# Reverence explained — Verses on Various Occasions

> Chapter companion for Verses on Various Occasions by John Henry Newman.

## What happens

The chapter reflects on the profound reverence due to the name of Jesus, acknowledging humanity's sinful nature and the awe-inspiring mystery of Christ's sacrificial bloodshed. It contrasts the comfort this brings to repentant souls with the warning it poses to those who remain complacent in worldly ease.

## Themes in this chapter

### Sin and Redemption

The chapter dwells on humanity's shameful ancestry and defiled birth, contrasted with the release found in Christ's woe.

### Suffering and Humility

The speaker's humility before Jesu's name and the acknowledgment of unlovely thoughts reflect a posture of suffering and lowliness.

### Faith and Doubt

The tension between the comfort of the gospel for the pierced soul and the warning 'Touch Me not' for the worldly reveals a dynamic of faith and doubt.

## Character check-ins

### Jesu

The speaker bows at Jesu's name, recognizing it as the sign of mercy toward a guilty line.

### Sinner

The speaker identifies with the sinful, defiled human condition, full of unlovely thoughts and rebel aims.

### Unknown

The narrator speaks in first person, expressing personal reverence and awareness of sin.

## Key lines

> I bow at Jesu’s name, for ’tis the Sign Of awful mercy towards a guilty line.

I bow at the name of Jesus because it represents the terrifying mercy shown to a guilty human race.

_The opening lines establish reverence as a response to divine mercy._

> The Life is hidden in a Fount of Blood! And this is tidings good For souls, who, pierced that they have caused that woe, Are fain to share it too: But for the many, clinging to their lot Of worldly ease and sloth, ’tis written “Touch Me not.”

Christ's life is concealed in a fountain of blood, which is good news for repentant souls who want to share in his suffering, but for those attached to worldly comfort, the warning is 'Do not touch me.'

_The central paradox of the chapter: the blood of Christ is both a source of redemption and a warning._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/verses_on_various_occasions_se/chapters/lxxxix-reverence
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/verses_on_various_occasions_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/verses_on_various_occasions_se/chapters