King of the city splendid

473 Beloit. L. M.

1 King of the city splendid,
   Eternal in the height,
   May all our country's cities
   Be holy in Thy sight:
   Cleansed from the deeds of darkness
   Cities of light.

2 Inspire the sons of labour,
   That honest toil may be
   Their token, in life's hardness,
   Of loyalty to Thee.
   That Thou mayst in their hand-work
   Love's heart-work see.

3 Teach love to gladden children
   Who know not childhood's mirth,
   Wronged of their rights no beauty
   In their scant reach of earth:
   To hope's large sunshine give them
   A second birth.

4 Lord, end the spell of passion,
   Break Thou the drunkard's lure:
   Thou art the one Physician
   The human heart to cure;
   The wavering will to strengthen,
   Foul life make pure.

5 Soon may our country's cities
   Thy robe of glory wear:
   Each place of toil a temple,
   Each house a home of prayer:
   Each city's name of beauty
   The Lord is There!
                         George T. Konster
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Well, I sure know how to pick them! This one only occurs in nine hymnals! I don't recall ever singing it, and it definitely has a pre-Holocaust/WW II feel to it with the hope of millennialism (the author passed away in 1912, so pre-WW I, which was the death of many premillennial hopes). Nonetheless, I think of it as a prayer that God will bring about his kingdom.
</idle musing>