Creation’s Lord, we give Thee thanks
That this Thy world is incomplete;
That battle calls our marshaled ranks;
That work awaits our hands and feet.
That Thou hast not yet finished man;
That we are in the making still,
As friends who share the Maker’s plan
As sons who know the Father’s will.
Beyond the present sin and shame,
Wrong’s bitter, cruel, scorching blight,
We see the beckoning vision flame,
The blessèd kingdom of the right.
What though the kingdom long delay,
And still with haughty foes must cope?
It gives us that for which to pray,
A field for toil and faith and hope.
Since what we choose is what we are,
And what we love we yet shall be,
The goal may ever shine afar—
The will to win it makes us free.
William De Witt Hyde was born this date, 9/23/1858, at Winchendon, Massachusetts. He grew up with relatives (after his parent’s demise) in Keene, New Hampshire. He was educated at Phillips Academy in Exeter, Harvard (bachelor’s degree), Union Theological Seminary, and Andover Theological Seminary.
He was a Congregational pastor in Paterson, New Jersey (1883-85). From 1885 to 1917 he was president of Bowdoin College (founded 1794). His works include: Practical Ethics, 1892, Practical Idealism, 1897, God’s Education of Man, 1899. Wrote “Creation’s Lord, We Give Thee Thanks.” Hyde died 6/29/1917, at Brunswick, Maine.
Separate-Holy 