Accept this building, gracious Lord, <br />No temple though it be; <br />We raised it for our suffering kin, <br />And so, Good Lord, for Thee. <br /> <br />Accept our little gift, and give <br />To all who here may dwell, <br />The will and power to do their work, <br />Or bear their sorrows well. <br /> <br />From Thee all skill and science flow; <br />All pity, care, and love, <br />All calm and courage, faith and hope, <br />Oh! pour them from above. <br /> <br />And part them, Lord, to each and all, <br />As each and all shall need, <br />To rise like incense, each to Thee, <br />In noble thought and deed. <br /> <br />And hasten, Lord, that perfect day, <br />When pain and death shall cease; <br />And Thy just rule shall fill the earth <br />With health, and light, and peace. <br /> <br />When ever blue the sky shall gleam, <br />And ever green the sod; <br />And man's rude work deface no more <br />The Paradise of God. <br /> <br /> <br />Eversley, 1870.<br /><br />Charles Kingsley<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hymn-177/
