For Thee, O Dear, Dear Country

For thee, O dear, dear country,

Mine eyes their vigils keep;

For very love beholding

Thy holy 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 banish’d

And smiles have no alloy;

Thy loveliness oppresses

All human thought and heart,

And none, O Peace, O Sion,

Can sing thavas thou art.

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.

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.

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.