I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.
Psalm 2:8
Words: Alexander J. Baird, in Children’s Hosannas (Nashville, Tennessee: Board of Publication, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1880).
Music: Castalian Springs Marcus B. DeWitt, 1880 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of DeWitt (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
This wide, wide world for Jesus,
With all its sins and woes,
Its anguish and diseases,
Its sorrows and its throes;
Though cursed and torn and blighted,
And sunken down in gloom,
God makes it, though benighted,
The kingdom of His Son.
Christ is our king and ruler,
Our hearts shall be His throne;
The Gospel’s great revealer
Shall make us all His own;
We’ll sing His great salvation,
His triumph o’er His foes,
Till desert, land, and nation
Shall blossom as the rose.