The Precious Book Divine -- John Fawcett

What companion would be closest to a man who was a theologian? Could it be that someone posed this question to John Fawcett, and the answer he gave was his composition “The Precious Book Divine” that appeared in a collection of poems that was published in 1782?  Despite Fawcett’s humility that accompanied his poetry, he wasn’t shy when it came to sharing how his companion helped him, and coaxing others to foster the same relationship. To him, there was another metaphor besides ‘friend’ that his composition suggests applied to the companion he carried with him each day. What ones would you use?     

The Englishman John Fawcett’s path to Christianity was set early in his life and led him to a faith and scholarship that endeared him to those who knew him.  He was brought to belief during the ministry of George Whitefield at the age of 16 in mid-18^th Century northern England. At first a Methodist and later a Baptist, Fawcett ministered in the small, humble surroundings near his native area. He later nearly accepted a position in a London church, but apparently had discovered that the close fellowship with his home church was too much to dismiss so easily. He remained at the Wainsgate Baptist Church, despite yet another offer to greater benefits at an academy in southwest England many years later. Instead, he ministered through writings and preaching where he’d begun, producing several written works, including the Hymns Adapted to the Cir­cum­stanc­es of Pub­lic Wor­ship and Pri­vate De­vo­tion in which “The Precious Book Divine” appeared when Fawcett was 42 years old. He evidently thought this collection was unworthy of England’s more sophisticated worshippers, judging from what he wrote in the work’s foreword. Nevertheless, he pointed fellow believers to the ‘precious book’ he’d grown to love. Even a humble man can be bold when he’s certain of his divine Guide.

Fawcett’s hymn words communicate that he was not immune to emotional troughs and tedium. ‘Gloomy’, ‘fainting hearts’, ‘vale of tears’, and ‘rising fears’ emerge from his being onto the musical page. Yet, he has found the solution, he tells us. To Fawcett, the bible as a light is what compels him. Fawcett must have returned repeatedly to its pages, finding direction and inspiration. His humility was not hostage to a gloomy spirit, but one that found its place in the shelter of His word. Was “The Precious Book…” the product of a specific circumstance, or Fawcett’s mid-life appreciation of his journey’s escort? No particular episode is recorded, but that doesn’t diminish Fawcett’s expression. ‘Recognize how you’ve arrived at this point’, the writer says, and ‘keep it up’. Dust off that cover, OK?    

See this site for recitation of the hymn with a tune that may not be too familiar, and for the original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/h/p/r/hprecibd.htm

See these sites for composer’s biography:  

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/f/a/w/fawcett_j.htm

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fawcett_%28theologian%29