They Have Gone to the Land

They have gone to the land

Where the pa­tri­archs rest

Where the bones of the pro­phets are laid

Where the chos­en of Is­ra­el

The pro­mise pos­sessed

And Je­ho­vah His man­date dis­played.

To the land where the Sav­ior

Of sin­ners once trod

Where He la­bored and lang­uished and died;

Where He tri­umphed o’er death

And as­cend­ed to God

As He cap­tive cap­tiv­ity led.

They have gone to the land

Where the Gos­pel’s glad sound

Sweetly tuned by the an­gels above

Was re-echoed on earth

Thro’ the re­gions around

In the ac­cents of heav­en­ly love.

Where the Spir­it des­cend­ed

In to­kens of flame

The rich gifts of His grace to re­veal;

Where apos­tles wrought signs

In Im­ma­nu­el’s name

For the truth of their mis­sion to seal.

They have gone—the glad her­alds

Of mercy—have gone

To the land where the mar­tyrs once bled;

Where the beasts and false pro­phet

Have since trod­den down

The fair fab­ric that Zion had reared.

Where the church­es once planted

And wa­tered

and blessed

With the dews of the Spir­it dis­tilled

Have been smit­ten

des­poiled!

And by hea­then pos­sessed

And the places that knew them de­filed.

They have gone

O Thou Shep­herd

Of Is­ra­el! have gone

The glad mis­sion in love to re­store;

Thou wilt nev­er for­sake

Them or leave them alone

Thy rich bless­ings we hum­bly im­plore.

Let Thy bless­ing go with them—

O be Thou their shield

From the shafts of the fowl­er that fly;

O Thou Sav­ior of sinn­ers!

Thine arm be re­vealed

In Thy mer­cy and might from on high.