"They said unto Him, Master, where dwellest Thou? He saith unto them, Come and see." -- John i.38, 39. C. P. C. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Now -- borne upon the still, the boundless deep, By tempest never stirred, The peaceful sea where song and minstrelsy From shores that in the golden morning sleep Alone are heard. Now -- hidden in His secret place, afar Within the sheltering Home -- Apart as in the glory of a star Where all the strifes that madden and that mar May never come. Now -- o'er the dark and solitary ways Borne onward on His breast, Through windings of the strange and tangled maze, Through weary nights, and through the changing days, At rest -- at rest. Now -- lips unskilful fain would tell the bliss The heart in secret shares -- The meeting, and the welcome, and the kiss, The blessed marvels and the mysteries His love prepares. Now -- holy cloisters closed to strife and sin Where Angels walk in white -- And blessed saints adoring enter in, Their everlasting anthems to begin In songs of night. Now -- O Beloved Lord, Thy risen ones, In peace we walk with Thee; Beyond the graves we dwell, beyond the suns; Beside the fountain whence the River runs At last to be! |