Edward Taylor: View All Ye Eyes Above.2

19 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by memoirandremains in Ascension, Edward Taylor, Literature, Philippians, Psalms, Puritan, Uncategorized

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ascension, Edward Taylor, poem, Poetry, prosody, Spurgeon, Treasury of David, View All Ye Eyes Above

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The analysis of the previous stanza made be found here

Upon the wings he of the wind rode in
His bright sedan, through all the silver skies
And made the azure cloud his chariot bring
Him to the mountain of celestial joys.
The Prince of the Air durst not an arrow spend
While through his realm his chariot did ascend.

The entire poem concerns the Ascension of Jesus following the Resurrection. Jesus having been resurrected ascends to heaven as King of All.

The image is of Christ ascending through the air up to heaven in great power. Satan can see the ascent of Christ but cannot attack:

Romans 6:9 (AV)
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

Biblical Allusions:

Upon the wings:

The allusion here is to metaphorical references to God coming in Judgment or great power.

Psalm 18:9–12 (AV)
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

The allusion is also to God unassailed power over all his creation:
Psalm 104:1–5 (AV)
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. 2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: 3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: 4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: 5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

The mountain of celestial joys:

The place of God’s peculiar residing is sometimes referred to as “heaven” and sometimes as on a mountain. The allusion here seems in particular to be Psalm 24:

Psalm 24 (AV)
Psalm 24
A Psalm of David.
1 The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

This psalm is particular appropriate to Taylor’s poem because it concerns the Ascension of Christ, beginning in verse 7: The King of Glory coming through the everlasting doors.

Then follows the apostrophe: the prophet foresees the ascension of Christ and his saints into the kingdom of heaven. He sees his Lord marching at the head of the redeemed world, and conducting them into regions of honour and joy. Suitably to such a view, and in a most beautiful strain of poetry, he addresses himself to the heavenly portals. “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory,” with all the heirs of his grace and righteousness, shall make their triumphant entry; “shall enter in,” and go out no more.—James Hervey.

C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 1-26, vol. 1 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 382–383.

The Prince of the Air: Satan

Ephesians 2:1–3 (AV)
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Mechanics

A-B-A-B-C-C

The first line is the most interesting metrically

– ‘ – ‘ ‘ – – ‘ ‘ –
Up on the wings he of the wind rode in

Two observations: the accent on “he” coming after the accented “wings” brings a jolt and lays the attention fully upon the main character in the scene. Second, the unaccented “in” hurries the attention along to “His bright sedan”. The same effect is rendered in the third line which ends with “bring”.

In the fourth line, the rhythm slows. There is a long pause after of “mountain” created by normal mid-line pause followed by two unaccented syllables. The effect is to slow the scene as the King arrives at the mountain — with the emphasis falling last of all upon “joys”.

Satan then comes along in the couplet as an impotent enemy gazing in rage at his loss:

Colossians 2:15 (AV)
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Prepare for Slander

18 Saturday Jul 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in Charles Spurgeon, Psalms

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Psalm 7, Psalms, Slander, Spurgeon, Treasury of David

It will be well for us here to remember that this is a description of the danger to which the Psalmist was exposed from slanderous tongues. Verily this is not an overdrawn picture, for the wounds of a sword will heal, but the wounds of the tongue cut deeper than the flesh, and are not soon cured. Slander leaves a slur, even if it be wholly disproved. Common fame, although notoriously a common liar, has very many believers. Once let an ill word get into men’s mouths, and it is not easy to get it fully out again. The Italians say that good repute is like the cypress, once cut, it never puts forth leaf again; this is not true if our character be cut by a stranger’s hand, but even then it will not soon regain its former verdure. Oh, ’tis a meanness most detestable to stab a good man in his reputation, but diabolical hatred observes no nobility in its mode of warfare. We must be ready for this trial, for it will surely come upon us. If God was slandered in Eden, we shall surely be maligned in this land of sinners. Gird up your loins, ye children of the resurrection, for this fiery trial awaits you all.

C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 1-26, vol. 1 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 68.

