[Main] [Poetry Index]* [Poets] 1991 Denson Revision: [Titles] [Pages] [First Lines]* 2012 Cooper Revision: [Titles] [Pages] [First Lines]*
* Index of the First Line of Each Stanza, the Fifth Line of Eight Line Stanzas, and the First Line of the Chorus

There is a holy city,

There is a holy city.

Poet: Mead's General Selection, 1807
Meter: 7s,6s Double (7,6,7,6,7,6,7,6)
Location in The Sacred Harp
Stanza Denson Cooper
1
There is a holy city,
A happy world above,
Beyond the starry regions,
Built by the God of love;
An everlasting temple,
And saints array'd in white,
They serve their great Redeemer,
They dwell with him in light.
Holy City 101b, Stanza 1
Holy City 101b, Stanza 1
2
This is no world of trouble;
The God of peace is there;
He wipes away their sorrows,
He banishes their care:
Their joys are still increasing:
Their songs are ever new:
They praise the eternal Father,
The Son and Spirit too.
Holy City 101b, Stanza 2
3
The meanest child of glory
Outshines the radiant sun;
But who can speak the splender
Of that eternal throne,
Where Jesus fits exalted,
In godlike Majesty?
The elders fall before him:
The angels bend the knee.

4
Is this the man of sorrows,
Who flood at Pilot's bar,
Condemn'd by haughty Herod,
And by his men of war?
He seems a mighty conqueror,
Who spoil'd the powers below,
And ransom'd many captive
From everlasting woe.
Holy City 101b, Stanza 3
5
The hosts of saints around him,
Proclaim his works of grace,
The patriarchs and prophets,
And all the Godly race,
Who speak of fi'ry trials
And tortures on their way;
They came from tribulation
To everlasting day.

6
Now with the holy transport,
They tell their suff'rings o'er;
Their tears and their temptations,
And all the palms they bore;
They turn and bow to Jesus,
Who gain'd their liberty;
Amidst our fiercest dangers,
Our lives are hid in thee!

7
Long time was I invited
To gain that heav'nly rest,
Grace made no hard condition,
Twas only to be bless'd;
But earth's bewitching pleasures
Inclin'd me long to stay;
I fought her dreams and shadows,
And joys that pass away.

8
But now it is my purpose,
The better way to find;
To serve my great Creator,
And leave my sins behind;
In guilt's seducing mazes,
I will no longer roam;
I'll give my soul to Jesus,
Who brings the ransom'd home.

9
And what shall be my journey,
How long I'll stay below,
Or what shall be my trials,
Are not for me to know.
In ev'ry day of trouble,
I'll raise my thoughts on high--
I'll think of the bright temple,
And crowns above the sky.

Mead, Stith. A General Selection of the Newest and Most Admired Hymns and Spiritual Songs now in Use. Richmond, Virgina: Printed by Seaton Grantland, 1807.