| Nicholson & Lee, eds. The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse. 1917. |
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| 51. The Incomprehensible |
| By Isaac Watts (1674–1748) |
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| 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, | 5 |
| But leaves it tir’d and fainting in th’ unequal chase. | |
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| 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, | 10 |
| 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.… | 15 |
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| 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, | 20 |
| To Thee, th’ Eternal Fair, the infinite Unknown. | |
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