Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A TE DEUM FOR GOD'S OWN SELF, by WILLIAM ARTHUR DUNKERLEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A TE DEUM FOR GOD'S OWN SELF, by                    
First Line: For thine own self
Last Line: Without ending -- praise!
Alternate Author Name(s): Oxenham, John
Subject(s): Holidays; Religion; Thanksgiving; Theology


For Thine Own Self
We thank Thee, Lord.
For this, Thy mightiest Gift of Gifts -- Thyself!
That Thine Own Self Thou givest without stint,
Immeasured as Thine own eternities;
That when we seek we find Thee everywhere;
That everywhere, unseeking, still we find;
That everywhere we find ourselves in Thee,
Glad members of Thy love-linked company;
That we do find our highest selves in Thee;
In Thee do meet and find ourselves a part
Of Thy great world's unworldly throbbing heart,
Wherein Thy love pours round us like a flood
Of wise and tender father-motherhood,
Patient, long-suffering, eager-quests its own,
And yields its fullest when most called upon;
That Thine Own Self hast worn our human flesh,
And toiled, and borne, and suffered as a man;
That so Thy love is vast enough for all, --
To raise the fallen, to forgive all sin,
To heal earth's wounds, to solace every woe,
To cure the ills that suffered woes to be,
To give fresh courage to the faint of heart,
To strengthen weak and make strong souls more strong,
To be to all the Promised Comforter.

At one with Thee we find our souls in tune
With that true Soul of Life whence all Life springs;
In Thee we meet and hold communion sweet
With every other soul there entered in;
There soul greets soul though all the world divide,
There, sundered hearts are once more close allied,
And Faith and Hope and Love are sanctified;
For thought and prayer o'erleap all boundaries,
And time and space in Thee are less than nought;
Nor Death himself can interpose, since Love
Doth conquer Death, and breaks the bonds of time,
And spans the earth, and climbs the courts of Heaven.
And Thou are Love, and Very Soul of Love,
And Thou art in us, of us, with us, everywhere.

For this all-mightiest gift of Thine Own Self,
We thank Thee, Lord!
And, since to Thee praise sweeter is than thanks, --
For Thine Own Self we praise Thee, Lord!
We praise Thee, praise Thee, praise Thee, Lord!
For thine Own Self -- To Thine Own Self be praise!
The ages praise Thee, -- and the days to come.
From all Thy sinless ministering hosts, --
In service -- Praise!
From all the saints by Thee from sin redeemed, --
Still nobler praise!
From every world and creature Thou hast made, --
Eternal praise!
For Thine Own Self, from all Thy works be praise!
Perpetual, perfect, pure, impassioned praise! --
Praise without ceasing!
Without ending -- Praise!





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