To Thee, beneath whose eye <br />Each circling century <br />Obedient rolls, <br />Our nation, in its prime, <br />Looked with a faith sublime, <br />And trusted, in 'the time <br />That tried men's souls,'- <br /> <br /> <br />When, from this gate of heaven, <br />People and priest were driven <br />By fire and sword, <br />And, where thy saints had prayed, <br />The harnessed war-horse neighed, <br />And horsemen's trumpets brayed <br />In harsh accord. <br /> <br /> <br />Nor was our fathers' trust, <br />Thou Mighty One and Just, <br />Then put to shame; <br />'Up to the hills,' for light, <br />Looked they in peril's night, <br />And, from yon guardian height, <br />Deliverance came. <br /> <br /> <br />There, like an angel form, <br />Sent down to still a storm, <br />Stood Washington! <br />Clouds broke and rolled away; <br />Foes fled in pale dismay; <br />Wreathed were his brows with bay, <br />When war was done. <br /> <br /> <br />God of our sires and sons, <br />Let other Washingtons <br />Our country bless, <br />And, like the brave and wise <br />Of by-gone centuries, <br />Show that true greatness lies <br />In righteousness.<br /><br />John Pierpont<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hymns-and-odes-ix/
