The ten­der light of home be­hind,
Dark hea­then gloom be­fore,
The ser­vants of the Lord go forth
To ma­ny a for­eign shore:
But the true light that can­not pale
Streams on them from above,
A light di­vine, that shall not fail—
The smile of Him they love.

The shel­ter­ing nest of home behind,
The bat­tle­field before,
They gird their heav’n­ly ar­mor on,
And seek the for­eign shore:
But Christ their cap­tain, with them goes,
He leads them in the way;
With Him they face the migh­ti­est foes,
With Him they win the day.

The peace­ful joys of home be­hind,
Danger and death be­fore,
Right cheer­ful­ly they set their face
To seek the for­eign shore:
For Christ has called, and His dear Word
Brings bliss, whate’er be­tide;
’Tis not alone—’tis with their Lord
They seek the oth­er side.

A wealth of love and pray­er be­hind,
Far-reach­ing hope be­fore,
The ser­vants of the Lord go forth
To seek a for­eign shore:
And where­so­e’er their foot­steps move
That hope makes sweet the air;
And all the path is paved with love,
And ca­no­pied with pray­er.

Christ in the fond­ly-loved be­hind,
Christ in the bright be­fore,
Oh! blest are they who start with Him
To seek the for­eign shore!
Christ is their fair, un­fad­ing light,
Christ is their shield and sword,
Christ is their keep­er, day and night,
And Christ their rich re­ward.