She Looks
She Looks
This is the poem/essay that inspired the song SHE LOOKS TO THE SKY,
many of you ask about it so here you go.
Apostrophe to Sarah Pierpont by Jonathan Edwards
[c. 1723]
They say there is a young lady in [New Haven] who is beloved of that
almighty Being, who made and rules the world, and that there are
certain seasons in which this great Being, in some way or other
invisible, comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet
delight, and that she hardly cares for anything, except to meditate on
him--that she expects after a while to be received up where he is, to
be raised up out of the world and caught up into heaven; being assured
that he loves her too well to let her remain at a distance from him
always. There she is to dwell with him, and to be ravished with his
love and delight forever. Therefore, if you present all the world
before her, with the richest of its treasures, she disregards it and
cares not for it, and is unmindful of any pain or affliction. She has a
strange sweetness in her mind, and singular purity in her affections;
is most just and conscientious in all her actions; and you could not
persuade her to do anything wrong or sinful, if you would give her all
the world, lest she should offend this great Being. She is of a
wonderful sweetness, calmness and universal benevolence of mind;
especially after those seasons in which this great God has manifested
himself to her mind. She will sometimes go about from place to place,
singing sweetly; and seems to be always full of joy and pleasure; and
no one knows for what. She loves to be alone, and to wander in the
fields and on the mountains, and seems to have someone invisible always
conversing with her.
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