The per­fect world, by Ad­am trod,
Was the first tem­ple built by God;
His fi­at laid the cor­ner stone,
And heaved its pil­lars one by one.

He hung its star­ry roof on high,
The broad ex­panse of az­ure sky;
He spread its pave­ment, green and bright,
And cur­tained it with morn­ing light.

The mount­ains in their plac­es stood,
The sea, the sky; and all was good;
And when its first pure prais­es rang,
The morn­ing stars to­ge­ther rang.

Lord, ’tis not ours to make the sea,
And earth, and sky, a house for Thee;
But in Thy sight our of­fer­ing stands,
A hum­bler tem­ple, made with hands.