1. Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fring’d legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
2.
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone: Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
3.
Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearied, For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy’d,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy’d,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.
4.
Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell Why thou art desolate, can e’er return.
5.
O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral! When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
When thou shalt crown me with these crowns, I’ll bend
My shallow crown to crown with songs thy name.
Angels shall set the tune; I’ll it attend:
Thy glory’st be the burden of the same. 40
Till then I cannot sing, my tongue is tied.
Accept this lisp till I am glorified.
Notes
The poem ends with meditation and expectation as to coming to glory:
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romans 8:28–30 (ESV)
The Crowns are emblems of the various graces of heaven: life, glory, righteousness. The previous stanza ends with the prayer that he may receive the crown of life, that it eternal life, and in so receiving it, sin will. As an aside, it is interesting that fear of sin is linked to the slavery to sin; and so also the hope of life is linked to the cessation of sin:
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Hebrews 2:14–15 (ESV)
Notice also that holiness is linked to radiance, or being glory:
Holy shall I shine when I
Thy Crown of Righteousness wear on my head?
How glorious when does thou dost me glorify
In contemporary idiom, holiness is linked with a narrowness, an aversion to life and happiness, the stringent “church lady” of the skit. But Taylor conceptualizes holiness as a fundamentally different thing: It is not narrow and cold, but “glorious” to be righteous.
But notice that this state of being “spiritual” is not senseless. He describes this with physical terms of a Spring:
How shall I when thy Crown of Life I wear 35
In lively colors flowerish, fresh, and fair.
This last line has a fine alliteration on “f”.
The reference to “flowerish” may be an allusion to 1 Peter 1:4, quoted above. The word for “unfading” ἀμάραντος (amarantos) means a never-fading flower:
There is an ellipsis of “shine” taken from line 31, “Holy shall I shine”. In line 25 the main verb is missing form “How shall I ____” Thus, “how shall I shine.” The ellipsis is necessary to limit the line to 10 syllables.
Lines 37-38 have a clever bit of punning on “crown”
When thou shalt crown me with these crowns, I’ll bend
My shallow crown to crown with songs thy name.
When you place [crow] upon my head these “crowns”, I’ll bend my head [crown] in a bow to you, and I will praise [crown] your name with song.
This worship of song will include the angels:
Angels shall set the tune; I’ll it attend:
Thy glory’st be the burden of the same
The burden here cannot be mean a negative weight. Therefore, he must mean the word in a neutral sense, “a great weight”. There is a pun in that: the Hebrew word for “glory” means at base “heavy”, and thus reputation and wealth:
A. non-theological.
—1. heaviness, burden Is 22:24 Nah 2:10 (? anticipatory לִכְדוּ לָכֶם, alt. cj. כְּבֵדִים).
—2. a) riches Gn 31:1 (עשׂה to gain) Is 10:3 61:6 66:12; b) reputation, importance Gn 45:13 Qoh 10:1 (Herzberg 183; alt. honour)
Koehler, Ludwig, et al. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Electronic ed., E.J. Brill, 1994–2000, p. 457. And so “glory” is a burden because it is weighty (“gravitas” is an analogical usage)
As is common throughout these poems, the poem ends with a self-reference. Here, Taylor says his poem is not enough to be a “song”: he is unable to sign. He refers to his poem as a “lisp”, which would be the way a child speaks. His “tongue is tied”:
Till then I cannot sing, my tongue is tied.
Accept this lisp till I am glorified.
There is possibly an allusion here to Calvin’s reference that God must lisp to us, speak to us like children, because we cannot understand better:
For who even of slight intelligence does not understand that, as nurses commonly do with infants, God is wont in a measure to “lisp” in speaking to us? Thus such forms of speaking do not so much express clearly what God is like as accommodate the knowledge of him to our slight capacity. To do this he must descend far beneath his loftiness. Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2. Edited by John T. McNeill, Translated by Ford Lewis Battles, vol. 1, Westminster John Knox
Nor take my sins by the crown, till crownless made?
