The Better Land

We have heard from that bright, that holy land

Author: W. H. Hyde
Tune: [We have heard from the bright, the holy land]
Published in 36 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1. We have heard from the bright, the holy land;
We have heard, and our hearts are glad;
For we were a lonely pilgrim band,
And weary, and worn, and sad.
They tell us the saints have a dwelling there—
No longer are homeless ones;
And we know that the goodly land is fair,
Where life’s pure river runs.

2. They say green fields are waving there,
That never a blight shall know;
And the deserts wild are blooming fair,
And the roses of Sharon grow.
There are lovely birds in the bowers green,
Their songs are blithe and sweet;
And their warblings, gushing ever new,
The angels’ harpings greet.

3. We have heard of the palms, the robes, the crowns,
And the silvery band in white.
Of the city fair, with pearly gates,
All radiant with light.
We have heard of the angels there, and saints,
With their harps of gold, how they sing;
Of the mount with the fruitful tree of life,
Of the leaves that healing bring.

4. The King of that country, He is fair,
He’s the joy and light of the place;
In His beauty we shall behold Him there,
And bask in His smiling face.
We’ll be there, we’ll be there in a little while,
We’ll join the pure and the blest;
We’ll have the palm, the robe, the crown,
And forever be at rest.

Author: W. H. Hyde

19th Century For a while in 1845 Hyde was associated with Ellen Harmon White & others who eventually formed the Seventh-Day Adventists. --www.hymntime.com/tch/ Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: We have heard from that bright, that holy land
Title: The Better Land
Author: W. H. Hyde
Source: Hymns for God’s Pe­cul­iar Peo­ple That Keep the Com­mand­ments of God and the Faith of Je­sus, 1849
Language: English
Notes: Some may be in­ter­est­ed in learn­ing the ori­gin of the hymn on the first page this num­ber. In the spring of 1845, the au­thor of the vi­sion [Ell­en Harm­on White], pub­lished in this pa­per, was ve­ry sick, nigh un­to death. The el­ders of the church were fin­al­ly called, and the di­rect­ions of the apos­tle [James 5:14,15] were strict­ly fol­lowed. God heard, an­swered, and healed the sick. The Ho­ly Spir­it filled the room, and she had a vi­sion of the "ci­ty," "life’s pure ri­ver," "green fields," "ros­es of Shar­on," "songs" of "love­ly birds," the "harps," "palms," "robes," "crowns," the "mount" Zi­on, the "tree of life", and the "King of that coun­try" men­tioned in the hymn. A bro­ther took up his pen, and in a ve­ry short time com­posed the hymn from the vi­sion. It has been pub­lished in two or three Se­cond Ad­vent papers, Smith’s col­lection of hymns, and fin­al­ly found its way in­to the Adv­ent Harp, pub­lished by J. V. Hines in 1849. Let those who "des­pise pro­phe­sy­ing," and re­ject the ful­fill­ment of God’s word in vi­sions of the "LAST DAYS," re­mem­ber, when they sing this hymn, that it was com­posed from a vi­sion. James White, The Present Truth, November 1850
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #7194
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 36 of 36)

Advent Hymn Book #d115

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Hymns and Tunes #362

Hymns for Second Advent Believers #d146

Hymns for Use in Divine Worship ... Seventh-Day Adventists #d1218

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Hymns of the "Jubilee Harp" #a585

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Hymns of the Advent #49

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Hymns of the Morning #49

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Sacred Melodies for Social Worship #205

Second Advent Hymn Book #d79

Second Advent Hymn Book #d108

Text

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #453

Social Hymns, Original and Selected #d203

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Songs for Service #86

Spiritual Melodies #d333

Spiritual Melodies. Enl. & impr. ed. #d391

Spiritual Songs and Hymns for Pilgrims. New Church ed. #d203

The Advent Christian Hymnal #d960

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The Advent Harp; designed for believers in the speedy coming of Christ #452

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The Chorus #H20

The Christian Lyre #d462

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The Church Hymnal #305

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #7194

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The Harp #1105

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The Harp. 2nd ed. #a1105

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The Jubilee Harp #585

The Millennial Harp #d498

The Millennial Harp #d250

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The New Jubilee Harp #277

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The New Jubilee Harp #277

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The Pilgrims' Songster #2

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The Revivalist #372

The Saints' Harp #d983

TextPage Scan

The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book #1010

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The Union Harp #64

The Union Harp and Revival Chorister. Rev ed. #d424

Exclude 34 pre-1979 instances
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