AWAKENINGS

First published by Larry on Friday, November 27, 2009.

British Museum
Illustrations to Edward Young's Night Thoughts
Love Lets Down These Silver Chains of Light

In the Gospel of John, Nicodemus heard Jesus say, "you
must be born again" representing the most significant
event in a person's life-- their awakening from a purely
physical, materialistic life to a Perception of the Infinite
(MHH, Plate 13, lines 21-23, E39).
 
A person with inherent gifts of imagination and insight
into their psyche may be susceptible to moments of new
insight that seem like a rebirth. (Three seminary
professors told this student that 'you must be born
again, and again, and again'.)
 
Such a rebirth for our poet occurred in 1804, and he
immediately reported it to his (corporeal) friend and
physical benefactor, William Hayley; in Letter 51,
dated 23 October 1804 (Erdman 756) Blake wrote:
"Suddenly, on the day after visiting the Truchsessian
Gallery of pictures, I was again enlightened with the
light I enjoyed in my youth, and which has for exactly
twenty years been closed from me as by a door and by
window-shutters." (This letter is well worth reading
but I skipped the first three paragraphs.)
 
Although the experience had brought Blake a
significant increase in his creative powers, you may
envision even more significant ones in the years before:
Letter 16 to Butts (Oct 2, 1800), mentioned often
recently, which I called first vision of light, appeared
to me to be more critical in Blake's spiritual development.
It was the word from God that empowered him to the
magnificent statement of faith that his great poems
represented.
 
The letter to Hayley was of another genre; we might call
it an attempt to express his own spiritual attitude in a
way acceptable to the 'non-spirtual friend'. In
contrast Blake poured out his heart to his really
supportive friend, Butts.
 
All 91 of the letters, printed on 85 pages of Erdman's
Complete Poetry and Prose... reward the reader. You may
become weary from coping with the continuous barrage of
metaphors, figures, images, etc in Blake's works of art;
turn to the letters, which offer few obstacles to good
understanding.
 
We read and study Blake many different ways. The 91
letters might provide other 'visions of light'.

JOB - PAGE 17

Wikipedia Commons
Vision of Christ
Butts Set of Illustrations for the Book of Job
Page 17

This is the Legend on the engraving which Blake later made of this image:

. . . he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up (I Samuel 2:6)

. . . we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2)

When I consider thy heaven, the work of the finger, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? (Psalm 8:3-4)

I have heard of thee with the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee (Job 42:5)

. . . he that hath seen me hath seen the Father (John 14:9)

I and my Father are one (John 10:30)

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him (John 14:7)

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me (John 14:11)

. . . he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father (John 14:21)

. . . for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (John 14:17)

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you (John 14:20)
If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father (John 14:28)

. . . he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him (John 14:21)

. . . and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (John 14: 23)

And . . . the Father . . . shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever (John 14:16)

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive (John 14:17)

---

I Samuel 2
[6] The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
[7] The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
[8] He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them.
[9] He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

I John 3
[1] Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
[2] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Psalms 3
[2] Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
[3] When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
[4] What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
[5] For thou hast made him
 a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Job 42
[1] Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
[2] I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
[3] Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
[4] Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
[5] I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee

John 10
[28] And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
[29] My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
[30] I and my Father are one.

John 14
[7] If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
[8] Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
[9] Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
[10] Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
[11] Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake..

John 14
[16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
[17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
[19] Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
[20] At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
[21] He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
[22] Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
[23] Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

John 14
[26] But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
[27] Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
[28] Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

Image by image we have seen in Blake's Illustrations for the Book of Job a man undertaking a spiritual journey. Job saw a reversal in his physical circumstances in the beginning of the narrative. His journey reached a low point with his vision of a false conception of God who bore a greater resemblance to the devil than to a true God. Realizing that his image of God must be replaced he was open to starting afresh with an image which came to him from a source beyond his own creating. The glory of a God not made with human hands led him to see that he need not fear the demons which he projected onto the world. Having been released from fear he became able to annihilate the impediment to his growth. He had been freed to receive the God of love who would guide him as he continued to develop. Little by little we have seen Job emerging by stages from his dark dream.

