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 | The complete works of N.P. Willis |  |
DEDICATION HYMN.
[Written to be sung at the consecration of Hanover-street Church,
Boston]
The perfect world by Adam trod,
Was the first temple — built by God —
His fiat laid the corner stone,
And heav'd its pillars, one by one
He hung its starry roof on high
The broad illimitable sky;
He spread its pavement, green and bright,
And curtain'd it with morning light.
The mountains in their places stood —
The sea — the sky — and “all was good;”
And, when its first pure praises rang,
The “morning stars together sang.”
Lord! 'tis not ours to make the sea
And earth and sky a house for thee;
But in thy sight our off'ring stands —
A humbler temple, “made with hands”
Was the first temple — built by God —
His fiat laid the corner stone,
And heav'd its pillars, one by one
He hung its starry roof on high
The broad illimitable sky;
He spread its pavement, green and bright,
And curtain'd it with morning light.
The mountains in their places stood —
The sea — the sky — and “all was good;”
And, when its first pure praises rang,
The “morning stars together sang.”
Lord! 'tis not ours to make the sea
And earth and sky a house for thee;
But in thy sight our off'ring stands —
A humbler temple, “made with hands”
| The complete works of N.P. Willis | |