641 – God in His Love for Us

1
God in His love for us lent us this planet,
Gave it a purpose in time and in space:
Small as a spark from the fire of creation,
Cradle of life and the home of our race.
2
Thanks be to God for its bounty and beauty,
Life that sustains us in body and mind:
Plenty for all, if we learn how to share it,
Riches undreamed of to fathom and find.
3
Long have our human wars ruined its harvest;
Long has earth bowed to the terror of forced;
Long have we wasted what others have need of,
Poisoned the fountain of life at its source.
4
Earth is the Lord’s: it is ours to enjoy it,
Ours, as His stewards, to farm and defend.
From its pollution, misuse, and destruction,
Good Lord, deliver us, world without end!