By Allen Taylor
The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NIV), “When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.” He didn’t say the believers in Corinth should start to share these things. He stated that was the way they worshiped. That’s a far cry different than the way most churches operate today in the 21st century, but I believe any church, and any group of faithful followers of Jesus, can devote themselves to poetry just as much as they devote themselves to apostolic teaching, fellowship, and prayer. Some Bible translations use the word “psalm” in place of “hymn,” but the meaning is the same. Both are a type of poem that can be, and often is, set to music.
I caught the poetry bug in college, but it was years later that I began to appreciate religious poetry. One of my favorite Christian poets has come to be Gerard Manley Hopkins, a 19th century a Jesuit priest. Hopkins is unique among poets, and most certainly among Victorian poets. While religious themes were popular at the time, Hopkins wrote many of his poems in sonnet form but used a unique rhyme and rhythm structure he called “sprung rhythm.” I believe his unique style of poetic expression is a fitting metaphor that illustrates the uniqueness of each of us who were created in the image of God. The Imago Dei of orthodox theology does not mean that we are all cookie-cutter molds of each other. Rather, it speaks to the diversity of God’s imagination and the rich depth of His imprint upon the crown jewel of His creation. Hopkins’ poetry is a testament to that truth.
One standout poem of his is titled “God’s Grandeur.” The splendor of its language mirrors that of its rhythm and speaks eloquently of that which makes God worthy of our worship. In short, it does what Christian poetry ought to do. From the first line to the last, Hopkins calls the reader to the glory of God’s grandeur, His beauty, His majesty, and His power as judge and creator of all that there is. It begins on a note high and ends on a higher note, drawing one’s attention to the “dearest freshness deep down things” of God even as it points to the greatness of his ruling rod.
Whether one enters worship in one’s alone time or in fellowship with other believers, poetry can be a useful devotional, a way to share God’s grandeur with God Himself, with other believers, and within the chambers of one’s own heart. Poetry speaks in a language, like the Holy Spirit, that we often cannot discern through our own lips. It is a kind of music, even if unaccompanied by music, that stirs within a sentiment that may not be easily captured any other way. I encourage you to seek out religious poetry from today or from the past and let it ruminate within your soul during your worship or devotion time with God.
“God’s Grandeur” by Gerard Manley Hopkins
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
Allen Taylor is the publisher at Crux Publications and writes The Crux blog. He is also the author of I Am Not the King, a personal testimony of his growth in Jesus Christ.
Jake Doberenz is a writer, teacher, minister, and creative thinker from Oklahoma City, OK. He is the Founder and President of Theophany Media. Additionally, he ministers at the Mayfair Church of Christ and teaches middle school debate at The Academy of Classical Christian Studies in Oklahoma City. Jake is almost done with his Master of Theological Studies at Oklahoma Christian University, the same place he recieved an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies with a minor in Communication Studies.