THOU hast shone within this soul of mine,
As the sun on a shrine of gold;
When I rest my heart, O Lord, on Thine,
My bliss is manifold.
My soul is the gem on Thy diadem,
And my marriage robe Thou art;
If aught could sever my heart from Thine,
The sorrow beyond all sorrows were mine,
Alone and apart.
Could I not find Thy love below,
Then would my soul as a pilgrim go
To Thy holy land above;
There would I love Thee as I were fain
With everlasting love.
Now have I sung my tuneless song,
But I hearken, Lord, for Thine;
So shall a music, sweet and strong,
Pass into mine.
“I am the Light, and the lamp thou art;
The River, and thou the thirsty land;
To thee thy sighs have drawn My heart,
And ever beneath thee is My Hand.
And when thou weepest it needs must be
Within Mine arms that encompass thee;
Thy heart from Mine can none divide,
For one are the Bridegroom and the Bride;
It is sweet, beloved, for Me and thee
To wait for the Day that is to be."
O Lord, with hunger and thirst I wait,
With longing before Thy golden gate,
Till the Day shall dawn
When from Thy lips divine have passed
The sacred words that none may hear
But the soul that, loosed from the earth at last,
Hath laid her ear
To the mouth that speaks in the still sweet morn
Apart and alone—
Then shall the secret of love be told
The mystery known.
Mechthild of Hellfde, † 1277.
THE mouth of the Lord hath spoken,
Hath spoken a mighty word;
My sinful heart it hath broken,
Yet sweeter I never heard;
“Thou, thou art, O soul, My deep desire
And My love's eternal bliss:
Thou art the rest where leaneth My breast,
And My mouth's most holy kiss.
Thou art the treasure I sought and found,
Rejoicing over thee;
I dwell in thee, and with thee am I crowned,
And thou dost dwell in Me.
Thou art joined to Me, O Mine own, forever,
And nearer thou canst not be—
Shall aught on earth or in Heaven sever
Myself from Me?”
Mechthild of Hellfde, † 1277.