Scripture Verse

The people that walked in darkness…they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death. Isaiah 9:2

Introduction

Words: Tho­mas Cot­ter­ill, Se­lect­ion of Psalms and Hymns, 8th edi­tion, 1819. John Ju­li­an stat­ed this hymn seems to be based on O’er Those Gloomy Hills of Dark­ness, by Will­iam Will­iams.

Music: Put­ney Lo­well Ma­son, Car­mi­na Sac­ra (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: John H. Wil­kins & Ri­chard B. Car­ter, 1844) (🔊 pdf nwc).

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

portrait
Lowell Mason (1792–1872)

Lyrics

O’er the realms of pa­gan dark­ness,
Let the eye of pi­ty gaze;
See the kin­dreds of the peo­ple
Lost in sin’s be­wil­der­ing maze;
Darkness brood­ing
On the face of all the earth.

Thou to whom all pow­er is given,
Speak the word; at Thy com­mand
Let the com­pa­ny of preach­ers
Spread Thy name from land to land!
Lord, be with them
Alway to the end of time.