over the lands and waters of the earth,
enduing them with forms and colors
which no human skill can copy,
give me today, I beseech Thee,
the mind and heart to rejoice in Thy creation.
Forbid that I should walk through
Thy beautiful world with unseeing eyes:
Forbid that the lure of the market-place
should ever entirely steal my heart away
from the love of the open acres and the green trees:
Forbid that under the low roof of workshop or office or study
I should ever forget Thy great overarching sky:
Forbid that when all Thy creatures are greeting
the morning with songs and shouts of joy,
I alone should wear a dull and sullen face:
Let the energy and vigor which in Thy wisdom
Thou has infused into every living thing
stir today within my being,
that I may not be among Thy creatures
as a sluggard and a drone:
And above all give me grace to use
these beauties of earth without me
and this eager stirring of life within me
as a means whereby my soul may rise
from creature to Creator,
and from nature to nature’s God.
O thou whose divine tenderness doth ever outsoar
the narrow loves and charities of Earth,
grant me today a kind and gentle heart
towards all things that live.
Let me not ruthlessly hurt any creature of thine.
Let me take thought also for the welfare of little children,
and of those who are sick, and of the poor;
remembering that what I do unto the least of these His brethren
I do unto Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
"Thirtieth Day: Morning - Creator Spirit" by John Baillee, A Diary of Private Prayer.
No comments:
Post a Comment