“I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no questions, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best.
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.”
The first verse speaks of the price paid by soldiers, sailors, and explorers who gave their all to build the British Empire for King and Country. It conveys great pathos though, in that the Empire required of the individual a commitment that is righty due to God alone.
The second verse makes a rather vague mention of “another country”, a heavenly one whose qualities are listed, but in a secondary way compared to those on the ever-expanding front of empire development.
I love this hymn, the first verse especially; but the commitment it requires and the sacrifices it demands are to my mind due God alone. “I vow to thee my Saviour” would be a better beginning if applied to individual commitment to Jesus, whose example leads those who follow him to give their all in establishing his heavenly kingdom on earth — “as it is in heaven”.
The British Empire is now but a memory, but its values are worth our best efforts because they are based on the Holy Bible. The United Kingdom desperately needs to be renewed through a national awakening, and those who are subjects of the Kingdom can best bring this about by bowing their knees to King Jesus and pledging their fealty to him first and all earthly leaders second.
There is, indeed, “another country”, but it is not a mystical or romantic one somewhere above the clouds but one that is even now descending from heaven to earth. It is New Jerusalem, in which holiness and purity rule, and those who dwell within its walls are the redeemed gathered over the ages from all the nations of this weary world.
“I vow to thee King Jesus” will soon be the hymnal pledge of those who in this life have shown their fealty to the one who redeemed them with his shed blood. This great multitude have been trained to rule under their Lord and so will be ready to rule during his righteous reign over the nations.
“Come quickly, Lord Jesus!”