Verses on Various Occasions · Chapter
CXLVII: Vespers—Thursday explained
A hymn praising God as creator of sea and sky, and a prayer for His servants to be saved from pride and fleshly degradation, kept safe in their new baptismal state.
What happens
A hymn praising God as creator of sea and sky, and a prayer for His servants to be saved from pride and fleshly degradation, kept safe in their new baptismal state.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs in the stanza’s shift from defensive rebuke (“O rail not”) to a pr…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Nature and the Divine
The hymn celebrates God's power in creating the sea and sky as dwellings for fish and birds, linking the natural order to divine providence.
- Sin and Redemption
A plea for salvation from pride and fleshly degradation, emphasizing the need for grace to avoid sin after baptism.
Characters to notice
- Lord
Addressed as the creator of sea and sky, and the one who saves His servants.
- Thy servants
The newly baptized servants of the Lord, prayed for to be kept from trespass and sin.
Key passages
“O God, who hast given the sea and the sky, To fish and to bird for a dwelling to keep, Both sons of the waters, one low and one high, Ambitious of heaven, yet sunk in the deep;”
God, who made the sea and sky homes for fish and birds—creatures of water, some low-flying, some high—yet all aspiring to heaven while still mired in the depths.
The paradox of creatures that are both earthly and aspiring to the divine.
“Save, Lord, Thy servants, whom Thou hast new made In a laver of blood, lest they trespass and die; Lest pride should elate, or the flesh should degrade, And they stumble on earth, or be dizzied on high.”
Lord, save your servants, whom you have newly created through baptism in blood, so they do not sin and perish; keep them from being lifted up by pride or brought low by the flesh, and from stumbling on earth or becoming dizzy in the heights.
A prayer for protection from both spiritual pride and bodily weakness.
