Scripture Verse

…the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. Jeremiah 3:18

Introduction

Words: James Flint, 1840. Re­mem­brance of our fa­thers. Flint wrote these words for the bi­cen­ten­ary of Quin­cy, Mas­sa­chu­setts. They ap­peared in A Col­lect­ion of Hymns, for the Chris­tian Church and Home (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: James Mun­roe, 1843).

Music: Ware­ham Will­iam Knapp, 1738 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

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

portrait
William Knapp (1698–1768)

Lyrics

In plea­sant lands have fall­en the lines
That bound our good­ly he­rit­age,
And safe be­neath our shel­ter­ing vines
Our youth is blest, and soothed our age.

What thanks, O God, to Thee are due,
That Thou didst plant our fa­thers here,
And watch and guard them as they grew,
A vine­yard to the plant­er dear!

The toils they bore our ease have wrought;
They sowed in tears, in joy we reap;
The birth­right they so dear­ly bought
We’ll guard, till we with them shall sleep.

Thy kind­ness to our fa­thers shown,
In weal and woe, through all the past,
Their grate­ful sons, O God, shall own,
While here their name and race shall last.