The Cyber Hymnal ‎#440

440. Behold! The Mountain of the Lord

1. Behold! the mountain of the Lord
In latter days shall rise
On mountain tops above the hills,
And draw the wondering eyes.

2. To this the joyful nations round,
All tribes and tongues, shall flow;
Up to the hill of God, they’ll say,
And to His house we’ll go.

3. The beam that shines from Zion hill
Shall lighten every land;
The King who reigns in Salem’s towers
Shall all the world command.

4. Among the nations He shall judge;
His judgments truth shall guide;
His scepter shall protect the just,
And quell the sinner’s pride.

5. No strife shall vex Messiah’s reign
Or mar the peaceful years;
To plowshares soon they beat their swords
To pruning hooks their spears.

6. No longer hosts encountering hosts,
Their millions slain deplore;
They hang the trumpets in the hall
And study war no more.

7. Come then, O house of Jacob, come
To worship at His shrine;
And, walking in the light of God,
With holy beauties shine.

8. An anonymous, similar version appeared in 1745:

9. In latter days, the Mount of God,
His sacred house shall rise
Above the mountains and the hills,
And strike the wondering eyes.

10. To this the joyful nations round,
All Tribes and Tongues shall flow;
Up to the house of God they’ll say,
To Jacob’s God, we’ll go.

11. To us He’ll point the ways of truth:
The sacred Path we’ll tread
From Salem and from Zion-Hill
His law shall then proceed.

12. Among the nations and the isles,
As Judge supreme, He’ll sit:
And, vested with unbounded power
Will punish or acquit.

13. No strife shall rage, nor angry feuds,
Disturb these peaceful years;
To plowshares then they’ll beat their swords,
To pruning hooks their spears.

14. Then nation shan’t ’gainst nation rise,
And slaughtered house deplore:
They’ll lay the useless trumpet by,
And study war no more.

15. O come ye, then, of Jacob’s house,
Our hearts now let us join:
And, walking in the light of God,
With holy beauties shine.

16. Finally, here is a version by Jeremy Belknap, which appeared in Sacred Poetry Consisting of Psalms and Hymns Adapted to Christian Devotion, in Publick and Private. Selected from the Best Authors, with Variations and Additions (Boston, Massachusetts: 1795).

17. O’er mountain tops, the mount of God
In latter days, shall rise
Above the summits of the hills,
And draw the wondering eyes.

18. To this the joyful nations round,
All tribes and tongues shall flow;
Up to the mount of God, they say,
And to His house we’ll go.

19. The beams that shine from Zion’s hill
Shall lighten ev’ry land;
The King, who reigns in Salem’s towers
Shall the whole world command.

20. Among the nations He shall judge,
His judgments truth shall guide;
His scepter shall protect the just,
And crush the sinner’s pride.
No war shall rage, nor hostile strife
Disturb those happy years;
To plough shares men shall beat their swords,
To pruning hooks their spears.
No longer hosts, encountering hosts,
Shall crowds of slain deplore;
They’ll lay the martial trumpet by,
And study war no more.

Text Information

• First Line: Behold! the mountain of the Lord
• Title: Behold! The Mountain of the Lord
• Author: Michael Bruce, 1746-1767 (ca. 1766)
• Adapter: John Logan
• Meter: CM
• Language: English
• Source: Translations and Paraphrases in Verse of Several Passages of Sacred Scriptures and Prepared by a Committee of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Order to Be Sung in Churches (Edinburgh, Scotland: J. Dickson, 1781)
• Copyright: Public Domain

Tune Information

• Name: GLASGOW
• Meter: CM
• Incipit: 51232 13565 43324
• Key: G Major
• Source: Moore's Psalm Singer's Pocket Companion, 1756
• Copyright: Public Domain