In terms of the longest wait for posthumous recognition, perhaps the seventeenth century poet Thomas Traherne (1636-1674) wins the prize. He was virtually forgotten for two hundred years. Not much is known about him. He was the son of a shoemaker. His parents died when he was young, and he was raised by relatives. He studied for the Anglican priesthood, served a country parish, and concluded as chaplain for an English lord. He didn’t travel in literary circles and died in his late thirties. He had so few possessions that he could dictate his will on his deathbed. His papers were passed to his brother, and he was lost to history.
In 1896, a man was rummaging through a wheelbarrow of old manuscripts about to be trashed at a street bookstall when he came upon a collection of poems that stunned him. “This must be the lost work of a brilliant writer,” he thought to himself. In 1967, a second collection of writings by the same author was found in a town dump by a man looking for spare parts for his car, and a third set of writings was discovered in library stacks in 1997. They all belonged to Tom Traherne and his popularity has been growing ever since. Someone went to the trouble of researching C.S. Lewis’ letters to determine which writers he urged people to read. The author Lewis recommended most was Thomas Traherne! His writings display an ardent, childlike love of God and creation. There is a tendency in Christian circles to become so mired in the reality of sin and the corruption of this fallen world that we lose sight of the world God made and the world God loves. When we are children, the beauty and wonder of creation capture our imagination. The natural world loses its charm through familiarity and pedestrian worries as we age. Thomas never lost his childlike wonder. God creates the world solely for our enjoyment. It should be at the top of our to-do list each day to enjoy creation, love the life God has given us, and live with gratitude. One prayer by Thomas expresses his childlike faith:
Thomas Traherne
O Lord my God,
Thou hast compassed me with mercies on every side.
The Fields and Valleys,
Being truly seen are inestimable treasures;
The beauty of the Skies, a magnificent joy;
To him that was nothing,
Created but yesterday,
Taken from the Dust.
To Day
Half an hour since,
This very moment.
Rivers, Springs, Trees, Meadows,
Every dry Land itself,
Clouds, Air, Light and Rain,
The Sun and Stars,
Are wonderful works,
Filling me with cheerfulness,
Made to serve us,
I praise thee, O Lord, for the delights of Eden.
Such are these!
Among which, were I alone like Adam,
Being wise, I could not be desolate.
But those hast compassed me
With innumerable Treasures,
Pleasant for variety,
Of infinite value,
Surmounting the created World 10,000-fold.
The World is a case, Containing Jewels,
A silent Stage,
A Theatre for Actions,
Made for innumerable ends.
In all which thy fatherly wisdom hath shewn itself.
But, O my God, empty Cases,
Cabinets spoiled are dumb shews.
The Jewels, O Lord, and Scenes and Actions;
These are the Treasure which most we prize,
The delights we esteem,
The Crown of Pleasure,
For the sake of which Cabinets were made,
Theatres erected,
Cases valued.
O Lord, spare thy people,
Spare thy people, O my God!
The Works of Thomas Traherne, “A Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Nation,” edited by Jan Ross.
Rev. Dr. Peter James served 42 years as the senior of Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, VA — 21 years in the 20th century and 21 years in the 21st century. He retired in 2021 and now serves as Pastor-in-Residence at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Even as a pastor, prayer came slowly to Pete. Read Pete’s story.