODSLEY in Pall-MaU. and B. DOD in Avemary-Lane, London ; and J. POTE at Eton. M.DCC.LV. A Claufe of Mr.SEATON's Will, ^^'^. Dated 067. 8. 1738. ^^' ^ /" Give my Kijlingbury Eft ate to the Univerfity of Cambridge for ever : the Refits of which Jhall be difpofed of yearly by the Fice-Chancellorfor the time beings as he the Vice-Chancellor^ the Mafler of Clare Hall^ and the Greek Profeffor for the time beings or any two of them Jhall agree. Which three perfons aforefaid Jhall give out a SubjeSi^ which SubjeSi Jhall for the frft Tear be one or other of the PerfeBions or Attributes of the Supretne Being., and fo the fucc ceding Years., till the Subjeci is exhaujled\ and afterwards the SubjeSi Jhall be either Death., Judgment J Heaven, Hell, Purity of heart, ^c. or whatever elfe tnay be judged by the Vice-Chancellor, Majler of Clare-Hall, and Greek Profeffor to be mojl conducive to the honour of the Supreme Being and recommendation of Virtue. A?id they JIj all yearly difpofe of the Rent of the above Ejiate to that Majler of Arts, whofe Poem on the SubjeB given Jhall be beji approved by them. Which Poem I ordain to be always in Englijh, and to be printed', the expence of which JJjall be dc dueled out of the produB of the Ejlate, and the refidue given as a reward for the Compofer of the Poem, or Ode, or Copy ofVerfes. 'E the underwritten, do aflign Mr. SEATOKs Reward to G. BALLY, M. A. for his Poem on Thejuflice of the Supreme Being, and dire£l the faid Poem to be printed, accord- ing to the tenor of the Will. Oa:. 28. 1754. P.Tonge Vice-Chancellor. JJFilcox Mailer of Clare Hall. T.Francklin Greek Frofeilbr, R90021 THE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME BEING. OThou, whofe Juftice awes the moral world. Dread Judge, and Governor fupreme! thine eye, Thro' the vaft amplitude of fpace difRis'd, No adlion 'fcapes, no thought that bubbling fprings In the heart's troubled deep. In vain the Wretch,. Specious in borrow'd vizor, lifts his front Triumphant ; Thee no artificial glofs Deceives : the Monfter walks beneath thy ken Foul 6 THE JUSTICE OF Foul with unnumber'd fpots. His deeds are noted In thy eternal volumes to confound His guilt : tho' now perhaps he wanton balks In Fortune's funny fmiles, and laughs difdainful At Virtue, pin'd with penury and cold. Nathlefs, when this dark iublunary plot, Which now with feeminor intricacies mocks Our bufy fearch, amazingly to view Shall Hand unravelPd in th' all-clofmg fcene, The Caitiff, at the curtain's fall, Ihall bleed; And Men and Angel-Choirs applaufive laud Th' unerring rectitude of all thy ways. - O may the Poet then, whofe faltering tongue Lifps thefe rude drains, and trembles while he fings, What alks a Cherub's note, a Seraph's glow. This mundane polity by Thee fuftain'd On the firm bafis of eternal ric^ht, O King, that reign'll for ever ! may He then. When Thou the fcatter'd Particles (halt call . 1X3 His THE SUPREME BEING. His Soul's demoliOi'd manfion to rebuild, Approach thy dread Tribunal unappall'dj May Mercy o'er that Juftice then pre\^ai], Which here his humble verfe eflay'd to paint f With fcanty line Ihall Reafon dare to mete Th' immeafurable depths of Providence ? On the fwoln bladders of opinion borne She floats awhile, then floundering finks ablbrb'd Within that boundlefs fea, flie ftrove to grafp. Shall Man here ftation'd to revere that God, Who calPd him into being from the duft, His moral fcheme implead, and impious cite Th' Almighty Legiflator to the bar . Of erring intelledl: ? too weak his fight To trace each hidden link that knits the chain Stupendous. Hence he labours to depofe , . Jehovah from his fovereignty, and lifts .. A blind ideal phantom to the throne. Things oft inverted in this turbid mafs - - Strike 8 THE JUSTICE OF Strike his difgufted eye, and ihake his faith Too prone to (hift her compafs. Vice he fees With gems and Tyrian purple fparkling gay, And Virtue mouldering in a dungeons gloom. " Say, is This fitting, (cries the doubting Sage) " Do thefe unequal difpenfations fpeak " A wife impartial Ruler of the World ? " Shall earth, ihall air, and every element " Be tax'd to furnifh the blafphemer's meal, " While Heaven's beft votary, who in fervent pray'r " Exhales his foul, the fcantieft offal wants " His macerated body to relieve?" Thus Man, whofe mind's too narrow to contain The vaft dimenfions of th' harmonious whole. From parts, uncomely if afunder view'd, Decifive fentence gives. Thou laugh'ft above. Dread ELOHIM, to fee hin\fl:udious weigh Thy meafures in his balance : Thou whofe grafp The waters, and whofe fpan the heavens compriz'd. ' 1 o THE SUPREME BEING. 