Rector’s Reflections
Thursday 12th September 2024
A Different Take on Psalm 23
In yesterday’s reflections, I shared some thoughts on the 1st verse of Addison’s hymn, “The Lord me pasture shall prepare”. It is now time to turn our attention to the 2nd verse. But before I give the words of this 2nd verse, let me give a little literary health warning. Addison was writing some three hundred years ago, and choosing to do so within the limitations of a particular genre. This means that we can expect that some of the language he uses will sound a little awkward to modern ears. Part of this is due to the poetic convention at the time when Addison was writing: in his day, poets were allowed and even expected to use a sophisticated and mannered style. This was definitely not the Age of Dumbing-Down.
Addison’s second verse reads as follows:
When in the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountain pant,
To fertile vales and dewy meads
My weary wandering steps he leads,
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.
The language of “sultry glebe” and “dewy meads” doubtless strikes us as highly artificial. When was the last time any of us used the word “glebe” or “mead” in ordinary conversation? But I think the last three lines of this verse still ring true to us today.
“My weary wandering steps he leads”. How much truth is compressed into this short phrase! So often, our journey through life is indeed a “wandering”. We wander from one thing to another, not entirely sure where we might be going. Sometimes this wandering is for the good- we are seized with the desire to explore new paths and different avenues. But sometimes our wandering is simply the reflection of our reluctance to follow the path which is clearly laid before us. We know where we should be going, but there is a part of us which wants to go another way – just for the sake of it. And note that Addison adds the word “weary” to our “wandering”. How true this can be! I think many people find that they experience a period of life characterised by weariness. There is a sense of being almost over-whelmed by tiredness. There can be many reasons for this, such as a reaction to a time of physical or emotional exhaustion. Such periods of weariness often pass, provided we allow ourselves sufficient rest. But they need to be recognised when they occur. So I think Addison’s line about our “weary wandering steps” can ring true to us today, as it rang true to the men and women of Addison’s own generation.
And this links in with our human need for rest. All human beings need rest. Addison lived a busy, active life, caught up in the constantly-demanding and ever-changing world of politics and journalism. I wonder how Addison found his “down time”? Perhaps he found the rest he needed by going for a gentle stroll along a river bank. The last two lines of the verse might suggest this to be the case, referring as they do to place “where peaceful rivers, soft and slow, amid the verdant landscape flow”.
We all need a place where “peaceful rivers, soft and slow, amid the verdant landscape flow”. Note the way that Addison uses alliteration, rhyme and rhythm to re-enforce the point he is making: “where peaceful rivers, soft and slow, amid the verdant landscape flow”. It is nicely done.
Where do we find these peaceful gentle rivers, whose slowly flowing waters can carry away the stresses and strains of our lives? Addison is, of course, using a figure of speech, and so our places of rest might not feature a real river at all. That doesn’t matter. The key thing is that we have a place of rest, where we can slow down, and calm down- a place where we can experience the loving presence of God, and know that God loves us and that all will be well. And it might be that our place of rest lies securely in our minds- the memory of a time and place when we felt safe, secure and loved. I wonder: where are the “peaceful rivers” to be found in our own lives?