Eternal Light! Eternal Light!

How pure that soul must be,

When, placed within thy searching sight,

It shrinks not, but with calm delight

Can live, and look on thee.

The spirits that surround thy throne

May bear the burning bliss;

But surely that is theirs alone

Who, undefiled, have never known

A fallen world like this.

O how shall I, whose native sphere

Is dark, whose mind is dim,

Before the Ineffable appear,

And on my naked spirit bear

The uncreated beam?

There is a way for man to rise

To that sublime abode:

An offering and a sacrifice,

A Holy Spirit's energies,

An Advocate with God:

These, these prepare us for the sight

Of holiness above:

The sons of ignorance and night

May dwell in the eternal Light,

Through the eternal Love!