City of God, how broad and far

420 Gräfenberg. C. M.

1 City of God, how broad and far
   outspread thy walls sublime!
   The true thy chartered freemen are
   of every age and clime:

2 How gleam thy watch-fires through the night
   with never-fainting ray!
   How rise thy towers, serene and bright,
   to meet the dawning day!

3 How purely hath thy speech come down
   from man's primaeval youth!
   How grandly hath thine empire grown
   of freedom, love, and truth!

4 In vain the surge's angry shock,
   in vain the drifting sands:
   unharmed upon the eternal Rock
   the eternal city stands.
                         Samuel Johnson
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
I don't recall ever singing this one, and it only occurs in 166 hymnals. For being a relatively unpopular hymn, the verses seem to have been scrambled a good bit and many versions include a fifth verse, variously placed:

2 One holy church, one army strong,
   one steadfast, high intent;
   one working band, one harvest-song,
   one King omnipotent.

As seems apparent once one knows it, the author of the hymn has strong Unitarian leanings, although never officially a Unitarian.
</idle musing>