Scripture Verse

Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 8:11

Introduction

portrait
George Matheson (1842–1906)

Words: George Ma­the­son, Sac­red Songs 1890.

Music: Pe­ni­ten­tia Ed­ward Dearle, 1874 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Dearle (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Gather us in, Thou Love that fill­est all;
Gather our ri­val faiths with­in Thy fold;
Rend each man’s tem­ple veil, and bid it fall,
That we may know that Thou hast been of old.

Gather us in—we wor­ship on­ly Thee;
In var­ied names we stretch a com­mon hand;
In di­verse forms a com­mon soul we see;
In ma­ny ships we seek one spir­it land.

Each sees one col­or of Thy rain­bow light,
Each looks up­on one tint and calls it hea­ven;
Thou art the full­ness of our par­tial sight;
We are not per­fect till we find the sev­en.

Thine is the mys­tic life great In­dia craves;
Thine is the Par­see’s sin-de­stroy­ing beam;
Thine is the Bud­dhist’s rest from toss­ing waves;
Thine is the em­pire of vast Chi­na’s dream.

Thine is the Ro­man’s strength with­out his pride;
Thine is the Greek’s glad world with­out its graves;
Thine is Ju­dea’s law with love be­side,
The truth that cen­sures and the grace that saves.

Some seek a Fa­ther in the heav’ns above;
Some ask a hu­man ima­ge to adore;
Some crave a spir­it vast as life and love;
Within Thy man­sions we have all and more.