For the Beauty of the Earth
By Folliot S. Pierpoint (1835-1917)
For the beauty of the earth,
for the beauty of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies,
Refrain:
Christ our God, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.
For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light, Refrain
For the joy of ear and eye,
for the heart and brain's delight,
for the mystic harmony
linking sense to sound and sight, Refrain
For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild, Refrain
For each perfect gift of thine
to our race so freely given,
graces human and divine,
flowers of earth and buds of heaven, Refrain
For thy Bride that evermore
lifteth holy hands above,
offering up on every shore
this pure sacrifice of love, Refrain
For the martyrs' crown of light,
for thy prophets' eagle eye,
for thy bold confessors' might,
for the lips of infancy, Refrain
For thy virgins' robes of snow,
for thy maiden Mother mild,
for thyself, with hearts aglow,
Jesus, Victim undefiled, Refrain
For thyself, best gift divine!
To our race so freely given;
For that great, great love of thine,
Peace on Earth and joy in heaven:
Refrain:
Lord of all, to thee, we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.
Spirit of Thankfulness
A spirit of thankfulness for the blessings of God is a quality encouraged throughout scripture and particularly, by this week’s hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth, which was inspired not by tragedy, but by awe of the natural beauty of a lovely spring day and appreciation of our creator God.