Speak of Christ...

~Speak of Christ~
by Elizabeth Prentiss

Oh speak to me of Christ!
No name falls on my ravished ear
With half the music, half the charm,
That makes it bliss to hear
A loving voice pronounce that word
As one who holds it dear.

Hast thou not in some favored hour
Beheld Him face to face,
And canst thou not make known to me
Its beauty and its grace,
And lure me on to seek for Him
In some familiar place?

Hast Thou not feasted on His word,
And found it meat indeed
And canst thou not a fragment spare
On which my soul may feed
Some promise, whispered by His lips
To meet my sorest need?

Has He not revelations made
In sacred hours to thee,
That thou canst hold in sacred trust
And yet confide to me
Who love, but fain would love Him more
Have seen, yet more would see?

Yes, speak of Christ! As one who speaks
Of his familiar friend,
As one who sees Him every day
May on His steps attend
As one who oft, on reverent knee
Before Him loves to bend.

Speak with a living warmth, a glow
That shall my heart enflame
And with thy rich and conscious love
Put my poor love to shame
Until I, too, have learned to speak
That dearest, dearest Name!