# A Song-Sermon explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by George MacDonald.

## What happens

A poetic meditation on Job 14:13-15, expressing a longing for the grave as a refuge from divine wrath, yet holding onto hope that God will remember and call forth His creation.

## Themes in this chapter

### Suffering and Purification

The speaker endures divine wrath with patience, seeing the grave as a place of waiting and purification.

### Redemption and Grace

Hope that God will remember and call forth the speaker from the grave, reflecting a desire for restoration.

## Character check-ins

### God

Implied as the one whose wrath is endured and whose remembrance is sought.

### Death

Personified as a gaoler who keeps the speaker in the grave.

### Unknown

The speaker who longs for the grave and hopes for God's call.

## Key lines

> Would that thou hid me in the grave And kept me with death’s gaoler-care; Until thy wrath away should wear A sentence fixed thy prisoner gave!

I wish you would hide me in the grave and keep me under death's guard until your anger fades and the punishment you decreed is fulfilled.

_Expresses a desire for temporary refuge in death to escape divine wrath._

> To see thy creature thou wouldst crave⁠— Desire thy handiwork so fair; Then wouldst thou call through death’s dank air And I would answer from the cave!

You would long to see your creation, your beautiful handiwork, and then you would call through the dark air of death, and I would answer from the grave.

_Highlights the hope that God will eventually seek out and restore the speaker._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/a-song-sermon
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters