May 29, 2005

Have faith in God –
The Great I AM to know;
Have faith in God –
O traveler here below;
Have faith in God –
For every step you go.
Have faith, dear friend, in God.

America the Beautiful

Katharine Lee Bates, 1859-1929

    Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain;
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea.

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self control,
Thy liberty in law.

Have Faith in God by H.M.S. Richards, Used by Permission