Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thy enemie?
Why dost thou shade thy lovely face? O why
Does that ecclipsing hand, so long, deny
The Sun-shine of thy soule-enliv'ning eye?
Without that Light, what light remaines in me?
Thou art my Life, my Way, my Light; in Thee
I live, I move, and by thy beames I see:
Thou art my Life: If thou but turne away,
My life's a thousand deaths: thou art my Way;
Without thee, Lord, I travell not, but stray.
My Light thou art; without thy glorious sight,
Mine eyes are darkned with perpetuall night:
My God, thou art my Way, my Life, my Light.
Thou art my Way; I wander, if thou flie:
Thou art my Light; If hid, how blind am I?
Thou art my Life; If thou withdraw, I die:
Mine eyes are blind and darke; I cannot see;
To whom, or whether should my darknesse flee,
But to the Light? And who's that Light but Thee?
My path is lost; my wandring steps do stray;
I cannot safely go, nor safely stray;
Whom should I seek but Thee, my Path, my Way?
O, I am dead: To whom shall I, poore I
Repaire? To whom shall my sad Ashes fly
But Life? And where is Life but in thine eye?
And yet thou turn'st away thy face, and fly'st me;
And yet I sue for Grace, and thou den'st me;
Speake, art thou angry, Lord, or onely try'st me?
Unskreene those heav'nly lamps, or tell me why
Thou shad'st thy face; Perhaps, thou think'st, no eye
Can view those flames, and not drop downe and die:
If that be all; shine forth, and draw thee nigher;
Let me behold and die; for my desire
Is Phoenix-like to perish in that Fire.
Death-conquer'd Laz'rus was redeem'd by Thee;
If I am dead, Lord set deaths prisner free;
Am I more spent, or think I worse than he?
If my pufft light be out, give me leave to tine
My flamelesse snuffe at that bright Lamp of thine;
O what's thy Light the lesse for lighting mine?
If I have lost my Path, great Shepheard, say,
Shall I still wander in a doubtfull way?
Lord, shall a Lamb of Isr'els sheepfold stray?
Thou art the Pilgrims Path; the blind mans Eye;
The dead mans Life; on thee my hopes rely;
If thou remove, I erre; I grope; I die:
Disclose thy Sun-beames; close thy wings, and stay;
See see, how I am blind, and dead, and stray,
O thou, that art my Light my Life, my Way.
S. AUGUST. Soliloq. Cap.1.
Why dost thou hade thy face? Happily thou wilt say, none can see thy face
and live: Ah Lord, let me die, that I may see thee; let me see thee, that I may
die: I would not live, but die; That I may see Christ. I desire death; that I may
live with Christ, I despise life.
ANSELM. Med. Cap. 5.
O excellent hiding, which is become my perfection! My God, thou hidest thy
treasure, to kindle my desire; Thou hidest thy pearle, to inflame the seeker;
thou delay'st to give, that thou maist teach me to importune: seem'st not to
heare, to make me persevere.
