Christian brother o’er the main
Carry the news of Jesus;
Go where night and darkness reign
Lovingly haste away.

Refrain

Carry the news o’er waters blue,
Perishing souls are waiting for you;
Stretching their hands, they plead for light,
Blessèd Gospel light.

Onward quickly, hear their cry
Over the deep resounding;
Save the millions ere they die,
Earnestly haste away.

Refrain

Tell of Judah’s Morning Star,
Peacefully, calmly shining;
Spread its beams o’er climes afar,
Pray’rfully haste away.

Refrain

Christian brethren, preach the Word,
Publish a free salvation;
Lo, in Heav’n your bright reward;
Joyfully haste away.

Refrain

A voice comes o’er the waters,
A voice both loud and clear,
“Come over here and help us,
We’re bound in slavish fear!
Our chains do now confine us
In darkness and in doubt,
No light to shine upon us,
No hand to bring us out.”

Refrain

Come over and help us!
Come over and help us!
Come over and help us!
Come over and help us today.

“Our idols cannot help us;
We only deeper fall;
And dimmer grows our vision,
When on their names we call,
We look and wait and wonder
If someone o’er the sea
Will hasten to relieve us,
Will come and set us free.”

Refrain

“We hear that o’er the waters
A glorious light doth shine,
A light sent down from heaven,
Oh, send that light divine!
We hear that one called Jesus
Can save us from our sin;
We want to hear his footsteps,
We want to let Him in.”

Refrain

A cry, as of pain, again and again,
Is borne o’er the deserts and wide spreading main;
A cry from the lands that in darkness are lying,
A cry from the hearts that in sorrow are sighing;
It comes unto me; it comes unto thee;
Oh what—oh what shall the answer be?

Oh! hark to the call; it comes unto all
Whom Jesus hath rescued from sin’s deadly thrall;
“Come over and help us! in bondage we languish”;
“Come over and help us! we die in our anguish!”
It comes unto me; it comes unto thee;
Oh what—oh what shall the answer be?

It comes to the soul that Christ hath made whole,
The heart that is longing His Name to extol;
It comes with a chorus of pitiful wailing;
It comes with a plea which is strong and prevailing;
“For Christ’s sake” to me; “For Christ’s sake” to thee;
Oh what—oh what shall the answer be?

We come, Lord, to Thee, Thy servants are we;
Inspire Thou the answer, and true it shall be!
If here we should work, or afar Thou should send us,
Oh grant that Thy mercy may ever attend us,
That each one may be a witness for Thee,
Till all the earth shall Thy glory see!

There’s a cry from Macedonia—
Come and help us;
The light of the Gospel bring, oh come!
Let us hear the joyful tidings of salvation,
We thirst for the living spring.
O ye heralds of the cross, be up and doing,
Remember the great command! away!
Go ye forth and preach the Word to ev’ry creature,
Proclaim it in ev’ry land.
They shall gather from the east,
They shall gather from the west,
With the patriarchs of old;
And the ransomed shall return
To the kingdoms of the blest,
With their harps and crowns of gold.

Oh, how beautiful their feet upon the mountains,
The tidings of peace who bring, who bring,
To the nations of the earth who sit in darkness,
And tell them of Zion’s King:
Then, ye heralds of the cross, be up and doing,
Go work in your Master’s field, away!
Sound the trumpet! sound the trumpet of salvation!
The Lord is your Strength and Shield.
Let the distant isles be glad,
Let them hail the Savior’s birth,
And the news of pardon free,
Till the knowledge of the truth
Shall extend to all the earth,
As the waters o’er the sea.

Ye’ve enlisted in the army of the faithful,
Like heroes the battle fight! away!
There are foes on every hand that will assail you,
Then gird on your armor bright;
With the banner of the cross unfurled before you,
The sword of the Spirit wield! away!
Ye shall conquer through His mercy Who hath loved you,
The Lord is your Strength and Shield.
Ye are marching to the land,
Where the saints in glory stand,
And the just for joy shall sing:
Ye by faith may bring it nigh;
Ye shall reach it by and by,
And your shouts of triumph ring.

God of the nations, hear our call;
Thou Who art Father of us all;
Show us our part in Thy great plan
For the vast brotherhood of man.

In plastic form the nations lie;
For molding unto us they cry;
May we their urgent summons heed
And gladly go to meet their need.

May we, a nation blessed with light,
Be ever truer to the right,
That nations in our life may see
The power which we derive from Thee.

Thus, as Thy kingdom cometh here,
Shall it throughout the world draw near;
And loyalty to country then
Shall reach out to include all men.

Hark! what mean those lamentations,
Rolling sadly through the sky?
’Tis the cry of heathen nations,
“Come and help, or we die!”

Hear the heathen’s sad complaining,
Christians, hear their dying cry;
And the love of Christ constraining,
Join to help them, ere they die.

He expecteth, He expecteth!
Down the stream of time,
Still the words come softly ringing,
Like a chime.

Oft times faint, now waxing louder
As the hour draws near,
When the King in all His glory,
Shall appear.

He is waiting with long patience
For His crowning day,
For that kingdom which shall never
Pass away.

And till ev’ry tribe and nation
Bow before His throne,
He expecteth loyal service
From His own.

He expecteth—but He heareth
Still the bitter cry
From earth’s millions, “Come and help us,
For we die.”

He expecteth—doth He see us
Busy here and there,
Heedless of those pleading accents
Of despair?

Shall we—dare we—disappoint Him?
Brethren, let us rise!
He Who died for us is watching
From the skies.

Watching till His royal banner
Floateth far and wide,
Till He seeth of His travail
Satisfied!

