Joseph Addison

How are Thy servants blest,
O Lord
How sure is their defense
Eternal wisdom is their guide,

In the first rise and infancy of farce,
When fools were many, and when plays were
The raw unpractis'd authors could, with ease,
A young and unexperienc'd audience please:

When rising from the bed of death,
O’erwhelmed with guilt and fear,
I see my Maker face to face,
O how shall I appear

The Lord my pasture shall
And feed me with a shepherd's care;
His presence shall my wants
And guard me with a watchful eye;

O Liberty
thou goddess, heavenly bright,profuse of bliss and pregnant with delight,
Eternal pleasures in thy presence reign,
And smiling Plenty leads thy smiling train

Our lives, discoloured with our present woes,
May still grow white and shine with happier hours
So the pure limped stream, when foul with
Of rushing torrents and descending rains,

HE spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, And spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their great Original proclaim
Th' unwearied Sun from day to day Does his Creator's power display; And publishes to every land The work of an...

The Spacious Firmament on high,
With all the blue Ethereal Sky,
And spangled Heav'ns, a Shining Frame,
Their great Original proclaim:

While haughty Gallia's dames, that preadO'er their pale cheeks, an artful red,
Beheld this beauteous stranger
In native charms, divinely fair;
Confusion in their  looks they show'd;

When all Thy mercies,
O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view,

How long, great poet, shall thy sacred
Provoke our wonder, and transcend our praise
Can neither injuries of time, or age,
Damp thy poetic heat, and quench thy rage

While crowds of princes your deserts proclaim,
Proud in their number to enrol your name;
While emperors to you commit their cause,
And Anna's praises crown the vast applause;