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O God of Earth and Altar

Representative Text

1 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.

2 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 honour and the sword,
from sleep and from damnation,
deliver us, good Lord!

3 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.

Source: Ancient and Modern: hymns and songs for refreshing worship #582

Author: G. K. Chesterton

Chesterton, Gilbert Keith, son of Edward Chesterton, was b. May 29, 1874, at Campden Hill, Kensington. London; and is a well-known journalist and author, now (1906) residing at Battersea Park, London. He contributed to The English Hymnal, 1906, a vigorous lyric beginning, "O God of earth and altar"(Prayer for the Nation). [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)… Go to person page >

Tune

KING'S LYNN


LLANGLOFFAN


LANCASHIRE (Smart)

Henry T. Smart (PHH 233) composed the tune in 1835 for use at a missions festival at Blackburn, Lancashire, England. For that festival, which celebrated the three-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation in England, the tune was set to Reginald Heber's (PHH 249) “From Greenland's Icy Mountains.”…

Go to tune page >


Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #4881
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 76 of 76)

A Hymnal for Friends #103

American Student Hymnal #d215

Text

Ancient and Modern #582

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #546

Page Scan

At Worship #281

Australian Hymn Book #542

Cantate Domino #81

Text

Chalice Hymnal #724

Christian Hymns #75

Christian Worship #546

Christian Youth Hymnal #282

Text

Common Praise #358

Text

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #492a

Text

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #492b

TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #338

E. A. C. C. Hymnal #81

Great Songs of the Church (Revised) #434

Hymnal for Christian Worship #d192

Hymnal for Colleges and Schools #260

Hymnal for Colleges and Schools. 3rd ed. #d207

Hymnal for Juniors in Worship and Study #d68

Hymnbook for Christian Worship #373

Hymns and Psalms #426

Hymns for the Celebration of Life #d161

Page Scan

Hymns for the Living Age #359

Hymns for Worship #61

Page Scan

Hymns of the Kingdom of God #466

Hymns of the Spirit for Use in the Free Churches of America #381

Page Scan

Hymns of the United Church #125

Page Scan

Hymns of the United Church #125

Hymns Old and New #365

Text

Lutheran Book of Worship #428

Mirfield Mission Hymn Book #93

Pilgrim Hymnal #436

Rejoice in the Lord #80

Text

Service Book and Hymnal of the Lutheran Church in America #344a

Text

Service Book and Hymnal of the Lutheran Church in America #344b

Page Scan

Services for Congregational Worship. The New Hymn and Tune Book #412

Sing to the Lord #212

Page Scan

Social Hymns of Brotherhood and Aspiration #31

Songs for Christian Worship #d183

Songs for Worship #d117

Songs of Praise #177

Songs of Praise for America #d75

Songs of Praise #308

The Assumption Hymnal #d62

The Australian Hymn Book with Catholic Supplement #542

The Book of Hymns #d331

The Book of Praise #594

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #4881

Page Scan

The English Hymnal #562

Page Scan

The English Hymnal #562

Page Scan

The Harvard University Hymn Book #98

The Harvard University Hymn Book #256

The Hill School Hymnal and Service Book #d155

The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada #214

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal #419

The Hymnal 1982 #591

Page Scan

The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America 1940 #521

The Hymnal of the United Church of Christ #187

The Hymnal #370

TextPage Scan

The Hymnbook #511

The Johannine Hymnal, in Memory of John F. Kennedy and John XXIII #d80

The Mennonite Hymnal #457

The Methodist Hymnal #d331

The Milton Hymnal #d91

The New Century Hymnal #582

The New Church Hymnal #d292

Text

The New English Hymnal #492

Page Scan

The People's Hymn Book #255

The Presbyterian Hymnal #291

TextPage Scan

The Worshipbook #497

Page Scan

Twenty-Five Hymns for use in Time of War #22

Worship in Song #d210

Text

Worship in Song #290

Text

Worship Supplement #784

Exclude 59 pre-1979 instances
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