Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Matthew 28:19–20
Words: Richard W. Adams, July 26, 2010 (public domain).
Music: Beacon Hill Harry S. Mason, 1924 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Mason (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
This hymn was inspired by a painting I saw while visiting the Elkhorn Hills United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska.
In the narthex was Kenneth Wyatt’s image of John Wesley blessing Thomas Coke, Richard Whatcoat, and Thomas Vasey as they were sailing for America.
Wesley’s instructions to Coke:
Offer them Christ.
Go evangelize the nations,
Offer Christ, the Crucified;
Show the cross on bleak Golgotha,
Where He suffered, bled and died.
Tell of the vinegar, gall, and the spear,
Tell how the sun hid, earth shook with fear;
How He endured the
Cruel mocking and shame,
That sinners might claim
Salvation in His name.
Go and tell the good news, Christian,
To each brother, sister, child,
Of a gracious God who loves them,
Of a Savior meek and mild;
Death is destroyed, and our paradise won,
For those who love and trust in the Son;
Though guards were set, and
The stony grave sealed,
Now Heav’n is unlocked,
Our home with God revealed.
Do not hesitate, but go now,
Far and wide proclaim the sound,
In the city, market, household,
To wherever man is found;
Warn of a judgment close looming beyond,
Tomorrow may be too late for some;
Come to Him now, while
His pardon is free,
Take hold of His promise,
Claim His liberty.