David: Jehudah’s Genuine Vein

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 embraced the man—
The man of God’s own choice.

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

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

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.

 

Hear/read EVERY PRECIOUS WORD

by Christopher Smart (c. 1760)

A Song to David

O THOU, that sitt’st upon a throne,
With harp of high, majestic tone,
To praise the King of kings:
And voice of heaven, ascending, swell
Which, while its deeper notes excel,
Clear as a clarion rings:

To bless each valley, grove, and cost,
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:

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

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!

 
 

Read EVERY PRECIOUS WORD

by Christopher Smart (c. 1760)

 

Smart’s “Song to David”

As winter slowly withdraws her uncomfortable presence from New England, amidst piles of filthy snow, with gusting raw winds, and the inhabitants of the mud-spattered landscape long for longer days and budding branches warmed by forgotten sunshine, I escape once again to hide myself in the verdant vales of poesy.

One of my all-time favorite poems is A Song to David by Christopher Smart, written in 1763. I stumbled upon this epic rhythmic screed in an anthology sometime in the 1990’s. The poetic form is that of the Horatian Ode, exactly like Marvell’s …Ode Upon Cromwell’s Return. Immediately upon reading it, I perceived the unhinged and mind-expanding use of poetic language; and all this in the service of David, the sainted psalmist and poet of Israel . . . it is, however, not a poem of dissipation or Dionysiac excess but rather a powerfully-measured tribute to God and Man in a Biblical poetic context. It is a beautiful and transcendent poem and I love it with heart and soul.

In the coming weeks between winter’s end and National Poetry Writing Month, I will offer up Smart’s epic verses in assimilable portions. Stay tuned.

And when in doubt, read the Psalms.

Christopher Smart was a true Poet !

O Lucky Man! (Finale)

If you have a friend on whom you think you can rely, you are a lucky man
And if you found the reason to live on and not to die, you are a lucky man

The preachers, and the poets and the scholars don’t know it
The temples, and the statues and steeples don’t show it
If you’ve got the secret, just try not to blow it
Stay a lucky man / Stay a lucky man

Because on and on and on and on we go . . .
And it’s around the world in circles turning
Earning what we can
While others dance away
The chance to light your way

So you know that if you have a friend
On whom you think you can rely, you are lucky man
And if you’ve found the reason to live on and not to die
You are lucky man

You know the preachers, and the poets and the scholars don’t know it
The temples, and the statues and steeples don’t show it
If you’ve got the secret, just try not to blow it
Stay a lucky man / Stay a lucky man

And it’s around and round and round and round and round we go we go . . .
And it’s around the world in circles turning, earning what we can
While others dance away
The chance to light your day . . .

O Lucky Man!
watch it HERE

directed by Lindsay Anderson, 1973 (183 min.)
soundtrack by Alan Price of The Animals