The Second Touch

Lo! a Hand amidst the darkness
Clasped mine own—
Led me forth the blind and helpless,
Led me forth alone;
From the crowd and from the clamour
To a silent place;
Touched mine eyes—I looked upon Him—
Saw Him face to face.
Saw Him, as the dawning swiftly risen
O’er the valleys grey;
I had passed from midnight of my prison
Forth into the day.
Lo! again His mighty Hand hath touched me,
Touched the eyes so dim;
Radiant in the noontide of His Heaven
Look they now on Him.
Where He is, I see Him and I know Him;
Where He is I am,
In the Light that is the Love eternal,
“Go not back,” so spake He, “to the city
Where men know Me not—
Tell not there the mystery and the wonder
I have wrought.
Go unto thy Home, O My beloved
To thy Home and Mine;
Hear the blessed welcome of My Father,
‘All I have is thine.’”
Therefore am I journeying to the Father,
And He walks with me
Over mountains, through the pastures of His valleys,
O’er the sea—
And upwards through the heavens where His City
Burneth, gloweth with the light
Of the glory of the gems that He has gathered
In the caverns of the night.
Already come the sounds of harps and singing
When the winds arise,
And the joy of His espousals glows as morning
Arisen in His eyes.
See ye nought of Him? His glory and His beauty?
O eyes so sad and dim?
Still—hearken—He is passing—He is passing—
Come unto Him.

Source: Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series) #7