“Old man's wisdom”: A Deeper Appreciation
Literary Critic Clive James claims that Shakespeare in his maturity was anxious to source his verse from “a deeper appreciation”:“The older and better Shakespeare got the more he was concerned that the verse should spring from what we might call a deeper appreciation.”
I
think the older we get and the more we think about things the greater
is our desire for a deeper appreciation of all that contributes to
our existence. Such 'wisdom', if we can call it that, may equate to
what James says was Shakespeare's “old man's wisdom”; but I don't
think one can assume such wisdom simply comes with “age”, since
our understanding, our appreciation of anything for what its worth,
of oneself, of others, and for a believer, one's Christian faith,
demands more than mature thinking.
As
a Christian I am constantly challenged to rethink the value of my
faith and more specifically if prayer, the bedrock of the way of
faith, has any real contribution to make as I “grow old”. At the
heart of one's personal beliefs is an appreciation of what the Word of God says, but how do we interpret the Scriptures we know so well,
where is the inspiration, how do we understand what we read in the
Bible at all?
The
value of the Psalms feature strongly in the basic writings of the
Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther (1483-1546). An Augustinian monk,
he no doubt lived by the observances of his order which would have
involved the sacred reading of the Daily Office, based on systematic
meditations on the Psalms. Luther's hermeneutics (interpretations)
were the subject of a talk given to an Evangelical Theological
Society by Robert L Plummer, a Professor at the Southern BaptistTheological Seminary (USA). The address was re-printed in Tjurunga,
“An Australasian Benedictine Review” (May 2006).
Luther
had a very simple approach to studying the Bible, believing that it
was within the power of anybody to write their own book of theology
following “rules” laid down by the psalmist, a method made
explicit in Psalm 119 (which he attributed to David): “and it
will be your experience that the books of the fathers will taste
stale and putrid to you in comparison. You will not only despise the
books written by adversaries, but the longer you write and teach the
less you will be pleased with yourself. When you have reached this
point, then do not be afraid to hope that you have begun to become a
real theologian . . .”
Later, Luther could say, I . . . am deeply indebted to my papists that through the devil's raging they have beaten, oppressed, and distressed me so much. That is to say, they have made a fairly good theologian of me, which I would not have been otherwise.”
Later, Luther could say, I . . . am deeply indebted to my papists that through the devil's raging they have beaten, oppressed, and distressed me so much. That is to say, they have made a fairly good theologian of me, which I would not have been otherwise.”
Luther
wrote a short preface dealing with this topic to the Wittenberg
edition of his German writings. In this preface Luther gives a
three-part prescription for studying the Bible, summarized as prayer,
meditation, and trial. These three, he says, are the sine qua non
of true theological study. “If you keep to this method of study,
you will become so learned that you yourself could . . . write books
just as good as those of the fathers and councils . . .”
Luther
can make his audacious claim because he does not believe a human
authority stands behind the prescription, but a divine one. In
the lengthiest Psalm, 119,
David repeatedly mentions
three things: (1) understanding of God's
word: prayer;
(2) ruminating on
God's word, as he seeks to understand and apply it: meditation;
(3) oppression by
enemies and difficulties: trial.
David's “rules” which the preface identifies as forming a “method” of interpretation are made explicit in verses 97-100:
“Oh how I love thy law! Thy commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep thy precepts”.
Prayer
The essence of prayer, the first component, is “a waiting and dependence upon God”, an idea “that demands more than lip service”. “Jesus' disciples saw the prominence of prayer in his life, and asked, 'Lord, teach us to pray' (Luke 11:1).” In other words, to pray effectively we need help: “is there a place”, Plummer asks, “for God's supernatural aid in understanding, acquired through prayer and God's gracious intervention? It is not that the Spirit provides additional information that is not in the text, but helps us in seeing clearly what is there”.
Meditation
The
Scriptures encourage us to meditate on God's Word, and “yes, we may
seek moments of silence and solitude, but those are moments when God
tries and tests our hearts – bringing to mind Scriptures, failings,
obligations, words of encouragement, or challenges. Not an empty
mind, but a mind convicted, filled, focused, and transformed by God
is the goal of biblical meditation”.
