Norse Ballad Help!!?

Question

Norse ballad written by Henry Longfellow on the god Thor:

I AM the God Thor,

I am the War God,

I am the Thunderer!

Here in my Northland,

My fastness and fortress,

Reign I forever!

Here amid icebergs,

Rule I the nations;

This is my hammer,

Miölner the mighty;

Giants and sorcerers,

Cannot withstand it!

These are the gauntlets,

Wherewith I wield it,

And hurl it afar off;

This is my girdle;

Whenever I brace it,

Strength is redoubled!

The light thou beholdest,

Stream through the heavens,

In flashes of crimson,

Is but my red beard,

Blown by the night-wind,

Affrighting the nations!

Jove is my brother;

Mine eyes are the lightning;

The wheels of my chariot

Roll in the thunder,

The blows of my hammer

Ring in the earthquake!

Force rules the world still,

Has ruled it,

shall rule it;

Meekness is weakness,

Strength is triumphant,

Over the whole earth,

Still is it Thor's-Day!

Thou art a God too,

O Galilean!

And thus singled-handed

Unto the combat,

Gauntlet or Gospel,

Here I defy thee!

Answer 1

The Galilean is Jesus, who preached that the meek should inherit the earth.  Thor challenges Jesus to a test, "Gauntlet or Gospel."  Of course, by Longfellow's time, Christianity was the state religion of the most powerful countries, while Thor, no longer worshipped, had become a myth.

Tennyson is telling the reader not to worship force.