Rabbi Chaim David Chazan was the Rishon Letzion (Sephardic chief rabbi of Jerusalem under the Ottoman empire). He writes in his letter of approbation to the sefer Derishas Tzion, by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer::

Not by might and not by power, G-d forbid, to rebel against the nations of the world, the benevolent kings who surround us; or, G-d forbid, to go up against the walls, to fight with the rulers; but rather to fulfill our desire and perfect our hearts, to fulfill the will of G-d, by arousing from below, by doing what we have the power to do, with G-d’s help and the help of benevolent kings and their complete willingness.