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TE DEUM LAUDAMUS

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS
The Christian Compulsion to Poetic Praise

By Roger Salter
Special to VIRTUEONLINE
www.virtueonline.org
May 10, 2016

My heart inditing is
good matter in a song:
I speak the things that I have made,
which to the King belong:
My tongue shall be as quick,
his honour to indite,
As is the pen of any scribe
that useth fast to write.

Thou'rt fairest of all men;
grace in thy lips doth flow:
And therefore blessings evermore
on thee doth God bestow.
Thy sword gird on thy thigh,
thou that are most of might
Appear in dreadful majesty,
and in thy glory bright.

(Psalm 45 verses 1 - 3, The Scottish Psalter).

The Prevalence of Poetry in Anglican Piety

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are compelled to versify and sing. Poetry is the essence of Christian proclamation and praise. Mere prose, on the level, the flat as it were, is the language of the mind; poetry is the language of the heart. These languages merge in the adoration and adulation of God when mind and heart unite and prose ascends to the rhapsodic. Mind on its own produces mere statements - formulaic, stiff, stuffy, stultifying in the sense of emotional suppression. We cannot speak of Jesus in such an arid way. Verve and vitality imbue our speech of God. The Christian possesses a poetic spirit. The Christian heart sings and any speech that is prompted by fine feeling of affection and gratitude toward the Lord is translated into poetry. It doesn't have to possess rarified vocabulary, sublime artistic merit, aesthetic excellence, or be skillful in rhyme, or deft in meter and rhythm. True poetry is the exclamation of wonder and truth concerning God that is animated affectively. The humble soul is electrified and stirred to keen spiritual apprehension.

The great historical events, creative, redemptive, providential, recorded in Holy Scripture are recounted poetically as well as factually. Rich examples abound throughout both Testaments e.g. David, Isaiah, and Jesus himself who often spoke in couplets in public discourse. The Church Fathers such as Augustine, Ambrose, and Bernard express the gospel in enchanting and beguiling language. Ford Lewis Battles aptly and accurately describes the prose of John Calvin as theology in poetry. The lyrical mind of Thomas Cranmer ensured that the Book of Common Prayer would largely consist of poetic content and highly imageric piety.

A cluster of Anglican worthies, many of whom became clerics, or staunch defenders of the Reformed faith, were poets and hymnists of high repute (Donne, Hall, Spenser, Sidney, Herbert, Greville, Quarles, Cowper, Newton, Toplady, etc). Francis Quarles was for a time secretary to the highly esteemed Archbishop Ussher whose passion for theology and love of poetry inspired him to translate the quatrains of the great 9th century persecuted predestinarian Gottschalk (c805-869). The makers and shapers of the Anglican heritage labored to ensure that Anglicanism would encourage and forever retain poetic sensitivity to the richly poetic revelation of God. We are to be tender to the influences of truth and receptive to its powerful impact - not rashly repetitive of religious slogans, firing away with automatic citation of texts, and the haranguing of our hearers in glib cliches, but mature and measured in our handling of the word of God (studied and sober). The presentation of the gospel ought to be thoughtful and thought-provoking, the fruit of much musing and meditation. Prattle ought to be avoided through pensiveness. Each word of the gospel must retain its saving value; and each word is a gift to be imparted with love - sweet or severe as necessary.

We praise thee, O God (Te Deum Laudamus)

It is the need to praise and extol the Lord that inspires the poet within each of us. It is the great poets who have the capacity to unite our hearts in corporate concentration upon the Lord and the celebration of his Name.

Of all the mainline denominations it is perhaps the Presbyterian Church that was most reluctant to break with psalmody as the exclusive means of divine worship in melody. Some still hold out and their convictions are sincere and cogent given the premise from which they reason. It is perhaps surprising, therefore, that a great admirer of the Te Deum was the Scottish Free Church minister and scholar John "Rabbi" Duncan, who comments, "The two best hymns in Christendom, in my opinion, are the Te Deum and the Veni Creator Spiritus. . . The Te Deum is a grand piece of writing, by far the finest fragment of post-apostolic devotion" ('Just a Talker' Sayings of John (Rabbi) Duncan, John M. Brentnall, Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh, 1997, page 124).

