The Poet as Prophet: Ending The Temple

One of the most disputed questions of structure in The Temple is how – or even whether – “The Church Militant” relates to “The Church-porch” and “The Church.” The following essay will argue that in articulating the role of the poet as prophet, “The Church Militant” serves as an appropriate conclusion to the entire volume. Modern readers of George Herbert’s poetry have gravitated toward his lyric mode and away from his prophetic mode, but the latter was not only particularly appreciated in the seventeenth century but also the subject of much debate and commentary, some of which has a direct and hitherto unnoticed relevance to Herbert’s poetics. Controversy is embedded in “The Church Militant” not only in the substance of his prophecies but also in the style and structure of this long poem, which turn out to be far more complex, subtle, and in fact topically engaged than has been generally recognized. This essay will first consider briefly the relation of “The Church Militant” to the other two sections of The Temple, then look at the poem’s fitness as a conclusion for Herbert’s collection, and finally examine the integrity and purpose of the poem’s prophetic elements as they are manifest in figures and images. Herbert models his biblically-based poetics in part on the inspired poetry of Old Testament prophets, especially Isaiah, and seeks to conform his authorial identity to that of the ultimate author, Christ.

The Structure of The Temple and the Threefold Office of Christ

The overall structure of The Temple rests heavily on the traditional notion of the munus triplex Christi, the traditional threefold office of Christ as prophet, priest, and king. Each of the three parts of Herbert’s volume focuses largely on one of the three offices: “The Church-porch” articulates the role of king; “The Church,” that of priest; and “The Church Militant,” that of prophet. The kingly office is portrayed with a focus on self-governance and secular aphorisms, while in “The Church” Herbert draws upon ecclesiastical rites, calendar, traditions, and architecture to chronicle the spiritual formation of priest. “The Church Militant” was regarded as oracular in the seventeenth century and led Henry Vaughan, Richard Baxter, and others to consider Herbert a “seer” or prophet.¹ In “The Church Militant” Herbert implicitly underscores the importance of the munus triplex Christi: the character Sinne displays the height of his apostasy as he “professes / To make a jest of Christ’s three offices” (ll. 174–75).²

The munus triplex Christi animated the theological debates of the Reformation and received particular momentum through the writings of John Calvin, who states in his Institutes: “To know the purpose for which Christ was sent by the Father, and what he conferred upon us, We must look above all at three things in him: The Prophetic Office, Kingship, and Priesthood.”³ The articulation of Christ’s threefold office dates to Eusebius of Caesarea (d. 340); in 1204 Pope Innocent III introduced the idea into Catholic canon law; and in 1522 Erasmus in his commentary on Psalm 2 reintroduced the theologoumenon (a theological statement that is an individual opinion, not doctrine) into the religious debates of the Reformation.⁴ Elnathan Parr, a minister in Suffolk, emphasized in 1614 the importance of conforming oneself to Christ by embracing the knowledge of a prophet, the sacrifice of a priest, and the self-rule and government of a king.⁵ The three offices derive from the specific roles in the Bible that are indicated by the act of anointment, and Christians share in these roles by virtue of baptismal anointing, thus achieving oneness with Christ, whose title in Greek – “Khristos” (from khriein, to anoint) – means “the anointed one.” These three offices are ultimately indivisible, united in Christ’s person, and they are indivisible in Herbert’s poetry as well, unifying the three sections of The Temple. However, one of the three offices predominates in each section.

“The Church-porch” emphasizes self-mastery and self-government – “Command thyself in chief” (l. 215) – and encourages conformity to the kingly office. Parr emphasizes the necessity for the Christian believer...