I.

O THOU , that sit'st upon a throne,
With harp of high majestic tone,
To praise the King of kings;
And voice of heav'n-ascending swell,
Which, while its deeper notes excell,
Clear, as a clarion, rings:

II.

To bless each valley, grove and coast,
And charm the cherubs to the post
Of gratitude in throngs;
To keep the days on Zion's mount,
And send the year to his account,
With dances and with songs:

III.

O Servant of God's holiest charge,
The minister of praise at large,
Which thou may'st now receive;
From thy blest mansion hail and hear,
From topmost eminence appear
To this the wreath I weave.

IV.

Great, valiant, pious, good, and clean,
Sublime, contemplative, serene,
Strong, constant, pleasant, wise!
Bright effluence of exceeding grace;
Best man! — the swiftness and the race,
The peril, and the prize!

V.

Great — from the lustre of his crown,
From Samuel's horn and God's renown,
Which is the people's voice;
For all the host, from rear to van,
Applauded and embrac'd the man —
The man of God's own choice.

VI.

Valiant — the word and up he rose —
The fight — he triumph'd o'er the foes,
Whom God's just laws abhor;
And arm'd in gallant faith he took
Against the boaster, from the brook,
The weapons of the war.

VII.

Pious — magnificent and grand;
'Twas he the famous temple plann'd:
(The seraph in his soul)
Foremost to give his Lord his dues,
Foremost to bless the welcome news,
And foremost to condole.

VIII.

Good — from Jehudah's genuine vein,
From God's best nature good in grain,
His aspect and his heart;
To pity, to forgive, to save,
Witness En-gedi's conscious cave,
And Shimei's blunted dart.

IX.

Clean — if perpetual prayer be pure,
And love, which could itself innure
To fasting and to fear —
Clean in his gestures, hands, and feet,
To smite the lyre, the dance compleat,
To play the sword and spear.

X.

Sublime — invention ever young,
Of vast conception, tow'ring tongue,
To God th' eternal theme;
Notes from yon exaltations caught,
Unrival'd royalty of thought,
O'er meaner strains supreme.

XI.

Contemplative — on God to fix
His musings, and above the six
The sabbath-day he blest;
'Twas then his thoughts self-conquest prun'd,
And heavenly melancholy tun'd,
To bless and bear the rest.

XII.

Serene — to sow the seeds of peace,
Rememb'ring, when he watch'd the fleece,
How sweetly Kidron purl'd —
To further knowledge, silence vice,
And plant perpetual paradise
When God had calm'd the world.

XIII.

Strong — in the Lord, who could defy
Satan, and all his powers that lie
In sempiternal night;
And hell, and horror, and despair
Were as the lion and the bear
To his undaunted might.

XIV.

Constant — in love to God THE TRUTH,
Age, manhood, infancy, and youth —
To Jonathan his friend
Constant, beyond the verge of death;
And Ziba, and Mephibosheth,
His endless fame attend.

XV.

Pleasant — and various as the year;
Man, soul, and angel, without peer,
Priest, champion, sage and boy;
In armour, or in ephod clad,
His pomp, his piety was glad;
Majestic was his joy.

XVI.

Wise — in recovery from his fall,
Whence rose his eminence o'er all,
Of all the most revil'd;
The light of Israel in his ways,
Wise are his precepts, prayer and praise,
And counsel to his child.

XVII.

His muse, bright angel of his verse,
Gives balm for all the thorns that pierce,
For all the pangs that rage;
Blest light, still gaining on the gloom,
The more than Michal of his bloom,
Th' Abishag of his age.

XVIII.

He sung of God — the mighty source
Of all things — the stupendous force
On which all strength depends;
From whose right arm, beneath whose eyes,
All period, pow'r, and enterprize
Commences, reigns, and ends.

XIX.

Angels — their ministry and meed,
Which to and fro with blessings speed,
Or with their citterns wait;
Where Michael with his millions bows,
Where dwells the seraph and his spouse,
The cherub and her mate.

XX.

Of man — the semblance and effect
Of God and Love — the Saint elect
For infinite applause —
To rule the land, and briny broad,
To be laborious in his laud,
And heroes in his cause.

XXI.

The world — the clustring spheres he made,
The glorious light, the soothing shade,
Dale, champaign, grove, and hill;
The multitudinous abyss,
Where secrecy remains in bliss,
And wisdom hides her skill.

XXII.

Trees, plants, and flow'rs — of virtuous root;
Gem yielding blossom, yielding fruit,
Choice gums and precious balm;
Bless ye the nosegay in the vale,
And with the sweetners of the gale
Enrich the thankful psalm.

XXIII.

Of fowl — e'en ev'ry beak and wing
Which chear the winter, hail the spring,
That live in peace or prey;
They that make music, or that mock,
The quail, the brave domestic cock,
The raven, swan, and jay.

XXIV.

Of fishes — ev'ry size and shape,
Which nature frames of light escape,
Devouring man to shun:
The shells are in the wealthy deep,
The shoals upon the surface leap,
And love the glancing sun.

XXV.

