Once Thou Didst on Earth Appear

Once thou didst on earth appear,
For all mankind to atone;

Once thou didst on earth appear,
For all mankind to atone;
Now be manifested here,
And bid our sin be gone!
Come, and by thy presence chase
Its nature with its guilt and power;
Jesus, show thine open face,
And sin shall be no more.

Thou who didst so greatly stoop
To a poor virgin’s womb,
Here thy mean abode take up;
To me, my Saviour, come!
Come, and Satan’s works destroy,
And let me all thy Godhead prove,
Filled with peace, and heavenly joy,
And pure eternal love.

Then my soul, with strange delight,
Shall comprehend and feel
What the length, and breadth, and height
Of love unspeakable:
Then I shall the secret know,
Which angels would search out in vain;
God was man, and served below,
That man with God might reign!

1 Timothy iii. 16.