A Song to David

(continued)

Back to stanzas 1-50

         L

PRAISE above all--for praise prevails;

Heap up the measure, load the scales,

  And good to goodness add:

The gen'rous soul her Saviour aids,

But peevish obloquy degrades;

  The Lord is great and glad.

         LI

For ADORATION all the ranks

Of angels yield eternal thanks,

  And DAVID in the midst;

With God's good poor, which last and least

In man's esteem, thou to thy feast,

  O blessed bridegroom, bidst.

         LII

For ADORATION seasons change,

And order, truth, and beauty range,

  Adjust, attract, and fill:

The grass the polyanthus checks;

And polish'd porphyry reflects,

  By the descending rill.

         LIII

rich almonds color to the prime

For ADORATION; tendrils climb,

  And fruit-trees pledge their gems;

And Ivis* with her gorgeous vest,            [hummingbird]

Builds for her eggs her cunning nest,

  And bell-flowers bow their stems.

         LIV

With vinous syrup cedars spout;

From rocks pure honey gushing out,

  For ADORATION springs;

All scenes of painting crowd the map

Of nature; to the mermaid's pap

  The scaled infant clings.

         LV

The spotted ounce* and playsome cubs            [leopard]

Run rustling 'mongst the flow'ring shrubs,

  And lizards feed the moss;

For ADORATION beasts embark,

While waves upholding halcyon's ark

  No longer roar and toss.

         LVI

While Israel sits beneath his fig,

With coral root and amber sprig

  The wean'd advent'rer sports;

Where to the palm the jasmine cleaves,

For ADORATION 'mongst the leaves

  The gale his peace reports.

         LVII

Increasing days their reign exalt,

Nor in the pink and mottled vault

  The opposing spirits tilt;

And, by the coasting reader spi'd,

The silverlings and crusions* glide          [tarpon and carp: fish]

  For ADORATION gilt.

         LVIII

For ADORATION rip'ning canes

And cocoa's purest milk detains

  The western pilgrim's staff;

Where rain in clasping boughs enclos'd,

And vines with oranges dispos'd,

  Embow'r the social laugh.

         LIX

Now labor his reward receives,

For ADORATION counts his sheaves

  To peace, her bounteous prince;

The nect'rine* his strong tint imbibes,            [nectarine]

And apples of ten thousand tribes,

  And quick peculiar quince.

         LX

The wealthy crops of whit'ning rice,

'Mongst thyme woods and groves of spice,

  For ADORATION grow;

And, marshall'd in the fenced land,

The peaches and pom'granates stand,

  Where wild carnations blow.

         LXI

The laurels with the winter strive;

The crocus burnishes alive

  Upon the snow-clad earth:

For ADORATION myrtles stay

To keep the garden from dismay,

  And bless the sight from dearth.

         LXII

The pheasant shows his pompous neck;

The ermine, jealous of a speck,

  With fear eldues offence:

The sable, with his glossy pride,

For ADORATION is describ'd,

  Where frosts the waves condense.

         LXIII

The cheerful holly, pensive yew,

And holy thorn, their trim renew;

  The squirrel hoards his nuts;

All creatures batten o'er their stores,

And careful nature all her doors

  For ADORATION shuts.

         LXIV

For ADORATION, DAVID's psalms

Life up the heart to deeds of alms;

  And he, who kneels and chants,

Prevails his passions to control,

Finds meat and med'cine to the soul,

  Which for translation pants.

         LXV

For ADORATION, beyond match,

The scholar bullfinch aims to catch

  The soft flute's iv'ry touch;

And, careless on the hazel spray,

The daring redbreast keeps at bay

  The damsel's greedy clutch.

         LXVI

For ADORATION in the skies,

The Lord's philosopher espies

  The Dog, the Ram, and Rose;

The planet's ring, Orion's sword;

Nor is his greatness less ador'd

  In the vile worm that glows.

         LXVII

For ADORATION, on the strings

The western breezes work their wings,

  The captive ear to sooth.

Hark! 'Tis a voice--how still, and small--

That makes the cataracts to fall,

  Or bids the sea be smooth!

