My house is builded, Lord: build it anew! Once more the timbers hew; And all the firm foundation lay again In love for Thee and men. Reset the window-panes, so wrinkled now, And make them clear as Thou. Enlarge the hearth and magnify the door For strangers and the poor. Insert a closet dedicate to prayer That I may meet Thee there; And build a workshop, wheresoe'er it be, That I may toil with Thee. The mansion of my building, let it fall, Unworthy, roof and wall; And in its place, O heavenly Architect! A better house erect. |