Servants of the Great Adventure

Servants of the great adventure,
  Patriots of God's fatherland,
Fir'd by one supreme ambition,
  Ready for the call we stand.
Cleanse our minds, thou Love all-ruling,
  Steel our wills, unbind our eyes
That we see a-right Thy kingdom;
  Make us daring, free and wise.

Millions lie in crying darkness,
  Unredeemed, untam'd, untaught,
Women prone in seal'd oppression,
  Men like cattle sold and bought;
Millions grope through out-worn systems;
  Many a cruel ancient faith
Binds the earth; and many a rebel,
  Dooms the Christ again to death.

Yet men ev'rywhere have found Thee,
  Christ, the crown of ev'ry creed;
All the faiths and all the systems,
  Who hast won the hearts of men;
Thou wilt fill the world with splendor,
  In our hands the how and when.

All the world shall live in kindness,
  Hate and war shall pass away,
When men grow from out their blindness,
  Wake, and see the blaze of day:
Each but needs the truth to win him,
  Shape the beauty of his soul,
Fan the fire of love within him,
  Save from self and make him whole.

Praise God for the hidden leaven,
  For the depths yet unexplored;
Praise Him for the Realm of Heaven--
  All ye peoples, praise the Lord!
Sing, the round world all together,
  With one mind and heart and mouth;
Glorify the Lord All-Father,
  East and West and North and South!

--Percy Dearmer, 1867-1936