John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892). The Poetical Works in Four Volumes. 1892.
Occasional PoemsHymn for the Opening of Plymouth Church, St. Paul, Minnesota
A
Lord of all gifts, to offer Thee;
And hence with grateful hearts to-day,
Thy own before Thy feet we lay.
Thy hand unseen amidst us wrought;
Through mortal motive, scheme and plan,
Thy wise eternal purpose ran.
For human needs and longings grew
This house of prayer, this home of rest,
In the fair garden of the West.
On Thee for whom the heavens are small;
Thy glory is Thy children’s good,
Thy joy Thy tender Fatherhood.
Fill with Thy love their emptiness,
And let their door a gateway be
To lead us from ourselves to Thee!