Battle Hymn of the Republic

 ...then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.  For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.  The last enemy that will be abolished is death.  For He has put all things in subjection under His feet.  But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.   1 Corinthians 15:24-27

Battle Hymn of the Republic
Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910)

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword--

His truth is marching on.

Glory! glory, hallelujah!

Glory! glory, hallelujah!

Glory! glory, hallelujah!

His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps,

they have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;

I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps--

His day is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never sound retreat,

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgement seat;

O be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!

Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,

with a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;

as He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free,

while God is marching on.

.....

Julia Ward Howe wrote these lyrics in the heart of the American Civil War.  She sent the words to the Atlantic Monthly magazine and received an honorarium of five dollars.  But the money wasn't her concern.  Her purpose was to provide some wholesome lyrics for the tune of "John Brown's Body Lies A-Moldering in the Grave."  She accomplished that and more.  When President Abraham Lincoln first heard the hymn, he asked to have it sung again.

The text is filled with biblical allusions.  The expression "grapes of wrath" refers to Revelation 14:19; the sounding trumpet is probably from Revelation 8.  For the Christian, the message of this song is that God's truth is eternal.  Although circumstances may appear overwhelmingly difficult, God will still accomplish His purposes, and His truth will endure.

It can be dangerous to identify political causes of even national patriotism with God's truth.  Nations my rise and fall, but God's truth remains forever.  "His truth is marching on."

.....

Julia Ward Howe | Hymnary.org

"Battle Hymn of the Republic" w/ the Mormon Tabernacle Choir LIVE from West Point | West Point Band - YouTube