         LXVIII

For ADORATION, incense comes

From bezoar, and Arabian gums;

  And from the civet's fur:

But as for prayer, or e'er it faints,

Far better is the breath of saints

  Than galbanum* and myrrh.            [resinous gum]

         LXIX

For ADORATION from the down

Of dam'sins to th'anana's* crown,            [pineapple]

  God sends to tempt the taste;

And while the luscious zest invites,

The sense, that in the scene delights,

  Commands desire be chaste.

         LXX

For ADORATION, all the paths

Of grace are open, all the baths

  Of purity refresh;

And all the rays of glory beam

To deck the man of God's esteem,

  Who triumphs o'er the flesh.

         LXXI

For ADORATION, in the dome

Of Christ, the sparrows find a home;

  And on His olives perch:

The swallow also dwells with thee,

O man of God's humility,

  Within his Saviour CHURCH.

         LXXII

Sweet is the dew that falls betimes,

And drops upon the leafy limes;

  Sweet, Hermon's fragrant air:

Sweet is the lily's silver bell,

And sweet the wakeful tapers smell

  That watch for early pray'r.

         LXXIII

Sweet the young nurse with love intense,

Which smiles o'er sleeping innocence;

  Sweet when the lost arrive:

Sweet the musician's ardour beats,

While his vague mind's in quest of sweets,

  The choicest flow'rs to hive.

         LXXIV

Sweeter in all the strains of love,

The language of thy turtle dove,

  Pair'd to thy swelling chord;

Sweeter, with ev'ry grace endu'd,

The glory of thy gratitude,

  Respir'd unto the Lord.

         LXXV

Strong is the horse upon his speed;

Strong in pursuit the rapid glede*,            [hawk]

  Which makes at once his game:

Strong the tall ostrich on the ground;

Strong through the turbulent profound

  Shoots xiphias* to his aim.*            [swordfish]

         LXXVI

Strong is the lion--like a coal

His eyeball--like a bastion's mole*           nbsp; *earthworks

  His chest against his foes:

Strong, the gier-eagle on his sail,

Strong against tide, th'enormous whale

  Emerges as he goes.

         LXXVII

But stronger still in earth and air,

And in the sea, the man of pray'r;

  And far beneath the tide;

And in the seat to faith assign'd,

Where ask is have, where seek is find,

  Where knock is open wide.

         LXXVIII

Beauteous the fleet before the gale;

Beauteous the multitudes in mail,

  Rank'd arms and crested heads:

Beauteous the garden's umbrage mild,

Walk, water, meditated wild,

  And all the bloomy beds.

         LXXIX

Beauteous the moon full on the lawn;

And beauteous, when the veil's withdrawn,

  The virgin to her spouse:

Beauteous the temple, deck'd and fill'd,

When to the heav'n of heav'ns they build

  Their heart-directed vows.

         LXXX

Beauteous, yea beauteous more than these,

The shepherd king upon his knees,

  For his momentous trust;

With wish of infinite conceit,

For man, beast, mute, the small and great,

  And prostrate dust to dust.

         LXXXI

Precious the bounteous widow's mite;

And precious, for extreme delight,

  The largess from the churl:

Precious the ruby's blushing blaze,

And alba's* blest imperial rays,&nsp;           [diamond]

  And pure cerulean pearl.

         LXXXII

Precious the penitential tear;

And precious is the sigh sincere;

  Acceptable to God:

And precious are the winning flow'rs,

In gladsome Israel's feast of bow'rs,

  Bound on the hallow'd sod.

         LXXXIII

More precious that diviner part

Of David, ev'n the Lord's own heart,

  Great, beautiful, and new:

In all things where it was intent,

In all extremes, in each event,

  Proof--answ'ring true to true.

         LXXXIV

Glorious the sun in mid career;

Glorious th'assembled fires appear;

  Glorious the comet's train:

Glorious the trumpet and alarm;

Glorious th'almighty stretch'd-out arm;

  Glorious th'enraptur'd main:

         LXXXV

Glorious the northern lights a-stream;

Glorious the song, when God's the theme;

  Glorious the thunder's roar:

Glorious hosanna from the den;

Glorious the catholic amen;

  Glorious the martyr's gore:

         LXXXVI

Glorious--more glorious, is the crown

Of Him that brought salvation down,

  By meekness, call'd thy Son:

Thou at stupendous truth believ'd;--

And now the matchless deed's achiev'd,

  DETERMIN'D, DAR'D, AND DONE.

Christopher Smart