Come Down, O Love Divine

1. Come down, O Love divine,
Seek thou this soul of mine,
And visit it with thine own ardor glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
Within my heart appear,
And kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.

2. O let it freely burn,
Till earthly passions turn
To dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
And let thy glorious light
Shine ever on my sight,
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

3. Let holy charity
Mine outward vesture be,
And lowliness become mine inner clothing;
True lowliness of heart,
Which takes the humbler part,
And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

4. And so the yearning strong,
With which the soul will long,
Shall far surpass the power of human telling;
For none can guess its grace,
Till love create a place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

Bianco da Siena of Anciolina composed these words. He was an Italian poet of whom little is known. He was born circa 1350, and died in Venice, Italy, circa 1434. Wikipedia describes him as a “mystic poet” and a member of the poor Jesuates religious order.

Richard Frederick Littledale translated the hymn into English. He was born September 14, 1833 in Dublin, Ireland. He attended Trinity College in Dublin. An avid writer, Littledale wrote much about Anglican liturgy and theology – defending it against Romanists and Protestants alike. He died in London, January 11, 1890.

The hymn with a somewhat distinct meter (6.6.11.D. or 12s.11s) appears most often under the title “Come Down, O Love Divine,” paired almost exclusively with the tune Down Ampney by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). It appears in The Riverdale Hymn Book (Dodd & Longacre, editors, Fleming H. Revell Co., New York, 1912, No. 171, p. 173) with the tune Warren by Lindsay Bartholomew Longacre.