The Hymnal 1982 ‎#583

583. O holy city, seen of John

1 O holy city, seen of John,
where Christ, the Lamb, doth reign,
within whose foursquare walls shall come
no night, nor need, nor pain,
and where the tears are wiped from eyes
that shall not weep again!

2 O shame to us who rest content
while lust and greed for gain
in street and shop and tenement
wring gold from human pain,
and bitter lips in blind despair
cry, "Christ hath died in vain!"

3 Give us, O God, the strength to build
the city that hath stood
too long a dream, whose laws are love,
whose crown is servanthood,
and where the sun that shineth is
God's grace for human good.

4 Already in the mind of God
that city riseth fair:
lo, how its splendor challenges
the souls that greatly dare—
yea, bids us seize the whole of life
and build its glory there.

Text Information

• First Line: O holy city, seen of John
• Author: Walter Russell Bowie, 1882-1969 (alt.)
• Meter: 86. 86. 86
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1985
• Copyright: From HYMNS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, edited by Milton S. Littlefield. Copyright 1910 by Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. Courtesy of the publishers.
• Notes: Now Public Domain

Tune Information

• Name: MORNING SONG
• Composer (melody, attr.): Elkanah Kelsay Dare, 1782-1826
• Harmonizer: Thomas Foster, b. 1938
• Meter: 86. 86. 86
• Key: f minor