As to the authorship of the Te Deum R.E. Nixon writes, "Nowadays it is generally accepted that the author was Niceta, bishop of Remesiana about A,D, 400. The first nine verses are an ascription of praise, and the next twelve a confession of faith ending with a prayer. The last eight verses are suffrages which became attached to it at an early date" (The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, J.D. Douglas General Editor, Earle E. Cairns Consulting Editor, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1978. A resource of immense value). Comments on the structure and use of the Te Deum may be found in The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary by Massey Hamilton Shepherd, JR. New York, 1955.

The Content of the Canticle

The words of the Te Deum ought to leap from the page and be captured by the worshipper's tongue in delighted repetition. They are so vivid, uplifting, and invigorating. They radiate the joy of the faith and the essence of the gospel.

We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. Shepherd points out the Latin should be rendered thus: We praise thee as God: we acknowledge thee as Lord. How fortunate it is for believers that our very life, our all, is anchored in the one true God by his amazing and sovereign grace. This blessing exceeds our capacity to appreciate fully the favor that he has shown us - undeserved, unbidden, unending.

All the earth doth worship thee: the Father everlasting. To thee all Angels cry aloud: the heavens and all the powers therein. To thee Cherubin and Seraphin: continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy,: Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty: of thy glory. Our privilege, purpose, and pleasure is to unite with all creatures earthly and heavenly, in delight in God and the vision of his unutterable supremacy and excellence. We gaze upon his grandeur, enraptured by his greatness and goodness revealed in aspects of his blazing glory. His being, bounty, and beauty are inescapable, inexpressible. Holy, eternal, and overflowing with his uniquely divine splendor we must cry out with shouts of acclamation to the highest extent of our powers. The heavens resound with praise and earth must echo the celestial chorus for we have redemption to add to our contemplation of creaturely wonder and blessing.

The glorious company of the Apostles: praise thee. The goodly fellowship of the Prophets: praise thee. The noble army of Martyrs: praise thee. The holy Church throughout all the world: doth acknowledge thee; How good it is to align and ally our witness and worship with that of the apostles, prophets, and martyrs in their heroic consistency and courage in the cause of God and his gospel. We are humbled and fortified in our faith by reflecting upon them all. We are to continue in their testimony and tributes to the Lord. Shepherd says that the regiment of prophets in mind are those of the Christian era, but popularly the minds of contemporary worshippers will no doubt turn to the prophets of ancient Israel. The author of a work entitled A Manual of the Te Deum identified by initials "S.W." (perhaps Bishop Samuel Wilberforce) defends this supposition: Who were the prophets? They were men who spoke from God i.e. who received messages from God and delivered them to mankind. And a goodly fellowship, indeed, they form, from Enoch (St. Jude 14) to St. John the Baptist of whom our Saviour said, "What went ye out to see?(St. Matthew 11:9). The prophecies of sixteen of these messengers of God have been collected into as many books, and form part of the Old Testament. Those of others are scattered throughout the historical books of the Bible. The goodly fellowship of the prophets glorified God on earth by the truth and fidelity with which they conveyed the words of the Lord to men, and now each among them has doubtless received "a prophet's reward", and in some of the "many mansions" of our Father's house (John 14:2) is praising God (J&C Mozely and Masters and Son, London, 1865). The volume of lasting testimony accorded to the covenant grace of God by the Old Testament prophets makes it seem more likely that these are the men alluded to in the Te Deum.

The Father: of an infinite Majesty; Thine honourable, true : and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost: the Comforter. The God we praise is the everlasting and awesome Three-in-One. *We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; - *the Father eternal, the Son eternal : and the Holy Spirit eternal. -*And in this Trinity none is afore or after the other: none is greater, or less than another; But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together : and co-equal (*excerpts from the Athanasian Creed). The doctrine of the Trinity is the source of the believer's most enthralling contemplation. The threefold-ness of God enriches us with a threefold communion with God and a trebled appreciation of him, his nature, and ways of mind and work. The society of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is rapturous company to enjoy. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

In this phase of our existence redemption is of the utmost and primary importance. Birth, life, and death, are in vain if we die bereft of eternal salvation. Everything deemed to be virtuous and of value is nullified without the possession of Christ and his possession of us. Human knowledge, attainment, and enjoyment count for nothing if he is absent from our hearts. All is loss and bitterness if he is absent from our lives, frowns at our departure, and announces our judgment as we cross into eternity. Our only safety, preservation, and endless bliss lie in our union with him. The Te Deum directs our gaze to Christ. The Father in his loving mercy has sent him. The Spirit in his inward ministry reveals him. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus atones for our sins.

