Hymns to the Living God ‎#198

198. Come Down, O Love Divine

1 Come down, O Love divine,
seek Thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with Thine own ardor 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 pow'r of human telling;
no soul can guess its grace,
till he become the place
wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling.

Text Information

• First Line: Come down, O Love divine
• Title: Come Down, O Love Divine
• Author: Bianco da Siena (c. 1367)
• Translator: Richard Frederick Littledale (1867)
• Meter: 6.6.11.D
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 2017
• Topic: The Holy Spirit

Tune Information

• Name: DOWN AMPNEY
• Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams (1906)
• Meter: 6.6.11.D
• Key: D Major