Gods Forgiveness in Taylors Meditation 42 Essay - 854 Words

In Edward Taylors Meditation 42, the speaker employs a tone of both desire and anxiousness in order to convey the overall idea that mans sinful nature and spiritual unworthiness require Gods grace and forgiveness to gain entrance to the kingdom of heaven. In the opening stanza, the speaker describes the human craving and longing for material objects. From the very first word of Meditation 42, a sense of longing and desire infuses the poem as apples (ll. 1) often symbolize both temptation and desire. Because Eve allowed the lure of attaining the Gods knowledge to overtake her in the book of Genesis, she bites from a fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil which is commonly depicted as an apple. In†¦show more content†¦The speaker appears anxious since his treasures briskly vanish and therefore cannot hold onto that which he longs for. Furthermore, the reference to birds which may fly tot from its nest (ll. 6) suggests than man has only a limited capacity for lo ve, and because of his focus on material wealth, he may make good choices but cannot make any guarantees. The speaker hopes for the ability to embrace God and his love with the same enthusiasm that he welcomes material wealth. Because of mans tendency to sin and focus on unimportant, superficial objects, in order to attain spiritual satisfaction, man must rely on Gods mercy and capacity to forgive. For example, in the second stanza, the speaker asserts that Sin rusts my lock all oer (ll. 8) preventing God from affecting mankind in the same way gold and silver do. In addition, the third stanza echoes the anxiety the speaker faces in the poems opening as he pleads for God to rub off my rust, remove / My sin (ll. 13-14). Knowing that only God can save man from his sinful nature, he seems to feel a sense of panic and therefore anxiously prays for divine rescuing. Furthermore, the speaker makes promises that his love will appear enlivened (ll. 16) in return for God forgiveness and a bility to save mankind. Unlike man, God has an immense capacity to love and therefore goes beyond simply forgiving man for sinning and in fact prepares for His a place (ll. 23) and takes them to the shining threshold