Centuries of Meditations – First Century

64

These wounds are in themselves orifices too small to let in my sight, to the vast comprehensions of Thine eternal love. These wounds engraved in Thy hands are but shady impressions, unless I see the Glory of Thy Soul, in which the fullness of the GODHEAD dwelleth bodily. These bloody characters are too dim to let me read it, in its lustre and perfection till I see Thy person, and know Thy ways! O Thou that hangs upon this Cross before mine eyes, whose face is bleeding, and covered over with tears and filth and blows! Angels adore the Glory of Thy GODHEAD in the highest heavens. Who in every thought and in every work didst Glorious things for me from Everlasting. What could I, O my Lord, desire more than such a World! Such Heavens and such an Earth! Such beasts and fowls and fishes made for me. All these do homage unto me, and I have dominion over them from the Beginning! The Heavens and the Earth minister unto me, as if no man were created, but I alone. I willingly acknowledge it to be thy Gift! thy bounty unto me! How many thousand ways do men also minister unto me! O what riches hast Thou prepared out of nothing for me! All creatures labor for my sake, and I am made to enjoy all Thy creatures. O what praises shall I return unto Thee, the wisdom of the Father, and the brightness of the glory of His Eternal Goodness! Who didst make all for me before Thou didst redeem me.

Thomas Traherne (1637 – September 27, 1674) was an English poet, Anglican cleric, theologian, and religious writer. Traherne’s writings frequently explore the glory of creation and what he saw as his intimate relationship with God. His writing conveys an ardent, almost childlike love of God, and is compared to similar themes in the works of later poets William Blake, Walt Whitman, and Gerard Manley Hopkins. His love for the natural world is frequently expressed in his works.

The work for which Traherne is best known today is the Centuries of Meditations, a collection of short paragraphs in which he reflects on Christian life and ministry, philosophy, happiness, desire and childhood. This was first published in 1908 after having been rediscovered in manuscript ten years earlier. Before its rediscovery this manuscript was said to have been lost for almost two hundred years and is now considered a much loved devotional.

Thomas Traherne, Centuries of Meditations. Public Domain