E’en as the infant moon, from shadows free,
Displays a light, which none had yet beheld:
So shines the soul, whose darkness is dispell’d
By living rays, which beam, O Lord, from Thee.
And, as the moon’s soft light extends, while she
Pursues the azure path Thy will assigns,
Until her face with fullest glory shines,
Illuming, through the night, the land and sea:
So doth the quicken’d soul increase in light
As it abides in Thee, of light the Source,
Heav’n’s central Sun, the Lord, the Infinite;
Whom they alone reflect, that track Thy course;
Till, with abounding joy, they see Thy face,
And, cloudless, see Thy glory, light, and grace.