1 Lord, teach your children how to build
by wood and nail,
brick, stone and tile:
you learned such building as a child
as hand and arm and eye were skilled,
here for a little while.
2 Lord, show your children where to build
by word and deed
at neighbours' need:
not on the sand our work be found
but on the rock, the solid ground
where you have been obeyed.
3 And Lord, be with us as we build,
not dust and bones
but living stones,
a temple growing, Spirit-filled,
just as the Father's heart has willed
for his beloved ones.
Christopher Idle
© Christopher Idle/Jubilate Hymns Ltd
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