Page 16 shows the last of the pictures in which Job is clothed only in sackcloth. When Satan was allowed to test Job, sackcloth over his loins became his sole garment. Job had been placed outside of respectable society and became unacceptable and abased. The words of Isaiah 53 may be applied to Job as they were to Jesus as the Suffering Servant: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."

Blake primarily used words from the Gospel of John to explain what he wanted to represent in his illustration on Page 17. Blake saw that Job's ordeal of reexamining all the assumptions on which he had based his worldview had resulted in a death and rebirth. Job's world and Job's God had changed because Job had changed. Blake saw the change as analogous to the change that Christ brought by introducing man to seeing God acting as a loving Father, hearing the word spoken directly to the individual and understanding that God lived in man not in a distant heaven.  

As can be seen in the previous illustration on Page 16, the falling triple image of Satan covered his eyes, ears and brain. When Satan fell he took with him the inability to see, hear and understand. In fact blindness, deafness and confused thought were all that there was to the illusion which was Satan. When Job regained the ability to use his eyes, ears and brain he was out of the grip of Satan and available to see, hear and understand God, Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Everlasting Gospel, section [a] found in Blake's Notebook, (E 875)
"There is not one Moral Virtue that Jesus Inculcated but Plato &
Cicero did Inculcate before him [.] what then did Christ Inculcate. 
Forgiveness of Sins This alone is the Gospel & this is the Life &
Immortality brought to light by Jesus.  Even the Covenant of
Jehovah, which is This If you forgive one another your Trespasses
so shall Jehovah forgive you That he himself may dwell among you
but if you Avenge you Murder the Divine Image & he cannot dwell
among you because you Murder him [.] he arises
Again & you deny that he is Arisen & are blind to Spirit" 

JOB - PAGE 16

Wikipedia Commons
Fall of Satan
Butts Set of Illustrations for the Book of Job
Page 16

This is the Legend on the engraving which Blake later made of this image:

Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering (Job 26:6)

Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? (Job 11:7)

. . . the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night (Revelation 12:10)

It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know? (Job 11:8).

..now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:31)

But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked (Job 36:17)

. . . even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven (Luke 10:17-18)

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty (I Corinthians 1:27)

Job 26
[1] But Job answered and said,
[2] How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?
[3] How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?
[4] To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
[5] Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.
[6] Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

Job 11
[5] But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
[6] And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
[7] Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
[8] It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?

John 31
[27] Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
[28] Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
[29] The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
[30] Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
[31] Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
[32] And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Job 36
[15] He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.
[16] Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness.
[17] But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee.
[18] Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.

Luke 10
[16] He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
[17] And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
[18] And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
[19] Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
[20] Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

I Corinthians 1
[23] But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
[24] But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
[25] Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
[26] For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
[27] But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
[28] And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
[29] That no flesh should glory in his presence.
[30] But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
[31] That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

---

Satan is not easily recognized because he takes many forms and wears many disguises. His legitimate role was "Prince of the Starry Hosts And of the Wheels of Heaven, to turn the Mills day & night." But Satan falls from the heavens through pride and envy and becomes the tempter and accuser of men. He finds a place in the minds of men where he can bring doubt, destruction and dissension where there had been faith, and salvation and harmony. In the outer world Satan is found in the selfish behaviors which foment hostilities and wars. Blake refers to the Satan who distorts our thinking as the Spectre, and the Satan who disturbs the operation of the world as the Selfhood.