Of beasts — the beaver plods his task;
While the sleek tygers roll and bask,
Nor yet the shades arouse:
Her cave the mining coney scoops;
Where o'er the mead the mountain stoops,
The kids exult and brouse.

XXVI.

Of gems — their virtue and their price,
Which hid in earth from man's device,
Their darts of lustre sheathe;
The jasper of the master's stamp,
The topaz blazing like a lamp
Among the mines beneath.

XXVII.

Blest was the tenderness he felt
When to his graceful harp he knelt,
And did for audience call;
When satan with his hand he quell'd,
And in serene suspence he held
The frantic throes of Saul.

XXVIII.

His furious foes no more malign'd
As he such melody divin'd,
And sense and soul detain'd;
Now striking strong, now soothing soft,
He sent the godly sounds aloft,
Or in delight refrain'd.

XXIX.

When up to heav'n his thoughts he pil'd,
From fervent lips fair Michal smil'd,
As blush to blush she stood;
And chose herself the queen, and gave
Her utmost from her heart, " so brave,
" And plays his hymns so good."

XXX.

The pillars of the Lord are sev'n,
Which stand from earth to topmost heav'n;
His wisdom drew the plan;
His WORD accomplish'd the design,
From brightest gem to deepest mine,
From CHRIST enthron'd to man.

XXXI.

Alpha, the cause of causes, first
In station, fountain, whence the burst
Of light, and blaze of day;
Whence bold attempt, and brave advance,
Have motion, life, and ordinance,
And heav'n itself its stay.

XXXII.

Gamma supports the glorious arch
On which angelic legions march,
And is with sapphires pav'd;
Thence the fleet clouds are sent adrift,
And thence the painted folds, that lift
The crimson veil, are wav'd.

XXXIII.

Eta with living sculpture breathes,
With verdant carvings, flow'ry wreathes
Of never-wasting bloom;
In strong relief his goodly base
All instruments of labour grace,
The trowel, spade, and loom.

XXXIV.

Next Theta stands to the Supreme —
Who form'd, in number, sign, and scheme,
Th' illustrious lights that are;
And one address'd his saffron robe,
And one, clad in a silver globe,
Held rule with ev'ry star.

XXXV.

Iota's tun'd to choral hymns
Of those that fly, while he that swims
In thankful safety lurks;
And foot, and chapitre, and niche,
The various histories enrich
Of God's recorded works.

XXXVI.

Sigma presents the social droves,
With him that solitary roves,
And man of all the chief;
Fair on whose face, and stately frame,
Did God impress his hallow'd name,
For ocular belief.

XXXVII.

OMEGA! GREATEST and the BEST,
Stands sacred to the day of rest,
For gratitude and thought;
Which bless'd the world upon his pole,
And gave the universe his goal,
And clos'd th' infernal draught.

XXXVIII.

O DAVID, scholar of the Lord!
Such is thy science, whence reward
And infinite degree;
O strength, O sweetness, lasting ripe!
God's harp thy symbol, and thy type
The lion and the bee!

XXXIX.

There is but One who ne'er rebell'd,
But One by passion unimpell'd,
By pleasures unintic't;
He from himself his semblance sent,
Grand object of his own content,
And saw the God in CHRIST.

XL.

Tell them I am, JEHOVA said
To MOSES; while earth heard in dread,
And smitten to the heart,
At once above, beneath, around,
All nature, without voice or sound,
Replied, O Lord, THOU ART.

XLI.

Thou art — to give and to confirm,
For each his talent and his term;
All flesh thy bounties share:
Thou shalt not call thy brother fool;
The porches of the Christian school
Are meekness, peace, and pray'r.

XLII.

Open, and naked of offence,
Man's made of mercy, soul, and sense;
God arm'd the snail and wilk;
Be good to him that pulls thy plough;
Due food and care, due rest, allow
For her that yields thee milk.

XLIII.

Rise up before the hoary head,
And God's benign commandment dread,
Which says thou shalt not die:
" Not as I will, but as thou wilt,"
Pray'd He whose conscience knew no guilt;
With whose bless'd pattern vie.

XLIV.

Use all thy passions! — love is thine,
And joy, and jealousy divine;
Thine hope's eternal fort,
And care thy leisure to disturb,
With fear concupiscence to curb,
And rapture to transport.

XLV.

Act simply, as occasion asks;
Put mellow wine in season'd casks;
Till not with ass and bull:
Remember thy baptismal bond;
Keep from commixtures foul and fond,
Nor work thy flax with wool.

XLVI.

Distribute: pay the Lord his tithe,
And make the widow's heart-strings blithe;
Resort with those that weep:
As you from all and each expect,
For all and each thy love direct,
And render as you reap.

XLVII.

The slander and its bearer spurn,
And propagating praise sojourn
To make thy welcome last;
Turn from old Adam to the New;
By hope futurity pursue;
Look upwards to the past.

XLVIII.

Controul thine eye, salute success,
Honour the wiser, happier bless,
And for thy neighbour feel;
Grutch not of mammon and his leaven,
Work emulation up to heaven
By knowledge and by zeal.