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O MEAN may seem this house of clay,
   Yet ’twas the Lord’s abode;
Our feet may mourn this thorny way,
    Yet here Emmanuel trod.
 
2  Our very frailty brings us near
    Unto the Lord of Heaven;
To every grief, to every tear,
    Such glory strange is given.
 
3  But not this robe of flesh alone
    Shall link us, Lord, to Thee;
Not only in the tear and groan
    Shall the dear kinship be.
 
4  Our will shall seek Thy life divine,
    Thine image we shall bear;
With Thine own glory we shall shine,
    In Thine own bliss shall share.
 
5  O mighty grace, our life to live
    To make our earth divine!
O mighty grace, Thy Heaven to give,
    And lift our life to Thine!
 
Thomas Hornblower Gill, 1819-1906