O bow Thine ear, eter­nal One!
On Thee our heart ador­ing calls;
To Thee the fol­low­ers of Thy Son
Have raised and now de­vote these walls.

Here let Thy ho­ly days be kept;
And be this place―to wor­ship giv­en―
Like that bright spot where Ja­cob slept,
The house of God, the gate of Hea­ven.

Here may Thine hon­or dwell; and here
As in­cense, let Thy child­ren’s pray­er,
From con­trite hearts and lips sin­cere,
Rise on the still and ho­ly air.

Here be Thy praise de­vout­ly sung;
Here let Thy truth beam forth to save,
As when, of old, Thy Spi­rit hung
On wings of light o’er Jor­dan’s wave.

And when the lips, that with Thy name
Are vo­cal now, to dust shall turn,
On oth­ers may de­vo­tion’s flame
Be kin­dled here, and pure­ly burn.