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Come, or Take Me Up
The soul cries out for Christ to end his long delay, appealing to the hurried blood of his passion as proof that he should come quickly.
Come, Lord—my head burns, my heart is sick, while you keep delaying, delaying. Your long delays wound me to the quick; my spirit gasps night and day. O show yourself to me, or take me up to you! How can you delay, considering the pace at which the blood you poured out moved?1 When I see it trickling down your face, I've never seen anything make such haste. O show yourself to me, or take me up to you!
The Help Hidden in His Bosom
The soul remembers that when man was lost no outside help existed, so the Son left the Father's bosom and came to redeem, and yet still remains hidden from the baptized heart.
When humanity was lost, your pity looked around to see what help there was in earth or sky. But there was none—at least no help from outside: the help lay within yourself.2 O show yourself to me, or take me up to you!3 There your Son lay—and must He leave that nest, that hive of sweetness, to free from bondage those who would not, at a feast, leave one poor apple for your love?4 O show yourself..., etc.5 He did; he came. O my dear Redeemer, after all this, can you still keep your distance?✦✦6 So many years baptized—and still you don't appear? As if your love could fail or change. O show yourself, etc.7
What Is This World?
Turning from the unseen Christ, the soul weighs the world—food, drink, womankind, and withered joys—and finds only drought, so it chooses to wake and come to God.
But if you still stay away, why must I stay? My God, what is this world to me? This world of woe?8 Away, all you clouds—away, away; I must get up and see. O show yourself, etc.9 What is this weary world—this food and drink that chains us so tightly by the teeth?10 What is this womankind, which I can wink into blackness and distaste?11 O show yourself to me, or take me up to you!12 With one small sigh you gave me the other day, I blasted all the joys around me. And scowling at them as they wasted away, I said, "Come back now and mock me." O show yourself to me, or take me up to you! Nothing but drought and scarcity, nothing but scrub and thicket—whichever way I look, that's all I see. Some may dream happily, but when they wake, they get dressed and come to you. O show yourself to me, or take me up to you!13
The Last and Loved Day
All earthly harvests yield to the final day, so the soul begs to be loosed from the body's knot and set free to fly.
We talk of harvests; there are no such things except when we leave our grain and hay. There's no fruitful year except the one that brings the last and loved, though dreadful day.1415 O show yourself, etc.16 Oh, loosen this frame—untie this human knot! So that my free soul may use her wing, which now is pinioned by mortality, like something tangled and hampered.17 O show yourself, etc.18
Home
Most of the soul has already reached heaven, and even the body's prayer and the poem's own words ask Christ to come or carry the speaker home.
What do I have left, that I should stay and groan? Most of me has fled to heaven: My thoughts and joys are all packed up and gone, And they plead for their old companion.19 O show yourself to me, or take me up to you!20 Come, dearest Lord—don't pass this holy season by. My flesh and bones and joints all pray: And even my verse, when by the rhyme and reason the word is Stay, forever says Come. O show yourself to me, or gather me up to you!21
Read the original English
COme Lord, my head doth burn, my heart is sick, While thou dost ever, ever stay: Thy long deferrings wound me to the quick, My spirit gaspeth night and day. O show thy self to me, Or take me up to thee!
How canst thou stay, considering the pace The bloud did make, which thou didst waste? When I behold it trickling down thy face, I never saw thing make such haste, O show thy self to me, Or take me up to thee!
When man was lost, thy pitie lookt about To see what help in th' earth or skie: But there was none; at least no help without: The help did in thy bosome lie. O show thy, &c.
There lay thy sonne: and must he leave that nest, That hive of sweetnesse, to remove Thraldome from those, who would not at a feast Leave one poore apple for thy love? O show thy, &c.
He did, he came: O my Redeemer deare, After all this canst thou be strange? So many yeares baptiz'd, and not appeare? As if thy love could fail or change. O show thy, &c.
Yet if thou stayest still, why must I stay? My God, what is this world to me? This world of wo? hence all ye clouds, away, Away; I must get up and see. O show thy, &c.
What is this weary world; this meat and drink, That chains us by the teeth so fast? What is this woman-kinde, which I can wink Into a blacknesse and distaste? O show thy, &c.
With one small sigh thou gav'st me th' other day I blasted all the joyes about me: And scouling on them as they pin'd away, Now come again, said I, and flout me. O show thy self to me, Or take me up to thee!
Nothing but drought and dearth, but bush and brake, Which way so-e're I look, I see. Some may dream merrily, but when they wake, They dresse themselves and come to thee. O show thy, &c.
