Vaughan Williams, Ralph: Prayer to the Father of Heaven
Prayer to the Father of Heaven (1948)
O radiant luminary of light interminable,
Celestial Father, potential God of might,
Of heaven and earth, O Lord incomparable,
Of all perfections the essential most perfite!
O maker of mankind, that formèd day and night,
Whose power imperial comprehendeth every place:
Mine heart, my mind, my thought, my whole delight
Is, after this life, to see thy glorious face.
Whose magnificence is incomprehensible,
All arguments of reason which far doth exceed,
Whose deity doubtless is indivisible,
From whom all goodness and virtue doth proceed;
Of thy support all creàtures have need:
Assist me, good Lord, and grant my of thy grace
To live to thy pleasure in word, thought, and deed,
And, after this life, to see thy glorious face.