Breathe, Lord, thy Spirit on my Faith, that I
May have thy crown of life, and sin may die. 30
Notes:
A crown of life, of glory, of righteousness,
Thou wilt adorn with that will not fade.
These lines make rapid allusions to various NT texts:
A crown of life comes from James 1:12, quoted above.
1 Peter 5:4 (ESV)
4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
1 Peter 1:3–7 (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 4:8 (ESV)
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Taylor is right to take this as a collective crown; the image should not be of one wearing multiple crowns stacked one upon another. By “crown” the idea is that one is adorned in this way. Each element is responsive to an effect of sin and the fall.
A crown of life answers to death, which is the wage for sin (Rom. 6:23)
A crown of glory answers to the shame of sin.
A crown of righteousness answer to the guilt of sin.
All things in creation are subjected to futility (Rom. 8:20). The rewards of God will be unfading.
Notice that the crowns are not given for merit, but are given because the one who receives these crowns lacks this honor. However, these crowns are granted upon a condition: not of merit but of faith. Refer back to 1 Peter 1:3-7.
Hence the next line of Taylor’s poem:
Shall faith in me shrink up for feebleness?
These crowns are conditional upon the existence of faith to receive them. These crowns are available to all on the condition of faith, but will my faith fail? Is my faith so feeble (as evidenced by my persistent sin) that it will be unable to lay hold upon these crowns which I so desperately need?
Here we have a pun upon the word “crown”: The top of the head, and the adornment of a king:
Nor take my sins by the crown, till crownless made?
Will I not take my sins by their head, to dispose of them, until I have lost the crown of life/glory/righteousness? Or by crownless, does he mean he will be deposed? Dead, lost his head? Will never finally deal with sin until it comes to past that I have lost all?
Breathe, Lord, thy Spirit on my Faith, that I
May have thy crown of life, and sin may die.
I made an emendation here. I have two published versions of Taylor’s poems, and both record the first word of the 29th line as “breath”. But Taylor is unquestionably alluding to the act of Jesus after his resurrection as recorded in John:
John 20:21–22 (ESV)
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
In himself, Taylor sees only the fear that his own faith will fail. And thus he prays that Jesus will breathe upon him and grant him the faith so that he may obtain the crown. Thus, the condition for the gift and the gift itself are both from the Lord.
Again, the crown is not a reward for a sinless life. Rather, the crown is given as victory over the sin: By gaining the crown he will live.
This stanza begins an argument which will be continued, may I, may I not approach and receive?
I am in this present state of paradox. To use Luther’s famous phrase, the justified sinner; or, if you will, the innocent criminal. What may I do from this position:
May I acknowledge you in a positive manner. In interesting example of this from 1798, in Edmund Burke’s The Annual Register, or a review of History, Politics, and Literature for the year 1978 (published 1800) Chronicle, p. 6, a duke says, “Gentlemen, give me leave to drink your health.”
Since we are not in the habit of “drinking one’s health” as a toast, it is interesting that the duke requests permission to do so.
Taylor is asking, May I, or why may I not acknowledge you Lord? The difficulty comes with the prepositional phrase, “over the head of all my sins”. There is a contradiction between the toast and the one giving the toast. It is as if one were to “drink the health” of someone they despised or had sought to destroy.
My faith wishes to drink your health, but there is a trouble here: there is also all my sin.
He then asks a second question: May my faith look toward that door to the room which contains “thy free grace.”
Free grace in Taylor’s theology would be the “impulsive cause” of salvation:
3. The third thing is, how we come to be the children of God?
Ans. There is a double cause of our filiation or childship:
1. The impulsive cause is God’s free grace: we were rebels and traitors, and what could move God to make sinners sons, but free grace? Eph. 1:5. ‘Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children, according to the good pleasure of his will.’ Free grace gave the casting voice; adoption is a mercy spun out of the bowels of free grace; it were much for God to take a clod of earth, and make it a star; but it is more for God to take a piece of clay and sin, and instate it into the glorious privilege of sonship. How will the saints read over the lectures of free grace in heaven?
