Words: , 1905:

Written dur­ing the stir­ring events that took place at the close of the Span­ish-Amer­i­can War, when Por­to [sic] Ri­co on the east and the Phil­ip­pines in the far west came un­der the stars and stripes. Ref­er­ence is made to our “wid­en­ing bounds” in the fourth verse.

It was writ­ten while the au­thor was pas­tor of the Rich­mond Av­e­nue Meth­od­ist Epis­co­pal Church, Buf­fa­lo, N. Y., and was first pub­lished in Zi­on’s Her­ald, Bos­ton, under the ti­tle Thanks­giv­ing Day, No­vem­ber 18, 1893. It is a whole­some and tru­ly Christ­ian hymn of thanks­giv­ing.

Music: Pur­i­tan, (1853-1929).

Our fathers’ God, to Thee we raise,
In cheerful song, our grateful praise;
From shore to shore the anthems rise;
Accept a nation’s sacrifice.

Incline our hearts with godly fear
To seek Thy face, Thy Word revere;
Cause Thou all wrongs, all strife to cease,
And lead us in the paths of peace.

Here may the weak a welcome find,
And wealth increase with lowly mind;
A refuge, still for all oppressed,
O be our land forever blest!

Thy wisdom, Lord, Thy guidance lend,
Where’er our widening bounds extend;
Inspire our wills to speed Thy plan:
The kingdom of the Son of Man!

Through all the past Thy truth we trace,
Thy ceaseless care, Thy signal grace;
O may our children’s children prove
Thy sovereign, everlasting love.