Scripture Verse

Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with Me. Psalm 101:6

Introduction

Words: Ad­di­son B. Bow­ser, Her­alds of Grace (Dan­ville, Penn­syl­van­ia: A. B. Bow­ser, 1898), num­ber 74.

This song bor­rows its name from Land o’ the Leal, an 18th Cen­tury Scot­tish ball­ad by La­dy Ca­ro­li­na Nairne  (some­times mis­tak­en­ly at­trib­ut­ed to Ro­bert Burns). Nairne’s piece calls Heav­en the land of the faith­ful or loy­al, and de­scribes a dy­ing per­son’s fare­well and hope of re­unit­ing with loved ones in pa­ra­dise. There is al­so a 1987 nov­el with this ti­tle, by James Barke.

Music: Leal W. Au­gus­tus Cur­ry, 1898 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know Cur­ry’s full name, or where to get a good pho­to of him (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
Addison Bowser
(1858–1936)

Lyrics

Tho’ the storms sweep o’er life’s ocean,
Angry waves their wrecks con­ceal,
I my soul have safe­ly an­chored,
In the Land of the Leal.

Refrain

Jesus, Thou hast been my re­fuge,
Peace in Thee my heart can feel;
Thou hast saved me, ful­ly saved me,
In the Land of the Leal.

There’s no joy in earth­ly trea­sure,
Empty ev­ery hu­man weal,
But my hopes are still ab­id­ing
In the Land of the Leal.

Refrain

Oft I ask in anx­ious long­ing,
What the fu­ture may re­veal,
Still I know that God can keep me
In the Land of the Leal.

Refrain