The Morning: Not Its Fault
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: The Morning: Not Its Fault
Scripture Reference:
- 2 Corinthians 4 (further images / scripture text)
Description: In the morning, a woman opens in window of her house to let in the sunshine. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649–1712) was responsible for drawing this emblem and composed the poem that accompanies it. The etching was executed by Jan Luiken or his son Casper Luiken (1672-1708), who had used this image in an earlier work, which may be found in the Digital Image Archive under the call number 1699Weig. The attendant scripture text is 2 Corinthians 4:6.
Motto: What encloses itself, That keeps him out.
Poem:
O Welcome, beautiful Morning,
That comes from a golden chamber,
With luster of bright beams;
I open my window for thy light,
In order, with a merry face
And a friendly manner, to take thee in.
Thou waitest not until I open,
But dost push first freely forward;
Yes, before I come to open it,
And am still in the dismal darkness,
Thou dost already stand and wait for me,
Before closed windows.
Like the Master who called thee,
And created thee as a Light of the world,
That great Sun of Suns;
Shines with a luster of eternal good,
Before the window of the closed heart,
By opening, it would be obtained.
Little worm of dust, under the roof of straw,
In the house of clay, why art thou so?
It is a Lord of Lords,
Who stands before thy poor little hut
And does not scorn thy smallness,
To turn himself to thee.
Let him in, let him in, the worthy Guest,
So that thy Salvation grows successfully,
He comes with a great blessing,
And brings along a happy message,
Eternal joy, instead of eternal gloom,
That depends on thee.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
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Rights Status: No Copyright - United States
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