Saturday Poetry Corner: Not Alone For Mighty Empire

 

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
(Hebrews 11:1)

Back To The Farm

(1907)

N.C. Wyeth

(1882-1945)

American painter and illustrator

Not alone for mighty empire,

Stretching far over land and sea,

Not alone for bounteous harvests,

Lift we up our hearts to Thee.

Standing in the living present,

Memory and hope between,

Lord, we would with deep thanksgiving,

Praise Thee more for things unseen.

Not for battleships and fortress,

Not for conquests of the sword,

But for conquests of the spirit

Give we thanks to Thee, O Lord;

For the priceless gift of freedom,

For the home, the church, the school,

For the open door to manhood,

In a land the people rule.

For the armies of the faithful,

Souls that passed and left no name;

For the glory that illumines

Patriot lives of deathless fame.

For our prophets and apostles,

Loyal to the living Word,

For all the heroes of the spirit,

Give we thanks to Thee, O Lord.

God of justice, save the people

From the clash of race and creed,

From the strife of class and faction,

Make our nation free indeed;

Keep her faith in simple manhood

Strong as when her life began,

Till it finds its full fruition

In the brotherhood of man!

"Not Alone For Mighty Empire"
(1911)
William Pierson Merrill
(1867-1954)
American Presbyterian clergyman, pacifist,
author, and hymn writer