BATTER my heart, three person'd God; for, you As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend; That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow mee,'and bend Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and make me new. I, like an usurpt towne, to'another due, Labour to'admit you, but Oh, to no end, Reason your viceroy in mee, mee should defend, But is captiv'd, and proves weake or untrue. Yet dearely'I love you,'and would be loved faine, But am betroth'd unto your enemie: Divorce mee,'untie, or breake that knot againe; Take mee to you, imprison mee, for I Except you'enthrall mee, never shall be free, Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee. I just read this poem for the first time and I take it to mean, the writer is asking God to take help him overcome his sin and make him new. Asking God to take over his life. In the beginning, he asks God (three person'd God refers to the trinity - God, Son, and Holy Spirit) to "batter [his] heart". In religious terms, people generally have "pet sins" (something you like to do, but is considered a sin), and to have those taken away will hurt. When he is asking God to "batter" (to strike or hit) his heart, he of course don't mean literally, but he is kind of asking God to "hurt" him by taking this sin away. The words that follow "knock...burn and make me new" are a further pleading with God to "break" his current person, his current way of being so God can heal him and make him a new person. He goes on to say that he is "like an usurpt town, to'another due" He's saying that is is like a town that has been taken over by force (to usurpt is to take over by force; to seize). He is saying his life is currently being ruled by Satan because of those sins he can't get rid of. "Labour to'admit you, but Oh, to no end," - It is hard for him to admit this captivity to God, to come clean about his sins. In the following 3 lines, he states that he loves God and he wants God to take victory over Satan in his life. He admits that he is "betroh'd unto your enemie" which means he is admiting he is sinful and currently doing what Satan would have him do. He also says that "except you'enthrall mee, never shall be free" If God doesn't break Satan's bonds on him, he will never be free from his sinful ways. At the end he says "Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee." This means that he will never achieve what he is asking God to do in the above lines unless God does it. He is admitting he is powerless without God.