MY heart divinely tuned to sing
Of Zion’s Lord and Zion’s King,
The theme shall animate my song,
And like a swift pen guide my tongue.
Fairest of men! that form of thine
Is matchless, glorious and divine!
Graceful thy lips, and sweet thy word,
Thou ever-blessed of the Lord!
Gird on thy sword, thou warrior-king,
Almighty and all-conquering!
And buckle on thine armour bright
And dazzling as the noon-day light.
And in thy majesty ride on
All prosperously, thou glorious One:
For meekness, truth and equity –
These are the cause upheld by thee.
Yes! and in thine impetuous course,
Dart terrors with resistless force:
Thy shafts are sharp, O king, and all
Thy foes beneath thy might shall fall.
O God, thou High and Holy One!
Eternal stands thy glorious throne;
The sceptre of thy kingdom is
For ever swayed in righteousness.
Yea, righteousness is thy delight,
And constant aim both day and night,
While sin and all iniquity
Are utterly abhorred by thee.
Hence hath thy God, Jehovah, shed
The oil of gladness on thy head,
And raised thee far above thy peers,
The Lord of all the universe.
Thy robes from ivory wardrobes brought,
With Araby’s rich odours fraught, –
Myrrh, aloes, cassia, frankincense –
Delight and recreate the sense.
Daughters of kings attend thy state,
And with thy precious treasures wait,
While the queen stands at thy right hand,
Arrayed in gold of Ophir’s land.
Hearken, O daughter, to my voice;
Reflect, nor these my words despise:
Thy people and thy former state,
Thy father’s house, henceforth forget.
So shall thy beauty still impart
Joy to the king’s delighted heart:
To him all reverence still accord,
For he’s thy husband and thy Lord.
And there be thou, with presents meet,
Daughter of Tyre, thy prince to greet;
And let the wealthiest nations bring
Gifts to propitiate the king.
All gloriously attired, the queen,
A monarch’s daughter, stands within:
Her vesture’s richly wrought of gold;
And broidered robes her form enfold.
Behold her splendidly arrayed,
In slow and long procession led,
Unto her husband and her king,
Attendant virgins following.
In festive train they march along,
With gladness and the voice of song,
Until, in royal pomp and state,
They stand within the palace gate.
Sons of thine own shall fill the place
Of thy once loved paternal race;
And thou shalt give them high command,
To reign as princes in the land.
Thy fame to many a future race
They shall transmit in future days;
Till all who dwell on every shore
Thy praise proclaim for evermore.
(John Dunmore Lang)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, God Poems, Night Poems, Light Poems, Sense & Perception Poems, Place Poems, Kings & Queens Poems, Gold Poems, Sons Poems, Truth Poems, Eternity PoemsBased on Keywords: all-conquering, ophir, aloes, transmit, recreate, wealthiest, propitiate, prosperously, ever-blessed, wardrobes, warrior-king
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