1
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.
2
O one, O only mansion!
O paradise of joy!
Where tears are ever banished
And smiles have no alloy;
The loveliness oppresses
All human thought and heart,
And none, O Peace, O Sion,
Can sing thee as thou art.
3
With jasper glow thy bulwarks,
Thy streets with emeralds blaze;
The sardius and the topaz
Unite in thee their rays;
Thine ageless walls are bonded
With amethyst unpriced;
The saints shall build thy fabric,
And the cornerstone is Christ.
4
The cross is all thy splendor,
The Crucified thy praise;
His laud and benediction
Thy ransom’d saints shall raise;
Upon the Rock of Ages
They build thy holy tower;
Thine is the victor’s laurel,
And thine the golden dower.
5
O sweet and blessed country,
The home of God’s elect!
O sweet and blessed 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.
