Christian Art | George Herbert | The Temple | The Church | To All Angels And Saints
George Herbert | The Temple | The Church | To All Angels And Saints
Oh glorious spirits, who after all your bands
See the smooth face of God, without a frown
Or strict commands;
Where ev’ry one is king, and hath his crown,
If not upon his head, yet in his hands:
Not out of envie or maliciousnesse
Do I forbear to crave your speciall aid:I would addresse
My vows to thee most gladly, blessed Maid,
And Mother of my God, in my distresse.
Thou art the holy mine, whence came the gold,
The great restorative for all decayIn young and old;
Thou art the cabinet where the jewell lay:
Chiefly to thee would I my soul unfold:
But now (alas!) I dare not; for our King,
Whom we do all joyntly adore and praise,Bids no such thing:
And where his pleasure no injunction layes,
(’Tis your own case) ye never move a wing.
All worship is prerogative, and a flower
Of his rich crown, from whom lyes no appealAt the last houre:
Therefore we dare not from his garland steal,
To make a posie for inferiour power.
Although then others court you, if ye know
What’s done on earth, we shall not fare the worse,
Who do not so;
Since we are ever ready to disburse,
If any one our Masters hand can show…
George Herbert | The Temple | The Church | To All Angels And Saints
The poem explores themes of worship, reverence, and obedience to divine authority. The poem reflects religious tensions of the legacy Reformation era. It expresses Herbert’s struggle with the practice of venerating saints and Mary, this with an unwavering commitment to Christ’s commands. Herbert knows truth, and yet refrains from seeking angels’ and saints’ intercession, with the thought that all worship belongs solely to God.
The opening stanza sets a tone of admiration for the saints, describing their heavenly state and their direct communion with God. The saints are portrayed as glorified beings, crowned with divine favor, and enjoying eternal peace. Herbert’s reverence is clear, but it is not uncritical. He acknowledges their majesty while carefully maintaining a theological boundary: their glory derives entirely from God, not from themselves.
The poem moves to address Blessed Virgin Mary, whom the speaker honors as the ‘holy mine’ from which Christ’s redemptive presence emerged. This description highlights Mary’s unique role in salvation history, portraying her as both sacred and intimately connected to Christ. Yet Herbert refrains from directing his prayers to Mary. This decision is not rooted in disdain but in theological caution, as Christ has issued no command to venerate Mary or the saints.
Central to the poem is the assertion that worship is a divine prerogative. Herbert describes worship as a ‘flower of his rich crown’, a metaphor emphasizing its sacred exclusivity. To divert any portion of worship to ‘inferior power’ is to diminish God’s glory. This reflects the protestant reformation’s rejection of practices such as and including invocation of saints, which reformers viewed as potentially idolatrous.
The poem’s tone remains respectful rather than polemical. Herbert does not denounce those who seek the intercession of saints; instead, he defends his own restraint by appealing to divine authority. The final stanza underscores this principle, stating that while others may choose differently, he and his community adhere strictly to Christ’s instructions. This decision is framed not as a rejection of the saints but as fidelity to God’s will.
The poem emphasizes sufficiency of Christ as the sole mediator and the centrality of Scripture in guiding worship. The poem also reflects a personal humility, as Herbert seeks to honour God without presuming to know more than what has been revealed. In so doing, the poem presents a nuanced and reverent meditation on faith, obedience, and boundaries of devotion.
