Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.
By AndrewsNorton51 Hymn for the Dedication of a Church
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Where bends the cataract’s ocean-fall,
On the lone mountain’s silent head,
There are thy temples, God of all!
Whence myriad suns pour down their rays,
Where planets trace their ceaseless march,
Father! we worship as we gaze.
When earthly loves and hopes have fled,
To thee ascends the spirit’s prayer,
Thou God of the immortal dead.
Is filled by thee; but human thought
Burns clearer in some chosen place,
Where thy own words of love are taught.
That faith thy servants knew of old;
Which onward bears through weal and woe,
Till Death the gates of heaven unfold!
Shows yet no trace of human cares,
Hereafter stand where we do now,
And raise to thee still holier prayers!