Poems Of Religion And Society

POEMS RELIGION AND SOCIETY JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, SIXTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC., ETC. Notices of Ijis Cife emir BY JOHN DAVIS AND T. H. BKNTON. AUBURN DERBY AND MILLER. 1850. 3, CONTENTS, Pags. The Life of Mr. Adams, by the Hon. John Davis, . . 7 The Character of Mr. Adams, by the Hon. T. H. Benton, 12 POEMS. The Wants of Man, . 15 The Plague in the Forest, 24 To a Bereaved Mother, 29 Charles the Fifths Clocks, 32 Retrospection, 36 To the Sun-dial, under the Window of the Hall of the House of Representatives of the United States, ... 38 The Thirteenth Satire of Juvenal, 39 Version of the One Hundred Seventh Psalm, . . 52 The Hour-glass, 54 Sabbath Morning, 56 The Death of Children, 58 Written in Sickness, 60 Hymn for the Twenty-second of December, ... 62 O God, with goodness all thy own, . . . 64 Sing to Jehovah a new song, 65 O, all ye people, clap your hands, . . . . . 67 IV CONTENTS. Turn to the stars of heaven thine eyes, .... 69 O Lord my God how great art thou . 71 Lord, thy all-discerning eyes, 73 My soul, before thy Maker kneel, 75 For Thee in Ziunwaite ill praise, 77 My Shepherd is the Lord on high, .... 79 Sond forth, God, thy truth and light, . .81 judge me, Lord, for thou art just, .... 82 heal me, Lord, for I ain weak, ..... 3 Blest is the mortal whose delight 85 Why should I four in evil days, ...... 87 Come, let us sing unto the Lord, ..... 89 Sing to the Lord a song of praise, . .90 Lord of all Worlds, 92 Justice an Ode, 04 To Solly, WO ToE B, 103 To a Lady, who Presented him with a Pair of Knit Gloves, 105 The Lip and the Heart, 107 Written in. an Album, 108 PUBLISHEES NOTICE. IT is known to all the friends of the late ex-President Adams, that it was hiscustom from early manhood to devote his leisure moments to literature and the fruits of his literary studies, when collected in an appropriate form, will show that he is enti tled to high consideration among our authors. Among his poems are a translation of Wielands Oberon that has never been published. His Dermot McMorrogh failed of a just appreciation, on account of his political relations. Many of his minor pieces have wit, humor, grace, and tenderness, and they are all informed with wisdom and various learning. Some of his hymns are among the finest devotional lyrics in our Ian guage. This collection of Mr. Adams shorter poems is, of course, incomplete, having been made from the periodicals and miscel lanies in which they were originally printed but the editor has made it as perfect as his opportunities allowed, and he is confi dent that, in the absence of any other volume of the same kind, he has done an acceptable service to the reading public. NEW YORK, Sept., 1848. See Gris wolds Prose writers of America, Article J. Q, . Adams SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF MR. ADAMS, BY THE HON. JOHN DAVIS. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS was born in the then Province of Mas sachusetts, while she was girding herself for the great Revolu tionary straggle which was then before her. His parentage is too well known to need even an allusion yet I may be pardoned if I say, that his father seemed born to aid in the establishment of our free government, and his mother was a suitable compan ion and co-laborer of such a patriot. The cradle hymns of the child were the songs of liberty. The power and competence of man for self-government were the topics which he most frequent ly heard discussed by the wise men of the day, andthe inspira tion thus caught, gave form and pressure to his after life. Thus early imbued with the love of free institutions, educated by his father for the service of his country, and early led by Washing ton to its altar, he has stood before the world as one of its emi nent statesmen. He has occupied, in turn, almost every place of honor which the country could give him, and for more than half a century has been thus identified with its history...