O God, This Precious Earth Thou Gave
O God, this precious Earth Thou gave
To us to hold for Thee;
Thou gave to us dominion over
Land and over sea;
Thou gave us mighty power over
Creatures great and small;
The Earth: we are responsible
For caring for it all.
But when we look around we find
Our damage everywhere;
The robins and the sparrows must
Fly through polluted air;
The rolling rivers have become
Awash with our debris;
The oceans slowly fill with trash
Far as the eye can see.
The creatures once so plentiful
Can scarcely now be seen;
The forests are depleted now
That once were strong and green;
Where fish by hundreds once did swim
In rivers pure and clear,
The rivers now are toxic gray,
And fish do not appear.
Forgive us, God, for what we did
In carelessness and haste;
We never did intend to cause
Such damage and such waste;
So as in sorrow we repent,
We ask on bended knee
To give us, God, the strength now to
Restore the Earth for Thee.
Amen.
by William E. McGinnis
Photo Credit: aamiraimer via www.pixabay.com