Monday, August 22, 2011

A Hymn for the Church Militant


Great God, that bowest sky and star,

Bow down our towering thoughts to thee,

And grant us in a faltering war

The firm feet of humility.


Lord, we that snatch the swords of flame,

Lord, we that cry about Thy car.

We too are weak with pride and shame,

We too are as our foemen are.


Yea, we are mad as they are mad,

Yea, we are blind as they are blind,

Yea, we are very sick and sad

Who bring good news to all mankind.


The dreadful joy Thy Son has sent

Is heavier than any care;

We find, as Cain his punishment,

Our pardon more than we can bear.


Lord, when we cry Thee far and near

And thunder through all lands unknown

The gospel into every ear,

Lord, let us not forget our own.


Cleanse us from ire of creed or class,

The anger of the idle tings;

Sow in our souls, like living grass,

The laughter of all lowly things.


by GK Chesterton

2 comments:

Briana Mahoney said...

That is such a good reminder to look at ourselves and cast out the beam out of our own eye so that we can see clearly to cast out the mote out of our brother’s eye. I have been especially impressed by the example of this in Daniel chapter nine. Here is a godly man that has been led captive by the wicked Babylonians, confessing his sins and the sins of his people. He was not pointing his finger at the nation that God used to punish them. Government is used by God for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of them that do well. Maybe this is a little off the subject of us vs. a foreign nation, but I find it ironic that there is so much complaint made about our government. How many that talk about uncontrolled government spending, show prudence in their finances? The government spends beyond their means, but so does that average American. How the general populous gasps and groans over the dishonesty of politicians; but how many of these same citizens keep their word and don’t lie? I think that government in our country has been a reflection of our society. A great number of the people elected in my lifetime would never have been considered in George Washington’s day, because the society had a different standard that they kept in their personal lives. So we cry with Daniel, “O Lord to us belonged confusion of face, to our king, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee….O Lord hear; O Lord forgive…”
Yes, we are mad as they are mad,
Yea, we are blind as they are blind,
Yea we are very sick and sad
Who bring good news to all mankind
I am so glad to see you posting the pictures again. I like Faerie illustrated :). Keep up the stream of great posts!

Katie Mahoney said...

Camille, I enjoy your posts!
That is a great prayer.
Did Chesterton write a book of poems?