Watson, Thomas. “Discourses upon Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.” Discourses on Important and Interesting Subjects, Being the Select Works of the Rev. Thomas Watson, vol. 2, Blackie, Fullarton, & Co.; A. Fullarton & Co., 1829, pp. 297–98.
Thomas Brooks deals with the quandary faced here by Taylor:
First the “device of Satan”, the means by which the Christian can be disquieted and fearful:
Device (3). By suggesting to them the want of such and such preparations and qualifications. Saith Satan, Thou art not prepared to entertain Christ; thou art not thus and thus humbled and justified; thou art not heart-sick of sin; thou hast not been under horrors and terrors as such and such; thou must stay till thou art prepared and qualified to receive the Lord Jesus, &c.
Then the “remedy”:
Remedy (2). The second remedy against this device of Satan is, solemnly To dwell upon these following scriptures, which do clearly evidence that poor sinners which are not so and so prepared and qualified to meet with Christ, to receive and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ, may, notwithstanding that, believe in Christ; and rest and lean upon him for happiness and blessedness, according to the gospel. Read Prov. 1:20–33, and chap. 8:1–11, and chap. 9:1–6; Ezek. 16:1–14; John 3:14–18, 36; Rev. 3:15–20. Here the Lord Jesus Christ stands knocking at the Laodiceans’ door; he would fain have them to sup with him, and that he might sup with them; that is, that they might have intimate communion and fellowship one with another.
Now, pray tell me, what preparations or qualifications had these Laodiceans to entertain Christ? Surely none; for they were lukewarm, they were ‘neither hot nor cold,’ they were ‘wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked;’ and yet Christ, to shew his free grace and his condescending love, invites the very worst of sinners to open to him, though they were no ways so and so prepared or qualified to entertain him.
Brooks, Thomas. The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks. Edited by Alexander Balloch Grosart, vol. 1, James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; G. Herbert, 1866, pp. 146–47.
Taylor is seeking to avail himself of this remedy: Can my faith lay hold of that door behind which lies your free grace?
Behind that door lies the “crowns of life”:
where crowns of life do lie:
Thou’lt give a crown of life to such as be
Faithful to death. And shall faith fail in me?
The crown of life is offered to the one’s faith perseveres James 1:12 (ESV)
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
If I am faithful till the end, I will get this crown. But, will I be faithful until the end? Will that be me?
Another look at the couplet:
Thou’lt give a crown of life to such as be
Faithful to death. And shall faith fail in me?
This stanza has been moving along in iambs, until we come to the last line:
The accent lands on the first syllable, giving us this phrase:
FAITHful to DEATH `- -`
The galloping first line of the couplet stumbles over faithful as it comes to the next line. The emphasis is all upon “faith”. Faith as the subject-actor of this entire stanza: It is faith that seeks to toast and to look upon the door to free grace. These things are proper to those who have “faith”. Thus, the abrupt “FAITHful” places the emphasis where it belongs: Is that me?
If the Lord should cleanse his heart, his would be a fit place for the Lord.
He again uses the initial accent to drive home the point. This use of the accent makes the plea more intensive. He furthers that intensity with alliteration on the accented syllables:
PARdon and POIison them, Lord, with thy blood
CAST their CURSED CARcasses out of my heart.
The paired “pardon and poison” is an interesting phrase because both words are appropriate to the prayer: He is asking the Lord to (1) forgive him for harboring sin, and (2) destroy the sin in his heart. Thus, pardon and poison are both appropriate. But, this is the only time I have ever seen these two words paired. A check of google n-gram reports no usage of this phrase.
The blood of Christ was shed for the forgiveness of sins. The ninth chapter of Hebrews discusses this doctrine at length. But how does the blood poison sin? There is a line, I believe it is in Barth’s commentary on Romans, 6th chapter, that grace pulls up sin by the roots. Pardon for sin is not merely a forgiveness, but a transformation. (Incidentally, this leads us to one of the great controversial issues in Christian theology: What is the precise relationship between forgiveness and transformation, positional and progressive sanctification?)
The act of being reconciled is inconsistent with sin, “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Rom. 6:2
The sin having been poisoned would thus be dead and the soldiers now carcasses:
CAST their CURSED CARcasses out of my heart.
