Hymn 31 (Thompson 1988:196)
1. Dear Holy Spirit, tenderest of doves,
Make me to love creatures as You do above
Give me compassion more than just for man
That I Your world might fully span.
2. Your covenant was not confined to man
Creatures who worship are also in Your plan
Save us from heresies that keep them out
Man’s pomp, his pride and scriptural doubt.
3. Teach me to know that Jesus died for all
God’s second Adam to counteract the fall
That Paradise, once lost, be more than won
Where creatures joint to praise the Son.
4. Teach us to know that what man sows he’ll reap
To wilfully harm is to sink within that deep
There to remain true victim of their crime
No Lamb of God on them to shine.
5. For the creation travailing in pain
Seeking from us some protection to obtain
Make Sons of God co-workers in Your plan
Restoring all, and not just man.
6. Bring Lord the day when barriers shall break
Fruits of our caring, as dogmas we forsake
Then shall compassion all this Globe embrace
We, with our pets, behold Your face.
Rev. James Thompson (1930-2015), known affectionately as the “Animal Padre” (note 1), was a revered vicar and animal rights campaigner from Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. His life was marked by a profound dedication to animal welfare, spirituality, and community service. He’s very likely the first modern-day pastor and theologian to support militant animal liberation activism in terms of civil disobedience or direct rescue action, by arguing that such activism is just following in the footsteps of Jesus cleansing the Temple and liberating the animals therein (cf. Jones 2022:32-33).
Source:
Jones, Phillip (2022). The Animals' Padre: The Life and Works of James Thompson. London: Paragon Publishing.
Thompson, James (1988). Praise for Creatures, Great and Small. In Phillip Jones (2022: 157-208).
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