Come Down, O Love Divine

Come down, O love divine
Seek Thou this soul of mine
And visit it with Thine own ardour glowing
O Comforter, draw near
Within my heart appear
And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing

O let it freely burn
Till earthly passions turn
To dust and ashes, in its heat consuming
And let Thy glorious light
Shine ever on my sight
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming

And so the yearning strong
With which the soul will long
Shall far outpass the power of human telling
For none can guess its grace
Till he become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling

by Bianco da Siena, tr. Richard F. Littledale

The Hymnal 1982 #516
music: Down Ampney (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
Words public domain
recording on video by King's College Choir, Cambridge