With thankful hearts thy glory,
O King of Saints, we sing,
Shown in the saintly story
Of Charles, the Martyr-King,
Who chose to die, obeying
The voice of conscience clear,
Not live on earth, betraying
All that he counted dear.
For long his foes assailed him
Till friends were overthrown,
And this world's weapons failed him,
And he was left alone.
No whit his foes relented,
Successful in the strife,
But to their king presented
The choice of death or life.
Shall, then, his memory perish?
His name we venerate,
The Faith he loved we cherish,
His spirit emulate,
That so by Christ-like living
With charity resigned,
Each other's faults forgiving,
We may enrich mankind.
For all lives lived sincerely
In Christ may God be blest,
To mortals thus most clearly
In mortals manifest--
The Father, who forgiveth
Man's failures in the strife,
The Son, in whom he liveth,
The Spirit, Source of Life! Amen.
Regicide: 30 January 1649
|
O holy King, whose severed head