Thou art the King of glory: O Christ The multi-faceted glory of Christ validates the salvation he has wrought. The God-man provides divine deliverance and perfect amends for our shameful and rebellious breach with God. His moral perfection in obedience to the Father on our behalf perfects us for rapprochement with the Father. His obedience procured the ultimate perfection of our persons by the internal ministry of the Holy Spirit. The cosmic consequences of the atonement result in the coronation of the Lord Jesus.

Thou art the everlasting Son: of the Father. The Son possesses the nature, status and dignity of deity. His unlimited loftiness measures the infinite depth of his lowliness which is outlined next.

When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man: thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb. The full meaning of this statement is beyond description. It surpasses our understanding to think that the Son would agree, in the harmonious counsels of the Trinity, to our costly deliverance. Such a miracle is beyond our desert and wildest dreams (if we were capable of them). It is amazing that he should give compassionate consent to all the trial, toil, torture, and terror that he would have to endure for our recovery to the favor of God. His humiliation as we term it is unthinkable - beyond our grasp. We can only weep at our offenses and crave his mercy in deep repentance and sincere faith.

Given our horrible revolt against the Lord and our truly wretched and wicked hostility toward him our ill-desert is immeasurable and our natures repugnant to him. Although modern versions of the Te Deum render the above asseveration as When you became man to set us free, you humbled yourself to be born of a Virgin, there is something very apt in the words "thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb". The Lord overcame his abhorrence of the human condition and insolence in bringing himself to our aid.

When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death: thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Death administers a sting. The thought of it nags us. The occurrence of it topples our pretentiousness and pride. We are swiftly brought down and all that we gloried in is past. The aftermath of death for the unbeliever is the perpetual sharpness of the unpacified conscience in the second death - the intolerable grief of lost purpose and opportunity. In contrast, the death of the believer is the radiant, rapturous entrance into the presence of the King. Jesus who endured the sting of death for us will ensure that for the believer the barb will be blunt.

Thou sittest at the right hand of God: in the glory of the Father. Our Elder Brother is exalted and ensures that all things work for the good of those who love him. We believe that shalt come: to be our Judge. But there will be no terror in the Lord's coming. In the act of justifying us by his cross he bore the judgement that was our due. Now he confers upon each of his chosen ones the proportion of their capacity to contain blessing in the kingdom as their due reward. We therefore pray thee, to help thy servants: whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. The blood shedding is at the heart of our faith and the fairest window into the heart of the Lord.

Make them to be numbered with thy saints: in glory everlasting. The purchased ones can never be lost. O Lord, save thy people: and bless thine heritage. The elect are Christ's reward, his offspring, his seed (Isa 53:10-12). Nothing can diminish the portion his Father has promised. They both guard it (John 10:14-30). Govern them: and lift them up for ever. God's government is total and guaranteed by omnipotence. Nothing, not any power, can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:37-39).

With all the assurances the Te Deum affords, the people of God maintain an attitude of continual devotion to the Lord. They are supplicants for holiness and the strength to avoid sin. The longing for grace and the regret for their lapses keep them ever appealing for mercy in its abundance. May mercy not alight upon them occasionally but settle upon them permanently. May trust be the permanent disposition of those granted the gift of faith. believers are only too well acquainted with their frailty and fickleness. They know their utter dependence upon God, just as David so shamefully discovered: Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me (Psalm 51:11).

Day by day: we magnify thee; and we worship thy name: ever world without end (always forever and ever). Vouchsafe, O Lord: to keep us this day without sin. O Lord, have mercy upon us: have mercy upon us. O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us: as our trust is in thee. O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded (abandoned at the last).

During an interregnum of two years or so, a particular parish had not sung the Te Deum for the duration. When the new rector arrived it was decided that the congregation should sing the hymn at his first service of Morning Prayer. The words and the accompanying notes had been forgotten. Three attempts had failed to chant the canticle successfully. In desperation the organist abandoned her organ stool and conducted the congregation in a fourth try at the tune. The vocalization was scattered and weak until with a final surge every voice united in a stentorian "Let me never be confounded!"

The Rev. Roger Salter is an ordained Church of England minister where he had parishes in the dioceses of Bristol and Portsmouth before coming to Birmingham, Alabama to serve as Rector of St. Matthew's Anglican Church.

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