Scripture Verse

The glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. Revelation 21:23

Introduction

portrait
William Cushing
(1823–1902)

Words: Will­iam O. Cush­ing, 1875. Some hym­nals in­cor­rect­ly give the au­thor as al­ter Cush­ing.

Music: Will­iam F. Sher­win (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
William F. Sherwin
(1826–1888)

Origin of the Hymn

One day in 1875 I as reach­ing up for a bless­ing, says the au­thor of these words, “when sud­den­ly there came down up­on my heart a vi­sion of the heav­en­ly coun­try. I seemed to look don up­on a riv­er that like a migh­ty tide rolled be­neath me.

“Across, on the oth­er side of this riv­er, I saw an en­chant­ed land; its hills and val­leys ere sleep­ing in a heav­en­ly calm. It as more beau­ti­ful than words can tell, and my heart seemed to be there.

“As I gazed up­on the scene, there came to my lips the words, ‘Beau­ti­ful val­ley of Eden.’ The vi­sion re­mained un­til I had writ­ten down the hymn; then it gra­du­al­ly fad­ed from my sight.

But I want to say that the beau­ty of the hymn is large­ly due to Mr. Sher­win, who, by his rich me­lo­dy, has reached a deep­er chord than any mere words could ev­er have reached.

Sankey, p. 121

Lyrics

Beautiful val­ley of Ed­en!
Sweet is thy noon­tide calm;
Over the heart of the wea­ry,
Breathing thy waves of balm.

Refrain

Beautiful val­ley of Ed­en,
Home of the pure and blest,
How oft­en amid the wild bil­lows
I dream of thy rest, sweet rest!

Over the heart of the mourn­er
Shineth thy gold­en day,
Waiting the songs of the an­gels
Don from the far away.

Refrain

There is the home of my Sav­ior;
There, with the blood washed throng,
Over the high­lands of glo­ry
Rolleth the great new song.

Refrain