I take cursed carcasses to be an allusion to Hebrews 3, which recounts in part the death of the rebellious Israelites following the exodus from Egypt. Those who rebelled were cursed, they were not permitted to enter the promised land and their bodies, carcasses in the Authorize Version used by Taylor, were left outside of the promised land:
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:14–19 (KJV)
He prays that his heart being cleansed of sin may then be properly adorned. It is a space being cleaned and then filled with something better:
My heart fill with thy love, let grace it dub. 15
Make this my silver studs with thy rich art.
His prayer is that his heart be filled with love and grace (grace being the sanctifying influence of the Spirit). There is a second movement in the prayer: not merely filled but made into a work of art. This is one of those self-referential moments in Taylor’s poems where the prayer of the poem is in part manifested by the poem. The poem itself is art: although he reference here is more directly visual art.
This two-step: clean then fill probably is an allusion to this statement from Jesus:
Luke 11:24–26 (KJV)
24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
A heart which is cleansed but not filled with something better is in danger. He is praying not merely for forgiveness but for transformation.
His heart being cleansed and made into art will then be a paradise, a garden (paradise means garden):
My soul shall then be thy sweet paradise
Thou’st be its rose, and it thy bed of spice.
Paradise has an interesting reference to heaven:
Luke 23:43 (KJV)
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
But even more to the point of this poem, is the use of the word “paradise” in the passage which is the motto for this poem:
Revelation 2:7–10 (KJV)
7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; 9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
The imagery here comes from the Song of Solomon, which is an intimate love poem often read allegorically:
Song of Solomon 2:1–2 (KJV)
1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. 2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
Song of Solomon 6:2 (KJV)
2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
He prays that the Lord be the chief glory of the heart and the heart a fitting place for such a rose.
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
First Stanza
Fain I would sing thy praise, but fear I feign
My sin doth keep out of my heart thy fear
Damps love: defiles my soul. Old blots new stain.
Hopes hobbled lie, and rusty chains worn clear.
My sins that make me stand in need of thee 5
Do keep me back to hug all sin I see.
Notes:
Fain: I desire
Feign: I pretend
Fear: a fear of his own sin
Fear: a rightful respect and awe of God
FAIN i would SING thy PRAISE but FEAR i FEIGN
The poem begins with an accented syllable: Fain. That leads to a very quick “I would”, with the accent falling squarely on “Sing.” Interestingly, there is no accent on the word “I” which appears twice in this line. There is assonance on the long “A” of Fain, Praise, Feign. There is alliteration on Fain, Fear, Feign.
Fain I would sing thy praise, but fear I feign
I desire to praise you, but I am fearful that praise would be a mere pretense. This leads to the question: Why does he fear himself?
My sin doth keep out of my heart thy fear
The fear of himself from the first line appears here in absence: He is fearful of his heart, because his heart does not fear.
The concept of sin will be developed in two directions: First, it is his person sin. That is an attribute. “My sin” (2) Second, there are individual events, “sin” (5). Third, there is sin in the abstract, “hug all sin.” (6)
Psychologically: sin and fear of God are inconsistent with one-another. The lack of fear of God is a characteristic of human rebellion, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Rom. 3:18
This lack of fear is a dreadful symptom, because fear of God is a blessing of the New Covenant, Jeremiah 32:39 (KJV) “And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them.”
My sin …
Damps love: defiles my soul. Old blots new stain.
What does sin do? Three clauses. The first two begin with an accented D. The third clause is accented on a B. The line does not move along easily.
DAMPS love. DEfiles my SOUL. old BLOTS new STAIN
The sounds are spit out: Damp defile blot stain. It sounds with the revulsion Taylor feels at himself.
Hopes hobbled lie, and rusty chains worn clear.
He continues with the negative effects of sin, but now he shifts the sound H/L
HOPES HOBbled LIE and RUSty chain worn CLEAR
The line must be read slowly. Sin destroys and leaves him without hope.
