HERE, O OUR LORD, WE SEE THEE FACE TO FACE;

Here, O our Lord, we see Thee face to face;
Here would we touch and handle things unseen;
Here grasp with firmer hand th' eternal grace,
And all our weariness upon Thee lean.

Here would we feed upon the bread of God;
Here drink with Thee the royal wine of heaven;
Here would we lay aside each earthly load;
Here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven.

Ours is the sin, but Thine the righteousness;
Ours is the guilt, but Thine the cleansing blood;
Here is our robe, our refuge and our peace,
Thy blood, Thy righteousness, O Lord, our God.

Too soon we rise; the symbols disappear;
The feast, though not the love, is past and gone;
The bread and wine remove, but Thou art here,
Nearer than ever, still our shield and sun.

But see, the pillar-cloud is rising now,
And moving onward through the desert night;
It beckons, and we follow, for we know
It leads us to the heritage of light.

Feast after feast thus comes and passes by;
Yet passing, points to the glad feast above;
Giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy,
The Lamb's great bridal feast of bliss and love.