Meditation 35

An Electronic Edition · Edward Taylor (1642-1729)

Original Source: The poetical works of Edward Taylor. Edited with an introduction and notes by Thomas H. Johnson. New York, Rockland editions, 1939.

Copyright 2003. This text is freely available provided the text is distributed with the header information provided.

Full Colophon Information

Oh! that I ever felt what I profess.  
‘Twould make me then the happi’st man alive.  
Ten thousand Worlds of Saints can’t make this less  
By living on’t, but it would make them thrive.  
These Loaves and Fishes are not lessened 5.
Nor Pasture over stock, by being fed.  

Lord am I thine? art thou, Lord, mine? So rich!  
How doth thy Wealthy bliss branch out thy sweets  
Through all things Present? These the Vent-holes which  
Let out those Ravishing Joys our Souls to greet?  
Impower my Powers sweet Lord till up they raise 5.
My ‘Fections that thy glory on them blaze.  

How many things are there now, who display thee?  
How many Acts each thing doth here dispense?  
How many Influences each thing hath?  
How many Contraries each Influence?  
How many Contraries from Things do flow? 5.
From Acts? from Influences? Who can show? 

How Glorious then is he that doth all raise  
Rule and Dispose and make them all Conspire  
In all their Jars, and Junctures, Good-bad wayes  
To meliorate the self same Object higher?  
Earth, Water, Fire, Winds, Herbs, Trees, Beasts and Men,
5.
Angells, and Divells, Bliss, Blasts, advance one stem?  

Hell, Earth, and Heaven with their Whole Troops come  
Contrary Windes, Grace, and Disgrace, Soure, Sweet,  
Wealth, Want, Health, Sickness, to Conclude in Sum  
All Providences Works in this good meet?  
Who, who can do’t, but thou, my Lord? and thou 5.
Dost do this thing. Yea thou performst it now. 

Oh, that the Sweets of all these Windings, spouse  
Might, and these Influences streight, and Cross,  
Upon my Soule, to make thy Shine breake out  
That Grace might in get and get out my dross!  
My Soule up locks then in this Clod of Dust 5.
Would lock up in’t all Heavenly Joyes most just.  

But oh! thy Wisdom, Lord! thy Grace! thy Praise!  
Open mine Eyes to see the same aright.  
Take off their film, my Sins, and let the Rayes  
Of thy bright Glory on my peepholes light.  
I fain would love and better love thee should, 5.
If ‘fore me thou thy Loveliness unfold. 

Lord, Cleare my Sight, thy Glory then out dart.  
And let thy Rayes beame Glory in mine eye  
And stick thy Loveliness upon my heart,  
Make me the Couch on which thy Love doth ly.  
Lord make my heart thy bed, thy heart make mine. 5.
Thy Love bed in my heart, bed mine in thine.  

Full Colophon Information

Genre: Poetry
Subjects: Puritans
Period: 1650-1700
Location: New England
Format: verse

This poem was completed ca. 1685but not published until 1939 in New York.

The text of the document was initially prepared from and proofed against The poetical works of Edward Taylor. Edited with an introduction and notes by Thomas H. Johnson (New York, Rockland editions, 1939). All preliminaries and notes have been omitted except those for which the author is responsible. All editorial notes have been omitted except those that indicate significant textual variations. Line and paragraph numbers contained in the source text have been retained. In cases where the source text displays no numbers, numbers are automatically generated. In the header, personal names have been regularized according to the Library of Congress authority files as "Last Name, First Name" for the REG attribute and "First Name Last Name" for the element value. Names have not been regularized in the body of the text.