What you think and what you say

07 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in Psalms

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Charles Spurgeon, Meditation, Psalm 77, Treasury of David

It is well that the overflow of the mouth should indicate the good matter which fills the heart. Meditation makes rich talking; it is to be lamented that so much of the conversation of professors is utterly barren, because they take no time for contemplation. A meditative man should be a talker, otherwise he is a mental miser, a mill which grinds corn only for the miller. The subject of our meditation should be choice, and then our talk will be edifying; if we meditate on folly and affect to speak wisdom, our double-mindedness will soon he known unto all men. Holy talk following upon meditation has a consoling power in it for ourselves as well as for those who listen.

Charles Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Psalm 77

Of Communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Part 2, Chapter 2b.

16 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by memoirandremains in Charles Spurgeon, Discipleship, Fellowship, John Owen, Preaching, Psalms, Uncategorized

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Beauty, Charles Spuregon, Charles Spurgeon, Discipleship, Fellowship, Grace, Jesus, John Owen, Of Communion With the Father Son and Holy Spirit, Preaching, Psalm 45, Psalm 45:2, Psalms, Son, Treasury of David, Uncategorized

Having established that we commune with the Son the basis of grace, Owen develops the bare proposition. First, as noted above, there is the grace of his person. Since we are seeking communion with the Son on the basis of his mediation, Owen does not consider the excellency of the Son in God outside of “the office which for us, as God and man, he undertook”. Owen also does not consider the grace of the Son to rest in his physical appearance.

The excellence of the Son lies in his office of mediation:

But this is that which I intend, — the graces of the person of Christ as he is vested with the office of mediation, this spiritual eminency, comeliness, and beauty, as appointed and anointed by the Father unto the great work of bringing home all his elect unto his bosom.

Here Owen first quotes Psalm 45:2:

You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. Psalm 45:2 (ESV)

In making this attribution, Owen follows Hebrews in linking the Psalm to the incarnate Son (Heb. 1:8-9).

Spurgeon writes of this Psalm in the Treasury of David:

Thou art fairer than the children of men. In person, but especially in mind and character, the King of saints is peerless in beauty. The Hebrew word is doubled, “Beautiful, beautiful art thou.” Jesus is so emphatically lovely that words must be doubled, strained, yea, exhausted before he can be described. Among the children of men many have through grace been lovely in character, yet they have each had a flaw; but in Jesus we behold every feature of a perfect character in harmonious proportion. He is lovely everywhere, and from every point of view, but never more so than when we view him in conjugal union with his church; then love gives a ravishing flush of glory to his loveliness.

Grace is poured into thy lips. Beauty and eloquence make a man majestic when they are united; they both dwell in perfection in the all fair, all eloquent Lord Jesus. Grace of person and grace of speech reach their highest point in him. Grace has in the most copious manner been poured upon Christ, for it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell, and now grace is in superabundance, poured forth from his lips to cheer and enrich his people. The testimony, the promises, the invitations, the consolations of our King pour forth from him in such volumes of meaning that we cannot but contrast those cataracts of grace with the speech of Moses which did but drop as the rain, and distil as the dew. Whoever in personal communion with the Wellbeloved has listened to his voice will feel that “never man spake like this man.” Well did the bride say of him, “his lips are like lilies dropping sweet smelling myrrh.” One word from himself dissolved the heart of Saul of Tarsus, and turned him into an apostle, another word raised up John the Divine when fainting in the Isle of Patmos. Oftentimes a sentence from his lips has turned our own midnight into morning, our winter into spring.

Spurgeon then quotes Richard Coore as follows:

Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips. Thus he begins to set forth his beauty, wherein is the delightfulness of any person; so is it with the soul when God hath made known to man his own filthiness and uncomeliness through sin, and that only by Jesus sin is taken away; oh, how beautiful is this face, the first sight of him!

Secondly, Full of grace are thy lips: here is the second commendation; which is, when Jesus hath opened his lips to us, from them he pours out grace into our soul, when he makes known the Father to us, and speaks peace to all that are far off and near; when he calls, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you:” and all this is because God hath blessed him for ever; we are assured he comes from God, and that he and his works are eternal, and therefore all his grace poured out upon us shall remain with us, and make us blessed for ever; for he is the Word of God, and he speaks the mind of God, for he speaks nothing but what he hath heard from the Father; and when he speaks to our souls with his Word, the Spirit is given, a certain testimony to our soul that we are the sons of God, and a pledge of our inheritance; for the Spirit and the Word cannot be separated. Richard Coore, in “Christ set forth.”