Philippi Melanthonis Epigrammatvm Libri Tres

But He teaches both Moses, and us, and the whole
Troop of the pious, where God himself wishes to be known.
This sluggish mass of men, concrete from dust
And moreover contaminated by its own vices.
Cannot sustain the fires of the divine face,
When the wrath of the Judge sees our filth.
Therefore, He orders Moses to stand upon the high rock,
And to have held himself in the hiding places of its caves.
Passing these, He says, I will give my back to be seen,
So that, meanwhile, my right hand may cover you.
He also taught us to stand upon the immovable rock.
While He orders us to embrace his own Son.
And the hiding place we must enter is only the Church,
In which the pure dogmas of the Gospel sound.
For God passes through all the ages of the World,
So that He might also join some gatherings to Himself.
Nor does He allow the human race, which ought to have been an image,
Referring to its author, to perish entirely.
And He places all those whom He has joined to Himself on one summit,
No one can see Him from another seat.
They recognize the voice, and the huge deeds for everyone,
And they see the God who is always present.
And they expect the joys of the future life one day,
And the goods which will perish on no day.
Then there will not be the tracks of the departing one only,
Nor only the back of God to be seen from afar.
But with new brightness we will gaze upon the face more closely,
It will be given to enjoy perpetual conversation.