I. That the poetry of the Christian life draws its deepest inspiration from the Divine Word.—“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
1. That the Divine Word is fitly called the Word of Christ.—It contains the record of His personal teaching—the revelation of new and startling truths, and the resetting of old truths in such a light as to connect the old and new dispensations, and blend them in an unbroken homogeneousness. It unfolds the mystery of that redemption He died to accomplish, and which forms so prominent a part of the teaching of this epistle. It is inspired by the Spirit of Christ, and gleams in every part with brilliant manifestations of His supernal glory. Christ is the all-pervading theme of the Scriptures—the key of the arch—the cornerstone of the foundation—the sun, illuminating with light and salvation the whole Gospel system to its remotest circumference.
2. The Divine Word to create a true poetic fervour must wholly occupy the soul.—“Dwell in you richly.” The Word of Christ is to be embraced as a whole, and due prominence given to every part of His character and work. Not to exalt His humanity to the denial of His Divinity; not to be so enamoured with the moral beauty of His life as to overlook the significance and power of His death. The Word is to dwell in us so completely as to possess and enrich every faculty and power of our nature. Not simply to give it a place in the region of intellectual opinion or in judging of moral questions, but to let it have a mighty sway over the affections of the heart—let it enter, saturate, purify, and govern the whole mental, moral, and spiritual being. It is to occupy the soul as a constant and permanent inspiration; to dwell—not as a stranger to stand without, or to be saluted at a distance, but to enter, to abide, and be treated as a loved and intimate guest. Let the Word of Christ be clearly apprehended, diligently pondered, and firmly grasped, and it will fill the soul with heavenly visions and inflame it with the holiest poetic ardour.
II. That the poetry of the Christian life has made valuable literary contributions to the psalmody of the Church.—“In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” It is not easy to make arbitrary distinctions between these poetic effusions. The psalm was a sacred poem on whatever subject, and similar to the productions in the book of Psalms in the Old Testament; the hymn specially celebrated the praises of the Almighty; and the spiritual song, or ode, was more mixed in its matter and more artificial in its arrangement and referred to personal effusions of a more general character. The gift of poesy was among the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in the early Church (1 Cor. xiv. 26). The first form of literature in all countries is for the most part in song. A certain writer has said, that if he were allowed to make the songs of a nation, he cared not who made the laws. And in the Christian Church, from the earliest period, sacred psalmody has been a mighty power for edification and comfort. The hymnology of the church is becoming increasingly rich in its poetic treasures.
III. That the poetry of the Christian life ministers to the mutual culture and happiness of the Church.—1. It is intellectual in its character. “In all wisdom teaching one another.” A more correct punctuation connects the clause “in all wisdom” with the words that follow, not, as in our version, with the words that precede. To teach in all wisdom demands the highest intellectual exercise, especially when poetry is the medium of instruction and the Word of Christ the theme. Without wisdom, poetry would sink into a maudlin sensuousness, a mere verbal jingling, and intolerable monotony. Wisdom is necessary to compare and balance the different parts of Scripture truth, to apply the Word on proper occasions to its proper ends and in harmony with its spirit, and to adopt the best means for attaining the highest results in mutual instruction. The profoundest feelings of our nature can only be expressed in poetry. The orator, as he reaches the loftiest strains of eloquence, becomes poetical.
2. It is moral in its tendency.—“And admonishing one another.” There is implied a deep concern for each other’s moral condition and safety. The poetry of the early Christians was moral in its exercise and tendency. No one can feel an interest in another’s morality who is himself immoral. An eminent critic has said: “The element in which poetry dwells is truth, and when imagination divorces itself from that relation, it declines into the neighbourhood of empty fiction or the dreams of lunacy.” The poetry of the Christian life is based on eternal truth, and it is to be judiciously used as an instrument of admonition as well as of instruction. There is need for warning and brotherly counsel to restore the wanderer, to raise him if he has fallen, to reprove him if he is wrong, to protect and admonish him if he is in danger (Ps. cxli. 5).
3. It is joyous in its effects.—“Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Music and poetry are sometimes prostituted to the basest purposes, ministering to the lowest passions, and inciting to the vilest actions. But the poetry of the Christian life refines the soul, raises it towards God, and fills it with the music of unspeakable delight. The proper sphere of music is the heavenly and the spiritual.
“Beyond the visible world she soars to seek,
For what delights the sense is false and weak;
Ideal form, the universal mould.”
As the sea-shell conveys to the ear the faint music of the distant waves, so the poetry of the Christian life indicates in some degree the rapturous music that awaits on the heavenly shore. Coleridge said: “Poetry has been to me its own exceeding great reward. It has soothed my affliction, it has endeared solitude, and it has given me the habit of wishing to discover the good and beautiful in all that surrounds me.” And Keats said: “Let me have music dying and I seek no more delight.”
Lessons.—1. The highest poetry is found in the Divine Word. 2. To administer instruction and admonition through the medium of song is at once modest and significant. 3. The Christian life should be one sweet harmonious poem.