Miss Hysham, my Classics teacher in College, was full of enthusiasm for her subject. In the midst of a lecture she would stop and exclaim, “Isn’t this beautiful? Isn’t it simply beautiful? The language is lovely, and the images just glow in your mind! How beautiful!” Then she would continue the lecture. These outbursts occurred virtually every lecture, for she truly loved the poetry and drama of Homer, Virgil, and other classical writers.

The class made fun of her behind her back, but we all gained an appreciation we would have missed without Miss Hysham’s enthusiasm.

The psalmists sometimes display this spirit: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (psalm 119:103) “Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.”(Psalm 26:8) “Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name.”(Psalm 29:1&2)

Miss Hysham, like the psalmists, was in love with her subject. She had dedicated her life to her study and her teaching. She successfully spread the word and spirit of her research and sheer enjoyment to her students. At the end of the class we gave her a silver goblet engraved with, “A thing of beauty is a Joy Forever” by John Keats.

The writers of scripture felt an even greater intensity in their relationship with God: “If I say, ‘I will not mention His word, or speak in His name any more, His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” ( Jeremiah 20:9)

St. Paul interrupts his letter to the Romans with “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33). Spontaneous exclamations of wonder are found throughout the Old and New Testaments. They spring from encounters with the Spirit of in the life of the writer. He is the Holy Spirit, the One whom Jesus promised to his disciples, and who reminds us of Jesus and even teaches us about our Father God.(John 14:25)

“The Joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10) Miss Hysham taught us the joy of reading the classics. The Holy Spirit delivers the joy of reading His Word. How Beautiful!

Love in Him,

Prue