Masterful Poems, Part 2: “Meditation 1.1”

What love is this of Thine that cannot be
In Thine infinity, O Lord, confined,
Unless it in Thy very person see
Infinity and finity conjoined?

With this beautiful, mind-bending question, Edward Taylor begins his poem “Meditation 1.1.” His wit, wordplay, and sincere devotion are evident in this little three-stanza gem, so read on to have your heart challenged and encouraged.

Edward Who?

Edward Taylor (1642–1729) was a Puritan minister and a gifted American poet. He wrote prolifically during his lifetime, compiling several long collections of religious and other poems, although only two stanzas were published while he was still alive. In fact, his complete works weren’t published until 1960! So what makes this old poet so interesting to me? As usual, it’s the combination of his heart and his head.

Taylor was a pretty smart cookie. After he sailed from England to Boston in order to pursue religious freedom, he immediately enrolled in Harvard University. After his graduation, he accepted a position to become minister of a congregation in Westfield, MA, and there he stayed for the rest of his life. This is where he wrote his best poetry, often as personal preparation for his sermons or communion.

Taylor’s Got Style

Judging from his poetic style, he must have read widely in both classic and contemporary literature. His poems range anywhere from showy to sincere. But don’t be deterred by his ornate analogies and his old-timey words; the poem we’re looking at today is pure gold. It’s referred to as “Meditation 1.1” because it is the first in a series of poems called Preparatory Meditations. He wrote these to prepare his heart to serve the Lord’s Supper.

As you read the poem, look for the various word pictures that he paints to describe the indescribable love of God for undeserving sinners. In these three stanzas, he eloquently depicts the irony of God’s humanity, sacrifice, and grace.  

“Meditation 1.1”

What love is this of Thine that cannot be
In Thine infinity, O Lord, confined,
Unless it in Thy very person see
Infinity and finity conjoined?
What hath Thy godhead, as not satisfied,
Married our manhood, making it its bride?

Oh matchless love! Filling heaven to the brim!
O’errunning it: all running o’er beside
This world! Nay, overflowing hell; wherein
For Thine elect there rose a mighty tide!
That there our veins might through Thy person bleed,
To quench those flames that else would on us feed.

Oh! that Thy love might overflow my heart!
To fire the same with love: for love I would.
But oh! my straitened breast! my lifeless spark!
My fireless flame! What chilly love, and cold?
In measure small! In manner chilly! See.
Lord, blow the coal: Thy love enflame in me.

Stanza One: God’s Humanity

Even if you’ve pulled nothing else from the poem yet, I’ll bet you did notice that he’s pretty awe-struck by the love of God. He uses a few different literary techniques to express his amazement. In stanza one, he employs irony to highlight the indescribable magnitude of God’s love: it is so big that infinity itself cannot contain it! In order to express His love fully, God chose to “marry” His infinite godhead with our finite humanity, resulting in the birth of Jesus. The life, death, and resurrection of Emmanuel—God with us—was the best way for God to display the fullness of His love to us.

Stanza Two: God’s Sacrifice

In stanza two, Taylor uses the metaphor of a flood to elaborate on this love and redemption. God’s love was not content merely to stay in heaven and look down on condemned souls in hell. Instead, His love overflowed heaven, spilled over onto earth, and poured down into the deepest chasms of hell. Taylor pictures this flood of love as a rising tide on which God’s elect, like Noah, are carried safely out of judgment and into salvation. The flood that quenches the flames of hell is nothing less than the blood of Christ, whose veins bled in our place and quenched our condemnation.

Stanza Three: God’s Grace

The last stanza is a prayer, and it’s one that I think we can all relate to. After considering the earth-shattering, mind-blowing love of God for us, Taylor looks into his own heart and is appalled to see the comparative apathy that he feels for God in return. He finds no flood of love, no fire of passion. But Taylor knew that we can’t conjure up a love for God on our own; our response of love is a gift of grace from God Himself. So rather than despair, Taylor asks God to fill him with love. In His grace, we know this is a prayer that God is delighted to answer.

And after seeing God’s love through the eyes of Edward Taylor, I echo his prayer as well: “Lord, blow the coal: Thy love enflame in me.”

Sources:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/edward-taylor#tab-poems
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/preparatory-meditations-first-series-1/