William Blake: The Divine Image

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The Divine Image

William Blake, William Blake poetry, Secular or Eclectic, Secular or Eclectic poetry, poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry, Christian poetry

by William Blake
(1757 - 1827) Timeline

Original Language
English

To Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love
All pray in their distress;
And to these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.

For Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love
Is God, our Father dear,
And Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love
Is man, His child and care.

For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity a human face,
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.

Then every man, of every clime,
That prays in his distress,
Prays to the human form divine,
Love, Mercy, Pity and Peace.

And all must love the human form,
In heathen, Turk or Jew;
Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell
There God is dwelling too.

-- from Music of the Sky: An Anthology of Spiritual Poetry, Edited by Patrick Laude / Edited by Barry McDonald

Amazon.com

Themes

Bliss

Heart

Lover and Beloved

Recommended Books

	Blake Dictionary: The Ideas & Symbols of William Blake, by S. Foster Damon
	Blake: Collected Poems, by William Blake / Edited by William Butler Yeats
	Blake's America: A Prophecy and Europe: A Prophecy: Facsimile Reproductions of Two Illuminated Books, by William Blake
	Blake's Poetry and Designs: Authoritative Texts, Illuminations in Color and Monochrome, Related Prose, Criticism, by William Blake / Edited by John F. Grant
	The Book of Urizen: A Facsimily in Full Color, by William Blake

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If you're like I am, you probably cringed at that line in the final stanza referring to "heathen, Turk or Jew." The phrase sounds disparaging taken out of context. But reread what Blake is actually saying: He is using the common prejudice of the day, that white British Christians are superior to heathens, Turks and Jews, and he turns it on its head. He declares that "Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell / There God is dwelling too."

In other words, Blake is offering a truly universal vision of God that transcends religious, racial, and cultural boundaries. God isn't limited to specific dogmas. God doesn't favor one skin color or one national flag over another. God dwells where the human heart in fruition has made a home for "Love, Mercy, Pity, and Peace."

If more poems like this were read, think how different the world would be.

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