Lord, while for all mankind we pray

Lord, while for all mankind we pray. John Reynell Wreford* (1800-1881). First published in A Collection of Hymns for Public and Private Worship (1837), edited by John Relly Beard*. Its expression of a love of one’s country, without a trace of nationalistic pride or imperial ambition, was well suited to the year in which Queen Victoria ascended the throne (in that year Wreford also published Lays of Loyalty, a small collection of loyal poems praising Victoria and even lauding her predecessor, William IV). It became an extremely popular hymn, and was found in many 19th- and 20th-century books on both sides of the Atlantic. It had six stanzas: Lord, while for all mankind we pray  Of every...