The H. Scriptures II
The Constellations of Scripture
The speaker longs to see how Scripture's verses interconnect like stars, forming a constellation that reveals God's secrets and leads to eternal bliss.
Oh, if only I knew how all your lights combine, and the configurations of their glory! Seeing not only how each verse shines, but all the constellations of the story. This verse points to that one, and both of them move toward a third that lies ten pages away. Then, just as scattered herbs wait to form a potion, these three make up some Christian's destiny:12 Such are your secrets, which my life proves true and comments on you: for in everything your words find me out and bring parallels, and in another make me understood.✦3 Stars are poor books, and often miss: this book of stars lights the way to eternal bliss.✦4
Read the original English
OH that I knew how all thy lights combine, And the configurations of their glorie! Seeing not onely how each verse doth shine, But all the constellations of the storie.
This verse marks that, and both do make a motion Unto a third, that ten leaves off doth lie: Then as dispersed herbs do watch a potion, These three make up some Christians destinie:
Such are thy secrets, which my life makes good, And comments on thee: for in ev'ry thing Thy words do finde me out, & parallels bring, And in another make me understood. Starres are poore books, & oftentimes do misse: This book of starres lights to eternall blisse.
Scripture echoes
Notes
- 1 ↩Source 'watch a potion' is Early Modern: dispersed medicinal herbs awaiting combination into a draught. Rendered as waiting to form a potion to keep the compounding image.
- 2 ↩'leaves' means book-leaves (pages); modernized as 'pages' for clarity while keeping the physical-book image.
- 3 ↩"in another" is left open: in context of the poem's cross-linked verses it may mean another passage, but it can also mean another person or situation in which Scripture makes the self intelligible.
- 4 ↩"book of stars" continues the poem's metaphor for Holy Scripture as linked verses (a constellation), set over against the literal heavens as an inferior book.
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