9 To judge aright how Providence conducts The moral fyftem, where a clue is lent T' unwind the myftic maze, with cautious fteps Man muft purfue 5 each nice gradation fcan, Obferve how parts, erft oppofite, confpire In one illuftrious concord of delign. Then every jarring ftring, which, fingly touch'd. Grated harih diflbnance on Reafon's ear, ^ Will fpeak the graces of th' Almighty hand. And in a fweet-ton'd Diapaibn clofe. , The Sun of Juftice may withdraw his beams Awhile from earthly ken, and fit conceal'd In dark recefs, pavilion 'd round with clouds : Yet let not Guilt prefumptuous rear her creft. Nor Virtue droop defpondent : foon thefe clouds. Seeming eclipfe, will brighten into day. And in majeftic fplendor He will rife With healing, and with terror on his wings. ; ^ ^ B Things 10 THE JUSTICE OF Things in progreflive motion cheat our eye, Unmark'd the deftin'd goal, to which they tend. Mofes' all-powerful rod, amazing fight, A ferpent crawls, and darts it's forky tongue ; But in his hand refum'd to Ifrael's fons Difpenfes bleffings, bids th' imprifon'd ftream Guili from the ftricken rock, th' obedient fea Drive back it's refluent waves, and ftand a wall Condens'd, to yield a pafTage to his hoft. Thus what we view abhorrent as deform. And inconfiftent with that faultlefs rule, By which a fapient God each ad^ fhould fquare. In th' iflue will it's frightful afpe£l: lofe, And leave th' all-righteous Sovereign unimpeach'd. What eye but melts with pity, when it fees Jofeph's defencelefs piety and youth To leagu'd fraternal hate i prey expos'd? Shall Ifrael's darling, nay what's more, Ihall God's With complicated ills be doom'd to ftrive? Shall THE SUPREME BEING. ii Shall a pit yawn for him, yet none for thofe Who plot againft his life? the Bargain's ftruck j Unnatural bargain, where a Brother's foJd ! The feven-mouth'd Nile receives him : here the (ky Fallacious fmiles, to make the gathering cloud Burft heavier on his head : the fliorhted charms Of an enamour 'd Miftrefs glow with ire Fierce and impetuous as her former luft : That flubborn heart muft bleed, which would not melto Are chains the meed of Innocence? does God Exalt his enemies to thrones, deprefs His friends to dungeons? impious plaints away, And to that Hell, from whence ye rife, repair. O'erblown the ftorm, which only rag'd to fpeed Heaven's chofen veflel to the deftin'd port. The Hebrew bright emerges. Quick the fcene ' '^; Is Ihifted from a dungeon to a throne. . 'x* Next to the proud Egyptian King he moves In his high orb refplendent : lives to ftrain B 2 Old 12 THE JUSTICE OF Old Ifrael in his fond encircling arms, To fee the typic iheaves in marlhall'd ranks, His brethren, erft with other paffions warm'd, Submilllve bow their vaffal heads before His iheaf, that rears aloft it's lordly ftem. Silenc'd be every tongue, that dar'd to breathe 1 he rank exuberance of a fenfual heart In fceptic murmurs : Reafon, Hand abafh'd. And, whom thou canft not comprehend, adore ! If Virtue fuffers, 'tis to prove her faith. To make abafement glorioufly confpire, Like Jofeph's, to her rife : each ftroke (he feels. But adds new luftre to her maffive crown. If Vice, unthank'd his feeder, gluts his maw With ftudied dainties, and with riot fwells, 'Tis but a vi£^im fatten'd for the fword Of Juftice, edg'd to drink his guilty blood. A guileful Haman brooding o'er the fate Of blamelefs Mordecai, when raptures high Stretch THE SUPREME BEING. 