To soothe their sorrows: four times hath the sun
With rising splendors crown'd this earthly orb;
Four times the moon with milder beams dispers'd
The gloom of darkness, since the yawning grave
Receiv'd their much-lov'd brother's sleeping clay,
And Jesus lingers :....Oft their wishful eyes
Look out in vain to see their Lord appear;
Oft their impatient sighs break forth, and chide
The dear Redeemer for his long delay :

But lo! he comes....let us attend his steps;

He

goes

with the sad train to view the grave,

The cold mausoleum of his Lazarus.

Here soft affection kindles to a flame,

Fresh sorrows spring, and overwhelming woe
Bursts forth in floods of grief: tears, tender tears,
Drown ev'ry face; and with pathetic voice,
Declare how much they lov'd, how much they feel.
Lo! Jesus weeps! astonish'd angels stand
In silent admiration and delight.

Behold! the resurrection and the life!
The mighty Saviour lifts his eyes to heav'n;
Then with the voice that call'd creation forth
From the dark womb of chaos and old night;
That bade celestial light with orient beams
Shine on his universe: he speaks again,
And, "Lazarus, come forth!" is his command.
Hark! gentle echo on her downy wing

Catches the sound, and back returns, "Come forth!"

Death to the centre of his dark domain

Hears the sublime command; the sov'reign voice! Death, to the centre of his dark domain

Trembles with mighty awe, loth to give up

His vanquish'd prey; unable to detain.
Jesus the Son of Man! Jesus the God!
Holds in his hand the adamantine key
That shuts and opens his ten thousand gates;
The locks fly back....he bursts the massy bars....
The captive leaves his dreary cave, forsakes
Worms and corruption, to enjoy the day:
He rises and comes forth, while angels sing
The boundless glories of the Son of man.

Hark! how the winds, with hollow murmurs rise;
The heav'ns grow black with clouds, a dismal gloom
Spreads o'er the hemisphere, and strikes dismay
Upon the stoutest heart....a sudden flood
Pours from on high, to meet the flood beneath;
And lo! the swelling billows rise and rage
In battle dangerous; the foaming waves
Lift their mountainous heads, like wat'ry Alps,

And threat the skies, then break with noise more dire
Than all the dreadful howls that pierce the woods,
In midnight hours, when wolves voracious prowl,
And the fierce lion fattens o'er his
prey.
Amidst the waves, behold a little barque
Toss'd to and fro, the sport of raging winds;
In vain the mariners their skill oppose,
The mad'ning tempest, deaf to all their cries,
Derides their efforts, and with thund'ring roar
Threats to entomb it in a watʼry grave,

And make the deep their vast mausoleum.
And yet how safe the little vessel rides!
Encompass'd by the guardian care of heav'n,
She bears the grandest freight that ever sail'd,

Upon the hoary bosom of the deep!

A treasure richer than ten thousand worlds!
No haughty Caesar, but the great God-Man!
He sleeps, amidst the roar of elements;
The thunders of the storm disturb him not,
So sweet he slumbers....But the trembling crew,
His little company, all pale with fear,
Strange consternation wrote on ev'ry face,
Break his repose, with the terrific cry
Of "Master, lo! we perish all!"
So quick, so ready, is his ear to hear
The breathings of his people in distress,
He wakens in a moment to their aid :
He rises in serenest majesty ;

Calm and compos'd, he looks upon his friends

With sweet complacence, mildly chides their fears; With solemn steps advances to the prow,

And views the storm, unmov'd: then with the voice Divine, the voice that one day shall wake

The dead, and call to judgment all the sons

Of men, he gives the great, the grand command, "Peace, thou proud restless deep: Ye winds, be still!" 'Tis done!....the deep puts on his smoothest face, With softest gales, see gentle zephyrs play On the smooth surface of the azure main, And all is hush'd in silence and repose.

Say now, Lothario, for thy mental eye
Hath seen the sick made whole, the dead arise,
The wind and seas obey the Saviour's voice,
Is he a creature, man, or demi-god?

Or is he the supreme, eternal JAH?

E

See, universal nature, the whole race
Of beings animate, inanimate await

(His grand attendants) to assume what form
His sov'reign pleasure bids....to be and do
Whate'er his will appoints. Disease and death
Of ev'ry kind, in ev'ry stage obeys

His mighty fiat, while his potent voice
Controls the pow'rs of hell; their legions fly,
And roaring own the holy one of God.

The Son of man came not with borrow'd pow'rs ;
Nor usher'd in his mighty miracles

With the grand sanction of "Thus saith the Lord!"
As did his servants, but with voice divine,
His own imperial name and potent arm,
In all the fulness of Almighty pow'r,

He rules a boundless empire, and controls
Heav'n, earth and hell, the winds, the seas, the dark
Domains of death, and all death's messengers,
And universal nature with a nod :

A look, a word, swifter than swiftest thought,
They hasten to obey his sov'reign will;

And by their ready, prompt obedience, prove
Their master is Jehovah infinite.

The self-existent, tho' incarnate God;

An independent being, who exists

And hath his being from himself alone.*

That the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, begotten of the Father from all eternity, or as the Nicene creed expresses it, "Before all worlds," is a very gross, absurd and erroneous, though an almost universally received opinion; it appears to be one of the grand sources of Arianism and Socinianism, and though it is sanctioned

Behold the Son of man with stately step, Walks in the sanctuary, the house of pray'r Appointed for all nations: here the voice

by being adopted by many great men, who hate Arianism and Socinianism with perfect hatred, yet nevertheless, it is contrary to the scriptures, and very derogatory to the glory of God, the Redeemer, who either is the self-existent God, or no God at all; if he is self-existent, he cannot be begotten, he cannot derive his existence from God the Father, but from the very necessity of his own nature, and is as independent as to his divine nature, of the Father, as the Father, who exists by the necessity of his nature, is independent of the divine nature of the Son....The scriptures reveal one infinite Jehovah. "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one Lord." Deut. vi. 4. And that in the one glorious Jehovah, there exists a trinity of divine persons, co-equal, co-essential, co-eternal. The characters of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not revealed in the scriptures to inform us of the divine being, but to make known the characters and offices which the ever blessed trinity of persons in the undivided unity of the godhead are pleased to assume and sustain in the covenant of grace, and the grand work of redemption which that covenant provided "for us men, and for our salvation.".... In almost every place in the New Testament, where the Lord Jesus is spoken of as a Son, it evidently relates to his human nature: to instance in only a few, "That holy thing that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God." Luke i. 35, 10. Also, Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." As he saith also in another place, "Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedec." Heb. v. 5, 6. It is plain, that the Sonship here spoken of, is connected with the priestly office which the Lord Jesus sustained, and it consequently relates not to his divine nature, but to his human. As God, he is "without father, without mother, without descent; having neither