The reason that Satan must be cast out is that he occupies the place in the psyche that belongs to Christ. The fallen Urizen is another name that Blake gives to Satan. We see from this that false reasoning is the cause of man's distorted perception of reality. When man conceives of God as the distant judge who enforces the moral law based on assigning the qualities of good or evil to everything one encounters, he has accepted Satan, the Ruler of this World, as his God. If Christ, the God within, assumes his rightful place in the psyche then man can discern that everything that lives is holy.

The fall of Satan takes places when the Selfhood is annihilated, allowing the Spectre to be reunited with the Emanation, error to be replaced with truth, and man to enter the state of grace which Blake calls Imagination.

This event is what we pray for in the Christian liturgy when we ask that God "cleanse the thoughts  of our hearts by the inspiration of the holy spirit."

Milton, Plate 3, (E 97)
"They Builded Great Golgonooza Times on Times Ages on Ages
First Orc was Born then the Shadowy Female: then All Los's Family
At last Enitharmon brought forth Satan Refusing Form, in vain
The Miller of Eternity made subservient to the Great Harvest
That he may go to his own Place Prince of the Starry Wheels 

Milton, Plate 4. (E 98) 
"Every Mans Wisdom is peculiar to his own Individ[u]ality
O Satan my youngest born, art thou not Prince of the Starry Hosts
And of the Wheels of Heaven, to turn the Mills day & night?  
Art thou not Newtons Pantocrator weaving the Woof of Locke
To Mortals thy Mills seem every thing & the Harrow of Shaddai
A scheme of Human conduct invisible & incomprehensible
Get to thy Labours at the Mills & leave me to my wrath,"

Jerusalem, Plate 77, (E 232) 
"But Jesus is the bright Preacher of Life
Creating Nature from this fiery Law,
By self-denial & forgiveness of Sin.

Go therefore, cast out devils in Christs name
Heal thou the sick of spiritual disease           
Pity the evil, for thou art not sent
To smite with terror & with punishments
Those that are sick, like the Pharisees
Crucifying &,encompassing sea & land
For proselytes to tyranny & wrath,                
But to the Publicans & Harlots go!
Teach them True Happiness, but let no curse
Go forth out of thy mouth to blight their peace
For Hell is opend to heaven; thine eyes beheld
The dungeons burst & the Prisoners set free.        
 ______________________________________

England! awake! awake! awake!
  Jerusalem thy Sister calls!
Why wilt thou sleep the sleep of death?
  And close her from thy ancient walls.

               Thy hills & valleys felt her feet,           
                 Gently upon their bosoms move:
               Thy gates beheld sweet Zions ways;
                 Then was a time of joy and love.

     And now the time returns again:
       Our souls exult & Londons towers,                         
     Recieve the Lamb of God to dwell
       In Englands green & pleasant bowers."

JOB - PAGE 15

Wikipedia Commons
Behemoth and Leviathan
Butts Set of Illustrations for the Book of Job
Page 15

This is the Legend on the engraving which Blake later made of this image:

Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle? (Job 36:29)

Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud: And it is turned round about by his counsels (Job 37:11-12)

Behold now behemoth . . . He is the chief of the ways of God (Job 40:15, 19)
. . . he is a king over all the children of pride (Job 41: 34)

Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee (Job 40:15)

---

Job 36
[10] He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.
[11] If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
[12] But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
...
[26] Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.
[27] For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
[28] Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
[29] Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
[30] Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
[31] For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.
[32] With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.
[33] The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.

Job 37
[11] Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud:
[12] And it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth.
[13] He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.
[14] Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.

Job 40
[15] Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
[16] Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
[17] He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
[18] His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.
[19] He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.
[20] Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.
[21] He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
[22] The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
[23] Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
[24] He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.

Job 41
1] Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
[2] Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
[3] Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
[4] Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
...
[33] Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
[34] He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

Looking at Page 15 of Blake's Illustrations of the Book of Job, we see God and Job outside of the world in which Behemoth and Leviathan are enclosed. God is pointing out to Job and his party the two monsters which are encircled in a separate space. Job had experienced the two beasts as outside of himself but the lesson God is teaching is that Job internally creates the fear that the two creatures represent to him. To deal with the fears which Job perceived externally he must change his perception internally. If his fears come from his memories of the past, of from his failure to resolve issues springing from his unconscious, he must find solutions by acknowledging his dilemma as his own and not something created by his external circumstances.
 
