AN AUSTRALIAN HYMN.
God of earth’s nations, Thee we sing—
Loud may Australia’s Anthem ring;
Look down in mercy from Thy throne
And with great empires make her one.
Lord, not supreme alone in health,
Or might, is she a Commonwealth,
But by the grace which Thou hast given
To spread her seed beneath the Heaven.
Grant that her sons, her citadel,
May ever hold impregnable;
Swift to defend and slow to hate—
The enemy within her gate.
Fair waves her pennon on the breeze,
Long may she reign in southern seas;
Oh, may Thy power and glory wait
Upon her mighty ship of state.
Oh, may her empire builders be
Faithful to base her dynasty
On Truth, with Liberty for shield,
And Battle-axe of Justice wield.
Yea, Thine the glory, Lord, may she
Fulfil her glorious destiny;
And Austral’s Anthem ever pour
Thy praise till time shall be no more.
GOD’S GIFT.
The pure pale blossoms of God’s gift, the flowers,
Breathe immortality.
They tell us of sweet, heavenly, dreamless hours
All through eternity.
They tell us of dear Mother Earth who press’d
So soft and deep
Their tiny seeds within her tender breast
As children sleep.
They tell us, these white souls of flowers, sent
To beautify
Our minds, of human souls, an emblem meant,
Which never die.
And when our bodies, like dear flowers, must
At length decay,
The seeds we sow will bloom, when we from dust
Have passed away.
Then let our lives be pure as these pale blooms
With fragrance blent,
That deeds, like flowers, shall be upon our tombs
A monument.