The Cyber Hymnal ‎#14439

14439. God, To Thee We Humbly Bow

1 God, to Thee we humbly bow,
Hand unarmed and naked brow;
Musket, lance, and sheathèd 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.

2 Of ourselves we nothing know:
Thou and Thou alone canst show,
By the favor of Thy hand,
Who hast drawn the guilty brand.
If our foemen have the right,
Show Thy judgments in our sight,
Through the fortunes of the fight!

3 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!

4 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!

5 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!

Text Information

• First Line: God, to Thee we humbly bow
• Title: God, To Thee We Humbly Bow
• Author: George H. Boker
• Meter: 77.77.77.7
• Language: English
• Source: Poems of the War (Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1864)
• Copyright: Public Domain

Tune Information

• Name: IN NATALI DOMINI
• Composer: Friedrich Layriz, 1808-1859
• Meter: 77.77.77.7
• Key: G Major or modal
• Copyright: Public Domain