Love bade me welcome. / Yet my soul drew back / Guilty of dust and sin.
-- Speaker (Lines 1 – 3)

Importance: These are the opening lines of the poem. They help establish the dynamic between the speaker and Love, with Love welcoming the speaker in as a guest. By contrast, the speaker feels "guilty" and so withdraws from Love, mirroring the relationship between a Christian who feels unworthy of God's grace.

Love said, You shall be he.
-- Speaker (Line 8)

Importance: When the speaker tells Love that the only thing he lacks is a "guest...worthy to be here" (7), Love replies with this assertion. This quotation highlights God's unconditional love as well as His boundless power. While the speaker is uncertain and timid, Love (God) speaks with certainty and strength.

I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear, / I cannot look on thee.
-- Speaker (Lines 9 – 10)

Importance: When Love tells the speaker that he is indeed worthy of being there, the speaker replies with this argument...