276. O Lord, in perfect bliss above

O Lord, in perfect bliss above

Thou couldst not need created love;

And yet Thou didst Thy power display,

And earth's foundations firmly lay.

Things that were not, at Thy command,

In perfect form before Thee stand,

And all to their Creator raise

A wondrous harmony of praise.

But even while the world came forth

In all the beauty of its birth,

In Thy deep thought Thou didst behold

Another world of nobler mould.

For Thou didst will that Christ should frame

A new creation by His Name;

Its seed, the living word of grace,

He scatters wide in every place;

Its home, when time shall be no more,

In heaven with Thee for evermore;

Accepted in Thy boundless love

To share His throne and joy above.

O Father, bless, for they are Thine,

O Son, direct in love divine,

O Holy Ghost, with grace endue

The old creation and the new.