Gather
us in, Thou Love that fillest all;
Gather our rival faiths within Thy fold.
Rend each man’s temple veil and bid it fall,
That we may know that Thou hast been of old;
Gather us in.
Gather
us in: we worship only Thee;
In varied names we stretch a common hand;
In diverse forms a common soul we see;
In many ships we seek one-spirit land;
Gather us in.
Each
sees one color of Thy rainbow light,
Each looks upon one tint and calls it heaven;
Thou art the fullness of our partial sight;
We are not perfect till we find the seven;
Gather us in.
Thine
is the mystic life great India craves;
Thine is the Parsee’s sin-destroying beam;
Thine is the Buddhist’s rest from tossing waves;
Thine is the empire of vast China’s dream; Gather
us in.
Some
seek a Father in the heavens above,
Some ask a human image to adore;
Some crave a Spirit vast as life and love:
Within thy mansions we have all, and more;
Gather us in.
—A
hymn by George Matheson
blind Presbyterian poet (1842-1906)