Love (III), an amazing poem by George Herbert

Love (III)

by George Herbert (1593-1633)

Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
        Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack
        From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
        If I lack'd anything.

"A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here";
        Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear,
        I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
        "Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame
        Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"
        "My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."
        So I did sit and eat.

A wonderful expression of Divine love's gracious
invitation: come to the banquet prepared for
you, the Master has set a place there for those
who honor His Name and love His truth!!

This is excellent, Jordan. Thanks for the exposure. I'm going to look into more of Herbert's poetry. I understand he was something of a mystic...

Hi Jordanamo.

Yes, this is a beautiful poem.

I noticed a little while ago you posted one of George Herbert's poems, The Holy Scriptures. That, too, is very good, and I almost posted a response to that one.

I really appreciate Herbert. Such keen spiritual perception. But often there are some things "hard to be understood."

Here's one of my favourites.

The Call

Come, my way, my truth, my life!
Such a way as gives us breath,
Such a truth as ends all strife;
Such a life as killeth death.

Come, my light, my feast, my strength!
Such a light as shows a feast;
Such a feast as mends in length;
Such a strength as makes his guest.

Come, my joy, my love, my heart!
Such a joy as none can move;
Such a love as none can part;
Such a heart as joys in love.

...Such depths there! We'll be a long time fathoming them. "Such a feast as mends in length..." So that, unlike an earthly feast, where the more we eat the less there is, and eventually all is consumed, with this feast, the longer we feast, the more it "mends," gets better, the more there is to feast on!

"Such a strength as makes his guest..." I'm still pondering that line. Any thoughts as to the meaning here?

By the way, you can listen to The Call on www.cyberhymnal.org. (I guess you know how to access the hymns there by finding the first line of the hymn under Titles.)

Thanks for posting George Herbert!

AD
PS... Is there a thread somewhere on SI called Your Favourite Poem, or some such title?

Glad you all liked it! Herbert's poetry is a treasure trove... always gracefully soaked in the Word to such a great degree.

Thanks for sharing that poem of his ADisciple! Much to think upon indeed. I've never made a thread about favorite poems, but there may be a thread out there about people's favorite poems.

As to the line of "Such a strength as makes his guest..." I think there is a definite parallel between that and this from Love (III): "A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here" / Love said, "You shall be he." So you could put "Love is" before "such a strength" and the strength seems to me to be the Holy Spirit. The guest thus is made worthy through the Holy Spirit or imputation.

Jordan

jordanamo wrote:
As to the line of "Such a strength as makes his guest..." I think there is a definite parallel between that and this from Love (III): "A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here" / Love said, "You shall be he." So you could put "Love is" before "such a strength" and the strength seems to me to be the Holy Spirit. The guest thus is made worthy through the Holy Spirit or imputation.

Jordan

Jordan,
Thanks for your insight on the above line. "Love is the strength that makes His guest." In the poem you quoted (Love III) the guest sits down at Love's table, and feasts, while Love serves.

And so then-- if I'm seeing this now-- could we say that, when we sit at Love's feast, and humbly partake of LOVE... that Love "makes" us, imparts into us the Strength of LOVE, which (there is no strength like this strength) ...it is a Strength that MAKES us, enables us, to walk in the highest will of God when all else (and our own strength) has utterly failed us?

(Have you ever said in your heart, Lord, I'm not going to MAKE it... But Love is the strength that MAKES us! Not our own strength, but the Strength of LOVE.)

...There is so much here! The unworthy one, so conscious of his sin and unworthiness... and we talk of someone who has to "swallow his pride," but maybe this one has to swallow his sense of unworthiness, or his sense of failure, or defeat, or... you know what I am trying to say?

Love says to that one, YOU must be the guest, and I will serve. And then sitting down and partaking, THIS is the kind of humility that the disciple whom Jesus loved had... he knew he wasn't worthy, but he humbled himself, and sat down, and ate, and "received" the Love of Jesus.

Just as Jesus at the Last Supper, He was the one who girded himself as a servant, and served. "For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But I am among you as He that serveth" (Lk. 22.27).

I think there is balm here for the hurting heart, that perhaps feels they have disqualified themselves... But Love is still saying, "I will serve: you must sit down and eat."

"And we have known and BELIEVED the love that God hath to us." (That is, they RECEIVED it.) "God is LOVE..." (1 Jn. 4.16).

Lord, impart to us the grace of humility, that we might receive your Love.

...And then the third stanza.

Come, my joy, my love, my heart!

Such a joy as none can move...

"Your joy no man taketh from you" (Jn. 16.22).

Such a love as none can part...

"For I am persuaded that (nothing) shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8.39).

Such a heart as joys in love...

Just think of that. That is the ultimate. Having a heart that JOYS in the Law of God (Love).

"Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the Book it is written of Me, I DELIGHT to do Thy Will, O my God: yea, Thy Law is within My heart" (Ps. 40.7,8).

AD