Herbert is so rich whilst remaining so accessible to and mindful of the reader. A joy to read. I'm wondering if he had Exodus 20:25 in mind in line 3 - "If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it" - so that the heart he offers to the Lord, and a hard heart at that, is at the same time, by the mercy of God, a holy heart, intended only for the Lord and acceptable to him as such.
Oh, I never made that link. Thank you, Richard. I’m so glad we have a minister of the Word here to enlighten us so much on these things (enlighten me, anyway!).
All of the writers of Donne's, Herbert's, and Shakespeare's time knew the most obscure Bible passages. There's an allusion to a verse from Nahum (about lions in the streets) in the play Julius Caesar. And an extraordinarily vulgar allusion to a verse in Ezekiel in Othello.
Definitely Exodus 20:25 (good connection) and maybe hints of Ezek 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” I’ve heard that one twice recently (Easter Vigil and Exaudi), so it’s in mind. Given Herbert’s apparent baptismal theology, he probably would have made at least a mental connection to the preceding verse as well. Stone hearts because hearts of flesh with a new spirit through “sprinkling”: Ezek 36:25 “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.”
I wondered about “hard heart” as a way of expressing obstinacy or a lack of repentance. I think first of Pharaoh’s hard heart. But Herbert starts by describing his heart as broken, he is literally brokenhearted, and the tears of his heartbreak and shame become the cement of repentance. Yet, sanctification requires God to work those hard heart pieces into something that will serve as an altar of praise. The same Hebrew word used for Pharaoh’s hard heart is used when Joshua says “be strong and of good courage.” Obstinacy versus strength. Herbert’s hard and fractured heart becomes a strong heart full of praise under the Craftsman’s healing hand.
That’s such a helpful nuance. And the insight that the poem opens with an image of a broken heart is really important. Thank you for that and for bringing the Hebrew word into the conversation this way. Very helpful.
The last two lines begging God to accept the altar reminded me of how God accepted Abel's offering, but not Cain's. However, Herbert changes the sacrifice to being God's, not his, a reference to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
George Herbert is one of my favorite poets. If not my favorite poet. Last night I pulled my dusty volumes off the shelf and stayed up too late reading Herbert’s poetry and then started on Donne when a thunderstorm woke me up at 3 am. It’s too bad I don’t actually know anything about poetry! Thanks so much for this. Going back to these writers makes me feel human and whole again when my entire life at work has warped around AI and what scraps can be salvaged after Pandora’s box has opened.
On another note, this poem being entitled “The Altar” and using the word must have been a serious politico-theological shot across the bow. The terms “altar” was highly contested among different factions, with Puritans considering it Papist and opting for “table.” Hence any looking like a “sacrificial altar” of some kind was likely to get smashed by them once things turned violent. Given Herbert’s feelings about Puritans (especially in Latin poems), he must have known what he was doing. This very firmly plants him in a certain type of churchmanship, and also politics since the two were joined at the hip.
Herbert is so rich whilst remaining so accessible to and mindful of the reader. A joy to read. I'm wondering if he had Exodus 20:25 in mind in line 3 - "If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it" - so that the heart he offers to the Lord, and a hard heart at that, is at the same time, by the mercy of God, a holy heart, intended only for the Lord and acceptable to him as such.
Oh, I never made that link. Thank you, Richard. I’m so glad we have a minister of the Word here to enlighten us so much on these things (enlighten me, anyway!).
Any enlightening is mutual, for sure. You've created a great place for that, Karen, I'm so helped by those who comment on here.
All of the writers of Donne's, Herbert's, and Shakespeare's time knew the most obscure Bible passages. There's an allusion to a verse from Nahum (about lions in the streets) in the play Julius Caesar. And an extraordinarily vulgar allusion to a verse in Ezekiel in Othello.
Biblical literacy FTW!
Definitely Exodus 20:25 (good connection) and maybe hints of Ezek 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” I’ve heard that one twice recently (Easter Vigil and Exaudi), so it’s in mind. Given Herbert’s apparent baptismal theology, he probably would have made at least a mental connection to the preceding verse as well. Stone hearts because hearts of flesh with a new spirit through “sprinkling”: Ezek 36:25 “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.”
There is something so elegantly beautiful about that verse from Ezekiel. Thank you for making that connection to it.
I wondered about “hard heart” as a way of expressing obstinacy or a lack of repentance. I think first of Pharaoh’s hard heart. But Herbert starts by describing his heart as broken, he is literally brokenhearted, and the tears of his heartbreak and shame become the cement of repentance. Yet, sanctification requires God to work those hard heart pieces into something that will serve as an altar of praise. The same Hebrew word used for Pharaoh’s hard heart is used when Joshua says “be strong and of good courage.” Obstinacy versus strength. Herbert’s hard and fractured heart becomes a strong heart full of praise under the Craftsman’s healing hand.
That’s such a helpful nuance. And the insight that the poem opens with an image of a broken heart is really important. Thank you for that and for bringing the Hebrew word into the conversation this way. Very helpful.
The last two lines begging God to accept the altar reminded me of how God accepted Abel's offering, but not Cain's. However, Herbert changes the sacrifice to being God's, not his, a reference to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes! That’s a powerful echo and transition. Thank you, Holly.
George Herbert is one of my favorite poets. If not my favorite poet. Last night I pulled my dusty volumes off the shelf and stayed up too late reading Herbert’s poetry and then started on Donne when a thunderstorm woke me up at 3 am. It’s too bad I don’t actually know anything about poetry! Thanks so much for this. Going back to these writers makes me feel human and whole again when my entire life at work has warped around AI and what scraps can be salvaged after Pandora’s box has opened.
On another note, this poem being entitled “The Altar” and using the word must have been a serious politico-theological shot across the bow. The terms “altar” was highly contested among different factions, with Puritans considering it Papist and opting for “table.” Hence any looking like a “sacrificial altar” of some kind was likely to get smashed by them once things turned violent. Given Herbert’s feelings about Puritans (especially in Latin poems), he must have known what he was doing. This very firmly plants him in a certain type of churchmanship, and also politics since the two were joined at the hip.
That is a great insight that I hadn’t considered before!
I utterly adore Herbert. I’m so glad you have re-encountered him here.
Here’s another post on “The Altar” by Sally Thomas. It’s excellent!
https://open.substack.com/pub/poemsancientandmodern/p/todays-poem-the-altar?r=90e4e&utm_medium=ios
What a beautiful poem. Very meaningful.