The irrational fear that we have of the mere potential for harm inhibits our growth. If we fear loss, or change, or abandonment, or pain we allow ourselves to be imprisoned by Behemoth or Leviathan instead of refusing to allow them to control us. It is true that there are external threats to our happiness but they can be managed more creatively if they are seen objectively not as monsters which could overpower us.

It is not by accident that Blake's picture of Behemoth and Leviathan follows his picture of the Sons of God singing praise. The heavenly dimension in which the chorus of angels forever sing to the music of the spheres was real to Blake; Leviathan and Behemoth were illusions created by a mind which was trapped in the dominion of Satan. Following his vision of God's true nature which had been revealed to Job, the beasts which he feared could be seen to be as ludicrous as the two caricatures which Blake drew from his imagination.

Milton Percival wrote on Page 271 of William Blake's Circle of Destiny concerning Los's work in releasing imagination from Satan's grip:
"The Spectre, watching his work fall under the blows of Los's mighty hammer saw that

...all his pyramids were grains
Of sand & his pillars: dust on the flys wing: & his starry
Heavens; a moth of gold & silver mocking his anxious grasp

His universe is that illusory empire of nothing over which Satan is king. It cannot stand before truth because it is based upon the mistaken conception of good and evil. But tremendous energy has gone into its making, and that vast outpouring of energy, Blake respects. The lines just quoted are his salute to the enemy he hopes he has vanquished."

Jerusalem, Plate 91, (E 251)
"So Los cried at his Anvil in the horrible darkness weeping!

The Spectre builded stupendous Works, taking the Starry Heavens
Like to a curtain & folding them according to his will
Repeating the Smaragdine Table of Hermes to draw Los down
Into the Indefinite, refusing to believe without demonstration[.]
Los reads the Stars of Albion! the Spectre reads the Voids
Between the Stars; among the arches of Albions Tomb sublime
Rolling the Sea in rocky paths: forming Leviathan
And Behemoth: the War by Sea enormous & the War
By Land astounding: erecting pillars in the deepest Hell,     
To reach the heavenly arches; Los beheld undaunted furious

His heavd Hammer; he swung it round & at one blow,
In unpitying ruin driving down the pyramids of pride
Smiting the Spectre on his Anvil & the integuments of his Eye
And Ear unbinding in dire pain, with many blows,            
Of strict severity self-subduing, & with many tears labouring.

Then he sent forth the Spectre all his pyramids were grains
Of sand & his pillars: dust on the flys wing: & his starry
Heavens; a moth of gold & silver mocking his anxious grasp
Thus Los alterd his Spectre & every Ratio of his Reason       
He alterd time after time, with dire pain & many tears
Till he had completely divided him into a separate space." 

Further light is cast on the work performed by Los and Enitharmon in 
Blake's Four Zoas: The Design of a Dream by Brian Wilkie and Mary Lynn 
Johnson:

"Out of the unreal, deathly, antihuman, formlessness, Los and Enitharmon
work continually to bring into full being whatever is potentially real,

alive, and human: Los's transformation of war into love is one of the 
many points in Night VIII where opposites collide. Before evil, error, 
and death can be seen as non-entities to be cast off, all that is real 
under their dominion must be remade. What is left after that, since it 
is only delusion, will disappear in the mental fires of Night IX." (Page
 175) 

More posts on Behemoth and Leviathan:

May 2010

Feb 2012

Oct 2016

Job Picture 15

First published by Larry Clayton on July 6, 2010
 
Pic 15:
Above the picture on each side Blake drew a figure perhaps signalling God speaking and the legend "Can any understand the spreading of the Clouds the noise of his Tabernacle" (Job 36:29)

On the left side " Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud: And it is turned round about by his counsels" (Job 37:11-12)

And on the right side: "Of Behemoth he saith He is the chief of the ways of God -- of Levithan he said He is King over all the Children of Pride (Portions of Job 40 and 41) [truly Pride goeth before a Fall]

And underneath the picture "Behold now Behemoth, which I made with thee" (Job 40:15).

