Lo, the central thought of God

Lo, the central thought of God

Is that He be one with man;

He to man is everything

That He might fulfill His plan.

Earthen vessel man was made —

Body, soul, and spirit too,

God as life that he may take

And with Him have oneness true.

By the flow of life divine,

Man becomes a precious stone

Fit for building God's abode,

That His glory might be known.

'Tis the city God hath built,

'Tis the dwelling God requires,

'Tis the new Jerusalem

Which fulfills His heart's desires.

'Tis the building of the saints,

'Tis the blend of God and man,

Purposed by the Father's will

Long before the world began.

In its center, as its pow'r,

Is the throne of Christ and God,

Whence doth flow the stream of life

As the Spirit's living flood.

Christ, the tree of life, is there

In the flowing of the stream,

Yielding fruit of life divine

As the food of life supreme.

God in Christ, the glorious light,

Thru the city brightly shines,

Scattering all the deathly night

With its light of life divine.

God in man and man in God

Mutual dwelling thus possess;

God the content is to man,

And the man doth God express.