Humbly I Adore Thee
SATB with organ. A setting of the plainchant hymn-tune Adoro te devote, text by Thomas Aquinas. Lush and meditative.
Humbly I adore thee, Verity unseen,
who thy glory hidest, 'neath these shadows mean;
lo, to thee surrendered, my whole heart is bowed,
tranced as it beholds thee, shrined within the cloud.
Taste and touch and vision to discern thee fail;
faith, that comes by hearing, pierces through the veil.
I believe whate’er the Son of God hath told;
what the Truth hath spoken, that for truth I hold.
O memorial wondrous of the Lord’s own death;
living Bread that givest all they creatures breath,
grant my spirit ever by thy life may live,
to my taste thy sweetness never failing give.
Jesus, whom now hidden, I by faith behold,
what my soul doth long for, that thy word foretold;
face to face thy splendor, I at last shall see,
in the glorious vision, blessed Lord, of thee.