[Quailing, sinks to his knees] Here am I, Lord! Thy servant heareth. [Breathless he hearkens. Nothing stirs; he trembles with emotion] Speak, Lord, to thy servant. Thou didst call my name. Give me thy message that I may understand it. I am ready for thy word and await thy command. [He listens again with strained attention. Profound silence] Is it presumption that I should long for thee? I am no more than an ignorant fellow, a man of no account, a speck of dust in the world thou hast made, but thine is all power of choice. Thou who choosest kings from among shepherds, and who often unsealest the lips of a boy so that he glows with thy speech, thy choice is made by other tokens. Whom thou touchest, Lord, he is chosen; whom thou choosest, Lord, he is appointed. If it were thy call which came to me, lo I have hearkened to the call. If it be thou, Lord, who huntest me, I flee thee not. Seize thy quarry, Lord, seize thy prey; or hunt me yet farther to the goal! But make thyself known, that I may not fail thee; reveal the heaven of thy word, that I, thy servant, may behold thee!
The Voice
[Nearer and more urgent] Jeremiah!
Jeremiah
[Rapturously] I hear, Lord, I hear. With all my soul I listen to thy word. Unworthy vessel that I am, I wait to be filled with thy message. I vow myself to thy service, Lord, to thine alone, for my soul is athirst to serve thee. I await thy word and thy sign.
The Voice of Jeremiah’s Mother
[Now close at hand and plainly recognizable] Jeremiah!
Jeremiah
[In ecstasy] Show thyself to me, Lord; my heart is racked with the imminence of thy coming. Pour forth thy waters, holy storm; plough me up, that I may bear thy seed; make my earth fruitful, inspire my lips; brand me with the mark of thy service! Set thy yoke upon me. See, my neck is bowed in readiness, for thine am I, thine for evermore. Make thyself known to me, Lord, even as I know thee; let me but see thy glory, even as thou lookest down upon my unworthiness in the gloom; deign only to show me the way of thy will, point the way to him who is thy servant for ever!
The Mother