Note the three levels: At the top God with the Angels of the Presence with stars; in the middle Job with usual wife and friends, also in a starry place; what can that mean? In Picture 14 he looked up to the starry Sons of God; now perhaps he is one of them! (Like most symbols Blake used the figure of stars ambiguously; in this picture they perhaps symbolize the light that has begun to dawn for Job; in Blake generally they represent Urizen; he and the stars fell.) Look at the Introduction of Songs of Experience:

"Hear the voice of the Bard,
Who present, past, and future, sees;
Whose ears have heard
The Holy Word
That walked among the ancient trees;
Calling the lapsed soul,
And weeping in the evening dew;
That might control
The starry pole,
And fallen, fallen light renew!
........"

The bottom level shows the two fearsome creatures of God, Behemoth of the land and Leviathan of the sea. In the legend Behemoth here implies the O.T. God's violent dimension and Leviathan one of mankind's worse qualities - Pride.

In Encounter with the Self, Edinger (p. 55) points out the common numinosity of Pictures 13, 14, and 15, the first two reveal the creative dimension of God and this one the destructive- "the abysmal aspect of God and the depth of his [Job's] own psyche, which contains devouring monsters remote from human values...This illustrates the fact that our existence is based on ..greedy, lusting, devour matter"--which is to say that we have a spiritual and a materialistic nature, Sons of God, but made of dust.

JOB - PAGE 14

Wikipedia Commons
When the Morning Stars Sang Together
Butts Set of Illustrations for the Book of Job
Page 14

Blake Archive

Illustrations of the Book of Job

Plate 14

This is the Legend on the engraving which Blake later made of the original watercolor image:

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? (Job 38:31)

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy (Job 38:7)

Let there be light (Genesis 1:3)

Let there be a firmament (Genesis 1:6)

Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear (Genesis 1:9)

And God made two great lights (Genesis 1:16)

Let the waters bring forth abundantly (Genesis 1:20)

Let the earth bring forth the living creatures . . . cattle, and creeping thing, the beasts of the earth (Genesis 1:24)

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Genesis 1
[1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
[2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
[3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
[4] And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
[5] And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
[6] And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
[7] And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
[8] And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
[9] And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
[10] And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
[11] And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
[12] And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
[13] And the evening and the morning were the third day.
[14] And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
[15] And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
[16] And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
[17] And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
[18] And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
[19] And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
[20] And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
[21] And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
[22] And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
[23] And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
[24] And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Job 38
[4] Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
[5] Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
[6] Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
[7] When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Job 38
[31] Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
[32] Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
[33] Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

Luke 19
[9] And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
[10] For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
...
[37] And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
[38] Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
[39] And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
[40] And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
[41] And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

Phillips Translation
Luke
19:40 - To which he replied, "I tell you that if they kept quiet, the very stones in the road would burst out cheering!"

Revelation 22
[16] I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
[17] And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

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We are invited to witness with Job the bringing forth of all things. Job was reborn by passing through his nadir of despair by encountering his false God, followed by his zenith of recognition by experiencing the might of God in the whirlwind. Job's world was transformed when he acquired the ability to perceive afresh. Blake uses the occasion of Job's new ability to see the creative nature of God to picture the rejoicing of man when God's beneficence becomes visible to him.
 
