Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.
By Hymns. IV. The New JerusalemWilliam Walsham How (1823–1897)
T
Bright with each dazzling gem!
When shall our eyes behold
The new Jerusalem?
Yet lo! e’en now in viewless might
Uprise the walls of living light!
It cometh not with show:
Nor throne, nor crown, nor sword,
Proclaim its might below.
Though dimly scanned through mists of sin,
The Lord’s true kingdom is within!
In penitential tears:
Bright as a jewel rare
Each saintly grace appears:
We track the path saints trod of old,
And lo! the pavement is of gold!
That fainting souls may drink;
The mystic fruit-trees grow
Along the river’s brink:
We taste e’en now the water sweet,
And of the Tree of Life we eat.
Our exile songs we sing;
Thou art our home most dear,
Thou city of our King!
Thy future bliss we cannot tell,
Content in Thee on earth we dwell.
Throw wide the unseen gates!
Fill all the golden halls,
While yet Thy triumph waits!
Make glad Thy Church with light and love,
Till glorified it shines above!