13 Stretch every vein, and elevate the foul, When glows the waflel moft, and fparkling joy Laughs in each ofFer'd cup, O dire reverfe! Shall from the royal banquet to the grave - Be dragg'd unpitied, on that tree expire, Which for wrongr'd innocence his hands had rais'd. The fcheme of Providence, tho' knots perplex'd O'er the unfolding texture feem to caft Unpleafing (hades, at large difclos'd appears ■ ■ With lucid order, and coherence crown'd. So in the folded tapeftry, where parts - With gradual openings meet the paufing eye. Here fprouts a leafy branch, a human foot - There marks the woven ground : all feems a wild Mifhapen chaos of disjointed forms : Yet, when m full expanfe the web entire . • . Shews the mixt groupe in orderly array, • The figur'd hiftory well-pleas'd we trace. Each feveral part applaud, but mofl the whole. Shall 14 THE JUSTICE OF Shall courifils, plann'd by Wifdom infinite, And by Omnipotence conduced, fail ? Sooner the Heavens, the fabric of his hands, Shrunk their extenfive cope, like (hrivell'd parchment, Melted to viewlefs air (hall difappear, Yea all things into primitive nothing fall. Than God's eternal and all-wife decrees One jot fliall be abolifh'd. Flight of days. The world obfcuring with their ihadowy wings. Shall o'er his grand defigns a luftre throw j Shall clear that wondrous, foul-abforbing text. Which poring Seraphs puziles and confounds. Righteous are all thy ways, O Power fupreme. Whether thy patience ftruggling with thy wrath Arrefts th' uplifted thunderbolt, that longs To lance deftruftion on the head accurs'd : Or whether Piety, to purge her drofs By fliarp aflaying fires, thou feed permiffive Crufli'd by Oppreffion's iron arm, or torn By THE SUPREME BEING. 15 By racking maladies, inteftine war. * Orb within orb involv'd, Thy myftic Wheels, On which this politic machine is whirl'd Inceflant, with no giddy devious flight Precipitate their courfe ; with eyes they glow Difl:in61:, and in a meafur'd orbit move. To right thy injur'd friends, and blaft thy foes, Thou counterwork'fh Man's purpofe, and from ill Educeft good : as erft thy potent voice, '' Omnific, from the womb of night abhorr'd * Caird forth that light, which glads th'invefted world, A Pharaoh's Daughter, by thy impulfe led. Shall in a Hebrew babe unweetino: rear Ifrael's Redeemer, and her Father's fcourge. When Jacob's S^cd^ befide Euphrates' flood, .. With groans refponfive to his murmurs, fwell The current with their tears, and Sion's pride, ..." Illufl:rious Sion wail, in alhes loft j ^ .; .' * See Ezekiel Chap. T, . \ ■'" ' ' ' . Tlie i6 THE JUSTICE OF *The ravenous Eagle from the Eaft fhall urge His rapid flight, and in his talons bear Jehovah's thunder: Babylon's tower'd creft Shall fink beneath his fwoop, while he fuU-gorg'd O'er the Aflyrian prey fhall clap his plumes. Victorious Minifter of wrath divine. Thy throne, O Lord, eftablilh'd on the bafe Of Juftice, how tremendous, how benign ! Here foft-ey'd Cherubim with wings difpred The mercy-feat infold, and beam on Man, Repenting Man, compaflion and meek love : There flamy Seraphs from their pinions fliake Horror and dire difmay : Thy awful fword. Fierce as a comet, blazes in their grafp High-wav'd, to flafti the harden'd rebel dead. Who can abide thy terrors. Judge fevere. When by repeated provocations warm'd Thy anger burns, and Mercy ftrives in vain * Cyrus, fee Ifaiah Chap. 46. ' ■ To THE SUPREME BEING. 17 To interpofe her {hleld betwixt thy bolt! Thy trampled laws, bright tranfcript of Thyfelf, And the lefe Majefty of Heaven's high King, Who pardon offer d ; pardon but contemn'd ! Bare thy red arm, and edge the vengeful brand. Who in his milder governance difclaim'd The living God, (hall feel him in his dread Vindidtive Attribute, and trembling own That Power, whofe nod obedient Nature waits, With all her armaments of fnow and wind. Of battering hail, or wide-devouring fire. To execute his vengeance : who can forge The meaneft creatures into fwords, to foil The boafts of Kings, and wither all their ftrength. What ! thd his wrathful vials in the clouds Sufpended ftand awhile, nor burft, as once O'er a devoted Sodom, or a World, Whofe ftains a deluge fcarcely walKd away; Yet is His arm not (horten'd: — Thou'rt the fame, C Je- i8 THE JUSTICE OF J E H OVA H, thro eternity unchang d, Thy