O Holy City, Seen of John

Verse 1

O holy city,
seen of John,
where Christ,
the Lamb, doth reign,

within whose foursquare
walls shall come
no night, nor need, nor pain,
and where the tears
are wiped from eyes
that shall not weep again.

Verse 2

Hark, how from men
whose lives are held
more cheap
than merchandise,

from women struggling
sore for bread,
from little children’s cries,
there swells the sobbing
human plaint
that bids thy walls arise.

Verse 3

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!”

Verse 4

Give us, O God,
the strength to build
the city that hath stood

too long a dream,
whose laws are love,
whose crown is servanthood,
and where the sun
that shineth is
God’s grace for human good.

Verse 5

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.