Redemption of a Battered Heart

This sonnet is among Donne’s best known works. The praying speaker invites God to “batter” his heart. This seems an odd request, but the speaker acknowledges that in order to be made “new” God must “break, blow, burn” him, a reference to MALACHI 3:2-3, where God is a refiner of precious metals, in control of the fire that shapes the lives of believers. Throughout Scripture there runs the theme of God’s expectation of submission for those who would follow Him, a good example being Jesus’ command to His disciples, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (JOHN 14:15). There are important Biblical themes that are pivotal to the poem’s meaning, such as God’s redemption and the marriage relationship between God and those He redeems from following God’s “enemy,” Satan. Notable, too, is Donne’s affirmation of the doctrine of the Trinity, evidenced in his addressing God as “three-person’d.” While the term “Trinity” is not to be found in the text of the Bible itself, the “three-person’d God” can be clearly seen in verses like EPHESIANS 2:18 and HEBREWS 9:14.