I’m not sure exactly what to make of “rusty chain worn clear”. For a rusty chain to be freed from rust and thus clear, would entail lots of dragging and scraping.
The couplet is the paradox of the Christian life:
My sins that make me stand in need of thee 5
Do keep me back to hug all sin I see.
We need grace and forgiveness because of our sin. This should cause us to love God for his grace and forgiveness. But sin destroys our love and defiles our conscience. The sin that necessitates God’s grace simultaneously drags us away from God and to our sin.
The nature of addiction works well: The addiction to the drug necessitates the help of others to drag the addict away from the drug: but the desire for the drug draws him back.
The image of hugging sin is perverse. He does not come near sin, he draws it to his chest in a loving manner.
Prepare me and let me see the beauty of the world to come. Then, when I come to it, I will repay that sight with thankfulness.
Adorn me Lord with holy huswifry.
All blanch my robes with clusters of thy graces.
We come to the petition which ends the poem. He first asked to be adorned.
The verb adorn has a perfectly comprehensible meaning here: prepare me. But there is also an allusion to the heavenly new world:
Revelation 21:1–2 (KJV)
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
The people of God are referred to as the “bride”. In Hosea, Israel is referenced as a bridge. Hos. 2:2, etc. The church is referred to as the bride of Christ. Eph. 5:25-30
Prepare for this holy service and care. (huswifry)
The robes are “blanced”, that is, made white. We again have an eschatological allusion:
Revelation 7:13–14 (KJV)
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:7–10 (KJV)
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The culmination of history is a wedding, where the bride has been made ready to meet her husband. The poet is asking to be prepared for that wedding.
This helps underscore the importance of marriage as concept in Christianity. While the current sociological aspects are important, so is the eschatological reference. The concept of marriage of importance to human beings to teach of the coming event.
The robes are not merely washed white in blood, but they are further adorned with graces. This leads to another allusion, this time to the robes of the priest to enter the temple:
Exodus 39:22–26 (KJV)
22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. 23 And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend. 24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. 25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates; 26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Just as the people of God are referred to as the wife, they are referred to as priests:
1 Peter 2:9 (KJV)
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
A priest is one who comes into the presence of God.
Having been prepared, he now requests a sight of what will come:
Thus lead me to thy threshold: give mine eye
A peephole to see bright glory chases.
Before we consider the details, notice that this references back to the beginning of the poem wherein the poet is distressed that his love is insufficient. The love is made active by means of a sight of the beloved. It is an increase in a greater desire for something holy which causes the change in his life.
He is asked to be led to the place of a view and there
to see bright glory chases.
A “chase” is an enclosed park or a hunting ground. An example of that use of the word would be found in the poem “Chevy Chase”.
Here the use would be the park, not the hunting ground. The idea would be a closed garden space. The image of a garden runs throughout Scripture. The first couple were placed in a garden. Jesus is buried in a garden tomb. Mary Magdalen mistakes Jesus for a “gardener.” The word “paradise” means garden. The Song of Solomon uses the image of a garden repeatedly for a place of romantic encounter:
Song of Solomon 5:1 (KJV)
1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
Thus, Garden combines both eschatological and marriage images.
Then take me in: I’ll pay, when I possess
Thy throne and thee the rent in happiness.
The poet will possess the throne as a “joint heir” with Christ. Rom. 8:17
We end with happiness. Yet to rejoice in the Lord is end of all the other aspects of justification and sanctification. It is to rejoice in being reconciled to and living with our God. We give gifts and hope for the happiness of the one who receives that gift.
The import of this stanza is simple. A glorious kingdom is shown to him as his inheritance. He anticipates how happy he will be when he receives this inheritance.
Canaan was the land promised to Israel. As the promised land it functions as a picture of heaven. Here is an example from Jonathan Edwards, the son of Taylor’s friend:
“But the first possession he had in it was the possession of a burying place, or a possession for him to be in after he and his were dead; which signifies this, that the heavenly Canaan, the land of promise, the rest that remains for the people of God, is a land for them to possess, and abide and rest in, after they are dead.” Edwards, Jonathan. Notes on Scripture. Edited by Harry S. Stout and Stephen J. Stein, vol. 15, Yale University Press, 1998, p. 335.