Perhaps it is important to notice that five of the six creative events recounted in Genesis and quoted in the borders of Page 14, occur because the voice of God pronounces the event. Only the two great lights actively are made by God and they for the purpose of ruling the divisions of night and day. Creation is both the nature and work of God; it has no beginning or ending. The morning stars, the light, the sun and moon, the waters, the dry land, the creatures of water and land; all are called into existence to make manifest the creative power of the Divine.

In Blake's image on Page 13 of Illustrations of the Book of Job, God holds the central position. Below his right arm is Apollo in his chariot pulled by four horses. Associated with Apollo are the physical sun, the reasoning mind called Urizen by Blake, and the dynamics of division into four functions called Zoas by Blake. Below God's left arm is Artemis the twin sister of Apollo, representing the moon, nature and the physical side of humanity called by Blake both Vala and Enion. Her chariot is pulled not by horses but by serpents or dragons.  

Jerusalem, Plate 62, (E 213)
"I know that in my flesh I shall see God: but Emanations
Are weak. they know not whence they are, nor whither tend.

Jesus replied. I am the Resurrection & the Life.
I Die & pass the limits of possibility, as it appears
To individual perception. Luvah must be Created                  
And Vala; for I cannot leave them in the gnawing Grave.
But will prepare a way for my banished-ones to return
Come now with me into the villages. walk thro all the cities.
Tho thou art taken to prison & judgment, starved in the streets
I will command the cloud to give thee food & the hard rock       
To flow with milk & wine, tho thou seest me not a season
Even a long season & a hard journey & a howling wilderness!
Tho Valas cloud hide thee & Luvahs fires follow thee!
Only believe & trust in me, Lo. I am always with thee!
 So spoke the Lamb of God while Luvahs Cloud reddening" 

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Inscriptions in Blake's Illustrations of The Book of Job, 1825, (E 891)

"Blake's symbolic signature on the drawing for design XIV ("When the morning Stars sang together") is in the Fitzwilliam Museum. John Beer begins to recognize the duality of the symbolism by noting that the central symbol both is and is not a "B"; it is also a thumb. Preceding it is a hand which is also a "W". Following these initials, B.W., is an eye, the "I" of Imagination. The first and last hieroglyphs are, respectively, a line which is the graver or pencil with which Blake draws his line of text and design, and a sun (flanked by two marks that imply a sphere in motion, notes Beer) which supplies the Illumination of his pages."

Job 14

REPOSTED FOR LARRY CLAYTON

When the morning stars sang together & all the sons of God shouted for joy

Let there Be Light

Let there be A Firmament

Let the waters be gathered

together into one place, and

& let the Dry Land appear

**************************

And God made Two Great Lights

Sun

Moon

Let the Waters bring

forth abundantly

Let the earth bring forth

Cattle & Creeping thing

& Beast

Job 14
University of Adelaide

When the morning stars sang together

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Strange that the creation myth came so late in Illustrations of the Book of Job.

In the border of this image are insets showing the six days of creation. There are three insets on the left and three on the right in the engraving.

The top of this image shows four 'Sons of God' in the stars. Might they be the Four Zoas?

Like most of the plates this one is divided into the sections:

The top one has the four 'angels', 'sons of God', or four Zoas.

The middle section shows God.

The two figures under God's arms are said to be Apollo and Diana (Wright 37).

The circle around God's head could be a halo or a sun or moon.

God is kneeling with his right foot intruding on the cloud under which Job and his family appear to be learning God's lesson.
The lower section might be thought of as a cave, like Plato's Cave.

