God of Our Fathers

Original lyrics.

God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor thro' 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 path 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 neverending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud and praise be ever THINE.

Lyrics by Daniel C. Roberts, 1876.

Comments and Suggestions:

Keep in mind that verse 1 is one sentence:  "of shining worlds" does not begin a new thought but continues the idea of the "starry band."  "Band," though, is problematic to the current singer as it suggests a musical group; "strand" seems a better collective term in current usage with respect to stars.  The only other wording change is in the last verse to eliminate the ending THINE and retain the rhyme scheme.  The suggested changes recyle many of the terms used in the original, while eliminating some archaicisms like LAUD.

Renewal lyrics:

God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry STRAND
Of shining worlds in splendor thro' the skies,
Our grateful songs before YOUR throne arise.

YOUR love divine HAS led us in the past;
In this free land by YOU our lot is cast;
YOU BE our ruler, guardian, guide and stay,
YOUR word our law, YOUR path our chosen way.

From war's alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be YOUR strong arm our ever sure defense;
YOUR true religion in our hearts increase,
YOUR bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.

Refresh YOUR people on their toilsome way;
Lead us from night to neverending day;
IN all our lives YOUR LOVE AND GRACE ENSHRINE,
And LET US PRAISE YOUR GLORY ALL DIVINE.

Renewal lyric changes by RH Reinhard (c) 2014

A good choice for Memorial Day along with "For All the Saints," in that it reflects upon our heritage and freedoms but does not become overtly patriotic.