The Lord hath brought me into the House of Darkness; by
stealth hath the Lord drawn me into Night.
I beheld blackness that encompassed me; mine eyes were
darkened in the house of darkness.
There came into my nostrils the scent of a great river; even
of a river that boileth secretly under the palm-trees.
I lifted mine head, and behold, the Lord stood forth in the
blackness.
As a pillar of fire shone the Lord; as a devil that whirleth in
the wilderness of sand.
The Lord hath veiled Himself in purple; the Lord hath ex-
alted himself in manifestation.
The Lord went before me into the darkness; the Lord hewed
Him a way into the forest of Night.
The Glory of the Lord was as the sunrise upon black moun-
tains; the Lord shone forth as the full moon on the dark river.
Then went I forth into the city, praising the Lord; I cried
aloud in my joy, I made songs unto the Lord, the living
God.
I will follow the Lord all the days of my life, and in the hour
of my death let the Lord lead me into the House Ever-
lasting.
{126}