Exclamation VII

1. O my hope, my Father, my Creator, my true Lord, my Brother! My soul overflows with joy at remembering how Thou hast said: " My delight is to be with the sons of men."¹ O Sovereign of heaven and earth! after such words as these what sinner should despair? Canst Thou find no one else in whom to delight, that Thou dost seek out such a repulsive worm as myself? At the baptism of Thy Son, Thy voice was heard to say Thou didst delight in Him. Dost Thou, then, put us on a par with Him, Lord?

2. What infinite mercy! what favour, far transcending our deserts! Can we mortals forget all this? Call to mind, my God, our great misery, and look upon our frailty, for Thou knowest all things.

3. Ponder, then, my soul, over the great delight and love of the Father in knowing His Son, of the Son in knowing His Father, and the ardour wherewith the Holy Ghost unites with Them, and how none of the Three Persons can cease loving and knowing the others, because They are one and the same God. These Sovereign Persons mutually know, love, and delight in one another. Why, then, do they need my love? Why seek it, O my God? What does it profit Thee?

4. Blessed, oh blessed for ever mayest Thou be, my God! May all things praise Thee without end, O Lord, for Thou art infinite! Rejoice, my soul, that there is One Who loves thy God as He deserves. Who knows His goodness and perfections: thank Him for having given us on earth One Who knows Him as does His only begotten Son.

5. Under His protection, thou canst approach His Majesty and beseech Him, since He delights Himself in thee, to let no earthly thing prevent thy delighting in Him, and rejoicing in the perfections of thy God and in the thought that He deserves to be loved and praised. Beg Him to aid thee to further, in some small degree, the glory of His Name, that thou mayest truly say: " My soul doth magnify " and praise " the Lord! "²