eyes too pure, too beamy to behold Iniquity's foul mift : each thought profane. Each vile affection muft be far remov'd, Ere we approach thy San6luary and live. Tremble, ye Heavens, and Earth, but chief O Man, Apoftate Man, before a God incensd ! Juftice exacts the debt, but Nature fails. Mere Human Nature ; bankrupt and undone! God muft be righted, or Mankind be loft j For ever loft, unpitied, unrepriev'd. Dreadful alternative ! heart-chilling thought. That leads to defperation's flippery brink ! Who ftiall the price immenfe, the ranfom pay, Commenfurate to Guilt, and Worth divine ? Who but the King of Kings, the Lord Himfelf, The Coeternal, Coeflential Son ! He, to appeafe infinity of wrath, Muft quit the bofom of paternal blifs, ^:-: And. THE SUPREME BEING. 19 And in a flefhly tabernacle (hroud His plenitude of light. Lord ! what is Man, Corruption's heir, and brother to the worm. That Thou fo kindly labour ft in his weal? Oh ! the exceflive depth, th amaxing height Of Heavenly Wifdom! Juftice how fevere? Mercy how tender ! from the clouds of ire Omnipotent diftilling balmy dew ! Shall then th' all-perfe6l and unfpotted Lamb For our tranfgreffions bleed, to death refign His broken frame, to heal us with his wounds? Shall the Son groan in bitternefs of foul, Implore his angry Father to remove The baleful cup, empoifon'd with the fins Of a whole World , and yet (hall Man tranfgrefs, Man by His death afferted into life ? O ! let us turn repentant to our Sire, Shake off our fordid lufts, thofe thorns which gor'd Our Saviour's temples, and thofe fpikes obfcene c 2 That 20 THE JUSTICE OF That nail'd his finlefs body to the crofs. Let God's feverity our hearts appall, Evn whilft his kindnefs clafps us in it's arms. Elfe will that vocal Blood, which pleads above, Cry loud for vengeance, and it's cries afcend High as the dread judicial Court of Heaven. That awful Court who (hall efcape } the Dead And Living there {hall wait their final doom. Methinks I fee from th' empyrean fkies. Preceded by his bright Angelic Hoft, The Judge defcend : how chang'd from Him who late The thorny crown, and reedy fceptre bore ! Glory arrays him j from his countenance beams Splendor ineffable : ftars cluftering weave A rich tiara for His head, who gave Their beauteous lamps to (hine. Look, Ifrael, there Affrighted, and with dire convi6):ion own Thy King triumphant in his cloudy car ! See the Crofs glitter thro' th' enfanguin d air. Proud THE SUPREME BEING. 21 Proud enfign of his conqueft, and thy fhame ! Hark ! thro' Heaven's wide reverberatinor vault The clanging Trumpet founds th' awakening peal. Obedient tombs expand their marble jaws. And every fad repofitory hears The quickening voice, and renders back its truft To light and life : each particle difpers'd Crowds to a heap, and builds th' identic Man. Chang d are the living, and alive the dead. Lo ! cited myriads fill th' extended plain. And trembling to the Grand Tribunal prefs. The Book is open d, and the feal remov'd , The adamantine Book j where every thought, Tho' dawning on the heart, then funk again In the corrupted mafs, each acS): obfcure. In charafters indelible remain. How vain thy boaft, vile CaitiiF, to have Tcapd An earthly Forum, now thy crimfon ftains Glare on a congregated World, thy Judge Om- 22 THE JUSTICE OF Omnifcience, and Omnipotence thy Scourge ! Thy made, Hypocrify, how ufelefs here. When by a beam, Ihot from the Fount of Light, The varnifli'd faint Harts up a ghaftly fiend ! But Ye of manners blamelefs, faith approv'd, Who a lonor toilfome warfare have endur d. By flelhly wiles aflail'd, yet unfubdu'd ; Ye who have fair Religion's caufe maintaind, Tho' Princes frown'd, and Flames encircling rag'd. With front ere61: approach the throne auguft. See how your Saviour bends his gracious head. Smiling unutterable love ! the choir Of Saints congenial beckon you to blifs. And all the glorify 'd Afleflbrs burn To add your fteady phalanx to their roll. Soon are their wilhes, and your labours crown'd : For now, your virtue's teft, your trial o'er. Where every bafhful grace, that bloom'd unfeen. Too delicate to bear the ruffling breath Of THE SUPREME BEING. 