We talk of harvests; there are no such things, But when we leave our corn and hay: There is no fruitfull yeare, but that which brings The last and lov'd, though dreadfull day. O show thy, &c.
Oh loose this frame, this knot of man untie! That my free soul may use her wing, Which now is pinion'd with mortalitie, As an intangled, hamper'd thing. O show thy, &c.
What have I left, that I should stay and grone? The most of me to heav'n is fled: My thoughts and joyes are all packt up and gone, And for their old acquaintance plead. O show thy, &c.
Come dearest Lord, passe not this holy season, My flesh and bones and joynts do pray: And ev'n my verse, when by the ryme and reason The word is, Stay, sayes ever, Come. O show thy self to me, Or rake me up to thee!
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.1.11;1Tim.1.15 — He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 1Tim.1.15 — The saying is trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
- ↩Job.19.25 — But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the dust." "Dust" better links to mortality and verse 26 while remaining clear.
Notes
- 1 ↩Source waste means freely spent/poured out (blood given), not carelessly squandered.
- 2 ↩Early modern 'without' here means 'outside/external,' not 'lacking': no help could be found outside God; the help lay in his bosom (the Son).
- 3 ↩Source prints the abbreviated refrain 'O show thy, &c.'; expanded from the full refrain established in the previous section: 'O show thy self to me, / Or take me up to thee!'
- 4 ↩"Hive of sweetness" / "nest" continues the previous stanza's image of help lying in God's bosom: the Son's place of rest and delight with the Father before the Incarnation.
- 5 ↩Source prints the poem's refrain in abbreviated form ("O show thy, &c."). Modernized pronouns only; full refrain expansion left to a later stage if the edition restores the complete burden.
- 6 ↩Early modern 'strange' here means distant, estranged, withdrawn in presence—not 'odd' or 'weird.'
- 7 ↩Refrain cue (&c.) for the poem's repeated petition, conventionally completed as 'show yourself to me, or take me up to you.'
- 8 ↩Source 'wo' is the early-modern spelling of 'woe' (misery/grief), not a different word.
- 9 ↩Source '&c.' marks the poem's abbreviated refrain (continued from prior stanzas); left abbreviated rather than expanded.
- 10 ↩Early modern 'meat' here means food in general, not flesh alone; rendered as 'food and drink' for modern sense while keeping the bodily, appetite-bound image of 'by the teeth.'
- 11 ↩'wink into' keeps Herbert's sense that a mere closing of the eyes (or dismissive blink) can strip female beauty into darkness and revulsion; not modern 'wink at' = condone.
- 12 ↩Source prints the poem's refrain as the abbreviation 'O show thy, &c.' Neighboring stanzas supply the full refrain 'O show thy self to me, / Or take me up to thee!'; expanded and modernized here for readability.
- 13 ↩Source prints the abbreviated refrain 'O show thy, &c.'; expanded from the full refrain established in the previous section: 'O show thy self to me, / Or take me up to thee!'
- 14 ↩Early Modern 'corn' means grain in general, not maize; rendered 'grain' for contemporary American clarity while keeping the agricultural pair with 'hay'.
- 15 ↩Both uses of 'but' are exceptive ('except'), not adversative: true harvest and fruitful year exist only in leaving worldly crops and in the year of the last day.
- 16 ↩Source gives the poem's abbreviated refrain ('O show thy, &c.'); modernized the archaic 'thy' and kept the et-cetera compression rather than inventing the full refrain line.
- 17 ↩Source 'pinion'd' means the wing is bound or clipped so it cannot fly; rendered 'pinioned' to keep that concrete image.
- 18 ↩Source prints only the abbreviated refrain cue 'O show thy, &c.'; modernized the address (thy → your/yourself) without expanding the omitted refrain lines.
- 19 ↩'for their old acquaintance plead' is taken as the departed thoughts and joys pleading for reunion with the speaker still left on earth (their former companion), not as a legal plea in the abstract.
- 20 ↩Source prints the refrain as 'O show thy, &c.' Expanded from the poem's full refrain as given in the neighboring section (HerbTemple.2.82.13.s2: 'O show thy self to me, / Or rake me up to thee!'). 'rake me up' modernized as 'take me up' for plain contemporary English while preserving the petition to be gathered wholly to God.
- 21 ↩Source 'rake me up' means gather/collect and lift (as with a rake), not modern 'rake over.' Rendered as 'gather me up' to keep the image of scooping the remaining self heavenward without archaic diction.
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