Prayer (I)
Prayer Defined by Paradox
Prayer is described through a series of paradoxical metaphors that capture its divine origin, earthly humanity, and cosmic power.
Prayer—the Church's banquet, the age of angels, God's breath in us returning to its source, the soul put into other words, the heart on pilgrimage, the Christian plummet sounding heaven and earth—✦1 An engine against the Almighty, a tower of sinners, thunder turned back, the spear that pierced Christ's side, the six-day world transposed in an hour, a kind of tune that all things hear and fear,2
Prayer as Consummation
The catalog concludes with images of heavenly delight and intimate understanding, culminating in the quiet phrase 'something understood.'
Softness, peace, joy, love, and bliss, exalted manna, gladness of the best, heaven in the ordinary, man well dressed, the Milky Way, the bird of paradise Church bells heard beyond the stars, the soul's blood, The land of spices; something understood.
Read the original English
PRayer the Churches banquet, Angels age, Gods breath in man returning to his birth, The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage, The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth,
Engine against th' Almightie, sinners towre, Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear, The six-daies world-transposing in an houre, A kinde of tune, which all things heare and fear,
Softnesse, and peace, and joy, and love, and blisse, Exalted Manna, gladnesse of the best, Heaven in ordinarie, man well drest, The milkie way, the bird of Paradise,
Church-bels beyond the starres heard, the souls bloud, The land of spices; something understood.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Gen.2.7;Eccl.12.7 — Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Eccl.12.7 — and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God, who gave it.
Notes
- 1 ↩Herbert's appositions define prayer without a main verb; the list form is kept. 'Angels' age' can mean the era proper to angels (eternity) or what angels live by; both senses are in play. 'Plummet' is the sounding-lead used to measure depth; kept for the nautical image rather than flattened to 'measure.'
- 2 ↩"Engine" keeps Herbert's siege-machine sense: prayer as force brought to bear on God, not a mechanical gadget. "Sinners' tower" is refuge/stronghold for sinners, not a tower built by sinners. "Thunder turned back" preserves the double force of reversed thunder—divine wrath turned aside, and sound sent back heavenward.
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