Christian Art | George Herbert | The Temple | The Church | Vanitie (1)
George Herbert | The Temple | The Church | Vanitie (1)
The fleet Astronomer can bore,
And thred the spheres with his quick-piercing minde:
He views their stations, walks from doore to doore,
Surveys, as if he had design’d
To make a purchase there: he sees their dances,
And knoweth long before,
Both their full-ey’d aspects, and secret glances.
The nimble Diver with his side
Cuts through the working waves, that he may fetch
His dearely-earned pearl, which God did hide
On purpose from the ventrous wretch;
That he might save his life, and also hers,
Who with excessive pride
Her own destruction and his danger wears.
The subtil Chymick can devest
And strip the creature naked, till he finde
The callow principles within their nest:
There he imparts to them his minde,
Admitted to their bed-chamber, before
They appeare trim and drest
To ordinarie suitours at the doore.
What hath not man sought out and found,
But his deare God? who yet his glorious law
Embosomes in us, mellowing the ground
With showres and frosts, with love and aw,
So that we need not say, Where’s this command?
Poore man, thou searchest round
To finde out death, but missest life at hand.
George Herbert | The Temple | The Church | Vanitie (1)
George Herbert’s poem explores humanity’s relentless pursuit of knowledge and mastery over the natural world, juxtaposing these achievements with the failure to recognize and embrace God’s immediate presence. The poem is structured around vivid images of human ingenuity, drawing on the astronomer, diver, and chemist (or ‘chymick’) as archetypes of humanity’s intellectual and physical endeavors. Yet, beneath these triumphs lies a critique: the neglect of the divine, who resides ‘at hand’ rather than in the distant realms humanity seeks to conquer.
Herbert begins by depicting the astronomer, whose ‘quick-piercing minde’ enables him to traverse the heavens. The astronomer ‘thred[s] the spheres,’ mapping their ‘stations’ and ‘dances’. This mastery of celestial movements suggests both awe and futility. While the astronomer appears to possess dominion over the stars, his efforts are framed as acquisitive, likened to a surveyor seeking to ‘make a purchase there’. The implication is clear: this pursuit of knowledge, though impressive, remains fundamentally material and incomplete, lacking the transformative insight found in divine truth.
The second stanza turns to the diver, whose daring pursuit of pearls reflects human determination and ingenuity. The diver’s ability to ‘cut through the working waves’ speaks to the strength and skill required to unearth treasures ‘God did hide’. Yet Herbert introduces a moral caution: the pearls are hidden deliberately, both to preserve the diver’s life and to temper the destructive pride of the one who wears them. The diver’s quest, like the astronomer’s, is fraught with spiritual peril. It highlights humanity’s tendency to risk all for fleeting rewards, neglecting the eternal.
The third stanza shifts focus to the ‘chymick’, whose precision and analytical prowess enable him to ‘devest and strip’ creation to its essence. Herbert portrays this figure as penetrating the inner sanctum of nature, uncovering the ‘principles’ hidden within. Yet, even as the chemist unravels the mysteries of the material world, Herbert implies a spiritual blindness. The ‘callow principles’ laid bare are insufficient without divine illumination, and the chemist’s successes, while remarkable, cannot substitute for the transformative power of God’s presence.
In the final stanza, Herbert reflects on the irony of human endeavour. ‘What hath not man sought out and found,’ he asks, ‘but his deare God?’ This rhetorical question underscores humanity’s misplaced priorities. Despite possessing the ‘glorious law’ within, ‘embosom’d’ by God, man searches outwardly, missing the life-giving presence of the divine. Herbert’s imagery of the earth ‘mellowing…with love and aw’ reminds the reader that God’s commandments are not distant or inaccessible but are embedded in the fabric of creation.
The poem concludes with a stark juxtaposition: humanity’s relentless search for knowledge leads not to life but to death. The repeated image of ‘searching round’ reinforces the futility of this pursuit. Herbert’s critique is not of knowledge itself but of the neglect of God, who offers a life ‘at hand’ that is continually overlooked. The final admonition, though unspoken, is clear: to seek God within, embracing immediacy of God’s presence rather than chasing after the transient and the distant.
By interweaving imagery of human achievement with divine proximity, Herbert challenges the reader to reconsider what it means truly to ‘find’. The poem’s tensions – seeking and presence, knowledge and wisdom – express a central theme of Herbert’s work: the eternal is not discovered in farthest reaches but within the heart attuned to God.
