"Greet me better than so,
For to Him who loveth me well I go,
And I am no more sad.
Lo! dimmed as ye near the earth below,
Is the sweet light of your eyes;
And with light of God do I shine and glow
As aloft I rise."
Then with an angel on either hand,
The soul sped through the skies,
And when she came to the angel land,
To the country of Paradise,
She was a stranger guest no more,
For to her was opened the heavenly door,
She saw the Beloved Face.
Forth flowed her heart in weeping blest,
She said, "My Lord, I have found my rest
In the glory of Thy grace.
I needs must praise Thee and adore,
For evermore, for evermore.
Whence came I here? I am lost in Thee;
I can think no more of the earth below,
Nor of the sorrow and weeping there.
I had thought to tell Thee my grief and woe,
But, Lord, I have seen Thee, and nought I know,
But that Thou art fair."
The Complaint of the Loving Soul, and the Answer of God.
"O Lord, too long Thou dost guard and spare
This dungeon-house of clay,
Where I drink the water of sorrow and care,
And the ashes of emptiness are my fare,
From day to day."
"Where is thy patience, O My Queen?
Let Thy sorrow be sore as it may,
I heal it as if it never had been,
When I speak, it has passed away.
My riches of glory for ever are thine,
Thy might has prevailed over Me,
For I love thee for ever with love divine;
If thou hast the token, the gold is Mine,
And I weigh full measure to thee.
For all things renounced, and for all things wrought,
All sorrow, and all endeavour,
I give thee beyond all desire or thought,
For I give thee Myself for ever."
How God comes into the Soul.
He comes to me in silent hours,
As morning dew to summer flowers.
How the Soul receiveth God, and how God receiveth the Soul.
O sweet enfolding in the Arms divine,
O blessed Vision, welcome passing sweet,
I bow beneath the joy that I am Thine,
A weight of gladness cast I at Thy feet.
O heights of God! within Thy clefts I hide,
The home where dove and nightingale abide.
"All hail, My dove! on earth below
Thou hast roamed afar and long,
Until should grow the strong swift wings,
That should bear Thee aloft from thy wanderings
To the rest and song."
The Soul's fivefold Praise of God.
O blessed God, who pourest forth Thy store;
O God, whose love flows on for evermore;
O God, whose longing burns eternally;
O God, in whom I dwell, whose dwelling is in me;
O God, whose rest is in my love--
In Thee alone I live and move.
Of the Soul's Complaint, of the Garden, and of the New Song.
"When mine eyes are dim with weeping,
And my tongue with grief is dumb;
And it is as if Thou wert sleeping
When my heart calleth, 'Come;'
When I hunger with bitter hunger,
O Lord, for Thee.
Where art Thou, then, Beloved?
Speak, speak to me."
"I am where I was in the ancient days,
I in Myself must be;
In all things I am, and in every place,
For there is no change in Me.
Where the sun is My Godhead, throned above,[8]
For thee, O Mine own, I wait;
I wait for thee in the garden of love,
Till thou comest irradiate
With the light that shines from My Face divine,
And I pluck the flowers for thee;
They are thine, beloved, for they are Mine,
And thou art one with Me.
In the tender grass by the waters still,
I have made thy resting-place;
Thy rest shall be sweet in My holy will,
And sure in My changeless grace.
And I bend for thee the holy Tree,
Where blossoms the mystic Rod;
The highest of all the trees that be
In the Paradise of God.
And thou of that Tree of life shalt eat,
Of the Life that is in Me;
Thou shalt feed on the fruit that is good for meat,
And passing fair to see.
There overshadowed by mighty wings
Of the Holy Spirit's peace,
Beyond the sorrow of earthly things,
The toil and the tears shall cease.
And there beneath the eternal Tree,
I will teach thy lips to sing
The sweet new song that no man knows
In the land of his banishing.
They follow the Lamb where'er He goes,
To whom it is revealed;
The pure and the undefiled are those,
The ransomed and the sealed.
Thou shalt learn the speech and the music rare,
And thou shalt sing as they,
Not only there in My garden fair,
But here, beloved, to-day."
"O Lord, a faint and a feeble voice
Is mine in this house of clay,
But Thy love hath made my lips rejoice,
And I can sing and say,
'I am pure, O Lord, for Thou art pure,
Thy love and mine are one;
And my robe is white, for Thine is white,
And brighter than the sun.
