The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery Collected and Revised by the Author |
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| XXII. | XXII.
FINAL APOSTROPHÈ. |
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 | The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery |  |
543
XXII. FINAL APOSTROPHÈ.
Since God descends through history to Man
Whose dark vicissitudes but veil His plan,
And mortal Agents, while they do and dare
Are but the Organs of His purpose there,
Oh, Thou! to whom the shields of earth belong,
The everlasting Stronger than the Strong;
Divine Upholder of heroic souls
Whom prowess arms, or purity controls,
Bulwark'd with blessings which reveal Thy Hand
Long may the charter'd State of England stand;
That peerless growth of patriotic mind,
The great, eternal Wonder of mankind!
Lodge in our British hearts true love of Thee
And cause Thine Image on this earth to be,
Whose varied destinies of weal and woe
Preach the vast truth a creedless world should know,—
The life of Nations is a god-like thing
Beyond mere Laureates of the world to sing;
Nursed and ennobled not by wealth and power
Nor all the pageants which bemock the hour,
But ruled by reason, and by faith sublimed
To loftier heights than Glory ever climb'd.
Whose dark vicissitudes but veil His plan,
And mortal Agents, while they do and dare
Are but the Organs of His purpose there,
Oh, Thou! to whom the shields of earth belong,
The everlasting Stronger than the Strong;
Divine Upholder of heroic souls
Whom prowess arms, or purity controls,
Bulwark'd with blessings which reveal Thy Hand
Long may the charter'd State of England stand;
That peerless growth of patriotic mind,
The great, eternal Wonder of mankind!
Lodge in our British hearts true love of Thee
And cause Thine Image on this earth to be,
Whose varied destinies of weal and woe
Preach the vast truth a creedless world should know,—
The life of Nations is a god-like thing
Beyond mere Laureates of the world to sing;
Nursed and ennobled not by wealth and power
Nor all the pageants which bemock the hour,
But ruled by reason, and by faith sublimed
To loftier heights than Glory ever climb'd.
Celestial Lord of uncreated Love!
Waft to our souls pure wisdom from above,
And teach the secret of Thy moral plan,—
The source of freedom is God's will in man,
When sainted hearts have meekly understood
That perfect greatness is a power for good;
Typing the Godhead, Who Himself is great
Not by the thunders of enthronéd state;
Yet in the majesty of boundless might
Wills what is law, but in that law wills right;
That Saints and Seraphim alike may see
Their archetypes in His eternity,
And while they anthem an almighty Throne
Reflect His glories, and increase their own.
Waft to our souls pure wisdom from above,
And teach the secret of Thy moral plan,—
The source of freedom is God's will in man,
When sainted hearts have meekly understood
That perfect greatness is a power for good;
Typing the Godhead, Who Himself is great
Not by the thunders of enthronéd state;
Yet in the majesty of boundless might
Wills what is law, but in that law wills right;
That Saints and Seraphim alike may see
Their archetypes in His eternity,
And while they anthem an almighty Throne
Reflect His glories, and increase their own.
| The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery | |