What God is like to him I serve

Anne Bradstreet's What God is like to him I serve

Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672), often regarded as the first notable poet of the English-speaking American colonies, occupies a unique position in early American literature. Her works, deeply rooted in Puritan theology, reflect both personal devotion and the broader religious and cultural anxieties of her time. What God is like to him I serve is a compact yet thematically rich poem that encapsulates Bradstreet’s unwavering faith while subtly engaging with theological debates of the 17th century. This analysis will explore the poem’s historical context, its use of literary devices, its central themes of divine fidelity and election, and its emotional resonance as both a personal declaration and a polemical statement against perceived heresies.

Historical and Theological Context

Bradstreet’s poetry must be understood within the framework of Puritan New England, where religious devotion was not merely personal but also communal and doctrinal. The Puritans, having fled England to escape persecution and establish a "city upon a hill," were deeply concerned with maintaining theological purity. Bradstreet’s poem reflects this preoccupation, positioning her God as distinct from false deities and worldly vanities.

The opening lines—"What God is like to him I serve, / What Saviour like to mine?"—immediately establish a contrast between the Christian God and other belief systems, possibly referencing both pagan religions and perceived Christian deviations (such as Catholicism or Anglican ceremonialism, which Puritans rejected). The poem’s defensive tone suggests it may be responding to religious pluralism or skepticism, reinforcing the Puritan belief in an exclusive covenant with God.

Literary Devices and Structure

Bradstreet employs a range of poetic techniques to reinforce her theological assertions. The poem’s rhetorical questions ("What God is like to him I serve?") serve not as genuine inquiries but as assertions of God’s incomparability, a common device in devotional literature. The use of parallelism ("My thankfull mouth shall speak thy praise, / My Tongue shall talk of Thee") emphasizes the speaker’s commitment to worship, while the imperative ("Goe, Worldlings, to your Vanities") functions as both a dismissal and a warning.

The poem’s meter and rhythm contribute to its hymn-like quality, making it suitable for both private meditation and communal recitation. The alternating lines of declaration and supplication create a dynamic interplay between confidence in divine election ("I find his Love, I know his Pow’r") and humble devotion ("O, never let me from thee swerve").

Themes: Divine Fidelity and Election

Central to the poem is the theme of God’s unwavering faithfulness, contrasted with the unreliability of false gods. The lines "He is not man that he should lye, / Nor son of man to unsay" allude to Numbers 23:19 ("God is not a man, that he should lie"), reinforcing the idea that the Puritan God is immutable, unlike the capricious deities of other faiths.

Bradstreet also engages with the Calvinist doctrine of predestination—the belief that God has preordained who will be saved. The speaker’s assurance ("For truly I am thine") suggests a confidence in her elect status, a hallmark of Puritan spirituality. The final stanza’s reference to Christ as "the first and last, that lives for aye" (Revelation 1:17) further underscores the eternal nature of divine promise, offering the speaker—and by extension, the Puritan reader—the comfort of everlasting life.

Polemical Undertones: A Rejection of Worldly "Vanities"

The poem’s middle stanzas take on a more polemical tone, addressing "Worldlings" and "heathen" who rely on false gods. The challenge—"Let them help in Adversities, / And sanctefye their rods"—implies that only the true God can provide real deliverance, mocking the impotence of other belief systems. This reflects the Puritan disdain for what they saw as idolatrous practices, whether among Native Americans, Catholics, or secular pleasure-seekers.

Bradstreet’s phrasing ("Your selves shall Judges bee") suggests a kind of ironic judgment: those who reject the true God will ultimately see their error, but too late. This aligns with Puritan eschatology, which anticipated divine judgment upon the ungodly.

Emotional and Personal Dimensions

Despite its doctrinal rigor, the poem is deeply personal. Bradstreet’s use of the first person ("my thankfull mouth," "my heart") transforms theological abstraction into intimate devotion. The plea "O, never let me from thee swerve" reveals an anxiety about backsliding, a common Puritan concern. Even the elect, in Calvinist thought, could struggle with doubt, and Bradstreet’s poem serves as both a profession of faith and a prayer for perseverance.

The emotional climax arrives in the final stanza, where the resurrection of Christ ("That dy’d but now doth live") guarantees the speaker’s "lasting life." This movement from doctrinal assertion to personal assurance encapsulates the Puritan journey from fear to faith, a dynamic that would have resonated deeply with Bradstreet’s contemporaries.

Comparative Readings and Philosophical Underpinnings

Bradstreet’s poem can be usefully compared to other Puritan writings, such as Edward Taylor’s Meditations or Michael Wigglesworth’s The Day of Doom, which similarly grapple with divine judgment and election. However, Bradstreet’s work is distinctive in its lyrical simplicity and personal immediacy.

Philosophically, the poem engages with the problem of religious certainty—how can one know that their God is the true one? Bradstreet’s answer is experiential: "I find his Love, I know his Pow’r." This empirical approach to faith (feeling God’s presence as evidence) reflects Puritanism’s tension between rational theology and emotional piety.

Conclusion: The Enduring Power of Bradstreet’s Devotion

What God is like to him I serve is a microcosm of Anne Bradstreet’s larger body of work—theologically rigorous, poetically crafted, and deeply personal. It captures the Puritan worldview while transcending its historical moment to speak to universal human concerns: the search for truth, the fear of abandonment, and the hope of salvation.

Bradstreet’s ability to weave doctrine with emotion ensures that the poem remains compelling centuries later. In an age of religious pluralism and existential uncertainty, her unwavering declaration—"My God he is not like to yours"—offers both a challenge and a comfort: a reminder that faith, at its best, is both a shield against doubt and a song of gratitude.

Through this poem, Bradstreet not only asserts her place within Puritan tradition but also affirms poetry’s power to give voice to the soul’s deepest convictions. In doing so, she secures her legacy as a pioneer of American literature and a timeless witness to the human-divine encounter.

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