Psalm 114 recounts the Israelites’ journey out of Egypt, focusing on God’s power over natural elements. Psalm 114 describes the sea fleeing, the Jordan River reversing its course, and mountains and hills moving, all in response to God’s presence. These images serve as metaphors for divine intervention during the Exodus. The psalm is traditionally linked with significant events in Jewish history, and its vivid imagery reflects a theme of liberation and divine guidance [ … ]
The Sadducees are explicitly held up for criticism in the Gospels less often than the Pharisees, even though they provided the elite which ran the Temple. This is partly because, with the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in AD 70, the Sadducees were wiped out as a force in Jewish religious life and politics. The Judaism which survived, to regroup and forge a new identity, was that of the Pharisees. Consequently, when there were rivalries between Jews and Christians, it was the Pharisees with whom Christians would find themselves in conflict, and this would colour the memory of earlier times [ … ]
In the Bible, a miracle is an event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency. Miracles are often seen as a sign of the intervention of God in the affairs of human beings. In the Old Testament, the most famous miracles are the Ten Plagues of Egypt, in which God punished the Pharaoh for refusing to release the Israelites from slavery, and the parting of the Red Sea, in which God allowed the Israelites to escape from the pursuing Egyptians by opening a path through the sea. In the New Testament, the miracles of Jesus are a central part of his ministry and are seen as evidence of his divinity. These include healings, such as the restoration of sight to the blind and the raising of the dead, and acts of nature, such as turning water into wine and walking on water. Is There A Theological Significance To Jesus’ Miracles? In the Christian tradition, the miracles performed by Jesus are seen as a manifestation of his divinity and as proof of his authority to teach and heal. Many of these miracles are described in the Gospels of the New Testament, which are the primary source of information about the life and teachings of Jesus. The purpose of the miracles, according to the Gospels, was to demonstrate Jesus’ power over natural forces and to show that he had the authority to forgive sins and offer salvation to those who believed in him. Why Did Jesus Ask To Keep His Miracles Secret? ‘Tell No One Of This.’ In the Gospels, there are a few instances where Jesus tells people not to tell others about what he has done for them. For example, in the Gospel of Matthew, after Jesus healed a man who was possessed by demons, he told the man, ‘See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a proof to them’ (Matthew 8:4). In this case, it seems that Jesus was concerned that the man’s testimony might not be believed or might be misunderstood, and so he asked him to keep the experience to himself for the time being. It is difficult to say for sure why Jesus might have asked someone to keep quiet about a miracle without knowing the specific context in which the request was made. However, some possible reasons that come to mind include: To avoid drawing unnecessary attention to himself. In the Gospels, Jesus often tries to avoid drawing too much attention to himself, especially from the authorities who are hostile to him. Asking someone to keep quiet about a miracle might be one way of avoiding unwanted attention and allowing Jesus to continue his ministry without interference. To allow the person who was healed to experience the transformation for themselves. In some cases, the person who was healed might have been skeptical or unsure of what had happened to them. Asking them to keep quiet about the miracle might have given them time to reflect on the experience and come to their own understanding of it without being influenced by others. To test the person’s faith. In some cases, Jesus might have asked someone to keep quiet about a miracle as a test of their faith. If they were truly grateful for what Jesus had done for them, they would be willing to follow his instructions and trust that he had a good reason for asking them to keep quiet. These are just a few possible reasons why Jesus might have asked someone to keep quiet about a miracle. It is important to remember that the Gospels are ancient texts and that we must be careful not to impose our own interpretations on them without considering the historical and cultural context in which they were written. To avoid creating conflict or division. In the Gospels, Jesus often encounters people who are skeptical or hostile to his teachings, and he sometimes tries to avoid confrontations with them. Asking someone to keep quiet about a miracle might be one way of avoiding a confrontation or a heated debate that could disrupt his ministry. To avoid being misunderstood or misrepresented. In some cases, the person who was healed might not have understood the full significance of what Jesus had done for them, and they might have tried to explain it in a way that distorted or misrepresented the truth. Asking them to keep quiet might have given Jesus time to explain things to them more fully and help them to understand the true meaning of the miracle. To avoid becoming a spectacle. In the Gospels, there are many instances where people are amazed by the miracles that Jesus performs, and they often try to make him into a kind of celebrity or showman. Asking someone to keep quiet about a miracle might have been one way of avoiding this kind of attention and keeping the focus on the message that Jesus was trying to convey. What Is The Significance Of Miracle Of The Wedding At Cana? In the Christian tradition, the wedding at Cana is significant because it is the first of the miracles performed by Jesus that is recorded in the Gospels of the New Testament. This event is described in the Gospel of John, where it is said that Jesus, along with his mother Mary and his disciples, attended a wedding in the town of Cana. At the wedding, the host ran out of wine, and Mary asked Jesus to help. In response, Jesus turned water into wine, which is seen as a miraculous act that demonstrated his power and authority. In the Gospel of John, after Mary asks Jesus to help with the wine at the wedding in Cana, he replies, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). This statement is often seen as indicating that Jesus was aware […]
