Oh, to be with the One who ever liveth
Within the courts of empyreal light,
Where the eternal Father glory giveth
According to His love and wealth and might
To His sons, whom grace
Shall set before His face,
For His unspeakable and endless pleasure,
In blessing which no creature mind may measure.
Oh, to be near Him who by blood hath bought me!
To sit before Him, and to worship Him!
To hear Him tell me how He loved and sought me,
When lost I wandered in the darkness dim;
And of how He bore
For me the judgment sore,
And drained to the last drop the bitter chalice,
When made the mark for man’s accursed malice.
To see Him—Him in whom my soul delighteth!
To feast mine eyes upon His face divine,
Where glory radiant with His love inviteth
The confidence of this poor heart of mine!
With supreme delight
I shall behold that sight
Reserved for those who here on earth confess Him,
And morning, noon and night extol and bless Him!
Oh, to be like Him, to the satisfaction
Of His, and of His Father’s loving heart!
No more to suffer sorrowful distraction,
No more from my Redeemer made to part,
But with Him to share
Glory immortal there,
Free from invasion of the foot defiling!
Safe from the serpent and his base beguiling!
To be enravished with the heavenly cadence
Of that sweet voice that thrills throughout my soul,
And with the fulness of the Godhead ladens
My heart set free from sin’s distressful dole!
Life-imparting voice!
Making my soul rejoice!
Heard when I lost lay in my black transgression,
Heard now in glory making intercession.
Oh, just to feel that I am His, His only,
When the great wilderness and waste are past;
And all my weary wanderings so lonely
Have ended in His home, at length, at last!
Tears all wiped away!
Come, the glad, glorious day!
For I am Thine in singing or in sighing!
Thine, Jesus, Thine! Thine living, ay, or dying!
Lord Jesus, precious, living, loving Fountain
Of life eternal and of endless bliss,
Call home Thy flock from valley and from mountain,
From bruit of battle and necropolis.
O beloved Lord,
Speak Thou that welcome word,
That shall the sons of God together gather
Into the bosom of the living Father.
Then shall I ever be with Thee, and near Thee,
Then shall I see Thee, Saviour, as Thou art,
Then shall I like Thee be, then shall I hear Thee
Tell in the glory all Thy loving heart.
O Thou faithful Friend,
Come, and the desert end!
For still my heart to see my Lord is burning,
And slow the wheels of laggard time are turning.
Come, break the cords that bind to dust Thy sleeping;
Wake with Thy voice the quiet of the grave:
Their souls and bodies, Lord, are in Thy keeping,
Waiting the first, and the most welcome, wave
Of Thy power divine,
Which shall to sparkling wine
The water turn, and cause this cursed creation
In freedom to break forth with exultation.