I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above. Cecil Spring Rice* (1859-1918). This hymn is an expression of Christian patriotism. It is sometimes given the title ‘The two fatherlands’, as the first stanza concerns duty to one’s country and the second concerns duty to the heavenly kingdom. The original version (now the second stanza) was written in 1912, while the author was on diplomatic service in Sweden, with the title 'Urbs Dei'. On 12 January 1918, after three and a half years of war, he sent what is now the first stanza to William Jennings Bryan, formerly US Secretary of State and a firm believer in peaceful arbitration of international disputes. It is this version that was...