Poetry · Chapter
A Prayer in Sickness explained
The speaker, in the midst of sickness, cries out to God as Father and Saviour, pleading for the removal of the cloud of illness and the shroud of the body so that they may see God's face and be reconciled.
What happens
The speaker, in the midst of sickness, cries out to God as Father and Saviour, pleading for the removal of the cloud of illness and the shroud of the body so that they may see God's face and be reconciled.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Purification
Sickness is portrayed as a blinding shroud that obscures God's face, and the speaker longs for purification and deliverance from this suffering.
Divine Fatherhood
God is directly addressed as 'O father, being-giver,' emphasizing the intimate, paternal relationship and the speaker's dependence on divine care.
Characters to notice
- God
Addressed as Father and being-giver, the one who folds the speaker in sickness and from whom the speaker seeks deliverance.
- Jesus Christ
Invoked as Saviour to deliver the speaker from the body-shroud and grant sight of God's face.
Key passages
“Thou foldest me in sickness; Thou callest through the cloud; I batter with the thickness Of the swathing, blinding shroud: Oh, let me see thy face, The only perfect grace That thou canst show thy child.”
You wrap me in illness; you speak to me from behind a cloud; I struggle against the dense, blinding covering that binds me: please let me see your face, the ultimate gift of grace you can give your child.
The speaker describes sickness as a confining, obscuring shroud and pleads for the vision of God's face as the highest grace.
“O father, being-giver, Take off the sickness-cloud; Saviour, my life deliver From this dull body-shroud: Till I can see thy face I am not full of grace, I am not reconciled.”
O Father, source of my existence, remove this cloud of illness; Saviour, free my life from this heavy bodily covering: until I see your face, I lack grace and remain unreconciled.
The speaker appeals to God as Father and to Christ as Saviour to lift the sickness and restore spiritual sight and peace.