803. L. M. J. G. Whittier.
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Adams, John G. (John Greenleaf) and Chapin, E. H. (Edwin Hubbell)
For a Liberty Meeting on the Fourth of July.
1O Thou! whose presence went before
Our fathers in their weary way,
As with thy chosen moved of yore
The fire by night--the cloud by day!
2When, from each temple of the free,
A nation's song ascends to heaven,
Most Holy Father! unto thee,
May not our humble prayer be given,--
3For those to whom this day can bring,
Not, as to us, the joyful thrill;--
For those, who, under freedom's wing,
Are bound in slavery's fetters still:--
4And grant, O Father! that the time
Of Earth's deliverance may be near,
When every land, and tongue, and clime,
The message of thy love shall hear.
5When smitten, as with fire from heaven,
The captive's chain shall sink in dust,
And to his fettered soul be given
The glorious freedom of the just.