God, give us men! A time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking;
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large professions and their little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps.
To my surprise, I found that it was written by Josiah Gilbert Holland who lived from 1819 to 1881. I could not find the date he penned the poem, It may well have been during the Presidency of Ulysses Grant (1869-1877), a time rife with scandals involving cabinet members.
It is a reminder that human nature has not changed, and that we always stand in need of God’s blessings and care. But even more important than the leaders we have, is the question of whether or not we are the men and women that God desires—men and women of honor, who will not lie, and whose deeds match their profession of faith!