Dominus Vobiscum: The Trial of Believing It


Batter my heart, three-person’d God; for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to another due,
Labor to admit you, but O, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captive, and proves week or untrue;
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain
But am betrothed unto your enemy.
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you to enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me. 
-John Donne


"While sitting in a coffee shop reading C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, I put down the book and wrote in my notebook, 'the evidence surrounding the claims of Christianity is simply overwhelming.' I realized that my achievements were ultimately unsatisfying, the approval of man is fleeting, that a carpe diem life lived solely for adventure is just a form of narcissism and idolatry. And so I became a believer in Christ" (Keller). The search for faith and the struggle to maintain it is not an esoteric concept in this day and age. John Donne, in his Holy Sonnet XIV, is attempting to convince God, as well as himself, that he is a faithful man. Part of Donne’s struggle for faith derives from the conflicts of good and evil in his life. He constantly symbolizes this conflict in Holy Sonnet XIV. Also symbolic is the relationship between a man and a woman compared to the relationship between man and God. Blindly searching for a faith, as presented in Holy Sonnet XIV and in Biblical text, is more relatable than simple acceptance without question.

John Donne’s writings in Holy Sonnet XIV are of a man who is searching for faith in a mess of sin and temptation. He speaks directly to a “three-person’d God” (Donne 1), and says “make me new” (Donne 3). He is begging to be made pure and faithful again. Donne is attempting to “rekindle a dwindling faith by means of analysis and intellect. He is using argument to establish faith, and seems to be trying to convince himself as much as God” (AM). In lines one through four Donne demonstrates almost an aggressive tone and seems to not be afraid to question God. This kind of violent undertone is repeated throughout the sonnet giving the reader the sense of urgency for faith that Donne is feeling.

Job also questions God in the Bible. His friends think Job must have done something wicked because it appears he is being punished. His friend Eliphaz asks “Can anyone be any benefit to God? Can he benefit even from the wise? Is it an advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous? What gain to him if your conduct is perfect?” (Job 22:2-3). Eliphaz is asking if human beings benefit God at all and if there is a purpose for them. Eliphaz questions God and His actions. Like Eliphaz, John Donne is not sure of his faith in God. Donne is attempting to convince himself that he is faithful to God, but is having difficulty doing so because God is not always present in his life.

In Ecclesiastes, God is also questioned: “In my futile existence I have seen it all, from the righteous perishing their righteousness to the wicked growing old in wickedness. Do not be over- righteous and do not be over-wise. Why should you destroy yourself?” (Ecclesiastes 7:15-16). It seems the overall concept that is difficult to comprehend for all people is that regardless of whether one is good or wicked, either way every person will die. In Ecclesiastes the author struggles with this concept which makes him question the reason and existence for faith and God: “Human beings and beasts share one and the same fate: death comes to both alike. They all draw the same breath. Man has no advantage over beast, for everything is futility. Who knows whether the spirit of a human being goes upward to whether the spirit of a beast goes downward to the earth” (Ecclesiastes 3:19-21).

Donne also has difficulty understanding God’s reasoning for having the sinners and the worshippers gain the same fate. The trials God puts Job through are what make him question God’s judgment. God allows Satan to take away Job’s wealth, family, and health to prove to Satan that Job is “a man of blameless and upright life, who fears God and sets his face against wrongdoing” (Job 1:8). After his trials, Job is sickly and helpless. Job’s faith begins to dwindle as his condition worsens and starts to give examples of God “torturing the righteous” (Dunston): “In His hand are the souls of all that live, the spirits of every human being. Strength and success belong to Him, deceived and deceiver are His to use. He makes counselors behave like madmen and turns judges crazy; He makes priests behave like idiots and overthrows those long in office; He robs the old of their judgment. He deprives nations’ rulers of their wits and leaves them wandering in a trackless desert; without light they grope their way in darkness and are left to wander like drunkards” (Job 12:10-25). Like Donne, Job speaks in an aggressive tone towards God, angry that he is even questioning his faith in God at all. The temptation of evil, in the form of bitterness or disbelief, is upsetting the faith of the righteous.

