Eternal Mind, Who Rules the Fates

Eternal mind

who rules the fates

Of dy­ing realms and ris­ing states

With one un­changed de­cree

While we ad­mire Thy vast af­fairs

Say

can our lit­tle trif­ling cares

Afford a smile to Thee?

Thou scat­ter hon­ors

crowns

and gold;

We fly to seize

and fight to hold

The bub­bles and the oar:

So em­mets stru­ggle for a grain;

So boys their pet­ty wars main­tain

For shells up­on the shore.

Here a vain man his scep­ter breaks

The next a brok­en scep­ter takes

And war­ri­ors win and lose;

This roll­ing world will nev­er stand

Plundered and snatched from hand to hand

As pow­er de­cays or grows.

Earth’s but an atom: gree­dy swords

Carve it amongst a thou­sand lords

And yet they can’t agree;

Let gree­dy swords still fight and slay

I can be poor; but Lord

I pray

To sit and smile with Thee.