Scripture Verse

Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Matthew 28:19–20

Introduction

Words: Ma­ry A. Thom­son, 1868, 1871.

Music: Tid­ings (Walch) James Walch, 1875 (🔊 pdf nwc).

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

portrait
Mary A. Thomson
1834–1923

I wrote the great­er part of the hymn, O, Si­on, Haste, in the year 1868. I had writ­ten ma­ny hymns be­fore, and one night, while I was sit­ting up with one of my child­ren who was ill with ty­phoid fe­ver, I thought I should like to write a mis­sion­ary hymn to the tune of the hymn, Hark, Hark, My Soul, An­gel­ic Songs Are Swelli­ng, as I was fond of that tune, but as I could not then get a re­frain I liked, I left the hymn un­fin­ished and about three years lat­er I fin­ished it by writ­ing the re­frain which now forms a part of it.

Lyrics

O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling,
To tell to all the world that God is light,
That He who made all nations is not willing
One soul should perish, lost in shades of night.

Refrain

Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace;
Tidings of Je­sus, re­demp­tion and release.

Behold how many thousands still are lying
Bound in the darksome prison house of sin,
With none to tell them of the Sav­ior’s dying,
Or of the life He died for them to win.

Refrain

Proclaim to every people, tongue, and nation
That God, in whom they live and move, is love;
Tell how He stooped to save His lost creation,
And died on earth that we might live above.

Refrain

’Tis thine to save from peril of perdition
The souls for whom the Lord His life laid down:
Beware lest, slothful to fulfill thy mission,
Thou lose one jewel that should deck His crown.

Refrain

Give of thy sons to bear the message glo­ri­ous;
Give of thy wealth to speed them on their way;
Pour out thy soul for them in prayer vic­to­ri­ous;
O Zion, haste to bring the brighter day.

Refrain

He comes again! O Zion, ere thou meet Him,
Make known to every heart His saving grace:
Let none whom he Hath ransomed fail to greet Him,
Through thy neglect, unfit to see His face.

Refrain