Poetry > Course of time

ARGUMENT.
Address to ReligionHer attributes and functions:—Desired too late by
the wicked.—The day of reward to all that in the course of time had
unfeignedly obeyed the will of their Maker.—Those who sought only
the approbation of God, have all their virtues and services remembered
and repaid.—Religion alone keeps the promises given to man.—Simile,
illustrative of the difficulty the Bard feels in selecting the objects of praise.
—The faithful Minister:—His high station in heaven :—What he was
on earth :—How commissioned:—His influences:—The blessings he con¬
ferred.—His learning:—His intellectual powers:—Praise of his surpassing
worth.—His order numerous in Time.—Prophets—Apostles—Reformers
—appear in heaven like stars.—The true Philosopher:—His labours and
beneficial investigations for mankind :—His lofty attainments, and humble
affectionate Christian temperHis glory in heaven.—The virtuous mo¬
narch—Tile patriotic senator.—Early discipline of virtuous men—Char¬
ity addressed.—The benevolent man:—His labours in various scenes.—The
Bard—Philosophy and poetry.—Tiie true Bard The place he fills in
heaven—The bliss of all true believers, however undistinguished on earth.
—View of the changes produced by the close of Time and commencement of
Eternity.—Old things passed away:—Knowledge increased:—Truth
never felt till now.—Old prophecies fulfilled.—All generations of men
waiting the Judgment.—The heavenly hosts descend.—The separation
of the righteous from the wicked:—Judgment pronounced on Satan
and his angels.—The cause of his fall.—How in time he had tempted
men :—His overthrow :—His final punishment.—The Bard's lament over
the decay of nature and man.—The bereaved old man :—The Lunatic.—
Reflections on human life—Its mixture of good and ill.—Picture of the
reprobate and the good.—Sentence of the wicked pronounced by the
Seraph.—Bow that spans the heavensThe burning words inscribed