God Of Our Fathers
God of Our Fathers
God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies,
Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.
Thy love divine hath led us in the past;
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast;
Be Thou our ruler, guardian, guide, and stay,
Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.
From war’s alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase,
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.
Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way;
Lead us from night to never-ending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine.
SIX YEARS before his death in 1907, Daniel Roberts wrote, “I remain a country parson, known only within my own small world.” This hymn was penned while he pastored a rural church in Brandon, Vermont. He wrote it in 1876 to commemorate the one-hundredth birthday of the Declaration of Independence, and it was sung for the first time at Brandon’s Fourth of July celebration.
Because the people of Brandon enjoyed the hymn, Roberts submitted it to the committee planning the Constitution’s centennial celebration. The committee chose it as the official hymn for the occasion and sent it to the organist at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York City to compose an original tune. The new tune, with a dramatic trumpet fanfare, helped to make this hymn unique.
They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them.
Psalm 44:3
From the book
