The Hymnbook ‎#508

508. O Holy City, Seen of John

1 O Holy City, seen of John,
Where Christ, the Lamb, doth reign,
Within whose four-square 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 ways are brotherhood,
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.

Amen.

Text Information

• First Line: O Holy City, seen of John
• Title: O Holy City, Seen of John
• Author: Walter Russell Bowie (1909)
• Meter: 8. 6. 8. 6. 8. 6.
• Publication Date: 1955
• Scripture:
  Revelation 21:2-4
  ;
  Revelation 22:5
• Topic: City, The; Kingdom of God on Earth, The: City, The
• Copyright: Words from Hymns of the Kingdom of God, Coffin and Vernon, copyright, 1910. Used by permission of harper & Brothers, publishers.

Tune Information

• Name: MORNING SONG
• Harmonizer: Charles Winfred Douglas (1940)
• Meter: 8. 6. 8. 6. 8. 6.
• Key: f minor
• Source: Melody in Kentucky Harmony, 1816
• Copyright: Music used by permission of The Church Pension Fund.