Wikimedia Commons
Illustrations of the Book of Job 
Engraving 14 

JOB - PAGE 13

Wikipedia Commons
The Lord Answering Job Out of the Whirlwind
Butts Set of Illustrations for the Book of Job
Page 13

This is the Legend on the engraving which Blake later made of this image:

Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? (Job 38:2)

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind (Job 38:1)

. . . who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh on the wings of the wind (Psalm 104:3)

Hath the rain a Father? or who hath begotten the drops of the dew? (Job 38:28)

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Job.38
[1] Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
[2] Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
[3] Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
[4] Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
[5] Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
[6] Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
[7] When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Psalms 104
[1] Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
[2] Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
[3] Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
[4] Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
[5] Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

Job 38
[25] Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
[26] To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
[27] To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
[28] Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

Logic is the child of reason. The reasoning mind seeks to sit in the drivers seat of the human psyche. But reason must be dislodged from his place of dominance to allow the intuitive function to take its place. The reply which Job received from God could not be fitted into logical categories because it must be experienced by intuition. It introduced an aspect of experiencing the whole not the individual parts. Notice that the answer to Job was in the form of queries not proclamations. Seeking answers which are not clearly delineated by any authority was the response Job made to an encounter with the living God.

Job understood that he was in the presence of a power which was as far beyond his level as the energy of the sun is beyond the energy of a candle. The driving force of the whirlwind drew Job into a realization that the works of God were infinite and eternal. Job and his wife faced the reality of the might of God with gratitude for the revelation which had been given to them.

Job had tried to justify himself before God. His encounter with God enabled him to relinquish his defensive attitude. He became humble and receptive to a continuing relationship with God through whom more truth may be made known to him.

Four Zoas, Night IX, Page 132, (E 400)  
"The feast was spread in the bright South & the Regenerate Man 
Sat at the feast rejoicing & the wine of Eternity
Was servd round by the flames of Luvah all Day & all the Night
And when Morning began to dawn upon the distant hills
a whirlwind rose up in the Center & in the Whirlwind a shriek
And in the Shriek a rattling of bones & in the rattling of bones 
A dolorous groan & from the dolorous groan in tears
Rose Enion like a gentle light & Enion spoke saying

O Dreams of Death the human form dissolving companied
By beasts & worms & creeping things & darkness & despair 
The clouds fall off from my wet brow the dust from my cold limbs
Into the Sea of Tharmas Soon renewd a Golden Moth
I shall cast off my death clothes & Embrace Tharmas again
For Lo the winter melted away upon the distant hills
And all the black mould sings. She speaks to her infant race her milk
Descends down on the sand. the thirsty sand drinks & rejoices"   

Four Zoas, Night IX, PAGE 138, (E 406) 
"Then Dark Urthona took the Corn out of the Stores of Urizen
He ground it in his rumbling Mills Terrible the distress
Of all the Nations of Earth ground in the Mills of Urthona
In his hand Tharmas takes the Storms. he turns the whirlwind Loose
Upon the wheels the stormy seas howl at his dread command        
And Eddying fierce rejoice in the fierce agitation of the wheels
Of Dark Urthona Thunders Earthquakes Fires Water floods
Rejoice to one another loud their voices shake the Abyss"

JOB - PAGE 12

Wikipedia Commons The wrath of Elihu
Butts Set of Illustrations for the Book of Job
Page 12

This is the Legend on the engraving which Blake later made of this image:

For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not (Job 33:14)

In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed (Job 33:15)

Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction (Job 33:16)

That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. (Job 33:17)

For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings (Job 34:21)

I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid (Job 32:6)

Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living (Job 33: 29-30)

Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou (Job 35: 5)

If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? . . . If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? (Job 35:6-7)

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Job.32
[1] So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
[2] Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
[3] Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
[4] Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.
 

Job 33
[8] Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,
[9] I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
[10] Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy,
[11] He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.
[12] Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
[13] Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
[14] For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
[15] In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
[16] Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
[17] That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
[18] He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
 

Job 35
[5] Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.
[6] If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?
[7] If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?
[8] Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.

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On Page 12 Blake presented Elihu speaking, Job listening, Job's wife praying, and the three friends thinking and wondering. Elihu, the young man of the New Age, had rejected the answers which satisfied his father and found his own method of accessing truth. The question implied was had Job been humbled enough to go back to the beginning by learning from a young man who has not been through what he has suffered?