The conflict of good versus evil is nothing new. John Donne continues the conflict in Holy Sonnet XIV down to even the connotations of his words. Donne is no stranger to the temptation of evil and asks God to “breathe, shine, and seek to mend; o’erthrow me and bend your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new” (Donne 2-4). This practice is one of pottery or glass making; turning something like clay or sand into something new and clean. Donne is using this metaphor to describe his life and how he wants his faith in God to reshape him into a new and better person. In the Bible, Satan tries to make Job’s loyalty towards God disintegrate. Satan took Job’s wealth and family and then “he afflicted Job with running sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head” (Job 2:7). Job’s wife tells him to curse God so he can just die, but Job replies “if we accept good from God, shall we not accept evil” (Job 2:10). Job tries to understand that there must be a balance between good and evil and maintain his faith in the Lord despite all the punishment he feels God is inflicting upon him.

Donne speaks of the conflict of good and evil through contrasting words and phrases as well. Consider the section of Holy Sonnet XIV: “Take me to you, imprison me, for I, except you enthrall me, never shall be free, nor ever chaste, except you ravish me” (Donne 12-14). Donne uses the word “enthrall” which could mean “to enslave” or “to enchant,” both definitions fit the word, however the connotations are entirely opposite. “To enchant” is considered a good thing, while “to enslave” is an awful and evil thing. Similarly used is the word “ravish” in the last line of Holy Sonnet XIV. “To ravish” could mean “rape” or also “to overwhelm with wonder.” The word “rape” is associated with evil and “to overwhelm with wonder” has the connotations of good.

“Batter my heart, three-person’d God; for you as yet but knock” (Donne 1-2); Donne feels God is not always there and that He has hurt Donne by letting evil coax him away from faith. Donne is upset because God has not yet knocked on Donne’s door, trying to reshape him into a faithful man once again. 
The relationship of a man and a woman is compared to the relationship between God and man in both Holy Sonnet XIV and in biblical text. John Donne speaks of the relationship between him and God being “captived, and proves week or untrue. Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain, but am betrothed unto your enemy” (Donne 8-10). Similarly to a troubled marriage, Donne loves God, but feels that God is treating him like the enemy and not returning that love.

Our civilization’s “relationship with God has been described in terms of marriage and adultery from the time of the Hebrew prophets” (Logan 1298). Just as one strays in a marriage by falling victim to adultery, one can stray from God. It’s been said that “moment as person has asked Jesus Christ to become his Lord and Savior, he became His bride” (Denison). The New Testament refers to Jesus as the ‘Bridegroom’ in John and in Matthew (3:29; 9:15). Paul told the Corinthians, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” (2 Corinthians 11:2). The relationship between man and God is considered matrimony. Donne says to God “divorce me, untie or break that knot again; take me to you, imprison me, for I, except you enthrall me, never shall be free” (Donne 11-13). God is part of John Donne and there’s no way that he could ever stray from God again as long as his faith in Him is apparent. Donne uses the word “imprison” to describe how strong a hold God has on him now.

Like John Donne and many others, I too hope to find faith and gain religious understanding. The struggle to resist temptation and maintain to legitimate faith in God is one that most can relate to. There is a definite battle between good and evil that the faithful must face. The temptation can alter one’s faith in God and cause him or her to stray. In that sense, man’s relationship to God can be compared to a marital relationship. There are struggles and trials and often times, temptation. One of the most difficult things to do is “wait for the Lord; be strong and brave, and put your hope in the Lord” (Psalm 27: 14). Donne argues that “honest doubting search is better than the facile acceptance of any religious tradition, [epitomizing that point brilliantly in] the image of Truth on a high and craggy hill, very hard to climb” (Donne). Donne realizes that only God can ravish one’s heart to the point that he will no longer stray.



Works Cited Page

 Bible: King James Version. New York: Meridian, 1974.

Denison, Jim. “Married to God.” God Issues. 09 July 2011. 3 February 2012. <http:// www.godissues.org/articles/articles/1040/1/Married-to-God/Page1.html>.

Donne, John. “Holy Sonnet XIV.” The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose of John Donne. Ed. Charles M. Coffin. New York: The Modern Library, 2001.

Dunston, Bob. “Job.” 3 February 2012. <http://religion.ucumberlands.edu/hebrewbible/hbnotes/jobnotes.htm>.

Keller, Timothy. “Kevin.” The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. New York: Penguin Group, 2008.

Logan. “John Donne.” The Norton Anthology English Literature. 8th ed. Vol. B. New York: Norton, 2006. 1260-1262, 1297-1298.