The Sanctuary A Companion in Verse for the English Prayer Book. By Robert Montgomery |
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Prayer for Parliament.
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 | The Sanctuary |  |
87
Prayer for Parliament.
“We humbly beseech Thee, as for this kingdom in general, so
especially for the High Court of Parliament.”
—Prayer Book.
The captive Exile,
far from Judah's clime
Weeping alone by Babel's willow'd streams,
Must oft have pondered o'er Youth's golden prime,
When Fancy revell'd in her fairy dreams,
On vine-clad hills, or by that haunted Sea
Whose blue waves fringe the shores of Galilee.
Weeping alone by Babel's willow'd streams,
Must oft have pondered o'er Youth's golden prime,
When Fancy revell'd in her fairy dreams,
On vine-clad hills, or by that haunted Sea
Whose blue waves fringe the shores of Galilee.
Yet, nothing stern that songless
moment pain'd,
No angry shadows round each home-dream fell,
For, high o'er Wrong, this hallow'd doctrine reign'd,—
He conquers woe, who can endure it well!
Thus, truly meek, Faith spread her fetter'd hands,
Lifted in prayer for peace on hostile lands.
No angry shadows round each home-dream fell,
For, high o'er Wrong, this hallow'd doctrine reign'd,—
He conquers woe, who can endure it well!
Thus, truly meek, Faith spread her fetter'd hands,
Lifted in prayer for peace on hostile lands.
And, when the racking fires of Pagan Rome
Rent young disciples, limb by limb, to death,
Ere tortured Virtue soar'd to Jesu's home
In bleeding glory, and on martyr-breath,
Still, for the Commonwealth the Churches prayed,
And Christ's own Spirit parting souls array'd.
Rent young disciples, limb by limb, to death,
Ere tortured Virtue soar'd to Jesu's home
In bleeding glory, and on martyr-breath,
Still, for the Commonwealth the Churches prayed,
And Christ's own Spirit parting souls array'd.
But, if for Governments, whose impious wrong
Convulsed the heart of Liberty, and Truth,
And crush'd the Right with vengeance stern, and strong,
Making a holocaust of Age and Youth—
If for such Empire, temple-prayer ascended,
That heathen-law might be by Heaven defended,
Convulsed the heart of Liberty, and Truth,
And crush'd the Right with vengeance stern, and strong,
Making a holocaust of Age and Youth—
If for such Empire, temple-prayer ascended,
That heathen-law might be by Heaven defended,
No lagging spirit of reluctant vows
For this high Kingdom in the faith, shall rise!
But, bearing on our consecrated brows
The Sign baptismal, let us scale the skies
With soaring prayer, and seek celestial Light
To guide Britannia in her course, aright.
For this high Kingdom in the faith, shall rise!
But, bearing on our consecrated brows
The Sign baptismal, let us scale the skies
With soaring prayer, and seek celestial Light
To guide Britannia in her course, aright.
88
Lord of all Lands! to us a peerless Isle,
An ancient Ark of Liberty and Laws
By Thee is granted; and Thy guardian-smile
Has ever brighten'd round her perill'd cause,
Where Church and State make one incorp'rate Whole,
And both are balanced by a wise control.
An ancient Ark of Liberty and Laws
By Thee is granted; and Thy guardian-smile
Has ever brighten'd round her perill'd cause,
Where Church and State make one incorp'rate Whole,
And both are balanced by a wise control.
Thus, do we supplicate, with soul intense,
Wisdom on high, to strengthen Church, and State,
And find in Deity that true defence
Which forms the good, and sanctifies the great,
And prompts his heart, where'er the Pilgrim roams,
Here to behold a paradise of homes!
Wisdom on high, to strengthen Church, and State,
And find in Deity that true defence
Which forms the good, and sanctifies the great,
And prompts his heart, where'er the Pilgrim roams,
Here to behold a paradise of homes!
Religion is the golden chain which binds
All warring powers and principles, in one,
Where meets the lowest, with the loftiest, mind,
Round that deep Centre, whence all Laws begun—
The Will Divine, by which true Kings alone
Can wield a Sceptre, or sustain a Throne.
All warring powers and principles, in one,
Where meets the lowest, with the loftiest, mind,
Round that deep Centre, whence all Laws begun—
The Will Divine, by which true Kings alone
Can wield a Sceptre, or sustain a Throne.
Supreme of Councillors! Thou Saviour-God,
Wise by thy wisdom, let true Patriots learn
To tread those path-ways heaven-taught Sages trod,
And England's glory in Thy Grace discern:
So, shall Thy words her sacred watchmen be,
And Britain prosper, when approved by Thee.
Wise by thy wisdom, let true Patriots learn
To tread those path-ways heaven-taught Sages trod,
And England's glory in Thy Grace discern:
So, shall Thy words her sacred watchmen be,
And Britain prosper, when approved by Thee.
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