In the poem “The Ebb and Flow” the speaker is characterizing his faith in God as an ebb and flow of intensity.
In the first stanza the speaker describes his feelings towards God when he first started believing in him, when the intensity was comparable to a fire that would often break out.
In the second stanza the speaker’s faith has cooled down considerably, now being compared to the ashes in an urn that can barely feel the heat anymore.
In the last stanza however the speaker states that, even though his faith is still comparable to cold ashes at the moment, there is heat glowing underneath that only needs a little bit of motivation from God to turn into fire again.
In the poem "The Joy If Church Fellowship Rightly Attended,” the speaker is praising the life of saints who are rewarded in heaven for their earthly conduct.
In the first two stanzas the speaker paints the picture of the singing saints, who were passionate in their faith and are happy and joyous that they will now enter heaven, personally guided by Jesus Christ in his carriage.
In stanzas three and four the speaker describes how the saints behaved themselves in life, honoring god with everything they did. Even though they sometimes sinned, the way they handled it ultimately brought them closer to God.
In the last stanza the speaker refers to a few of these saints who, through no fault of their own, have to find their own way to heaven (instead of being guided).
In the poem “My Great Great Etc. Uncle Patrick Henry,” the speaker reflects upon his family’s contribution to society/the country.
The poem begins with the speaker’s assertion that it is very easy to succeed, as “somebody’s father had to invent everything” (l. 2-3), thus implying that, with enough motivation and creativity, everyone should be able to invent something new and needed.
The speaker then goes on to disparage his own family, stating that they have not succeeded in anything and paints them in a very negative light.
Finally, the speaker reveals that his mother’s reaction, when faced with this accusation, is to always refer to the speakers “great great etc. Uncle Patrick Henry” (l. 13-14), implying that this very distant family member was highly successful (and that their family takes some pride in this), though this is not commented on by the speaker.