Thy mouth and mine can know no moan,
No note of man's sad mirth,
But the everlasting joy alone,
Unknown to songs of earth;
And for ever fed on that living Tree,
I will sing the song of Thy love with Thee.'"
God's fivefold Comparing of the Soul.
Rose, most fair amidst the briars;
Harmless dove, so pure and white;
Honey-bee that never tires;
Sun of everlasting light;
Full fair moon in cloudless skies--
Joy and gladness to Mine eyes.
God's sixfold Delight in the Soul.
O soul, thou art the pillow for My Head,
My still sweet rest, My longing deep and strong,
My Godhead's joy, My Manhood's solace sweet,
My cooling fountain in love's furnace heat,
My music, and My song.
Knowledge and Enjoyment.
To love, and not to know,
Is through a dark wild land to go;
To know, and not possess,
Is hell's dread bitterness;
Possess, yet not be where Thou art,
Hath rent my heart.
The Prayer for Love, and the Answer thereof.
"O Lord my Saviour, love me well,
And love me often and long--
Often, that pure my soul may be;
Well, that so I be fair to see;
Long, and for ever, for Thee apart
Shall be my heart."
"That often I love thee needs must be,
For I am Love from eternity;
And I love thee well, because I long
For thy love with a yearning deep and strong;
And I love thee long, for no end can be
To My divine eternity."
Love unto Death; Love Immeasurable; Love Eternal.
I rejoice that I cannot but love Him,
Because He first loved me;
I would that measureless, changeless,
My love might be;
A love unto death, and for ever;
For, soul, He died for thee.
Give thanks that for thee He delighted
To leave His glory on high;
For thee to be humbled, forsaken,
For thee to die.
Wilt thou render Him love for His loving?
Wilt thou die for Him who died?
And so, by thy living and dying,
Shall Christ be magnified.
And deep in the fiery stream that flows
From God's high throne,
In the burning tide that for ever glows
Of the marvellous love unknown;
For ever, O soul, thou shalt burn and glow,
And thou shalt sing and say,
"I need no call at His feet to fall,
For I cannot turn away.
I am the captive led along
With the joy of His triumphal song;
In the depths of love do I live and move,
I joy to live or to die;
For I am borne on the tide of love
To all eternity:
The foolishness of the fool is this,
The sorrow sweeter than joy to miss."
God asks the Soul what She brings, and She Answereth.
"What dost thou bring me, O my Queen?
Love maketh thy steps to fly."
"Lord, to Thee my jewel I bring,
Greater than mountains high;
Broader than all the earth's broad lands,
Heavier than the ocean sands,
And higher it is than the sky:
Deeper it is than the depths of the sea,
And fairer than the sun,
Unreckoned, as if the stars could be
All gathered into one."
"O thou, My Godhead's image fair,
Thou Eve, from Adam framed,
My flesh, My bone, My life to share,
My Spirit's diadem to wear,
How is thy jewel named?"
"Lord, it is called my heart's desire,
From the world's enchantments won;
I have borne it afar through flood and fire,
And will yield it up to none;
But the burden I can bear no more--
Where shall I lay it up in store?"
"There is no treasure-house but this,
My heart divine, My Manhood's breast;
There shall My Spirit's sacred kiss
Fill thee with rest."
How the Soul praises God for Seven Things, and God praiseth the
Soul who loves Him.
O Jesus Lord, most fair, most passing sweet,
In darkest hours revealed in love to me,
In those dark hours I fall before Thy Feet,
I sing to Thee.
I join the song of love, and I adore
With those who worship Thee for evermore.
Thou art the Sun of every eye,
The Gladness everywhere,
The Voice that speaks eternally,
The Strength to do and bear,
The sacred Lore of wisdom's store,
The Life of life to all,
The Order mystic, marvellous
In all things great and small.
Then doth God praise the soul, and the words of His praise sound sweetly,
thus--
Thou art light to Mine eyes, and a harp to Mine ears,
And the voice of My words, and My wisdom's crown,
The love that cheers Mine eternal years,
My music, and My renown.
Wherever thy pilgrim steps may be,
Thou longest, beloved, thou longest for Me.