O God Of Earth And Altar

As sung in my church last week: “O God Of Earth and Altar”, words by G.K. Chesterton, melody arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams:

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.

In other news, thanks to all the attendees of my third annual Halloween Party last night! A total of 12 attendees this year. The apple pie and cakes went quickly, as did the party mix. I was a bit surprised that folks barely touched the hot apple cider and mashed sweet potatoes, especially on a wet autumn night like this one. Nevertheless, ’twas a fun night, as usual.

Leave a Reply

I work for Amazon. The content on this site is my own and doesn’t necessarily represent Amazon’s position.