Analysis of an 18th century prayer
Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; And if I die before I wake -’ Now hold on there. Why not extract the intended meaning of if I die before I wake’ by saying instead, if I die in my sleep’. Because you won’t wake if you die. Waking won’t even meet your horizon.
The semantics may be nitpicky but here’s the thing – the written word is confusing enough to many readers. The closer a writer gets to the exactitude of his meaning, the better the chance that a reader will grasp his intention. On the other hand, no matter what the writer intends, perception is always in the eye of the believer.
So, even if if I die in my sleep’ should work for the religious follower who believes death begets everlasting afterlife or even if it works for the agnostic who believes death begets oblivion – should he be caught praying – the liberal spiritualist might prefer, if I fully awaken to my metaphysical Self while my manifest body lies sleeping.’ And the believer in a karmic cycle who suspects he has become enlightened and thus supposes this is his last life of many lives may say, If I lose my individual Self to the boundless unmanifest All That Is…’
As for the last sentence of the 18th century prayer, I pray the Lord my soul to take’, which implies a time lapse between releasing the physical body and transporting the soul – a pause perhaps in which the Supreme Being deliberates on the soul’s worthiness and thence pronounces its eternal fate – the religious follower will maintain that it, the last sentence, is precise in its meaning. But it is in fact vague.
Hence, a religious man’s last words might more aptly be, I pray the Lord I go to Heaven to sit by His throne’ or I pray the Lord I don’t go to Hell to burn with the Devil’ or I pray the Lord I don’t go to Purgatory to put up with excruciating punishment and piercing pain as I purify for God knows how long even though I no longer have a physical body that can feel pain but my spirit apparently can’. Here, however, an agnostic would indeed part company from the religious and simply say, I shall be nevermore.’
But what of the liberal spiritualist or the believer in a karmic cycle? The spiritualist might pray, I will be joyous in my full connection to Source Energy.’ And the karma believer will surely implore, Dear God, please let this be my last life. Don’t make me come back again.’
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