A Selection of Psalms and Hymns ‎#CCXII

CCXII. Praise for national Peace

1 Great ruler of the earth and skies,
A word of thine Almighty breath
Can sink the world, or bid it rise:
Thy smile is life, thy frown is death.

2 When angry nations rush to arms,
And rage, and noise, and tumult reign,
And war resounds its dire alarms,
And slaughter spreads the hostile plains

3 Thy sovereign eye looks calmly down,
And marks their course, and bounds their pow'r;
Thy word the angry nations own,
And noise and war are heard no more.

4 Then peace returns with balmy wing,
(Sweet peace! with her what blessings fled!)
Glad plenty laughs, the vallies sing,
Reviving Commerce lifts her head.

5 Thou good, and wise, and gracious Lord
All move subservient to thy will;
And pace and war await thy word,
And thy sublime Decrees fulfil.

6 To thee we pay our grateful songs,
Thy kind protection still implore;
Oh, may our hearts, and lives, and tongues
Confess thy goodness and adore.

Text Information

• First Line: Great ruler of the earth and skies
• Title: Praise for national Peace
• Author: Steel
• Meter: Long Metre
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1790
• Topic: Fasts and Thanksgiving
• Notes: Public Domain.

Tune Information

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