1 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;
2 Grant that all we, who here to-day
Rejoicing this foundation lay,
May be in very deed thine own,
Built on the precious corner-stone.
3 Endue the creatures with thy grace,
That shall adorn thy dwelling-place;
The beauty of the oak and pine,
The gold and silver, make them thine.
4 To thee they all pertain; to thee
The treasures of the earth and sea;
And when we bring them to thy throne
We but present thee with thine own.
5 The heads that guide endue with skill;
The hands that work preserve from ill;
That we who these foundations lay
May raise the topstone in its day.
6 Both now and ever, Lord, protect
The temple of thine own elect;
Be thou in them, and they in thee,
O ever-blessed Trinity!