Father of Mercies, Heavenly Friend

Father of mer­cies

heav­en­ly Friend

We seek Thy gra­cious throne;

To Thee our fal­ter­ing pray­ers as­cend

Our faint­ing hearts are known!

From blasts that chill

from suns that smite

From ev­ery plague that harms;

In camp and march

in siege and fight

Protect our men-at-arms!

Though from our dark­ened lives they take

What makes our life most dear

We yield them for their coun­try’s sake

With no re­lent­ing tear.

Our blood their flow­ing veins will shed

Their wounds our breasts will share;

Oh

save us from the woes we dread

Or grant us strength to bear!

Let each un­hal­lowed cause that brings

The stern de­stroy­er cease

The flam­ing an­gel fold his wings

And ser­aphs whis­per

Peace!

Thine are the scep­ter and the sword

Stretch forth Thy migh­ty hand—

Reign Thou our king­less nation’s Lord

Rule Thou our throne­less land!