He compares the sight of Canaan as an image which has been interlaid (enwalled) with gemstones.
Gem stones are used throughout the Scripture as an image of the glory of the world to come:
“This kingdom excels in the riches of it; gold doth not so much surpass iron, as this kingdom doth all other riches; ‘the gates are of pearl,’ Rev. 21:21. ‘and the foundations of it are garnished with all precious stones,’ ver. 19. It is enough for cabinets to have pearl; but were gates of pearl ever heard of before? It is said ‘kings shall throw down their crowns and scepters before it.’ Rev. 4:10 as counting all their glory and riches but dust in comparison of it; this kingdom hath Deity itself to enrich it, and these riches are such as cannot be weighed in the balance; neither the heart of man can conceive, nor the tongue of angel express them.” Watson, Thomas. “Discourses upon Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.” Discourses on Important and Interesting Subjects, Being the Select Works of the Rev. Thomas Watson, vol. 2, Blackie, Fullarton, & Co.; A. Fullarton & Co., 1829, p. 74.
He repeats the image this time as a kingdom of glory.
“In fine” means in conclusion. (Latin, finis)
The image of the kingdom is repeated, as a crown. Grace is made to be the adornment of a crown.
all properties Divine. There are two possible references here. This could be a generic reference to all things divine, pertaining to God, of any sort.
However, “properties” is a technical theological term. For example, this usage by Jonathan Edwards, “COMMUNICATION OF PROPERTIES with respect to the divine and human nature of Christ. Such a communication of properties and characters with respect to Christ in the language of Scripture, which divines suppose to have its foundation in the union of the divine and human natures of Jesus, is not absurd.” Misc. 1219. Properties is an equivalent of attributes.
This second usage means the glory of the world to come which so stirs Taylor’s heart is the nature of God himself. John Piper had a useful meditation on this particular point some years ago. https://www.desiringgod.org/books/god-is-the-gospel
The hope is not some place, as lovely as it may be, but communion with God. This is also known in Christian theology as beatific vision.
“CHAP. XLVI
“The happiness of the beatifical vision discovered
“Secondly, they shall have the Beatifical Vision of God, we shall be where he is, and we shall see his face. Says Christ, Father, I will, that those which thou hast given me, be where I am, that is a blessing; but in Rev. 22:4. it is said, They shall see his face, and that is more, They shall know as they are known,* 1 Cor. 13:12. It is the promise of the pure in heart, that they shall see God: 1 John 3:2. Behold, now we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know, that when he shall appear,* we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. It is the happiness of the Angels that they behold the face of God; so it shall be the happiness of the Saints to behold the face of God in heaven: As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness, I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness, Psal. 17:15. and so we may have the help of divers Scriptures to shew, that this is the happiness of the Saints.” Burroughs, Jeremiah. Moses His Choice, with His Eye Fixed upon Heaven: Discovering the Happy Condition of a Self-Denying Heart. John Field, 1650, p. 535.
This sight is the greatest answer for the human heart.
“tu excitas, ut laudare te delectet, quia fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te.” Augustine of Hippo. St. Augustine’s Confessions, Vol. 1: Latin Text. Edited by T. E. Page and W. H. D. Rouse, Translated by William Watts, The Macmillan Co.; William Heinemann, 1912, p. 2.
The Father’s house blanched o’er with orient grace. 30
Notes
In the last stanza, he prayed that his heart would be opened, that he would be given apparel fitting to wait upon the King, and that such apparel would bedeck his Love, who would come ot the Lord, the King.
In this stanza, the King leads the poet on.
The time and perspective change slightly in this stanza. Rather than speaking directly to God, he seems to be standing at distance from himself and observing the work of the King leading his people to the palace:
He takes them to the shining threshold clear 25
Of his bright palace,
The “them” must be all others for whom Christ has “prepared a place.” This “place” is now revealed to be a palace.
