Lord of the Universe, to whom our sins
And virtues are but naught, whose power begins
Where Man's imagination has its end
In the vain hope that power to comprehend,
Where thought's last precipice
Leans over the abyss,
Trembling to know how far the way has come
Only to leave us deaf and blind and dumb:
Art Thou so like us Thou, too, canst be glad?
And can it be Thou once hadst choice to add
The perfect human unto the divine, as though
Made in Man's image—what Thou mad'st him of
In Thine own Power blossoming into Love?
Happy in Thy creation, didst Thou so
Become a partner in his joy or woe?
Then, Lord, merge Thou my happiness in Thine—
I who adore Thy world as it were mine.

Thou who didst mould the hills, and salt the seas,
Ordain the dignity and peace of trees,
And launch the stormy clouds in wind-torn argosies,
Each in a shape was never seen before
Nor shall be seen again! Thou who didst pour
Thy Beauty into all! Oh, can it be,
Lord of all growth and all identity,
Of fruitful day and rich and restful night,
Thou art our friend, our comrade of delight
In all Thou givest? Then no more are we
But beaten sands upon the shore of Thy immensity.

Why boast our conquests over Time and Space?
What doth Invention but together place
The blocks of a child's game to make it whole?
Who hath discovered a new trait of soul,
A new emotion? Ay, though on the trail
Of Thy vast purpose, who hath drawn the veil
'Twixt Life and Death? (Down, Science, on your knee,
Down with bowed head in all humility!
Have you put fragrance in a single flower,
Or painted any bloom with color's thrill and power?)
Before Thee, Lord, I stand today unshamed,
For Thee I worship with uplifted heart—
With every bending herb and every leaf
Swinging its censer in the summer breeze:
With chanting waters sparkling in the sun
And dimpled tops of forests that aspire.
Nature, that keeps Thy temple free, unspoiled,
Calls to the soul that loves her and responds
In ecstasy of joy: “O Holy, Holy,
Who made all these but Thou?”

Lord of all Beauty, if, as sages say,
Of all Thy work to enjoy is to obey,
Oh, let me humbly share Thy happiness today.


And still to come, the Stars!