First barr’d by thine: high-wall’d with adamant,
Guarded with terrors reaching to this world,
And cover’d with the thunders of thy law;
Whose threats are mercies, whose injunctions, guides,
Assisting, not restraining, Reason’s choice;
Whose sanctions, unavoidable results
From nature’s course, indulgently reveal’d;
If unreveal’d, more dangerous, nor less sure.
Thus, an indulgent father warns his sons,
“Do this; fly that”—nor always tells the cause; 460