Help us, each hour, with steadier eye
To search the deepening mystery,
The wonders of Thy sea and sky.

The blessed Angels look and long
To praise Thee with a worthier song,
And yet our silence does Thee wrong. -

Along the Church's central space
The sacred weeks, with unfelt pace,
Hath borne us on from grace to grace.

As travellers on some woodland height,
When wintry suns are gleaming bright,
Lose in arched glades their tangled sight; -

By glimpses such as dreamers love
Through her grey veil the leafless grove
Shows where the distant shadows rove; -

Such trembling joy the soul o'er-awes
As nearer to Thy shrine she draws:-
And now before the choir we pause.

The door is closed--but soft and deep
Around the awful arches sweep,
Such airs as soothe a hermit's sleep.

From each carved nook and fretted bend
Cornice and gallery seem to send