THIS year Methodists all over
the world celebrate the 300th birth anniversary of Charles Wesley
- God's poetic gift to the Methodist movement and the larger Body
of Christ. Charles was a gifted poet and song smith, the psalmist
who inspired the early Methodists to have faith in Christ, and
to go on to Christian perfection in Christ, and who continues
to inspire Christians.
Charles Wesley was a prolific poet. From his heart and pen flowed
more than 9,000 poems, about 6,000 of which became hymns. Many
of these hymns have become much-loved classics in the worldwide
Church, hymns such as "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing",
"Rejoice, the Lord Is King", "Jesus, Lover of My
Soul", and "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing".
We often talk about John Wesley's heart-warming experience on
May 23, 1738 which transformed the man into a passionate evangelist
and inspiring leader of the Methodist revival movement in 18th
century England. What many people may not know is that the younger
brother, Charles, had his own heart-warming experience three days
earlier, on Pentecost, May 21, 1738, when he was deeply touched
by God, having been moved by the care and concern shown by his
hosts in a Moravian home where he was staying, recuperating from
an illness.
Charles read Ps. 40:3: He hath put a new song in my mouth, many
will see and fear and will trust in the Lord. The living God who
touched Charles' soul with His love, called him to a lifetime
of creating poetry and song for the Church. Charles set out immediately
to write his first hymn, "Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin".
On the first anniversary of his conversion experience, he wrote
the well-known "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" which
he recommended as a song to be sung on the anniversary of one's
conversion.
These are but two hymns in a huge stream of hymns and poetry that
flowed from this man's heart and soul. It was as if a river of
words and tunes flowed endlessly from Wesley, demonstrating what
Jesus said in Jn 9:38: Whoever believes in me … streams of
living water will flow from within him. Oh, what a great river
of poetic language and melodious tunes that was!
Even on his death bed in March 1788, the river kept flowing as
Charles dictated his last words to his beloved wife, Sarah Gwynne:
In age and feebleness extreme,
Who shall a helpless worm redeem?
Jesus, my only hope Thou art,
Strength of my failing flesh and heart,
O, could I catch a smile from Thee
And drop into eternity!
There are many lessons we can learn from the life and ministry
of Charles Wesley. One particular lesson is to understand the
place of poetry in Christian thought and life.
Christian poetry is a special gift we need to appreciate and experience.
The Bible is a good place to start because significant sections
of the Bible are written in the form of poetry. An obvious example
is the book of Psalms, ancient Israel's hymnal. Many of the prophetic
writings were also written in the form of poetry. Why is one-third
of the Bible written as poetry?
The answer must be that divine truth needs to be conveyed not
only through prosaic language but also through poetry. There
are two things about poetry that are particularly relevant for
our discussion.
Firstly, poetry is rich in metaphor. "The Lord is my Shepherd"
is metaphorical language. If you take Psalm 23, much of it is
filled with metaphors such as "still waters" and "green
pastures". A metaphor conveys more than the words used. The
word "metaphor" means "carrying over or beyond".
A metaphor brings us to a larger world, from our mundane prosaic
existence to another world bristling with deeper and more significant
truth.
We can understand why God's truth needs metaphors to carry and
communicate it because it points us to the things that are unseen,
to a world beyond this world that we see and touch. Without metaphor
and poetry we can get stuck in the narrow and fallen reality of
this world, our eyes blind to a deeper reality in, around, and
beyond us.
Secondly, poetry is rich with reflective emotion. "All good
poetry," defined William Wordsworth, "is the spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings." A quick reading of Psalms
or many of Charles Wesley's hymns will show powerful emotions
carried in them. Christian poetry, however, is not just about
mere sentiment. If correctly rooted in God's truth, and if it
arises from a living relationship with God, then it would be enlivened
by deep and powerful feelings.
Our knowledge of God is not just an intellectual one, expressed
in the philosophical language of speculation or the mathematical
language of pragmatism. Because our knowledge of God is meant
to be deeply personal and intimate, it has to be expressed in
the rich emotional language of love. And poetry helps us to do
that.
We live in a pragmatic world where everything is increasingly
broken down to facts and equations, charts and numbers. Surely,
A. W. Tozer was right when he wrote, "We ought to stop thinking
like scientists and think like psalmists." I do not think
Tozer was dismissing science but he lamented the loss of poetry.
Even the best of scientists resort to poetry when they talk about
the "big bang" or the "black hole" or attempt
to explain various theories. How much more, we Christians? We
must have a place for good poetry that transports us to God's
landscapes and deepens our experience of Him. Many of the old
hymns, unlike many (thankfully, not all) modern choruses, help
us in this, and we must retain them. Also, good Christian literature
and poetry should be rediscovered.
We must thank God for Christian poets, whether the biblical writers
or those who belong to the same tribe, such as Charles Wesley.
For even if we may not be gifted poets like them, their language
can become our spoken, sung, and prayed languages, as we are drawn
closer to the loving God who, as the Bible says in Ps. 17:8, loves
us as the apple of His eye, and guards us in the shadow of His
wings.
QUOTE:
'Christian poetry is a special gift
we need to appreciate and experience.'