Hear the wail across the sea
Comes from millions unto thee—
Weary ones who might be free
Did they but know of Calvary.

Refrain

Wailing, wailing o’er the sea;
Wailing, wailing unto thee;
Wailing, wailing to be free;
Go, tell them all of Calvary.

Wailing of the prophet cursed,
Of fanatics, wildest, worst,
Help us, Lord, their chains to burst,
And set them free by Calvary.

Refrain

Wailings reach this favored shore,
Wailings ceasing nevermore;
Men are dying evermore;
Go, tell them all of Calvary.

Refrain

Ye Christian men of every nation,
Hark, hark what cries salute your ears!
The heathen in their degradation
They call for help with sighs and tears,
They call for help with sighs and tears;
Shall souls immortal languish bleeding?
Oppressed by Satan’s slavish chains,
In superstition’s woes and pains,
While Christian hearts are dead, unheeding?

Refrain

Arise, O Church of God!
Awake for Jesus’ sake!
March on, march on, all hearts aflame,
For Christ the world to take.

By thousands, hopeless, they are falling,
And ne’er have heard their Savior’s Name;
For life and liberty they’re calling,
But perish in their guilt and shame,
But perish in their guilt and shame;
Too long have Christians heard their wailing,
Their death cries out of pagan night;
Their prayers in vain for Gospel light;
Oh, shall their cries be unavailing?

Refrain

Oh, ye who serve the King of glory,
In lands where heaven’s blessings glow,
Can ye withhold salvation’s story,
From myriads sunk in heathen woe?
From myriads sunk in heathen woe?
Nay, by the blood that makes men brothers,
The bannered cross must be unfurled;
The kingdom is for all the world,
And men redeemed must uplift others.

Refrain

Shall Christians hoard their golden treasure?
And pile their stores with miser’s greed,
Or spend for fashion, pride and pleasures,
While empires for the Gospel plead?
While empires for the Gospel plead?
Can men of soul, their God adoring,
For heaven’s crowning glories hope?
While millions in their blindness grope,
And die, the light of life imploring?

Refrain

See, heaven lends cooperation!
For conquests grand and manifold;
And calls the Church to consecration,
Of life and strength and precious gold;
Of life and strength and precious gold;
While with God’s power the world is shaking,
O’erturning systems, creeds and caste,
And working changes worldwide vast,
’Tis time dead Christian souls were waking.

Refrain

Over the rolling sea,
Many the voices appealing to me;
Groping in the darkness they,
And to us for light they pray;
O, their cry rings piteously
O’er the waves of the deep, rolling sea.
Over the rolling sea,
Over the rolling sea!

Refrain

Over the sea, calling to me,
There without Jesus the millions I see;
Over the sea, pleading with me,
Shall I not answer the pitiful plea?

Over the rolling sea,
Millions are perishing, Lord, without Thee;
We are blessed with Gospel light,
While they grope in heathen night,
And we send not, O the shame!
Help to them in the Savior’s dear Name,
Over the rolling sea,
Over the rolling sea!

Refrain

Over the rolling sea,
There is a mission of mercy for me;
Souls by years of sin depraved
By my efforts may be saved,
If I help to send the light
To the people now shadowed in night
Over the rolling sea,
Over the rolling sea!

Refrain

Over there where the heathen are dying,
Over there where the sin forces dwell,
We must carry the great salvation,
We must go and the glad story tell.

Refrain

Over there where the millions are dying, over there,
Over there where God’s thoughts are turning, over there;
Over there darkened hearts are yearning, over there,
We will pray for the souls over there.

Over there where temptation is calling,
Over there where the vices abound,
We must tell of the One Who conquers,
We must tell of the Christ we have found.

Refrain

Over there they are calling and dying,
Over there in the darkness they roam,
They are waiting to hear of Jesus,
They are calling to us, “Won’t you come?”

Refrain

Through midnight gloom from Macedon
The cry of myriads as of one,
The voiceful silence of despair,
Is eloquent in awful prayer,
The soul’s exceeding bitter cry,
“Come o’er and help us, or we die.”

How mournfully it echoes on!
For half the earth is Macedon;
These brethren to their brethren call,
And by the Love which loved them all,
And by the whole world’s Life they cry,
“O ye that live, behold we die!”

By other sounds the world is won
Than that which wails from Macedon;
The roar of gain is round it rolled,
Or men unto themselves are sold,
And cannot list the alien cry,
“O hear and help us, lest we die!”

Yet with that cry from Macedon
The very car of Christ rolls on;
“I come; who would abide My day
In yonder wilds prepare My way;
My voice is crying in their cry;
Help ye the dying, lest ye die.”

Jesu, for men of Man the Son,
Yes, Thine the cry from Macedon;
O by the kingdom and the power
And glory of Thine advent hour,
Wake heart and will to hear their cry;
Help us to help them, lest we die!

Awake, O Christian, from thy sleep,
And heed thy brother’s call!
He cries to thee across the deep,
Where darkest shadows falls.
From sin and guilt and wretchedness
He knows not where to flee;
Go tell him how the Lord can bless!
Thy brother calls to thee.

’Mid deepest gloom and darkest night
He lifts his helpless hands;
Can aught but Jesus give him light
Or break his cruel bands?
Then send, O send the Master’s Word
Across the wide blue sea,
Where Macedonia’s cry is heard!
Thy brother calls to thee.

O save the lost, the sinner turn!
To blind men send the light!
O let thy soul with ardor burn
To lead them to the right;
Then usher in that glorious day,
The kingdom yet to be,
When all shall own the Master’s sway!
Thy brother calls to thee.