| Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907. | | | | “Lord, while for all mankind we pray” | | By John Reynell Wreford (1800–1881) |
| | | LORD, while for all mankind we pray, | |
| Of every clime and coast; | |
| O hear us for our native land,— | |
| The land we love the most! | |
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| Our fathers’ sepulchres are here, | 5 |
| And here our kindred dwell; | |
| Our children, too:—how should we love | |
| Another land so well! | |
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| O guard our shores from every foe, | |
| With peace our borders bless; | 10 |
| With prosperous times our cities crown, | |
| Our fields with plenteousness. | |
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| Unite us in the sacred love | |
| Of knowledge, truth, and Thee; | |
| And let our hills and valleys shout | 15 |
| The songs of liberty. | |
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| Here may religion, pure and mild, | |
| Upon our Sabbaths smile; | |
| And piety and virtue reign, | |
| And bless our native isle. | 20 |
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| Lord of the nations, thus to Thee | |
| Our country we commend; | |
| Be Thou her Refuge and her Trust | |
| Her everlasting Friend! | | | | |
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