who, though thou have taken me off of my feet ,
hast not taken me off of my foundation, which is thyself;
who, though thou have removed me from that upright form
in which I could stand and see thy throne, the heavens,
yet has not removed from me that light
by which I can lie and see thyself;
who though thou have weakened my bodily knees,
that they cannot bow to thee,
hast yet left me the knees of my heart,
which are bowed unto thee evermore;
as thou hast made this bed thine altar,
make me thy sacrifice,
and as thou make us thy son Jesus Christ the priest,
so make me his Deacon,
to minister to him
in a cheerful surrender of my body and soul
to thy pleasure,
by his hands.
-- John Donne, from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions III (1624), from Glorious Companions: Five Centuries of Anglican Spirituality, 2002
Image: Window fromTrinity Episcopal Church, Tulsa OK.
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