Non Nobis Domine!

by Rudyard Kipling

    Non nobis Domine!,
    Not unto us, O Lord!
    The Praise or Glory be
    Of any deed or word;
    For in Thy Judgment lies
    To crown or bring to nought
    All knowledge or device
    That Man has reached or wrought.

    And we confess our blame,
    How all too high we hold
    That noise which men call Fame,
    That dross which men call Gold.
    For these we undergo
    Our hot and godless days,
    But in our hearts we know
    Not unto us the Praise.

    O Power by Whom we live,
    Creator, Judge, and Friend,
    Upholdingly forgive
    Nor fail us at the end:
    But grant us well to see
    In all our piteous ways,
    Non nobis Domine!,
    Not unto us the Praise!