Listen, listen, Christian people!
O’er the water swells a cry;
“Come and help us, come and help us;
Help us, who in darkness lie.

“Ye have power, ye have riches,
We are very poor and weak;
Come and help us, come and help us;
Help us, who your kindness seek,

“You have schools and careful teachers,
We have none to bid us learn;
Come and help us, come and help us;
Help us, for to you we turn.

You have churches, you have shepherds,
We have none our souls to feed;
Come and help us, come and help us;
Help us in our utmost need.

Answer! answer! Christian people,
O’er the water, answer thus:
“We will help you, we will help you;
As our God hath helped us.

“We will give as He hath blessed us,
With a glad, ungrudging heart;
We will help you, we will help you!
And of His good things impart.

“We will give you schools and teachers
Who shall show you heav’nly things;
We will help you, we will help you,
With the light the Gospel brings.

“We will give you faithful shepherds,
Who your wand’ring feet shall guide,
Lead you to the greenest pastures,
More than angels’ food provide.

We will build you Christian Churches,
And the rites of worship show
We will help you, we will help you,
Thus the living God to know.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Three in One, and One in Three,
Teach us all to do our duty,
To our neighbors and to Thee.

Make us feel the heathen neighbors,
Their and every race the same;
Let our words and actions teach them
To adore Thy holy name.

John William Hewett
Vers­es by a Coun­try Cur­ate, 1859