The Spacious Firmament on High -- Joseph Addison

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 17^th 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 19^th 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

Read about the composer here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/a/d/d/addison_j.htm

Beyond This Land of Parting -- Mary Bridges Canedy Slade

This 50-year old minister’s wife and editor had an outlook, undoubtedly painted by the experiences five decades had provided, that she shared in song. Being a minister’s wife, Mary Slade’s words in “Beyond This Land of Parting” could have been shared by her spouse to underscore a sermon message too. And she must have related some of her views in the journal where she spent so much of her time. And finally, the students she taught likely also heard the words she crafted here in yet another venue – the classroom. So, while not much has been recorded about Mary Bridges Canedy Slade, she nevertheless had multiple avenues to present the message that we see in four verses of prose still available today, nearly 150 years later. This is yet one more bit of evidence that even comparative unknowns like Mary (in addition to her more renowned contemporaries, such as Fanny Crosby) can contribute culturally and spiritually notable Christian artifacts, a blessing in more ways than one!

What Mary Slade wrote in 1876 gives us a window into the life of this minister’s wife, teacher, and editor. She evidently lived most or all of her life in Fall River, Massachusetts (see picture here), where she lived out these multiple roles. In addition to her spousal relationship with Albion King Slade, she reportedly wrote her hymn poetry for a professor (R. M. McIntosh) to whom she was also apparently close. We could imagine that she shared with these two men, as well as others, the valleys in her life-experience of which she wrote. In addition to what she shares in the song’s title, she also endured (or perhaps watched while others did) ‘losing, leaving…’ (v.1), ‘sighing, moaning, and weeping...’ (v.2), ‘sinning, fainting, failing…doubt(ing), griefs and dangers’ (v.3), ‘sickness and dying…’ (v.4). That’s a pretty lengthy list, right? Her response in each verse is not to wallow in all these down moments, however, but to gaze beyond to ‘the summer land of bliss’. ‘Fair and bright’ (refrain) would have resonated with many of her minister-husband’s hearers, who most likely shared with him routinely what struggles they bore daily. The students she taught also would not have been immune to challenges like those Mary described in her verses; a ‘happy summer land of bliss’ appeals to downtrodden children too. Mary’s experience as associate editor of the New England Journal of Education and later another publication called Wide Awake also put her in positions to help shape minds and give others a hope – one that everyone needs.  

Was Mary Slade a ‘glass half-empty’ or ‘glass half-full’ person?  Maybe both? She certainly did not wear the rose-colored glasses and saw plenty that an average person would say was gloomy. Yet, her riposte never wavers in ‘Beyond This Land…’. The beyond was her oasis. Furthermore, she might have drawn strength if she’d considered what else her four verses communicated, beyond the words and notes on a page. Three things stand out from Mary’s hymn: 1. The song itself, obviously; 2. Encouragement to all of us in life to contribute his/her gift, one that might endure for decades, or better yet centuries; 3. Each of us has multiple opportunities/avenues/roles for impact – a minister’s wife, a teacher, an editor – and can touch countless people with His hope. It’s His life, really, and so it never ends.   

   

See scant information on the composer here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/s/l/a/slade_mbc.htm

See also here: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/nutter/hymnwriters.Slade_NB.html

See all the verses here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/b/e/y/beyondtl.htm

We're Marching to Zion -- Isaac Watts

He wrote what he felt, and made no apologies if it offended those he sensed were in opposition to this freedom. Isaac Watts was declaring this approach with conviction when he penned “We’re Marching to Zion” in the early 1700s. Though today some folks might skip those challenging verses, or not even include them in their hymnals, Isaac’s other more neutral-sounding words were in fact something of a revolution too. And so it was, for this Nonconformist at his southern England home, who grew up watching his father exhibit the same courage that he would mimic in his own faith. It began with his education and then continued in the ministry he pursued the rest of his life.

Isaac Watts was way ahead of his time, someone might say, between the late 17^th Century when he was born and through the early 18^th Century when he generated most of his 800-plus hymns, earning him the reputation as England’s ‘father (or Godfather) of hymnody’. Nonconformists like his father (Isaac, also) did not adhere to the Anglican pattern of state-approved worship, and so were always living their faith on the edge. This set of beliefs made Isaac choose a different establishment of higher education when he reached his young adult years in 1690; instead of attending Oxford or Cambridge that would have been ideal for a student of his obvious intelligence and energy, Isaac entered the Nonconformist Academy at Stoke Newington, in London, where he stayed for four years. The two years he spent after his Stoke Newington years at his father’s Southampton home was the period in which Isaac most likely wrote the 10 original verses of “We’re Marching to Zion” (also known as “Come, We that Love the Lord”). He eventually became a frequent speaker by his mid-20s, but we can envision some of his pre-sermonizing years and the evident fire and principled views in the words of hymns like “We’re Marching…”. Most obvious is Isaac’s original 3^rd verse, in which he dryly noted that some would ‘refuse to sing, Who never knew our God…’. Watts’ hymns were too unconventional for some worshippers who believed stoutly that the only decent words to be sung in worship emanated directly from the Psalms. One can imagine the angst at the time – the worship-style/musical debate in churches is centuries old, and ongoing! Some of his other words may be interpreted as Watts’ subtle commentary or at least recognition of the debate; verse 1 [‘join in a song with sweet accord…’], verse 2 [‘Religion never was designed, to make our pleasures less…’], and verse 10 [‘Then let our songs abound…’] are potentially indicative of Isaac’s opinions on what should transpire during a worship service.        

Isaac’s basic thrust in ‘We’re Marching…’ is that, if God’s home is so magnificent, why should we believers constrict our joy of its approaching reality. Yes, we’re marching, but not in a lock-step, grim determination. Let’s experience the boundless joy we know He’s preparing for us now, Watts implores. This march is not a slow trod; it’s a skip, with lots of jumping and fist-pumping action, complete with back-slapping and wide-eyed amazement for what we can see coming. Try marching that way now!    

Information on the song was obtained from the book  “Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990.

See all 10 verses that the composer originally crafted here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/m/a/r/marching.htm

 

Composer’s biography here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/a/t/watts_i.htm

Also see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Watts

Here also: https://hymnary.org/person/Watts_Isaac