This poem meditates on the nature and purpose of a ‘verse’, emphasizing simplicity and spiritual focus. Herbert frames the verse not as grand poetry or artistic achievement but as a humble, personal offering to God. By reflecting on what a verse is not, Herbert situates the act of writing in a starkly different realm from that of worldly pursuits or markers of success. Humility embedded in the term ‘verse’, which can mean a single line or small unit of expression, underscores the poet’s theological concerns: how the simplest acts, when directed toward God, can acquire immense spiritual value [ … ]
John the Baptist is born into a small and close-knit community, in which all Elizabeth’s neighbours and family relations rejoice with her at the gift of new life the Lord has bestowed on her. This is clearly a good and healthy community environment, and this will be important to John’s formation, howbeit the people are, as small communities can often be, quite conservative in their ways, such that when Elizabeth tells them the child will be called John, she causes something of a fuss, because this is an unusual thing to do: ‘There is none of thy kindred called by this name,’ her friends complain to her [ … ]
Christian Art | Our Lord Jesus On The Cross | God The Father | God The Son Office Of Readings | Advent December 23rd | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Hippolytus Against The Heresy Of Noetus | The Hidden Sacrament Is Revealed ‘The hidden sacrament is revealed.’ In this reading, Saint Hippolytus writes against the Noetic heresy, which denied the real distinction between the Father and the Son by treating them as the same person acting under different names. The purpose of Saint Hippolytus is to defend the Church’s confession of one God who is not solitary, but who exists with his Word and Spirit. Hippolytus begins by setting a principle: knowledge of God comes from the Holy Scriptures, not from speculation or private reasoning. Faith is not shaped by human preference but by what God has chosen to reveal. The Father determines how He is believed, the Son how He is glorified, and the Spirit how He is received. This establishes Scripture as the rule of faith and guards against theological invention. Hippolytus then affirms that God existed alone before creation, with nothing co-eternal alongside Him. At the same time, God was not without reason, wisdom, or power. Hippolytus insists that plurality within God does not compromise divine unity. God contains within himself Word, wisdom, and counsel. Creation begins when God wills and manifests His Word. The Word is not created from nothing but proceeds from God and acts as the agent of creation. The Word is first invisible to the created world, though known to God. When God chooses, He makes the Word visible, described as ‘Light of Light’. This language safeguards both distinction and unity: the Word comes from God and reveals God, without being separate from Him. The manifestation of the Word is ordered towards salvation, so that the world may see and be saved. Hippolytus identifies this Word clearly with the Son of God. Through him all things were made, and he alone comes forth from the Father. The Law and the prophets belong to the same saving plan. God speaks through them by the Holy Spirit, so that they proclaim not their own ideas but the Father’s will. Revelation is therefore coherent: creation, prophecy, and incarnation belong to one divine purpose. Hippolytus appeals to the Gospel of John to show continuity between prophecy and fulfilment. The Word spoken of by the prophets is the Word made flesh. Though the world was made through him, it failed to recognise him. This failure does not negate God’s plan but reveals the depth of the mystery now disclosed. A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Hippolytus Against The Heresy Of Noetus | The Hidden Sacrament Is Revealed There is, brethren, one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the Holy Scriptures and from no other source. Whatever things the Holy Scriptures declare, at these let us look; and whatever they teach, let us learn it; and as the Father wills our belief to be, let us believe; and as he wills the Son to be glorified, let us glorify him; and as he wills the Holy Spirit to be bestowed, let us receive him. Not according to our own will, nor according to our own mind, nor yet storming by force the things which are given by God, but even as he has chosen to teach them by the Holy Scriptures, so let us discern them. God, subsisting alone, and having nothing coeval with himself, chose to create the world. And conceiving the world in mind, and willing and uttering the Word, he made it; and at once it appeared, formed it in the way he desired. For us it is sufficient simply to know that nothing was coeval with God. Outside him there was nothing; but he, while existing alone, yet existed in plurality. For he did not lack reason, or wisdom, or power, or counsel. All things were in him, and he was the All. At a time and in a manner chosen by him he made his Word manifest, and through his Word he made all things. He bears this Word in himself, as yet invisible to the created world. He makes him visible, uttering the voice first, and begetting him as Light of Light. He presents him to the world as its Lord; and whereas the Word was visible formerly to God alone, and invisible to the world which is made, God makes the Word visible in order that the world might see him and be able to be saved. This is the mind which came forth into the world and was manifested as the Son of God. All things came into being through him, and he alone comes from the Father. He gave us the Law and the prophets; and in giving them, he made them speak by the Holy Ghost, in order that, receiving the inspiration of the Father’s power, they might declare the Father’s counsel and will. Thus, then, was the Word made manifest, even as the blessed John says. For he sums up the things that were said by the prophets, and shows that this is the Word, by whom all things were made. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made. And later, The world was made by him, and the world did not know him; he came to his own, and his own did not receive him. Christian Prayer With Jesus Lord God,You are one, and from You come the Word and the Spirit.You have chosen to make Yourself known, not by human effort,but by what You have revealed in the scriptures. You spoke Your Word, and all things were made.You made that Word visible, so that the world might see and be saved.Grant that we may receive what You give,believe what You teach,and worship You as You have shown Yourself to be. Keep us […]
