When in far distant regions,
As strangers we roam,
Far away from our country,
Our friends and our home:
When sinking in sorrow,
Fresh courage we'll take,
As we think on our friends,
And remember the cake.
Dearest brother, wherefore leave us?
Why forsake your friends and home?
Of your presence, why bereave us,
And in foreign countries roam?
Must the dearest ties be broken?
Must affection's garland fade?
No, O no! But God has spoken,
And His voice must be obeyed.
You have gone to warn the nations,
In the name of Israel's God;
You are called to bear salvation's
Joyful tidings far abroad.
Now the Gospel proclamation
Must be sounded far and near,
That the best of every nation
May in Zion's courts appear.
In the spirit of devotion
To Messiah's glorious Cause,
You have crossed the pathless ocean,
To proclaim Redemption's laws.
You are now a standard bearer
On a distant mountain top,
And perchance ofttimes a sharer
In privation's bitter cup.
God designs to try and prove you.
If you will His voice obey;
Therefore from your friends who love you,
You are parted far away.
You are called yourself to sever
From the land where kindred dwell;
But it will not be forever—
Time will surely break the spell.
Here warm friends await your greeting—
Noble friends of Abra'm's line:
Here are gentle pulses beating
In soft unison with thine.
Here are daily prayers ascending
For th' appointed hour to come;
When your mission nobly ending,
We shall bid you "Welcome home."