O THOU far-off, eternal God,
Within all life, beyond all thought,
We seek Thee through Thy worlds abroad;
Thy footsteps trace, but find Thee not;
All forms of being Thou dost fill,
A strange, retreating Mystery still.

Far-off Thou art, and yet most near!
Thou comest in Christ our souls to meet,
A Presence close and warm and dear;
A Sympathy, a Friendship sweet;
One with ourselves in Him Thou art; —
Our Father, with a Brother's heart.

The Source of all the tenderness
Whereof our lonely souls have dreamed, —
A boundless Power and Will to bless, —
Thy Life into our lives hath streamed.
We grope not through the void alone;
Thou callest us, claimest us for Thine own.

Into Thy hand Thou takest ours;
We lean our weary hearts on Thine;
Our inmost thoughts, our utmost powers
Unfold within Thy Light Divine:
And in the Spirit of Thy Son
Our little lives with Thine are one.

Thy mysteries deepen and increase;
Beyond our path we cannot see;
Christ is our Refuge and our Peace;
Through Him we are at home with Thee;
In Him we know Thee as Thou art: —
Thou lovest us with a human Heart!