Praise (II)
Answered Praise
The poet vows perpetual love and praise to the King of Glory and Peace, acknowledging that God has heard and granted his request, and pledges his best song in return.
King of Glory, King of Peace, I will love you: And so that love may never cease, I will move you.1 You’ve granted my request, You’ve heard me; You noticed my troubled heart, and You’ve spared me.2 So with all my skill I will sing to you, and the cream of all my heart I will bring you.
Sin and Mercy
Though sins cried out against the poet, God cleared and heard him, showing mercy in the face of accusation.
Though my sins cried out against me, you cleared me; and when they replied, you alone heard me.✦
Daily Devotion and Divine Relenting
The poet commits to praising God every day, raising Him in his heart, and reflects on how God relented from judgment, moved by tears.
Seven whole days—not one day in seven—I will praise you. In my heart, though not in heaven, I can raise you. You were overcome with tears and softened; you relented; and when Justice called for fears, you dissented.✦3
Eternal Insufficiency
The poet concludes that even eternity is too short to fully extol God, acknowledging the inadequacy of human praise.
It's a small thing, in this poor way, to enroll you: Even eternity is too short to extol you.45
Read the original English
King of Glorie, King of Peace, I will love thee: And that love may never cease, I will move thee.
Thou hast granted my request, Thou hast heard me: Thou didst note my working breast, Thou hast spar'd me.
Wherefore with my utmost art I will sing thee, And the cream of all my heart I will bring thee.
Though my sinnes against me cried, Thou didst cleare me; And alone, when they replied, Thou didst heare me.
Sev'n whole dayes, not one in seven, I will praise thee. In my heart, though not in heaven, I can raise thee.
Thou grew'st soft and moist with tears, Thou relentedst: And when Justice call'd for fears, Thou disentedst.
Small it is, in this poore sort To enroll thee: Ev'n eternitie is to short To extoll thee.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Gen.4.10 — And he said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground."
- ↩Exod.32.14;Jonah.3.10;Joel.2.13 — And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken to do to his people. Jonah.3.10 — And God saw their deeds, that they had turned from their evil way; and God relented of the disaster that He had declared He would bring upon them, and He did not do it." Retain as-is; it has strong closure and doctrinal precision. Joel.2.13 — Tear open your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and he relents from sending disaster.
Notes
- 1 ↩Herbert's 'move thee' means to stir or petition God in prayer (to move God to respond), not physical relocation; kept as 'move' for fidelity and the poem's petition–answer arc.
- 2 ↩Herbert's 'working breast' means the heart in labor or agitation—restless, distressed interior motion—not physical work. Rendered as 'troubled heart' for modern clarity while keeping the interior sense.
- 3 ↩Source 'disentedst' is Early Modern 'dissentedst': God refused Justice’s demand for fearful judgment, choosing mercy instead.
- 4 ↩Source 'to short' is the Early Modern spelling of 'too short'; rendered as 'too short'.
- 5 ↩Source 'enroll' keeps its older sense of recording or writing down (as in a register of praise), not modern school enrollment.
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