Looks to find but wild confusion
Where the thoughts of time contend.
What of creeds? There is one only
That shall never mouldering lie,
Like the fadeless sun, that lonely
Monarch of the starless sky,
Where the thoughts of time contend.
What of creeds? There is one only
That shall never mouldering lie,
Like the fadeless sun, that lonely
Monarch of the starless sky,
Shining downward through the ages,
Far above the torrent's moan,
Studied by the patriarch Moses,
From the tablets made of stone;
And rehearsed in song and story
In the life of Christ, the Lord,
With the rays of Heaven-born glory
In each loving deed and word.
What if temples, grand cathedrals,
Lift to Heaven their domes and spires
And the swell of thrilling anthems
Rolls from grand imposing choirs?
Far above the torrent's moan,
Studied by the patriarch Moses,
From the tablets made of stone;
And rehearsed in song and story
In the life of Christ, the Lord,
With the rays of Heaven-born glory
In each loving deed and word.
What if temples, grand cathedrals,
Lift to Heaven their domes and spires
And the swell of thrilling anthems
Rolls from grand imposing choirs?
Yet outside their sacred precincts,
Where no listening crowds attend,
Richer, grander, holier praises
To Jehovah's throne ascend.
Not alone to human temples
Do His worshipers repair,
'Tis His children's sanctuary
Wheresoe'er they bow in prayer;
In the field, the plain, the forest,
In the city's crowding throng,
Hearts have offered prayers unuttered
Souls have breathed immortal song.
Where no listening crowds attend,
Richer, grander, holier praises
To Jehovah's throne ascend.
Not alone to human temples
Do His worshipers repair,
'Tis His children's sanctuary
Wheresoe'er they bow in prayer;
In the field, the plain, the forest,
In the city's crowding throng,
Hearts have offered prayers unuttered
Souls have breathed immortal song.
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