O Holy City, Seen of John

Verse 1

O Holy City, seen of John, Where Christ, the Lamb, does reign, Within those four-square walls shall come No night, nor need, nor pain, And where the tears are wiped from eyes That shall not weep again.

Verse 2

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 has died in vain."

Verse 3

Give us, O God, the strength to build The City that has stood Too long a dream, whose laws are love, Whose ways, the common good, And where the shining sun becomes God’s grace for human good.

Verse 4

Already in the mind of God That City rises fair: Lo, how its splendor challenges The souls that greatly dare: Yea, bids us seize the whole of life And build its glory there.