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Christian : Protestant 17th Century	About George Herbert Timeline (1593 - 1633)
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Original Language English	The Altar
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Heart   Smile         Recommended Books The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell The Essential George Herbert, by George Herbert / Edited by Anthony Hecht George Herbert: A Literary Life, by Christina Malcolmson George Herbert: The Complete English Poems, by George Herbert / Edited by John Tobin George Herbert: The Country Parson and the Temple, by George Herbert / Edited by John Nelson Wall More >>	A broken ALTAR, Lord, thy servant rears, Made of a heart, and cemented with tears: Whose parts are as thy hand did frame; No workman's tool hath touched the same. A HEART alone Is such a stone, As nothing but Thy pow'r doth cut. Wherefore each part Of my hard heart Meets in this frame, To praise thy name. That if I chance to hold my peace, These stones to praise thee may not cease. O let thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine, And sanctify this ALTAR to be thine.     -- from Metaphysical Poetry: (Penguin Classics), Edited by Colin Burrow Amazon.com
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Notice first how the poem itself is an altar. The lines of the poem are constructed in the shape of a table or an altar.

If you really read this poem, however, it becomes obvious that the altar here is more than physical. Herbert is not writing about a table of wood or stone in a church. Herbert's altar is spiritual. It is the heart.

But to be a true altar, the heart must be carved and shaped. "A heart alone / Is such a stone..." The hard, stoney heart must be "cut" by the "pow'r" of God -- it must be shaped, formed, opened up. The pieces are cut, but then re-formed, brought together into a new wholeness. "Wherefore each part / Of my hard heart / Meets in this frame..."

This new heart is a different thing because it is now connected to all beings, to all of creation, and, of course, to God. Unlike the heart of stone, the new heart is no longer "alone." The stone of the heart, touched and formed, comes alive. Such hearts speak. "These stones to praise thee may not cease." Like the stones mentioned by Jesus in the Christian Gospels, awakened hearts sing out.

Finally, to be properly consecrated as a fit table for worship, a sacrifice must occur. When the heart yields to the shaping and transformative touch of the Divine, you can say that a sort of death occurs. It is the death of selfish will, the death of numbness and retraction in the stone heart. When the heart is "cut" it finally opens. The open heart feels. And the open heart bleeds. It is the blood of this compassionate awareness that is the heart's "sacrifice," anointing it, awakening it, and consecrating it. That is what truly transforms the heart into an altar.

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.