Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.
By Hymns. I. The Pain of Love (Jesus! why dost Thou)Frederick William Faber (18141863)
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What hast Thou seen in me
To make my happiness so great,
So dear a joy to Thee?
Thou hadst no eye to read
The badness of that selfish heart,
For which Thine own did bleed.
Dear Lord! Thou knowest me;
And yet Thy knowledge hinders not
Thy love’s sweet liberty.
With persevering wiles!
Now give me tears to weep; for tears
Are deeper joy than smiles.
Humbles me more and more,
And brings to light forgotten sins,
And lays them at my door.
I hate my own cold heart;
The more Thou woundest me with love,
The more I feel the smart.
Say, shall I fly from Thee,
And hide my poor unloving self
Where Thou canst never see?
To me might not be given?
Ah, no! love must be pain on earth,
If it be bliss in Heaven.