John Mason Neale (1818-1866). Original Hymns. III. Laying the First Stone of a Church. Alfred H. Miles, ed. 1907. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century

Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.

Original Hymns.
III. Laying the First Stone of a Church

By John Mason Neale (1818–1866)


(From “Hymns for the Young”) Exod. xxxi. 1–6; Isa. lx. 19. O LORD of Hosts, Whose glory fills
The bounds of the eternal hills,
And yet vouchsafes, in Christian lands,
To dwell in temples made with hands:

Grant that all we, who here to-day,	5
Rejoicing, this foundation lay,
May be in very deed Thine Own,
Built on the precious Corner-stone.

Endue the creatures with Thy grace
That shall adorn Thy dwelling-place:	10
The beauty of the oak and pine,
The gold and silver, make them Thine.

To Thee they all belong; to Thee
The treasures of the earth and sea;
And when we bring them to Thy throne,	15
We but present Thee with Thine own.

Endue the hearts that guide with skill;
Preserve the hands that work from ill;
That we, who these foundations lay,
May raise the topstone in its day.	20

Both now and ever, Lord, protect
The temple of Thine own elect;
Be Thou in them, and they in Thee,
O ever-blessèd Trinity!