O Thou, to whom, in ancient time,

The lyre of Hebrew bards was strung;

Whom kings adored in songs sublime,

And prophets praised with glowing tongue:

Not now on Zion’s height alone

Thy favored worshippers may dwell;

Nor where, at sultry noon, Thy Son

Sat weary, by the Patriarch’s well.

From every place below the skies,

The grateful song, the fervent prayer,—

The incense of the heart,—may rise

To heaven, and find acceptance there.

To Thee shall age, with snowy hair,

And strength, and beauty, bend the knee;

And childhood lisp, with reverent air,

Its praises and its prayers to Thee!

O Thou, to whom, in ancient time,

The lyre of prophet bards was strung,

To Thee, at last, in every clime,

Shall temples rise, and praise be sung!