Trials
Plummer
writes: “Much energy in the Western world is directed at avoiding
trials. Ironically, the very difficulties we seek to insulate
ourselves from are often the means God uses to mature us. They are
the means, Luther claimed,
of taking our abstract knowledge of what the Bible says and making it
experiential and real.
The Reformer wrote:
“[A trial is] the touchstone which teaches you not
only to know and understand, but also to experience how right, how
true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting God's word
is, wisdom beyond all wisdoms.”Luther's further advice concerns “the devil”, “who . . . by his assaults (you will learn) to seek and love God's Word . . . (for) such trusting and obeying God in the midst of trial leads to a more mature understanding of Christian truth”. The apostle Paul's statement in Romans (5: 3-5) is in agreement: “ . . . but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to us”. (NIV)
“There now”, Luther concludes, “with that you have David's rules. If you study hard in accord with his example, then you will also sing and boast with him (for) 'the law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces'” (Psalm 119:72).
The Psalms in Translation
Myles Coverdale's Bible of 1535, the first complete translation in English of the Scriptures, provides perhaps the most accessible version of the Psalms for private meditation, the “Psalter”. Continuing the 1662 RevisedBook of Common Prayer (BCP) text, Coverdale's Psalter “remains the authorized standard of worship in the Churches of England and Australia” (*John Bunyan). The King James Authorised Version of 1611, long standard in Protestant Churches, is virtually unknown in traditional Anglican liturgies.
As literature, the psalms are poetry; “Euphony and command of rhythm and felicitous phrase were factors in Coverdale's success, but its essence was his ability to make the psalms his own”. As well as retaining the familiarity of medieval chant, Coverdale's translation draws on the works of Luther, Zwingli, Leo Jud, the Vulgate and a Latin version.* The Psalter's nearness to Benedictine chant guaranteed its continued use for worship in mainly Cathedral (especially choral) services and for the same reason remained a preferred text for devotional reading, as in the Daily (Divine) Office.
John Bunyan (not the Pilgrims Progress author*) writes: “Using the psalms for private daily use is more than a matter of personal devotion; it is rather the joining in the prayer of all God's people, and in the prayer of Jesus, not least in the person of those who may know joy, but also injustice, or isolation, suffering – yet also a sense of the divine.”
The psalmist is a pilgrim, a “sojourner” (Psalm 39:12); with him, if we wish, we can travel the same road. Yet, not every psalm is likely to prove helpful; the 'cursing' psalms, for example Ps.137:9, may be considered down-right offensive to Christian ears (as John Wesley thought!), but in general these are psalms of minor spiritual value (some churches sanction their omission). Luther would probably disagree on this point, perhaps pointing to the “trials” part of his rule, but throughout all the spirit of prayer and praise is nevertheless a constant: “Extol him with renewed strength, and weary not . . . for it is the Lord who has made all things, and to those who fear him he gives wisdom.” Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 43: 8.
'Healing' psalms form a distinctive sub-set of texts that resonate with the reader's need: Pss 16, 32, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 130, 137-139, 150. There are psalms that dispose the reader to restful sleep – or defy panic! - psalms for keeping calm, as in Ps.16: “even at night he directs my heart . . . my body shall rest in safety”. Many such human predicaments resonate in individual psalms: contrition, ridicule, guilt, foolishness, indifference, heartlessness, resentment, treachery, ambiguity, doubt.
For many people, myself included, systematic reading through the Psalms forms part of a devotional practice which can be inspiring, encouraging, comforting, a guide to life, even transformative. In Judaism the slow, meditative reading of a prayer book is known as “davening”, “Lectio Divina” in monastic practice, but in any circumstance something which quickly becomes an indispensable part of devotional exercise. The habit in my own experience over many years has lead to a more satisfying attitude of simply trusting the grace of God, so well expressed in the lines of the 17th century poet, George Herbert (1593-1633): “To have nothing is ours . . . what Adam relinquished Christ has restored so that all is more ours because his”. The Holdfast.
* John Bunyan - “The Pen of a Ready Writer: The Psalms of Myles Coverdale” - © 2016
(an essay in 'The FreeMind – Essays and Poems in Honour of Barry Spurr' - Edited by Catherine A Runcie © 2016).
