For Thee, O Dear, Dear Country

For thee

O dear

dear coun­try

Mine eyes their vi­gils keep;

For ve­ry love

be­hold­ing

Thy hap­py name

they weep.

The men­tion of thy glo­ry

Is unc­tion to the breast

And me­di­cine in sick­ness

And love and life and rest.

O one

O on­ly man­sion

O para­dise of joy

Where tears are ev­er ban­ished

And smiles have no al­loy!

The Lamb is all thy splen­dor

The Cru­ci­fied thy praise;

His laud and bene­dic­tion

Thy ran­somed people raise.

With jas­per glow thy bul­warks

Thy streets with em­er­alds blaze;

The sardis and the to­paz

Unite in thee their rays;

Thine age­less walls are bond­ed

With ame­thyst un­priced;

The saints build up thy fab­ric

The cor­ner­stone is Christ.

Thou hast no shore

fair ocean;

Thou hast no time

bright day

Dear fount­ain of re­fresh­ment

To pil­grims far away!

Upon the Rock of Ag­es

They raise thy ho­ly tow­er;

Thine is the vic­tor’s laur­el

And thine the gold­en dow­er.

And now we fight the bat­tle

But then shall wear the crown

Of full and ev­er­last­ing

And pas­sion­less re­nown:

But He whom now we trust in

Shall then be seen and known;

And they that know and see Him

Shall have Him for their own.

The morn­ing shall awak­en

The shad­ows shall de­cay

And each true-heart­ed serv­ant

Shall shine as doth the day:

There God

our king and por­tion

In full­ness of His grace

Shall we be­hold for­ev­er

And wor­ship face to face.

O sweet and bless­èd coun­try

The home of God’s elect!

O sweet and bless­èd coun­try

That ea­ger hearts ex­pect!

Jesus

in me­rcy bring us

To that dear land of rest;

Who art

with God the Fa­ther

And Spir­it

ev­er blest.