1 Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face;
Here would I touch and handle things unseen;
Here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace,
And all my weariness upon thee lean.
2 Here would I feed upon the bread of God;
Here drink with thee the royal wine of heaven;
Here would I lay aside each earthly load,
Here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven.
3 Too soon we rise; the symbols disappear;
The feast, though not the love, is passed and gone;
The broad and wine remove, but thou art here
Nearer than ever still my Shield and Sun.
4 Feast after feast thus comes and passes by;
Yet, passing, point to the glad feast above,
Giving sweet foretastes of the festal joy,
The Lamb's great bridal feast of bliss and love.