It is ambiguous as to whom whom is “clothed in grace’s flame.” It could refer to the King who displays the grace of those whom he is bringing to the palace, or it could refer to the subjects of the King who have received the grace. In line 29, Taylor references “the Throne of Grace” which is the place from whence the Lord dispenses grace. I would think the reference is best fit to the subjects, but that is not completely clear and the ambiguity may be deliberate: All are clothed in grace.
Why does the King lead the procession: To show them their inheritance, and then to give them their inheritance:
Then takes them in thereto, not only there
To have a prospect, but possess the same.
“To have a prospect” means to be able to see, to look upon. They will be shown the palace and then given a place in the palace.
Romans 8:17 promises that we are “joint heirs with Christ”, that is, we will share in his inheritance. Revelation 20:6 promises that the saints will reign with Christ. The promise is to share in the inheritance given to Christ.
What is the content of this inheritance? In an including but not limited to list we find:
The Crown of Life, the Throne of Glory’s place,
The Father’s house blanched o’er with orient grace. 30
The Crown of Life:
James 1:12 (ESV)
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Throne of Grace
Hebrews 4:14–16 (ESV)
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The Father’s House is the place wherein Jesus will prepare a place:
John 14:1–2 (ESV)
14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
To blanched over is to be made shining bright. Orient grace: Taylor here repurposes “grace” to refer to earthly splendor. The orient would have been understood by a man from Britain as being a place of gold and gems and spice and wonder. Thus, the most magnificent which he could imagine.
The flow of this stanza is easy to follow: Open up your wardrobe and take out a robe to put on me. When I am suitably dressed I will wait upon you like a a courtier waits upon the king.
Unkey my hear, unlock thy wardrobe: bring
Out royal robes; adorn my soul, Lord, so;
Lines 19-20 express a simple prayer: Open up closet and dress me in a robe. The imagery here alludes to the story of the Prodigal Son. The son of a rich father demands his inheritance. The son then leaves his father and wastes the inheritance on debauched living. The son falls to feeding pigs during a famine. In despair he returns home with the hope that he perhaps he take a position as a servant on his father’s estate. Each movement of the son’s life brings greater disgrace upon the father. To demand an inheritance is to wish his father dead. To live a profligate life degrades his father further. He falls to the lowest of servants and then comes back a virtual slave. The father should reject the son to maintain his honor.
Instead, the father has been patiently waiting for his son to return. When he sees his son “a long way off” he runs through the streets (degrading himself further) to bring his son home. Once home, the father prepares a banquet and dresses his son in his “best robe.” (Luke 15:22)
By alluding to this story, Taylor is putting himself in the place of the son who has degraded his father and then receives grace and mercy in abundance.
The return of the poet for being so dressed is to attend upon the king in love. While no one can increase the honor of God, we can certainly extol his honor, which increases our joy in the Lord. (Think of the analogy. How we praise those things we love and admire because our praise of the thing increases our joy in that object or person. To praise God is not to increase God’s merit but our happiness.)
Let’s now move back to the very first clauses in the stanza:
Unkey my heart, unlock thy wardrobe
The King’s wardrobe is also the poet’s heart. God is not going somewhere else to find the robe. This is the image which has been working its way through the poem. The poet is a chest wherein God should find something wonderful. The love therein is in terrible shape, but the very act of God going to that chest makes it new.
There is a conceit in Christianity that God does not love us because we are lovely. We do not merit God’s mercy and love. But that by loving us, God makes us lovely. His love transforms us.
Taylor ends with this couplet:
In glory he prepares for his a place
Whom he doth here beglory all with grace
In John 14, after the “last supper” the disciples of Jesus are discouraged. He tells them not to be discouraged or frightened: He is leaving. But his leaving is “to prepare a place” for us to live with him.
Christ has gone to prepare a place – and here prepares us here to enter into that place. Here, we are “beglor[ied] all with grace.” Grace is every good kindness which God bestows upon us. Our return to him is love, praise, honor.
This poem then, which extols the glory of God in bestowing grace is part of the honor which the poet promises to render. The poem is both a prayer and an answer to the prayer (open my heart that I may praise you).
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