137. Come down, O Love divine

1 Come down, O Love divine,
Seek thou this soul of mine,
And visit it with thine own ardour glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
Within my heart appear,
And kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.

2 O let it freely burn,
Till earthly passions turn
To dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
And let thy glorious light
Shine ever on my sight,
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

3 Let holy charity
Mine outward vesture be,
And lowliness become mine inner clothing;
True lowliness of heart,
Which takes the humbler part,
And o'er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

4 And so the yearning strong,
With which the soul will long,
Shall far outpass the power of human telling;
For none can guess its grace,
Till it become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes his dwelling.

Text Information
First Line: Come down, O Love divine
Author: Bianco da Siena, d. 1434
Translator: R. F. Littledale, 1833-90
Meter: 66 11 D
Language: English
Publication Date: 1986
Topic: The Christian Year: Pentecost or Whitsunday; Confirmation
Source: Italian
Tune Information
Name: DOWN AMPNEY
Composer: R. Vaughan Wiliams, 1872-1958
Meter: 66 11 D
Key: D Major
Copyright: By permission of Oxford Univeristy Press (from "English Praise")



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