Here are two posts which show Blake being transformed: Becoming an Individual, New Birth.

On Page 11 of Blake's Illustrations of the Book of Job he pictured a man undergoing a shattering experience of encountering content from his unconscious. The images came to him in dreams and visions and penetrated his psychological organization. He found that his image of the Divine was so distorted that it required an alteration of his ability to perceive.

On Page 12 Elihu was presented as a fresh young voice who could give specific instruction to Job on the flaws in the way Job perceived God and man's relationship to God. The annihilation of the selfhood required that there be a replacement for Job's old method of processing his experience. Elihu could not teach Job how to relate to God but he could impress on Job the error of a vision of God which was too small.

Since Elihu was young he was not bound by the limits of a mind which has been crushed by failure and restrictions. He looked to the heavens for an expansive vision of possibilities not the generally accepted, worn-out answers which were handed down for generations. He advocated for a God whose concern was not man's righteousness but his ability to listen and to respond to revelation. 

Songs of Experience, Song 54, (E31)

"The Voice of the Ancient Bard.    

Youth of delight come hither:
And see the opening morn,
Image of truth new born.
Doubt is fled & clouds of reason.
Dark disputes & artful teazing.
Folly is an endless maze,
Tangled roots perplex her ways,

How many have fallen there!
They stumble all night over bones of the dead,
And feel they know not what but care
And wish to lead others, when they should be led."

Milton, Plate 25 [27], (E 122)
"The Awakener is come. outstretchd over Europe! the Vision of God is fulfilled
The Ancient Man upon the Rock of Albion Awakes,
He listens to the sounds of War astonishd & ashamed;
He sees his Children mock at Faith and deny Providence          
Therefore you must bind the Sheaves not by Nations or Families
You shall bind them in Three Classes; according to their Classes
So shall you bind them. Separating What has been Mixed
Since Men began to be Wove into Nations by Rahab & Tirzah
Since Albions Death & Satans Cutting-off from our awful Fields;  
When under pretence to benevolence the Elect Subdud All
From the Foundation of the World. The Elect is one Class: You
Shall bind them separate: they cannot Believe in Eternal Life
Except by Miracle & a New Birth. The other two Classes;
The Reprobate who never cease to Believe, and the Redeemd,       
Who live in doubts & fears perpetually tormented by the Elect
These you shall bind in a twin-bundle for the Consummation--
But the Elect must be saved from fires of Eternal Death,
To be formed into the Churches of Beulah that they destroy not the Earth"

Jerusalem, Plate 84, (E 243)
"O Los come forth O Los 
Divide us from these terrors & give us power them to subdue
Arise upon thy Watches let us see thy Globe of fire
On Albions Rocks & let thy voice be heard upon Euphrates.

Thus sang the Daughters in lamentation, uniting into One
With Rahab as she turnd the iron Spindle of destruction.    
Terrified at the Sons of Albion they took the Falshood which
Gwendolen hid in her left hand. it grew &, grew till it
Plate 85
Became a Space & an Allegory around the Winding Worm
They namd it Canaan & built for it a tender Moon
Los smild with joy thinking on Enitharmon & he brought
Reuben from his twelvefold wandrings & led him into it
Planting the Seeds of the Twelve Tribes & Moses & David
And gave a Time & Revolution to the Space Six Thousand Years
He calld it Divine Analogy, for in Beulah the Feminine
Emanations Create Space. the Masculine Create Time, & plant
The Seeds of beauty in the Space: listning to their lamentation

Los walks upon his ancient Mountains in the deadly darkness    
Among his Furnaces directing his laborious Myriads watchful 
Looking to the East: & his voice is heard over the whole Earth
As he watches the Furnaces by night, & directs the labourers

And thus Los replies upon his Watch: the Valleys listen silent:
The Stars stand still to hear: Jerusalem & Vala cease to mourn:"