Hymns For Dedication X Poem by John Pierpont

On this stone, now laid with prayer,
Let thy church rise, strong and fair;
Ever, Lord, thy name be known,
Where we 've laid this Corner Stone.


Let 'thy holy child,' who came
Man from error to reclaim,
And the sinner to atone
With thee, bless this Corner Stone.


Let the star that stood, at first,
O'er the place where He was nursed,
And on wondering Magi shone,
Beam upon this Corner Stone.


Let the spirit from above,
That once hovered, like a dove,
O'er the Jordan, hither flown,
Hover o'er this Corner Stone.


In the sinner's troubled breast,
In the heart by care oppressed,
Let the seeds of truth be sown,
Where we 've laid this Corner Stone.


Open wide, O God, thy door,
For the outcast and the poor,
Who can call no house their own,
Where we 've laid this Corner Stone.


By 'wise master builders' squared,
Here be living stones prepared
For the temple near thy throne;-
Jesus Christ its Corner Stone.