DOCTRINES >> ETERNAL LIFE
SDAH 424
For thee, O dear country,
Mine eyes their vigils keep;
For very love beholding
Thy holy name, they weep.
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Hymn Spotlight: For Thee, O Dear, Dear Country
Drawn from Bernard of Cluny’s 12th-century poem about the heavenly city, John Mason Neale’s translation expresses a deep, homesick longing for the eternal home Christ has prepared for His people. The hymn stirs hope for the day when sorrow and struggle will end, and God’s faithful will gather in His presence. Set to T. Tertius Noble’s noble tune ELY CATHEDRAL, it invites believers to fix their eyes on the joy of the New Jerusalem and persevere until that glorious day.
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Introductions for Sabbath School Song Service (based on specific lesson quarterlies):
John Mason Neale (1818-1866; see Biographies) freely translated (for the first time into English) the first 96 lines of Bernard of Cluny’s long poem (see SDAH 429) given in Archbishop Trench’s Sacred Latin Poetry, 1849. Later he published Mediaevil Hymns and Sequences, 1851, and The Rhythm of Bernard de Morlaix, Monk of Cluny, on the Celestial Country, 1858. From this long poem have come the fairly well-known hymns “Brief Life Is Here Our Portion,” “The World Is Very Evil,” and the most popular of all, “Jerusalem the Golden,” SDAH 429.
ELY CATHEDRAL was composed by T. Tertius Noble (1867-1953; see SDAH 357) for the Ely festival in 1895 for this same text. It was first published in octavo form.
📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.
Stanza:
3 – Revelation 21:19-21
Ephesians 2:20
4 – Galatians 6:14
5 – Hebrews 11:16
Text
1
For thee, O 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.
2
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 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 fabrics, 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.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(c) Rev 21:19-21; Eph 2:20 (d) Gal 6:14 (e) Heb 11:16
Author
Bernard of Cluny
Translator
John Mason Neale, 1858
Year Published
c. 1145
Copyright
Copyright 1910 by G. Schirmer, Inc. Used by permission of the publisher.
Hymn Tune
ELY CATHEDRAL
Metrical Number
7.6.7.6.D.
Composer
T. Tertius Noble (1867-1953)
Year Composed
1895
