# A Threefold Cord explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by George MacDonald.

## What happens

This chapter, a collaborative work by George MacDonald, John Hill MacDonald, and Greville Matheson MacDonald, opens with a dedication to Greville, celebrating familial and spiritual bonds. It contains a series of poems exploring themes of faith, doubt, divine presence, suffering, and the mystery of life and death. The poems include meditations on trust in God amidst life's storms, a longing for a tangible sign from the Lord, a vision of transformation likened to a chrysalis, reflections on imprisonment and hope, a child's pinafore as a metaphor for spiritual hiding and revelation, a prism as a symbol of elusive grace, and a haunting narrative of a house that embodies a past crime.

## Themes in this chapter

### Spiritual Struggle and Doubt

The poem 'No Sign' directly grapples with doubt and the longing for a tangible sign from God, while other poems wrestle with the soul's place in the universe.

### Redemption and Grace

The opening poem speaks of finding home in Jesus, who is wounded and slain, and the poem 'The Prism' reflects on grace as a daily gift that cannot be stored.

### Suffering and Purification

The poem 'The Chrysalis' depicts a painful transformation from a shapeless mass to a mighty angel, and the prison poem finds loveliness in suffering.

### Nature as Divine Revelation

In 'Show Us the Father', nature (stars, sunsets, flowers) is presented as revealing divine love and beauty, yet still insufficient for knowing the Father's face.

## Character check-ins

### Jesus Christ

Addressed as the refuge and home of the soul, the wounded and slain one, and the one whose presence is sought in prayer.

### God

Referenced as the Father, the ruler who proves his rule even in prison, and the source of grace and light.

### Unknown

The speaking voice in the poems, expressing personal faith, doubt, longing, and reflection on the soul's journey.

### Death

Personified as a force that cannot reach the soul hidden in Jesus, and contemplated in the poem 'Sleep' as a foretaste of death.

### Moses

Referenced as growing too radiant for his people's eyes after being in God's presence, used as a simile for spiritual transformation.

### The Child-Mother

Appears in 'The Pinafore' as the child who hides behind a pinafore and undergoes a mysterious inner change.

### The Haunted House

Personified as a soul-filled entity that gapes like a corpse, haunted by a past crime.

## Key lines

> I do not fear the wilderness Where thou hast been before; Nay rather will I daily press After thee, near thee, more!

I am not afraid of difficult times because you have already experienced them; instead, I will strive to draw closer to you every day.

_Expresses trust in Jesus as a guide through life's trials._

> O Lord, if on the wind, at cool of day, I heard one whispered word of mighty grace; If through the darkness, as in bed I lay, But once had come a hand upon my face; If but one sign that might not be mistook Had ever been, since first thy face I sought, I should not now be doubting o’er a book, But serving thee with burning heart and thought.

Lord, if I had ever received a clear, unmistakable sign of your grace, I would not be struggling with doubt but would serve you passionately.

_Captures the speaker's yearning for a direct, sensory experience of God to overcome doubt._

> The best of gifts will not be stored: The manna of yesterday Has filled no sacred miser-hoard To keep new need away.

The finest gifts cannot be saved for later; yesterday's blessings do not create a reserve to meet today's needs.

_Reflects on the necessity of daily dependence on God's grace._

> Something is coming, I know—is coming! With an inward soundless humming Somewhere in me, or if in the air I cannot tell, but it is there!

I sense that something is approaching, accompanied by a silent hum within me or around me, though I cannot pinpoint its source.

_Conveys the eerie anticipation in 'The Haunted House'._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/a-threefold-cord
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters