Thou, the vicegerent of the Lord, His high anointed image, Towards whom a good man's loyalty floweth from the heart of his religion, Thou, whose deep responsibilities are fathomed by a nation's prayers, Whom wise men fear for while they love, and envy thee nothing but thy virtues, From thy dizzy pinnacle of greatness, remember thou also art a subject, And the throne of thine earthly glory is itself but the footstool of thy God. The homage thy kingdoms yield thee, regard thou as yielded unto Him; And while girt with all the majesty of state, consider thee the Lord's chief servant: So shalt thou prosper, and be strong, grafted on the strength of Another; So shall thy royal heart be happy, in being humble. And thou shalt flourish as an oak, the monarch of thine island forests, Whose deep-dug roots are twisted around the stout ribs of the globe, That mocketh at the fury of the storm, and rejoiceth in summer sunshine, Glad in the smiles of heaven, and great in the stability of earth. A ruler hath not power for himself, neither is his pomp for his pride; But beneath the ermine of his office should he wear the rough hair-cloth of humility. Nevertheless, every way obey him, so thou break not a higher commandment; For Nero was an evil king, yet Paul prescribeth subjection. If the rulers of a nation be holy, the Lord hath blessed that nation; If they be lewd and impious, chastisement hath come upon that people: For the bitterest scourge of a land is ungodliness in them that govern it, And the guilt of the sons of Josiah drove Israel weeping into Babylon. Yet be thou resolute against them, if they change the mandates of thy God, If they touch the ark of His covenant, wherein all His mercies are enshrined: Be resolute, but not rebellious; lest thou be of the company of Korah: Set thy face against them as a flint: but be not numbered with Abiram. Daniel nobly disobeyed; but not from a spirit of sedition: And Azarias shouted from the furnace,--I will not bow down, O KING. If truth must be sacrificed to unity, then faithfulness were folly; If man must be obeyed before God, the martyrs have bled in vain: Yet none of that blessed army reviled the rulers of the land, They were loud and bold against the sin, but bent before the ensign of authority. Honesty, scorning compromise, walketh most suitably with Reverence; Otherwise righteous daring may show but as obstinate rebellion: Therefore, suffer not thy censure to lack the savour of courtesy, And remember, the mortal sinneth, but the staff of his power is from God.