Throughout his Preparatory Meditations, Edward Taylor used many images to deprecate himself. These images reflected his Puritan religious beliefs rather than an extremely low self-image. The themes of his poetry were taken from the Bible, but they reflected the many duties which befell him in conjunction with his ministry at Westfield. By using images which were most familiar to him and the rhetorical devices of the seventeenth century, Taylor sought to seek God's forgiveness by doing His will--confessing personal guilt, asking for forgiveness, and praising God's mercy. Because the meditations were directed only to God, Taylor never sought to publish them. Like the child he so desperately wanted to be looked upon as, he sought only his father's favor.