Corrupted man from God profanely fled,
Let hell, in chains, both soul and body lead.
The prince of evil, ever on alert
The wand'ring mind to serve him to attract,
First bade celestial orbs attention take,
And his to them their adoration make;
Then sent from Tartarus* a tribe direct
To govern, and his special trust protect.
Up from the deep the mongrel Dagon soars,
And perches on Philistia's rocky towers;
Great Bell to Babel flew with ardent speed,
For trusty priestcraft sumptuously to feed;
And Rimmon to Damascus found the way
For Naaman's sov'reign kneeling to obey;
Ashteroth hasted to Phenicia,
There fixed his station, and took sov'reign sway;
Osiris, and his grimly visag'd train,
Infested fruitful Nilus' miry plain ;
There genial warmth productive made the race,
And quick matur'd a wonderful produce,
Which, wing'd to Crete, spawn'd multifarious more, That soar'd to Grecia's philosophic shore,
From whence great Jove and his congenial crew
'Mid hellish thunder, straight to Latium flew :
Rake Belial roam'd about alluring all
To brutal action by his pleasing call.
Each stout vicegerents from true votaries cull'd To help to govern in this nether world;
Who, taught by fiends, and by the fools well fed, A life of luxury and deception led,
Matur'd the horrid plans infernals laid,
And o'er benighted earth hell's curses spread.
These great Fastosus and Avarus rul'd,
In all close councils presidency held.
Sly Mendax every public trumpet blew,
Crudelis with their fiery tortures flew,
The one to order rev'rence and submission,
Th' other on disobedience hurl destruction.
They hewed puppets out of rock or wood
As models of their patrons; which thus stood
In splendid robes, the fashion of the day
For men deceiv'd to worship and obey.
Bless'd by these necromancers' mystic rule,
They're constituted saviours of the soul,
Are honored by infernal mysteries,
To ire appease with human sacrifice;
And hellish Moloch stretch'd his burning arms
To grasp the victim his curs'd rite assigns
A fiery grave his anger to assuage,
And none but human can allay his rage.
Thus devilish worship is by priestcraft fed,
Officiate for sire Satan sons earth bred;
Who, so inventive to increase their trade,
Successive tribes of deities have made;
And with hell's lies mankind so stupifi'd
That kings believ'd, and on foul fraud reli'd,
And help'd her craft with most despotic hand,
To frame an impious worship for the land;
Commanded that the subject should obey
And honor nought but that decreed by law.
Thus prostitutes at earthly power arriv'd,
By lying rul'd, by craft in plenty liv'd,
Impos'd upon the simple multitude,
But not with earthly ware too dear, or rude,
They cramm'd the mind with hell's prime quintessence,
Invention strain'd to foster ignorance;
Were proud, were lazy, were by avarice led
To filch from labour her hard earned bread;
They, as the drone robs the laborious bee,
Intrusive plunder'd honest industry:
They, as old Eli's sons, with hook and prong,
The potsherds drain'd of contents not their own.
In Egypt first, in Ashur next began
This crafty tribe to rule the minds of men;
Triumphant there, thence bent its impious course,
And conquest made of mighty learned Greece,
Insatiate still, spread from that fruitful clime
And hurl'd the curse into imperial Rome,
Allur'd her martial sons, who quickly whirl'd
Its damning rituals round a conquer'd world.
Satanic trade! Did thus thy plague arise? When will it end? What shall thy evils close? For yet, dispers'd o'er earth's extended coasts, The prince of hell displays his preaching priests;
Take aggregate the sacerdotal race
By far more numerous will be found the false.
A DISCIPLE OF THE MESSIAH.
I will endeavour to discriminate,
False teachers faithfully delineate,
But the attentive pastor not forget,
Who food celestial gives the needy flock,
He has my high esteem, my first respects,
He honors God, and His just cause inspects.
'Midst multitudes, then, how's deception known?
Who act as devils are the devil's own.
Priests puff'd with pride, not minding what they teach,
Their bellies love more than to pray and preach,
Strive to get rich, for that the poor oppress,
Encourage vice, ne'er wish it to suppress:
Not zealous for their God, but preferment,
Make wealth and worldly power the great intent
Of life, the gospel and celestial grace
Make keys to riches, and obtain a place :
Swear falsely holy orders to obtain,
Tell God most wicked lies for worldly gain,
Hypocrisy, the stinking breath of hell,
Let poison ev'ry deed and thought at will:
With humble paint daub the external form,
Whilst pride and envy fiercely burn within.
A pulpit mount, and solemnly declare
All charity must piously revere;
Whilst out, as keenly as the hungry wolf,
Hunt after prey to cram alone dear self.
Let Mammon, rattling in their greedy ears
His golden box, alone engross their cares;
Will quickly pace to tithe the flock of seven,
But never haste to lead a soul to heaven:
Make fools believe they can their sins forgive,
Men benedictions from their lips receive;
But humbly honor, firstly pay them well
That soul shall never tumble into hell:
And selfish, ardent lovers of strong wine,
Debauch'd, delighting but in pleasures vain,
Replete with rage against the righteous few
Who follow God, and holy truths pursue,
Are all unfaithful. These fruits tell the world
They're not God's shepherds, nor sheep of His fold;
No matter by what church or state brought forth,
The rule applies to every priest on earth; (8)
And all such teachers thou may'st safe conclude .;
Rise from a fount that never sprang from God.
But while they're revelling in impiety,
Pride, idleness, and every luxury,
The pious mind in quest of holiness
Will flee their haunts to some more hallow'd place,
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