Scripture Verse

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth. Revelation 21:27

Introduction

Words: Amy Deck Wal­ton (verse 1) & Ma­ry A. S. Deck (vers­es 3–4), in the Church Hym­na­ry, 1898. Ev­ery year, on New Year’s Sun­day, Ma­ry Deck’s hus­band held a child­ren’s ser­vice in his church, St. Ste­phen’s, Hull. Each child was gi­ven a mot­to-card with a print­ed text and a hymn spe­cial­ly writ­ten for the oc­ca­sion. This was one of those hymns. Amy wrote her sto­ry Chris­tie’s Old Or­gan to il­lus­trate the hymn’s words.

Music: Ci­ty Bright James S. Ty­ler, in Songs of Love and Mer­cy, by the Child­ren’s Spe­cial Ser­vice Mis­sion, 1876 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Deck or Ty­ler (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

There is a ci­ty bright;
Closed are its gates to sin;
Naught that de­fil­eth,
Naught that de­fil­eth,
Can ev­er en­ter in.

Savior, I come to Thee;
O Lamb of God, I pray,
Cleanse me and save me,
Cleanse me and save me,
Wash all my sins away.

Lord, make me, from this hour,
Thy lov­ing child to be,
Kept by Thy pow­er,
Kept by Thy pow­er,
From all that griev­eth Thee.

Till in the snow white dress
Of Thy re­deemed I stand,
Faultless and stain­less,
Faultless and stain­less,
Safe in that hap­py land.