23 Of worldly praife, is brought to light before It's beft applauders, Angels and their Lord, The Judge with accent mild cries: " Come, Ye Blefs'd, " Share thd unfading pleafures of my realm, " Coheirs of blifs, my Sire s adopted fons." Strait at that found the Pious, like a flock Of harmlefs doves, are rapt with ardent wing To meet their dear Redeemer in the clouds. The bellowing convex ecchoes to the Trump, And lo! the yelling Wicked crowd the bar. Settled defpair, and pale dejection dim Each louring afpe£l: : Beauty hides her face. And fain would hide her guilt: curs'd Mammons flave Laments his treafures were not there fecur'd. Where neither moth corrupts, nor ruft devours: Grim-vifag'd Murder with reluctance lifts Th' accufing hand, which Oceans ne'er could blanch 5 And, like a hunted panther, ftarts to fee His horrid deeds emblazon'd in his fpots, . . , Con- cc u u 24 THE JUSTICE OF Confclence, God's dread official here below, Too oft her friendly whifpers drown'd in noife, Now rings her loud alarum in their hearts. Their fears awakens, and foreftalls their doom. Methinks I hear a felf-convi6l:ed Wretch To his aflbciates vent his anguifh'd foul: Yonder He fits, whofe mercies we have fpurn'd, Whofe laws we have profan d, whofe (ides we oft . Have pierc'd with blafphemy's envenom'd fpear : '* How fhall we now confront his awful eye, '' That melts all Nature with a darted glance; " Or whither from His dreaded prefence flee ? O that fome rock would fall, fome mountain yawn To bury us for ever in its womb ! Vain hope, alas ! thefe mountains and thefe rocks " Soon will be gone; the Heavens and Earth diflblv'd; '' And nothing for His firy wrath remain " To prey on but Ourfelves, immortal only " To fuffer an eternity of pain." The THE SUPREME BEING. 25 The Procefs ftern commences : filence deep, And dreadful expectation fits on all. Each hidden fraud, each word, and thought impure. Each overt violence, or flander dark. From out th' omnifcient regifters produc'd. Blaze in the view of Angels, and a World. The heart now bard before it's Maker's eye, Evolv'd it's mazes, and it's filth expos'd. How loath'd a fpeftacle the Villain ftands ! The Virtuous look with horror down to fee Now firft in genuine colours Vice appear. And (hudder at deformity fo foul. Confcience inceflant plies her fcorpion-whip. And makes th' abominable mifcreants add Self-accufation to their charge, and own . . God's Juftice in the rigour of his Wrath. And now the Judge with vifage all inflam'd, . , At which the molten mountains (brink like wax. With voice, that ihakes the pillar'd firmament, D The i6 THE JUSTICE OF The dire award pronounces : " Go, ye Curs'd, " To fire, as everlafting as your fouls, " For Satan, and his impious Hoft, prepared." Strait from the inmoft centre of the earth Flames burft in fpiring eddies to the ikies : Trembles the ground convuls'd, feas boiling roar. And dafh yon crackling canopy with foam. Creation finks beneath th' enormous blaze. Myriads now burning, with th' Archangel's Trump, The growling thunder of th' expiring Heavens, And with a fallino; World's tremendous sroan Mingle their hideous yellj and vainly wifh They, like thofe Elements, could be no more. His Equal Ways illuftrioufly reveal'd In Vices torments, and in Virtue's blifs, Th' Almighty rifes from his throne, and wings To heavenly Zion his triumphal car. Th' Angelic Hierarchy with loud acclaim Accompany their King j with warbled Hymns The THE SUPREME BEING. 27 The ranfom'd Saints their bleft Redeemer orreet. Unnumber'd voices in fweet concord cry : " Hofanna to the Lamb that fits above, " To the World's honour'd Judge ! how juft His ways, *' How Everlafting Glory crowns them all ! f / FINIS. ^ i%^" •^ Lately pubUJJjed^ I. A Tranflation of PRIOR's SOLOMON on the Vanity of Pleafure, and DRYDEN's Ode on St. CECILIA'S Day. II. A Tranflation of the Loves of HERO and LEANDER, from the Greek of MUS^US. By Mr. BALLY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9-40m-7,'56(C790s4)444 v.r.^^W^'^- lay lc^l■l.^ : PAMPHLET BINDER ^^^ Syrocuse, N. Y. ^^^ Stockton, Calif. 0032