Led by no star — Pax Romana
The following is one of my favorite hymns, and was written during the time of the first World War:
Father eternal, Ruler of creation,
Spirit of life, which moved ere form was made,
through the thick darkness covering every nation,
light to our blindness, O be thou our aid:
thy kingdom come, O Lord, thy will be done.Races and peoples, lo, we stand divided,
and, sharing not our griefs, no joy can share;
by wars and tumults love is mocked, derided;
his saving cross no nation yet will bear:
thy kingdom come, O Lord, thy will be done.Envious of heart, blind-eyed with tongues confounded,
nation by nation still goes unforgiven,
in wrath and fear, by jealousies surrounded,
building strong towers which shall not reach to heaven:
thy kingdom come, O Lord, thy will be done.Lust of possession worketh desolations;
there is no meekness in the powers of earth;
led by no star, the rulers of the nations
still fail to bring us to the blissful birth:
thy kingdom come, O Lord, thy will be done.How shall we love thee, holy hidden Being,
if we love not the world which thou hast made?
Bind us in thine own love for better seeing
thy Word made flesh, and in a manger laid:
thy kingdom come, O Lord, thy will be done.– Hymn 573 (1982 Hymnal),
Words: Laurence Houseman
Tune: Langham