 | Poems of the war |  |
153
A BATTLE HYMN.
God, to Thee we humbly bow,
With hand unarmed and naked brow;
Musket, lance, and sheathéd sword
At Thy feet we lay, O Lord!
Gone is all the soldier's boast
In the valor of the host;
Kneeling here, we do our most.
With hand unarmed and naked brow;
Musket, lance, and sheathéd sword
At Thy feet we lay, O Lord!
Gone is all the soldier's boast
In the valor of the host;
Kneeling here, we do our most.
Of ourselves we nothing know:
Thou, and Thou alone, canst show,
By the favor of Thy hand,
Who has drawn the guilty brand.
If our foemen have the right,
Show Thy judgment in our sight
Through the fortunes of the fight!
Thou, and Thou alone, canst show,
By the favor of Thy hand,
Who has drawn the guilty brand.
154
Show Thy judgment in our sight
Through the fortunes of the fight!
If our cause be pure and just,
Nerve our courage with Thy trust:
Scatter, in Thy bitter wrath,
All who cross the nation's path:
May the baffled traitors fly,
As the vapors from the sky
When Thy raging winds are high!
Nerve our courage with Thy trust:
Scatter, in Thy bitter wrath,
All who cross the nation's path:
May the baffled traitors fly,
As the vapors from the sky
When Thy raging winds are high!
God of mercy, some must fall
In Thy holy cause. Not all
Hope to sing the victor's lay,
When the sword is laid away.
Brief will be the prayers then said;
Falling at Thy altar dead,
Take the sacrifice instead!
In Thy holy cause. Not all
Hope to sing the victor's lay,
When the sword is laid away.
Brief will be the prayers then said;
Falling at Thy altar dead,
Take the sacrifice instead!
155
Now, O God, once more we rise,
Marching on beneath Thy eyes;
And we draw the sacred sword
In Thy name and at Thy word.
May our spirits clearly see
Thee, through all that is to be,
In defeat or victory!
Marching on beneath Thy eyes;
And we draw the sacred sword
In Thy name and at Thy word.
May our spirits clearly see
Thee, through all that is to be,
In defeat or victory!
| Poems of the war | |