Poem by Isaac Watts

The Incomprehensible

FAR in the Heavens my God retires:
My God, the mark of my desires,
And hides his lovely face;
When he descends within my view,
He charms my reason to pursue,
But leaves it tir’d and fainting in th’ unequal chase.

Or if I reach unusual height
Till near his presence brought,
There floods of glory check my flight,
Cramp the bold pinions of my wit,
And all untune my thought;
Plunged in a sea of light I roll,
Where wisdom, justice, mercy, shines;
Infinite rays in crossing lines
Beat thick confusion on my sight, and overwhelm my soul.…
Great God! behold my reason lies
Adoring: yet my love would rise
On pinions not her own:
Faith shall direct her humble flight,
Through all the trackless seas of light,
To Thee, th’ Eternal Fair, the infinite Unknown. 

1. Psalm 46. Part 1 (God is the refuge of his saints)
2. Hymn 99 (Let the whole race of creatures lie)
3. Psalm 150 (In God's own house pronounce his praise)
4. Psalm 136 (Give thanks to God most high)
5. Psalm 121 (To heav'n I lift my waiting eyes)

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