The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-06-24
NEW SERdES~NO. 55i.
enc Devotional Poetry Of Dr. Waits.
ny w. G. BRYANT

ny w. G. BRYANT.
have liked DR.. Watts Psalns and Hvmns
ever since the time when. q arcely three. yrars
Ola, was made TO Igpeat with bis book in
my hand, and with such gestures as were Dre-
scrioed 10 me, the psalm beginning with the
words:
Come sound his praise abroad.
Pc And hymns of glory sing"
The critics. in general have Shown b,t ot;nt-
ed favor TO DR.. Watts devotional poetry. Dr..
johnson pronounced it unsat sfactory, though
he admits that DR.. Watts has done better
than anybody else, what nobody else has done
we'll" Southey, from whom expected some
thing different, in that meagre memoir of DR..
Watts -meagrc, yet interesting, SO far as re-
lates to his theological opinions, which seem
principally to have engaged SoutheyS atten-
ii n-aludes to Johnson's opinion. yet takes
no pains to controvert it. He indeed qucs-
tions JOhnsons decision against devotional pc.
etry in general; but takes no pains to show.
cs he might easily have done that Watts book
contained great many very beautiful things.
maintain, for my part, that DR.. Watts has
done admirably well what he undertook to do,
and the proof, if wanted any other than the
pleasure with which always read him. find
in the strong hold which his devotional verses
have taken on the hearts of men IN all condi-
tons of life, and, think, all varieties of reli-
gious belief. No compilation of hymns for
the public worship OF any denomination
Is ever made without borrowing largely
from DR.. Watts. He has been in bis grave for
considerably more than century, yet have his
psalms and hymns lost none of the favor which
they had when they were first adopted by reli-
glous assemblies FIR public worship, and be-
Eeve are even now, generally speaking, in
greater esteem than ever, notwithstanding that
such poets us DOddrdge. CoWper, Charles
Wesley. Barb,uld and Heber have written de-
votional verses Of very great merit since his
time.
The secret OF this popularity lies. as it seems
10 me- lii the union Of strong feeling with
great poetic merit. In what he wrote there
are occasional transgressiOns against good taste,
as iii his ver>ifcatiOn of Soomons Song.
There are slovenly lines and even stanzas. but
there is always great fervor ard profound ear
nestness. No poet has ever expressed emo
tons with greater energy. He faintS and Ian
gulsheS for the divine presence; he deplOres
the WavwardnesS of the human heart; he eX-
ults in the divine favor; he is awed by the de-
vine majesty; he looks with transport on tho
works the divine hand he dwcils with de-
light on tie vision Of a better life beyond tho
grave; and oil these moods of mind find full
expression in his verse. Many of his hymns
seem TO have been dashed Out in the excite
ment OF the moment, as if the feeling which
had taken possession Of him could not DO sat-
isied without expressing itself in poetic forms.
His versions OF the Hebrew psalms are as re-
nlarkable for this as the compositions, which
he called hymns. He seems to have first filed
his mind with the imagery of the ancient bard,
and catching inspiration from him, flung his
thoughts upon the page in l. form suited to
The more mild and perfect dispensation of
Christianity
Some Of DR.. Wa:ts's devotional verses show
that he possessed imagination in high degree.
What beautiful picture, for example, is set
before us Ia the hymn beginning
There is q land ofpure delight"
In this hymn, which is too familiar to all
readers to be transcribed here we have the
green fields of immortal life with their unwith-
ering flowers lying i'll perpetual light; the
narrow river of DEATH dividing it from the
present state of being, and the timorous crowd
of moras on the hilher bank, shivering and
shuddeiing at the thought of passing through
those cool waters remember that once on u
fine Sunday evening i'll the latter part of
April coming out of the harbor Of Havana in
q steamer moving easily on the tossing waves
OF the Gulf Stream, which here rush against
the reefs Of the northern coast of Cuba rhad
been driven to my berth by q strong Fremont
ton OF sea sickness. party of Americans ON
ended sang the scarcely less beautiful cne be.
gaining wi h
when I can read my title clear
AS they sang, it almost seemed as if the sea
felt the influence 0fthe gentle strain and grew
smoother. snd the waves murmured r,ore soft
~ before the Prov that divided them.
once heard distinguished literary gentle
man instance the following couplet from one
OF Watts hymns, as conveying to tie mind i'm
ages which could only occur TO a poet of DO.
common genius.
''Coli mountains and the midnight mir
Witnessed the fcrvor of his prayer"
was able to match them, or nearly SO, with
stanza from his version of the one hundred
and twenty first psalm:
M hall ito w
Nor the pale moon, with sickly ray,
Shall blast thy couch; no baleul STAR
Dart his malignant fire SO lar"
How pathetic is this exrostulation n the enc
hundred and second psalm:
.sSnare Us o Lord! aloud we pray
Nor let our sun go down at Coon!
Thv wears are Que eternal day.
And must thy children die 90 soou?"
How magnificanlv is the Cae huudredth !
psalm versited, closing with The following
or nd sIanza:
:: wen crowd thy gates with thankful songs,
High as the heavens our voices raise,
And earth, with her ten til .usand tongues
Shall fill thy courts with sounding praise"
might refer to many osher examples of like
excellence In these poems, bnt will mention
only one nlOre, the charming little fnner.i
hymn, the eighteenth Of the first book. be~i:,-
ming thus:
Hear what q voice from heaven proc,a;ma
Eur all the p!ouS dead.
Sweet is the savior OF their names,
Aud soft taeir sleeping bed.
They die in Jesus and are blest"&c.
know very well that poetry of very mod |
crate degres ot melit not unfrequea,ly Obtains
great popularity on account OF It's rel. gious
character, b"t d. not recollect aa Instance in
which 1t has held that popularity long. The
devotional verses of Watts have stood The test
OF time and it seemed to mo due to him that
some OF the Characteristic merits by which /!
taey are recommended to she general nind
should be pointed ont. |
March 17.h 1864. |