Words Unto God from the depths of my heart
2
Thou adornedst me with reason;
Madest me radiant with breathing;
Enrichedst my mind;
Increasedst my wisdom;
Fortifiedst mine intellect;
Thou selectedst me out of animate beings;
Thou mingledst into me an intelligible soul;
Bedeckedst me with a princely existence;
Begatst me like a father;
Nourishedst me like a nurse;
Broughtest me up like a master;
Thou plantedst mine impious self in thy courts;
Thou pouredst water of life upon me;
Purifiedst me with the dew of the font;
Causedst me to take root with the stream of life;
Fedst me with thy bread from heaven;
Gavest me to drink thy divine blood;
Acquaintedst me with the inaccessible and the incomprehensible;
Madest me dare to turn my worldly eyes towards thee;
Envelopedst me with the light of thy glory;
Mine impure earthen fingers thou drewest near to thee;
Mine abject mortal ashes thou honouredst as a ray of light;
In thy philanthropy, thou sealedst unto mine unworthy self
Thy mighty, redoubtable, and blessed Father.
Thou didst not scorch my mouth filled with vanity,
When I called thee my joint-heir;
Thou didst not reprimand me,
When I dared to consort with thee;
Thou didst not darken the sight of mine eyes,
When I gazed upon thee;
Thou didst not send me into exile
With imprisoned captives condemned to death;
Thou didst not crush the wrist of mine arm,
When raised towards thee in impurity;
Thou didst not shatter the joints of my fingers,
When I touched thy Word of life;
I was not enshrouded in mist,
When I sacrificed unto thee, O formidable one.
Thou didst not break the rows of my teeth,
When I savoured thee, O infinite one;
Thou didst not walk contrary unto me in fury,
When I, thy follower, walked contrary unto thee,
As thou didst unto the defaulted house of Israel;
Thou didst not dishonour me at thy wedding-place,
Unworthy that I am of thy song and dance;
Thou didst not rebuke mine iniquitous self,
When thou sawest me in my tattered garments;
Thou didst not have me bound hand and foot,
And cast into the outer darkness.
St. Grigor Narekatsi
Lamentations of Narek