She was just beginning to find herself as a writer, one might have said of Anna Laetitia Aikin (and later Barbauld when she married) in 1772. Anna was from England, and probably was in Warrington, near the academy where her father taught (see a picture of it here). Her first efforts in poetry showed she had the foundation for what she would do for more than the next 50 years of her life, beginning at the learned hand of her father. And it started with giving “Praise to God, Immortal Praise”, something she undoubtedly learned at an early age in a home parented by one who was a teacher-preacher. That she had been an eager learner is evident in her first poems, from which this hymn derived. How many times had she sat under the sound of her father’s instruction at home or in a pew in the church? By the time Anna was 29 it must have numbered in the thousands, many times that in fact. What she said in her poetry indicates that what she learned didn’t stay in an antiseptic classroom or on the pew she so often occupied. She found so much of whom she wrote out in the open spaces in the creation He made, even if she did not tell us explicitly why she wrote her praise to Him.
Anna had the advantage of a childhood that was probably considered a bit exceptional, and very formative for this girl whose talent as a writer would begin to shine in her teenage years. Her father’s position at Warrington must have influenced Anna as well, for she reportedly was a tutor there even as a young girl. This must have been her earliest efforts at poetry, perhaps coaxed to the surface in part by a thirst for knowledge in the classics (ancient Greek and Roman studies), which her father apparently taught her as a result of her incessant pleas for guidance in these. Warrington Academy was one of the dissenting institutions, meaning its adherents did not conform to the Church of England. With the influence of a kindly and intellectual father, and the stimulating atmosphere at Warrington, Anna’s talent was honed, and she published her first works in something simply entitled Poems, among which was ‘Praise to God…’ that was also in a hymnal published at Warrington. She had an obvious classroom education, but also must have walked in nature plenty to produce what she penned in the hymn’s lyrics. She wrote of ‘flocks’, and ‘ripened grain’, of the ‘clouds’ and ‘sunshine’ (v.2 in some versions). She describes a ‘smiling land’ and a ‘liberal autumn’, phrases that speak of not only her well-crafted style of writing, but also of a deep appreciation for the Creator’s mastery, which she tried to mimic. If God’s creation is a Divine symphony, then Anna was hearing and seeing a lot of the rhythms and dynamic chords that speak of His artistry. ‘Every joy’ was found in looking about her world and noticing His handiwork created with ‘love’ at its root. Anna wasn’t a wearer of rose-colored glasses, however, and saw threatening ‘whirlwinds’, the ‘blasted shoot’ of a fig tree, and ‘herds (that would) desert the stall’, and yet she still found reason to revere Him. Perhaps that’s where the ‘immortal’ part of her poem-hymn comes in – the characteristic of something – or rather, someone -- that cannot die, even though all about oneself is ruin. He cannot be brought low, this One who created, sustains, and draws us, and we who look at Him closely marvel at this eternal quality that He wants each of us to inherit.
Anna saw and believed He was present in everything within view, as well as beyond. The Almighty who can fashion all that is here is One whose power isn’t confined to human visibility. Anna had much within her vision that spoke of Him, and yet if all these physical evidences went awry, Anna wasn’t looking away. Somehow, probably as a function of hearing her father’s preaching for so many years, Anna evidently believed in Him, in His ability to rejuvenate and invite our attention to how His creation works. Things might look grim, but there’s a dawn approaching. After all, He modeled this idea in His own life, so how could we lose hope? He’s going to do it for everything and everyone who wants what He’s demonstrated is in His great heart, and in His power. This love is a pretty mindboggling thing, huh?
Read about the poetess-lyricist here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/b/a/r/b/barbauld_ala.htm
Read about here also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Laetitia_Barbauld
See the hymn’s words here (seven original verses) : http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/p/r/a/g/pragodim.htm
See some of the hymn’s lyrics here also: https://hymnary.org/text/praise_to_god_immortal_praise_for_the_lo
See information on the picture here: File:WarringtonAcademy.jpg - Wikimedia Commons… This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. {{PD-1996}} – public domain in its source country on January 1, 1996 and in the United States….found inside this document -- Warrington Academy - Wikipedia
