Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.
By Organ Songs. I. I know what beauty isGeorge MacDonald (18241905)
I
Hast set the world within my heart;
Of me Thou madest it a part;
I never loved it more than now.
The light asleep upon the graves;
Against the sky the poplar waves;
The river murmurs organ tunes.
The hush in summer woods at night;
Autumn, when leaves let in more light;
Fantastic winter’s lovely spell.
Its mystery of ordered tones;
Dream-muffled soul, it loves and moans,
And, half-alive, comes in and lives.
Of thought and music lifts the soul
Where many a glimmering starry shoal
Glides through the Godhead’s living sky.
The imperial head, the thoughtful eyes;
The God-imprisoned harmonies,
That out in gracious motions go.
Put off my shoes, and come to Thee,
Most lovely Thou of all I see,
Most potent Thou of all that can!
His sisters’ sport, his new-found nest;
And, climbing to his mother’s breast,
Enjoys yet more his late-left joy—
Fair pearls their fairest light afford;
So, gathered round Thy glory, Lord,
All glory else is glorified.