As the night comes on, O offer You my prayer, O Lord.
Behold, I will not allow my house to be broken into.
No, rather, I will rise and open to You,
So that You may enter and sup with me in peace.
Refrain: Blessed is He, Who has commanded us to be watchful!
II.
We know not the day nor the hour when You will come, O Lord.
And so, You command us to imitate the holy Watchers,
To be intent on Your Presence at all times,
To offer up prayer in every place and action.
III.
Therefore, I resolve to not be drunk nor sated,
For a heart overcharged with surfeiting will fail to receive You.
Only the heart prepared in self-denial
Can apprehend the glory of Your coming among us.
IV.
What is glory to those who are prepared for Your advent,
Will be terror for those who in prayer are found negligent.
For only prayer can prepare for the feast of prayer
In the Kingdom, wherein You sate every desire.
V.
Therefore, behold, my resolution: I will be ready.
If You come in the third watch, or in the fourth watch of the night.
By Your grace, I will stand at your bidding, like a good servant.
Then, will I gird myself as Your slave and wait upon You.
VI.
I confess I am unprofitable in all my observance,
But relying on my faith that has kept me attentive and active
In the hours of Your long delay when the temptation to laxity reigned,
Behold, I have striven against it, and I hold up my head.
No comments:
Post a Comment