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O
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clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with
the voice of triumph. 2 For the Lord most
high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. 3 He shall
subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. 4 He shall
choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. 5 God is gone up
with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises
to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. 7 For God is the
King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. 8 God reigneth
over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. 9 The princes of
the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of
Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly
exalted. (Psalms 47:1-9)
This
is the only hymn of which I am aware GK Chesterton ever authored (1906).
Chesterton was a man who came late to Christianity, and not until 1922 did he
become a Roman Catholic. Though he became a staunch defender of Christian
ideals, some ideals he presumed were Christian were not so – Socialism being
one of them. Though the lyrics cannot be exclusively attributed to socialistic
principles, they were appropriated by the socialist movement and stood in
England as a rallying hymn for the movement. But it must be added that the
lyrics are very compatible with Scriptural truth if not twisted in their
interpretation. The most popular tune is LLANGLOFFAN – a Welsh tune; however,
the tune presented in the 1940 Hymnal is KING’S LYNN by R. Vaughan Williams
(1906).
O God of Earth and Altar
O God of earth and
altar, bow down and hear our cry,
Our earthly rulers
falter, our people drift and die;
The walls of gold
entomb us, the swords of scorn divide;
Take not Thy thunder
from us, but take away our pride.
From all that terror
teaches, from lies of tongue and pen,
From all the easy
speeches that comfort cruel men;
From sale and
profanation of honor and the sword;
From sleep and from
damnation, deliver us, good Lord!
Tie in a living
tether, the prince and priest and thrall;
Bind all our lives
together, smite us and save us all;
In ire and
exultation aflame with faith and free,
Lift up a living
nation, a single sword to Thee.
O
God of earth and altar, bow down and hear our cry, Our earthly rulers falter,
our people drift and die; The walls of gold entomb us, the swords of scorn
divide; Take not Thy thunder from us, but take away our pride. God is both Lord of
Heaven and Earth and all creation in between. The Lord does bend His ear to
hear our cry, else our voices would be too feeble to reach the Throne. It is
the old, old story of oppression spawned by the avarice and pride of earthly
rulers. It is not inconsistent of the faith to raise our voices to God in
seeking redress for such injustice brought upon us by earthly rulers. When
the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth
rule, the people mourn. (Prov 29:2) The wealthy of the
world do, indeed, control the king by controlling his purse-strings. These
sentiments were eloquently illustrated in the famous speech of William Jennings
Bryan, in 1896, opposing a gold-only standard: . . .. we shall answer
their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down
upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon
a cross of gold. Insofar as every reader of this devotion has been made aware
through national media, you will know that the words of scorn do divide a
peaceful people. If we are able to dispense with our personal pride, our
thunder shall be fueled by Heaven instead of by petty political correctness.
From
all that terror teaches, from lies of tongue and pen, From all the easy
speeches that comfort cruel men; From sale and profanation of honor and the
sword; From sleep and from damnation, deliver us, good Lord! Terror
teaches nothing of value except terror itself. Terror is a tool of the cruel
and power hungry to subjugate the populations. We witness its most outrageous
manifestations in the so-called Islamic Jihad. Murder, rape, and profanation of
history are being practiced in the name of allah. The opposite side of terror
is the home-grown variety being practiced in the United States of speech and
thought-control by means of ‘political correctness’ and destruction of
historical documentations. There is a plethora of smooth-sounding talk coming
from the demented halls of the swamp whose meaning is pointless. Any political
favor may be purchased from Congress and their minions for a price. Wars are
created, fought, and lost over the mal-appropriated largess of tax dollars. If
we sleep the while these absurdities of justice take place, we shall fall just
as hard and completely as Rome, ancient Greece, and Babylon. Chesterton borrows
a phrase and principle from the Litany or General Supplication of the Book
of Common Prayer (¶ To be used after the Third Collect at Morning or
Evening Prayer; or before the Holy Communion; or separately) – FROM all
evil and mischief; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from
thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation, GOOD LORD, DELIVER US.
Tie in a living
tether, the prince and priest and thrall; Bind all our lives together, smite us
and save us all; In ire and exultation aflame with faith and free, Lift up a
living nation, a single sword to Thee. The strongest rope is that about which many
smaller cords are twined. Unity is an absolute prerequisite to a mighty and
powerful nation, but that unity must derive from Godly principles. We have
witnessed the kind of unity that exists in evil and corrupt nations that
slaughter the innocent and starve the youth. But if we fear the Living God, and
His justice, we will be bound together with singleness of national purpose to
be a Godly nation and a Light to those afar off. A single sword, well-manned
and artfully employed, can accomplish more than ten in the hands of the
slothful. If we are restored as a nation of Godly faith and Liberty (of which
only God is Author), we can once more arise to become that bright and shining
City on a Hill.
