Father, I long, I faint to see
The place of Thine abode;
I’d leave Thine earth­ly courts, and flee
Up to Thy seat, my God!

Here I be­hold Thy dist­ant face,
And ’tis a pleas­ing sight;
But to abide in Thine em­brace
Is in­fi­nite delight.

I’d part with all the joys of sense
To gaze up­on Thy throne;
Pleasure springs fresh for ev­er thence,
Unspeakable, un­known.

There all the heav’n­ly hosts are seen,
In shin­ing ranks they move,
And drink im­mor­tal vi­gor in
With won­der and with love.

Then at Thy feet with aw­ful fear
Th’adoring ar­mies fall;
With joy they shrink to no­thing there,
Before th’eter­nal All.

There I would vie with all the host
In du­ty and in bliss;
While less than no­thing I could boast,
And va­ni­ty con­fess.

The more Thy glo­ries strike mine eyes
The hum­bler I shall lie;
Thus while I sink, my joys shall rise
Unmeasurably high.