Joch. Pharaoh's daughter? His life is safe; Then still he will be slain: a bloodier death Mir. For know, she means to rear him as her own. To God, the Lord, the glory be ascrib'd! O magnify'd for ever be THY might, Who mock'st all human forethought! who o'errul'st And from the depth of evil bring forth good! [She rises. Who thus has saved him: should he e'er embrace Her graven images, her brutish gods, Then shall I wish he had not been preserv'd To shame his fathers, and deny his faith. Mir. Then to dispel thy fears and crown thy joy, Hear farther wonders.-Know, the gen'rous Princess To thine own care thy darling child commits. Joch. Speak, while my joy will give me leave to listen! Mir. By her commission'd, thou behold'st me here, To seek a matron of the Hebrew race To nurse him: thou, my mother, art that matron. Joch. Fountain of mercy! whose pervading eye Joch. O! I will fill his tender soul with virtue, And be my labours with thy influence crown'd! With God's whole armour,* girt with sacred truth, Too full of tempting snares and fond delusions! Mir. May bounteous Heaven thy pious cares reward! Joch. O Amram! O my husband! when thou com'st Wearied at night, to rest thee from the toils Impos'd by haughty Pharaoh, what a tale Have I to tell thee! Yes: thy darling son Was lost, and is restor'd; was dead, and lives! Mir. How joyful shall we spend the live-long night In praises to Jehovah; who thus mocks All human foresight, and converts the means Of seeming ruin into great deliverance! Joch. Had not my child been doom'd to such strange perils As a fond mother trembles to recall, He had not been preserv'd. Mir. And mark still farther; Had he been sav'd by any other hand, He had been still expos'd to equal ruin. Joch. Then let us join to bless the hand of Heaven, 2 Thess. v. Ephes. vi. DAVID AND GOLIATH: A Sacred Brama. O bienheureux mille fois, Et du méchant l'abord contagieux N'altère point son innocence.-Athalie. The Scene lies in the Camp in the Valley of Elah, and the adjacent Plain. The subject is taken from the Seventeenth Chapter of the First Book of Samuel. PART I. Scene.-A Shepherd's Tent on a Plain. David, under a spreading tree, plays on his harp and sings. I. GREAT Lord of all things! Power divine! Thy grace serene and pure; Defend my frail, my erring youth, II. Teach me to bless my lowly lot, Remote from regal state! Content to court the cooling glade, III. No anxious vigils here I keep, Nor blasting envy's tainted gale To vex my harmless day. IV. Yon tower, which rears its head so high, Invites the hostile winds: Yon branching oak extending wide, And courts the fall it finds. V. Then let me shun th' ambitious deed, Lord! in thy sure protection blest, Submissive will I ever rest, And may thy will be done! [He lays down his harp and rises. Dav. Methinks this shepherd's life were dull and tasteless Without the charm of soothing song or harp : Of wood, or lonely grove, or russet plain, To thy blest service! gladly to proclaim The charms of heaven-born virtue! So shall I Is thine, O Father! Gracious Lord, accept Of an obedient heart I lay before thee: This humble off'ring more shall please thee, Lord, New moons, and sabbaths, passovers, and fasts! But see, my father, good old Jesse, comes! To cheer the setting evening of whose life, Content, a simple shepherd here I dwell, Though Israel is in arms; and royal Saul, Encamp'd in yonder field, defies Philistia. JESSE, DAVID. Jes. Blest be the gracious Power who gave my age To boast a son like thee ! Thou art the staff Which props my bending years, and makes me bear The heavy burden of declining age With fond complacence. How unlike thy fate, O venerable Eli! But two sons, But only two to gild the dim remains Of life's departing day, and bless thy age, And both were curses to thee! Witness, Heaven, In all the cruel catalogue of pains Humanity turns o'er, if there be one |