How dark, how filled with fear, the days
When thus we prayed to God on high:
Send down Thy light upon our ways,
And bless us ere we die;
And grant, when Thou hast rent the veil,
Which death shall place upon our eyes,
The ransomed spirit may not fail
To wake in paradise.
'T was thus, dear God, we dared betray
The blessing of Thy fatherhood,
And blindly shut ourselves away
From ever present good.
Day dawn! Through mortal clouds hath broken
A conquering flame.
Around the world the word of Life is spoken
With new acclaim.
No more we grope; no longer look for heaven
Beyond the skies;
But know that close at hand the precious haven
Forever lies.
The light that shone in Galilee
Is found again, and makes us free
From error's futile ties.
With joy we learn that not beyond death's portal,
But now, and here,
We may aspire to rise above the mortal,
And find the sphere
Of endless life, with Love's divine dominion,
By Truth maintained.
Then spread again devotion's earnest pinion,
In skies new-gained.
God's goodness knows nor time nor place,
Nor brooks a measure for His grace,
Since Love hath always reigned.
