The Cyber Hymnal ‎#12267

12267. Old And New

1 O, sometimes gleams upon our sight,
Through present wrong, the Eternal Right!
And step by step, since time began,
We see the steady gain of man.

2 That all of good the past hath had
Remains to make our own time glad,
Our common daily life divine,
And every land a Palestine.

3 We lack but open eye and ear
To find the Orient’s marvels here,
The still small voice in autumn’s hush,
Yon maple wood the burning bush.

4 For still the new transcends the old,
In signs and tokens manifold;
Slaves rise up men; the olive waves
With roots deep set in battle graves.

5 Through the harsh noises of our day
A low, sweet prelude finds its way;
Through clouds of doubt and creeds of fear
A light is breaking, calm and clear.

6 Henceforth my heart shall sigh no more
For olden time and holier shore;
God’s love and blessing, then and there,
Are now, and here, and everywhere.

Text Information

• First Line: O, sometimes gleams upon our sight
• Title: Old And New
• Author: John G. Whittier (1852)
• Meter: LM
• Language: English
• Source: Cento from poem "Chapel of the Hermits"; Hymns of the Spirit by Samuel Longfellow and Samuel Johnson (Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1864)
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Alternate tunes: MISSIONARY CHANT by Heinrich C. Zeuner, PROGRESS by Herbert Sanders, RIVAUL by John B. Dykes, WOODWORTH by William B. Bradbury

Tune Information

• Name: HAMBURG
• Composer: Lowell Mason (1824)
• Meter: LM
• Key: F Major or modal
• Copyright: Public Domain