The Land Beyond the Sea

I stand by the lonely breakers

Author: Valdimar Briem; Translator: Charles Venn Pilcher
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

I stand by the lonely breakers
And gaze o'er the misty sea,
Which wrapt in the clouds of winter
Is heaving sullenly:
'Tis a shore where gaunt Need reigneth,
And Woe with her freezing breath;
For the shore is the shore of the dying,
And the sea is the sea of death.

But far o'er the dim horizon
There lieth a land that is fair;
The sun with his gorgeous colours
Is painting the cloud-banks there:
There, robing the green hill-shoulders,
The golden flowerets grow;
And the fruit-trees' cloaks of blossom
In the spicy breezes blow.

Girt round with a mystic glory
Fair palaces I behold,
With many a sculptured pillar,
With many a tower of gold;
The hosts of the saved, resplendent
In glistering white array,
Mid rapture untold are thronging
Those corridors of day.

In silence I yearn as I listen
To the far-off chime of bells:
How nobly the voice of worship
Through the heavenly Temple swells!
I hark to the shout of the victors,
I list to the angels' lays,
As they sing to the Lord of Glory
Grand anthems of endless praise.

Speak! Is this a baseless fabric
Reared high by the dreams of man?
Nay! Nay! tis the fair fulfilment
Of God's everlasting plan.
Sure speaks the eternal promise,
Sure works the almighty grace,
Till the strife-men of earth are marshalled
Triumphant before God's face.

Author: Valdimar Briem

Born: Feb­ru­a­ry 1, 1848, Grund, Ice­land. Died: May 3, 1930, Stó­ri-Nú­pur, Ice­land. Briem at­tend­ed the The­o­lo­gic­al Sem­in­ary in Reyk­ja­vik, was or­dained in 1873, and in 1880 be­came pas­tor of the Stó­ri-Nú­pur par­ish, where he served for three de­cades. In 1909, he be­came vice-bi­shop of Skál­holt. The 1886 Ice­lan­dic hym­nal has 102 orig­in­al hymns by Briem, and 39 of his trans­la­tions. Lyrics: Hve dryalegur er Drott­inn (How Mar­vel­ous God’s Great­ness) Lord, Let Thy Spir­it © The Cyber Hymnal™ (www.hymntime.com/tch) Go to person page >

Translator: Charles Venn Pilcher

Pilcher, Charles Venn. (Oxford, June 4, 1879--July 4, 1961, Sydney, Australia). Anglican. Grandnephew of Charlotte Elliott. Hertford College, Oxford, B.A., 1902; M.A., 1905; B.D., 1909; D.D., 1921. Curacies at Birmingham, 1903-1905; St. James, Toronto, 1910-1916; taught theology at Auckland Castle, England, 1905-1906, and at Wycliffe College, Toronto, 1916-1936. Elected coadjutor bishop of Sydney, Australia, at the instance of a former Wycliffe colleague, Archbishop Mowll. He composed hymn tunes and other music, and long played bass clarinet in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Also, he translated and published much devotional material from Iceland, notably Iceland Christian Classics (1950). These side interests, like his hymn writing, merely… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: I stand by the lonely breakers
Title: The Land Beyond the Sea
Author: Valdimar Briem
Translator: Charles Venn Pilcher
Meter: 8.7.8.7 D
Language: English

Instances

Instances (1 - 1 of 1)
Text

Passion-Hymns of Iceland, The #19

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