1 GOD, of good the unfathomed sea!
Who would not give his heart to thee?
Who would not love thee with his might?
O Jesu, lover of mankind,
Who would not his whole soul and mind,
With all his strength, to thee unite?
2 Thou shin'st with everlasting rays;
Before the insufferable blaze
Angels with both Wings veil their eyes;
Yet free as air thy bounty streams
On all thy works; thy mercy's beams
Diffusive as thy sun's arise.
3 Astonished at thy frowning brow,
Earth, hell, and heaven's strong pillars bow;
Terrible majesty is thine!
Who then can that vast love express
Which bows thee down to me, who less
Than nothing am, till thou art mine?
4 High throned on heaven's eternal hill,
In number, weight, and measure still
Thou sweetly orderest all that is:
And yet thou deign'st to come to me,
And guide my steps, that I, with thee
Enthroned, may reign in endless bliss.
5 Fountain of good! all blessing flows
From thee; no want thy fulness knows;
What but thyself canst thou desire?
Yes; self-sufficient as thou art,
Thou dost desire my worthless heart;
This, only this, dost thou require.
6 Primeval Beauty! in thy sight
The first-born, fairest sons of light
See all their brightest glories fade:
What then to me thine eyes could turn,
In sin conceived, of woman born,
A worm, a leaf, a blast, a shade?
7 Hell's armies tremble at thy nod,
And trembling own the Almighty God,
Sovereign of earth, hell, air, and sky:
But who is this that comes from far,
Whose garments rolled in blood appear?
'Tis God made man, for man to die!
8 O God, of good the unfathomed sea!
Who would not give his heart to thee?
Who would not love thee with his might?
O Jesu, lover of mankind,
Who would not his whole soul and mind,
With all his strength, to thee unite?