Lyrics:

1. Come, all whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high.
Shall we, to men benighted,
The lamp of life deny?
Salvation! Oh, salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim,
Till earth’s remotest nation
Has learned Messiah’s name.

2. From Greenland’s icy mountains,
From India’s coral strand,
Where Afric’s sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand,
From many an ancient river,
From many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver
Their land from error’s chain.

3. Go tell, ye winds, his story,
And mighty waters, roll,
Till, like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole;
Till o’er our ransomed nature
The Lamb, for sinners slain,
Redeemer, King, Creator
In bliss returns to reign.

Text: Reginald Heber, 1783-1826. Included in the first LDS hymnbook, 1835.
Music: Lowell Mason, 1792-1872

-History: (Source: Wikipedia)

Written By: Reginald Heber

Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was the Church of England‘s Bishop of Calcutta (a bishopric now part of the Church of North India) who is now remembered chiefly as a hymn-writer.

Heber was a pious man of profound learning, literary taste and great practical energy. His fame rests mainly on his hymns. These include:

• “Bread of the World”
• “Brightest and best of the sons of the morning”
• “By cool Siloam’s shady rill”
• “God, that madest earth and heaven”
• “From Greenland’s icy mountains”, which was the missionary hymn most frequently printed in 19th century American hymnals
• “Holy, holy, holy“
• “Lord of mercy and of might”
• “The Lord of might from Sinai’s brow”
• “The Lord will come, the earth shall quake”
• “The Son of God goes forth to war“.

Heber’s hymns and other poems have style, pathos and soaring aspiration.

Music By: Lowell Mason

Lowell Mason (January 8, 1792 – August 11, 1872) was a leading figure in American church music, the composer of over 1600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His most well-known tunes include Mary Had A Little Lamb and the arrangement of Joy to the World. He was also largely responsible for introducing music into American public schools, and is considered to be the first important music educator in the United States. In the last part of his career, as music director of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, he radically transformed American church music from a practice of having professional choirs and accompaniment to congregational singing accompanied by organ music.