Edward Taylor's poetry

Edward Taylor was a deeply religions man who allowed his inner struggles and ideas to flow through his pen onto paper, inviting the rest of the world to struggle with him. He incorporated many Puritan ideas within his writings that gave the reader a clue to the inner workings of his soul and mind. In his poem, “Meditation 38”, Taylor invoked the use of a controlling metaphor to show Christ as an advocate before God. During the course of this poem, Taylor both refuted and confirmed a number of Puritan doctrines.
In the first stanza, Taylor introduced the metaphor that carried throughout the poem which was that of a courtroom. For Taylor, heaven was the courtroom, and when our souls are freed of our bodies, we will be tried there. Taylor used this metaphor throughout the poem to illustrate Christ as our advocate and judge. The beginning scripture Taylor used was I John 1:1-2 which says “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous: And...