The Good Ship Zion

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O come, O come, for staunch and strong

Author: Eliza E. Hewitt
Tune: [O come, O come! for staunch and strong]
Published in 3 hymnals

Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 O come, O come! For staunch and strong,
The good ship Zion sails along;
O come and join her happy crew,
And trust the Captain wise and true.
We bear his banner floating from the mast,
And hope thro’ grace to reach our home at last;
That join with our number;
We’re bound to the land of light;
We’ll keep our course right onward thro’ the stormy night.

Refrain:
Sailing, sailing over the sea of time,
Sailing, sailing bound to the golden clime;
Sailing, sailing over the sea of time,
And sweetly now, tho’ tempests blow,
We hear the home-bells chime.

2 Our chart will show when rocks are near,
The polar star is shining clear;
When billows seem to overwhelm
We’ll trust the Hand that holds the helm.
Then lift on high the banner of the cross,
The ship that bears it never suffers loss;
Obeying his orders, tho’ gales of temptation come,
The Captain of salvation surely guides us home. [Refrain]

3 Beyond life’s tossing, fitful sea,
The haven lies where we would be,
And soon, with rays of glory bright,
We’ll hail the beacon’s welcome light.
The good ship of Zion, tho’ the breakers roar,
Will safely land us on the morning shore;
Then over the surges we sail to the port of peace,
With joy we’ll cast the anchor when the voyage shall cease. [Refrain]

Source: Sunday-School Praises: prepared especially for use in the Sunday-School #158

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Author: Eliza E. Hewitt

Pseudonym: Lidie H. Edmunds. Eliza Edmunds Hewitt was born in Philadelphia 28 June 1851. She was educated in the public schools and after graduation from high school became a teacher. However, she developed a spinal malady which cut short her career and made her a shut-in for many years. During her convalescence, she studied English literature. She felt a need to be useful to her church and began writing poems for the primary department. she went on to teach Sunday school, take an active part in the Philadelphia Elementary Union and become Superintendent of the primary department of Calvin Presbyterian Church. Dianne Shapiro, from "The Singers and Their Songs: sketches of living gospel hymn writers" by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	O come, O come, for staunch and strong
Title:	The Good Ship Zion
Author:	Eliza E. Hewitt
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	Sailing, sailing, over the sea of time
Copyright:	Public Domain