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A Verse may hit him whom a Sermon flies,
And turn Delight into a Sacrifice. - George Herbert, “The Temple”
These lines are quoted by Samuel Davies in the preface to his Miscellaneous Poems, Chiefly on Divine Subjects (1751) [not yet available on this site]. They indicate his strong conviction that poetry is a means to glorify God by the conveyance of truth. As Davies himself says: “On this Account I have frequently thought the Divine Art of Poetry might be made peculiarly subservient to the Interests of Religion and Virtue.” He clarifies his point with this caveat: “I do not mean that the Muse should be wholly confin'd to sacred Things. 'Tis only for a Proportion I plead. She might recreate herself in a thousand Excursions through the Credtions of Fancy; but let her seasonably return to the more important Themes she left.”
Davies was a prolific poet, as well as a dedicated preacher, and although the subjects of his poetry are diverse (and they include notably his beloved wife, “Chara”), it is worth noting how often he took pains to append poems to his sermons. At least 14 such compositions — “annext” to a sermon — appear in Book II of Miscellaneous Poems. They were meant to bring home the point of the preaching by aiming to reach him who — in Herbert’s words — “a sermon flies.” Davies writes: “It has been my usual Method for some Time, after studying a Sermon, to cast a few Thoughts into a poetical Form, either containing the Substance of the Sermon, or expressive of my Disposition in composing it.”
Many of the sermons referenced are “no longer extant” (Joseph C. Harrod, Theology and Spirituality in the Works of Samuel Davies, p. 83). But the verse he wrote may still “hit” a reader. Examples of this are given by Harrod (from Richard Beale Davies, ed., Collected Poems of Samuel Davies, 1721-1761) of poems appended to sermons he preached and published:
While Davies did not describe his methods of meditation, he recorded some [of] the fruits of his practice in his poems, and these poems illustrate the linkage between reflection on Scripture and personal piety. In a poem affixed to a sermon on Revelation 22:17 [titled “The Fountain”], Davies mused on the spiritual refreshment of the gospel: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (AV).
Today the living streams of grace
Flow to refresh the thirsty soul:
Pardon and life and boundless bliss
In plenteous rivers round us roll.Ho! ye that pine away and die,
Come, and your raging thirst allay:
Come all that will, here’s rich supply;
A fountain that shall ne’er decay.‘Come ALL,’ the blessed Jesus cries,
’Freely my blessings I will give.’
That spirit echoes back the voice,
And bids us freely drink and live.The saints below, that do b'ut taste,
and saints above, who drink at will,
Cry jointly, ‘Thirsty sinners! haste,
and drink, the spring’s exhaustless still.’Let all that hear the joyful sound,
To spread it thro’ the world unite;
From house to house proclaim it round,
Each man his fellow-man invite.Like thirsty flocks, come let us go;
Come every colour, every age:
And while the living waters flow,
Let all their parching thirst assauge.Here the “water of life” took on the character of “living streams,” “plenteous rivers,” and a lasting “fountain,” given to satisfy the spiritual thirst of sinners. This grace is offered without qualification for it is a “rich supply” that gives no hint of being exhausted and “all” may come to these waters. It is noteworthy that the “all” was truly inclusive of persons from every race. Davies used imagery drawn from the realm of nature to illustrate spiritual truths.
In another poetic meditation [titled “Love to God for His Holiness”], Davies contemplated God’s holiness as a motive for human affection.
Come, Holy Spirit! Come, enflame
Our lukewarm Hearts with Sacred Fire:
May all our Passions, to Thy name,
In Transports most refin’d aspire.May Love sublime our Hearts posses,
From every selfish Mixture free,
Fir’d with the Charms of Holiness,
The Beauty of Divinity.Thus in the glorious Worlds on high,
Where Holiness is most ador’d,
Th’ Angelic Choirs incessant cry,
’Thrice HOLY, HOLY, HOLY LORD!’Refine our Hearts, inspire our Tongue,
And We in humble Notes below
Will imitate the heav’nly Song,
And eccho ‘HOLY, HOLY,’ too.In this meditation, Davies invoked the Holy Spirit’s affective work, much as the classical poets might have invoked the muse. Yet the Spirit’s work here is to equip the saints for worship by giving them a pure vision of God’s total purity, a vision drawn from the biblical imagery of Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4-5 where heavenly worshippers behold God’s holiness and overflow with praise. In both examples of Davies’ meditation, biblical passages, theological doctrines, and natural observations join to create a powerful imagery to stir one’s heart for devotion.
In this way, Davies took to heart the words of Herbert, and whether by verse or by sermon, he continues to reach out to sinners and saints to put before them the Words of life. He employed the tools at his disposal to place before our minds and hearts even today the divine truth of the gospel, and by means of his poetry in particular, enables the reader to “turn Delight into a Sacrifice.”
