He had read Psalm 19, and thus offered his own re-articulation
of what King David said. Was there also something that Joseph Addison saw or
heard in his life of public service that prompted him to write about “The
Spacious Firmament on High” in 1712? He and a friend (Richard Steele) had
already been publishing a weekly newspaper, and it provided a convenient platform
for Joseph’s thoughts about his Creator and how He shows Himself in what us
terrestrials with eyesight can observe daily. Given the background and the gift
for writing that Joseph possessed, the three verses he crafted lauding this
planet and its life-giver were predictable, but no less noteworthy.
Joseph Addison could hardly have become anything other
than the writer of “The Spacious Firmament…”, with a father named Lancelot whom
he mimicked in many ways. Lancelot was a minister of the Anglican faith and a writer,
roles that he passed on to his son. While Joseph attended college in anticipation,
at least initially, of following in his father’s ministerial footsteps, he
instead was ultimately more motivated by law and politics of the late 17th
Century England. Upon graduation, he was appointed to a series of public
service positions in the government (Commissioner of Appeals, Under Secretary
of State, Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Chief Secretary for
Ireland). His writing talent concurrently went into action in several newspapers,
including The Spectator where the few
hymns he authored were first published. For whatever reason, perhaps merely to
reaffirm the faith he had inherited, Joseph wrote an essay for the newspaper to
address the subject of faith development. He wasn’t an ordained minister, such
as his father had been, yet he evidently saw or heard something that motivated his
own take on the matter of one’s beliefs. His own reading of Psalm 19, which he
references in a portion of this essay, largely spurred his verses. Were there
other incidents that stimulated his thoughts, some questions that others had challenged
him to answer about Divine existence? The preface to his essay suggests he was indeed
making his case for God with the words ‘The
Supreme Being has made the best arguments for his own existence…formation of heavens
and the earth…’ . This essay and the hymn’s three verses
therein were a fusion of Joseph’s
legal education, upbringing, writing talent, and an evident internalized faith.
The poetry of Addison merged with Franz Joseph Haydn’s classical music some 85
years later, as the latter likewise offered his own praise of God in The Creation.
Three individuals consequently had a part in propagating
what came about in 1712. They were many generations, and even centuries apart,
underscoring the vast import and timeless nature of what He did in the
beginning that still captures the attention of us earthers. David was effusive in
his opening six verses of the 19th Psalm, in much the same way that
his poetic descendent Joseph Addison was over 2,500 years later; and, which the
musical genius Haydn demonstrated three generations after Addison. All three have
offered mere glimmers compared to the creation at which they marvel and to whom
they offer applause. But, you and I are no different than David, Joseph, and
Franz, as we’re all created beings, made by Him. Go glimmering on!
Information on the song was obtained from the books Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories
for Daily Devotions, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990; and A Treasury of Hymn
Stories, by Amos R. Wells, Baker Book House, 1945.
Also see the story and all three verses here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/s/p/a/spacious.htm
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