Beauty in Words for Easter

 

God, on us thy mercy show,
Make on us thy blessings flow;
Thy face's beams
From heav'n upon us show'r 
In shining streams:
That all may see
The way of thee,
And know thy saving pow'r.

- From translation of Psalm 67 by Mary Sidney Herbert.

Happy Easter! We can rejoice because the Lord is risen, He is risen indeed!

During Lent I like to read some kind of regular daily reading to keep my heart in tune with the Lord in an intentional poetic way. I have been reading (as I do each year) Malcolm Guite's The Word in the Wilderness (poem a day with reflection), which is always wonderful to go through.

But this year I also discovered the amazing poetry of Mary Sidney Herbert and her brother Philip Sidney. They translated the Psalms together, (side note: I love the sibling writing project) and the Psalms are compiled in this Oxford World Classics book The Sidney Psalter I have been reading. These poems are glorious. Written over years from the late 1580s, and continued by Mary after Philip died very young from a battle wound. They were never officially published in their lifetime, but manuscripts of the newest Psalm would be passed around widely, and were very well known. People would copy out the latest translation and share with others. 

What's marvelous about these poems is that they are hugely influential on the poets I have loved and read for so long, and for good reason - John Donne, George Herbert, John Milton, Edmund Spenser and many other writers praised these poems in print and often borrowed from their style and methods in their own poetry. 

These are God's words, God's words are ever pure:
Pure, purer than the silver throughly tried,
When fire sev'n times hath spent his earthly parts.  

(from the translation of Psalm 12)

Remembering also, this is all done before the King James Version of the Bible was translated (1611) so they were using the Coverdale 1539 translation and the Geneva Bible. They also used French and Latin translations of the Bible. The Sidneys yoked all these together in a compilation that also reflects their own voices and styles. The result is a set of poems that are flowing to read, they use repetitive words beautifully, rhyming that is musical and lovely, and alternating styles from one Psalm to the next. It's an absolute treat reading these Psalms and I can't believe I did not discover them sooner. 

Their images, metaphors, and overall use of language is masterful. Any poet can learn from what they do with words. 

Then fear not we, let quake the ground,
And into seas let mountains fall,
Yea, so let seas withal,
In wat'ry hills arise,
As may the earthly hills appal,
With dread and dashing cries.

For, lo, a river streaming joy
With purling murmur safely slides,
That city washing from annoy,
In holy shrine where God resides.
God in her centre bides:
What can this city shake?
God early aids and ever guides:
Who can this city take?

(from the translation of Psalm 46)

As we reach Easter and all the joy that this Holy-Day (holiday) is, I reach for these Psalms for a fresh turn of words (ironically, very old words, which often provide the freshest perspective) on the familiar Psalms that we all have read during our lives in varied emotional states. What beauty in words these are and I relish in them. 

I mean, how stunning are these lines? Just read them out loud to appreciate the alliterative sounds and flow: 

My tongue the pen to paint his praises forth,
Shall write as swift as swiftest writer may.

(from the translation of Psalm 45)

May you have a blessed Easter!