Verse 1

One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o’er and o’er;
I’m nearer home to-day, to-day,
Than I have ever been before.

Verse 2

Nearer my Father’s house,
Where many mansions be;
Nearer the great white throne to-day,
Nearer the crystal sea.

Verse 3

Nearer the bound of life,
Where burdens are laid down;
Nearer to leave the cross to-day,
And nearer to the crown.

Verse 4

Be near me when my feet
Are slipping o’er the brink;
For I am nearer home to-day,
Perhaps, than now I think.

Verse 1

The radiant morn hath passed away,
And spent too soon her golden store;
The shadows of departing day
Creep on once more.

Verse 2

Our life is but a fading dawn;
Its glorious noon how quickly past:
Lead us, O Christ, when all is gone,
Safe home at last.

Verse 3

O by Thy soul-inspiring grace
Uplift our hearts to realms on high;
Help us to look to that bright place
Beyond the sky,

Verse 4

Where light, and life, and joy, and peace,
In undivided empire reign,
And thronging angels never cease
Their deathless strain;

Verse 5

Where saints are clothed in spotless white,
And evening shadows never fall,
Where Thou, Eternal Light of Light,
Art Lord of all.

Verse 1

There’s a land that is fairer than day
And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Father waits over the way,
To prepare us a dwelling-place there.

Refrain

In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

Verse 2

We shall sing on that beautiful shore
The melodious songs of the blest,
And our spirits shall sorrow no more,
Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.

Verse 3

To our bountiful Father above
We will offer our tribute of praise,
For the glorious gift of His love,
And the blessings that hallow our days.

Verse 1

There is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign;
Eternal day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.

Verse 2

There everlasting spring abides,
And never-withering flowers;
Death, like a narrow sea, divides
This heavenly land from ours.

Verse 3

Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood
Stand dressed in living green;
So to the Jews old Canaan stood,
While Jordan rolled between.

Verse 4

But timorous mortals start and shrink
To cross this narrow sea;
And linger, shivering, on the brink,
And fear to launch away.

Verse 5

O could we make our doubts remove,
Those gloomy doubts that rise,
And see the Canaan that we love
With unclouded eyes;

Verse 6

Could we but climb where Moses stood,
And view the landscape o’er,
Not Jordan’s stream, nor death’s cold flood,
Should fright us from the shore.

Verse 1

Come, let us join our cheerful songs
With angels round the throne;
Ten thousand thousand are their tongues,
But all their joys are one.

Verse 2

“Worthy the Lamb that died,” they cry,
“To be exalted thus:”
“Worthy the Lamb,” our lips reply,
“For He was slain for us.”

Verse 3

Jesus is worthy to receive
Honor and power Divine;
And blessings, more than we can give,
Be, Lord, for ever Thine.

Verse 4

Let all that dwell above the sky,
And air, and earth, and seas,
Conspire to lift Thy glories high,
And speak Thine endless praise.

Verse 5

The whole creation join in one
To bless the sacred Name
Of Him that sits upon the throne,
And to adore the Lamb.

Verse 1

I will sing you a song of that beautiful land,
The far away home of the soul;
Where no storms ever beat on the glittering strand,
While the years of eternity roll.

Verse 2

Oh, that home of the soul, in my visions and dreams
Its bright jasper walls I can see;
Till I fancy but thinly the veil intervenes
Between the fair city and me.

Verse 1

Ten thousand times ten thousand
In sparkling raiment bright,
The armies of the ransomed saints
Throng up the steeps of light:
’Tis finished, all is finished,
Their fight with death and sin:
Fling open wide the golden gates,
And let the victors in.

Chorus

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
To the Lamb who once was slain!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
To Him who liveth again!

Verse 2

What rush of hallelujahs
Fills all the earth and sky!
What ringing of a thousand harps
Bespeaks the triumph nigh!
O day, for which creation
And all its tribes were made;
O joy, for all its former woes
A thousand-fold repaid!

Verse 1

There is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign;
Eternal day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.

Verse 2

There everlasting spring abides,
And never-withering flowers;
Death, like a narrow sea, divides
This heavenly land from ours.

Verse 1

Hark! ten thousand harps and voices
Sound the note of praise above;
Jesus reigns, and heaven rejoices;
Jesus reigns, the God of love;
See, He sits on yonder throne;
Jesus rules the world alone.

Verse 2

King of glory, reign for ever,
Thine an everlasting crown;
Nothing from Thy love shall sever
Those whom Thou hast made Thine own,
Happy objects of Thy grace,
Destined to behold Thy face.

Verse 3

Saviour, hasten Thine appearing;
Bring, O bring the glorious day,
When, the awful summons hearing,
Heaven and earth shall pass away:
Then, with golden harps, we’ll sing,
“Glory, glory to our King!”

On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand

Verse 1

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan’s fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.

Refrain

We will rest in the fair and happy land,
Just across on the evergreen shore,
Sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, by and by,
And dwell with Jesus evermore.

Verse 2

O’er all those wide-extended plains
Shines one eternal day;
There God the Son forever reigns
And scatters night away.

Verse 3

When shall I reach that happy place,
And be forever blest?
When shall I see my Father’s face,
And in his bosom rest?

Verse 4

Filled with delight, my raptured soul
Would here no longer stay;
Tho’ Jordan’s waves around me roll,
Fearless I’d launch away.

Verse 1

The sands of time are sinking,
The dawn of heaven breaks,
The summer morn I’ve sighed for,
The fair, sweet morn awakes.
Dark, dark hath been the midnight,
But day-spring is at hand,
And glory—glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.

Verse 2

I’ve wrestled on toward heaven,
’Gainst storm and wind and tide,
Now, like a weary traveler
That leaneth on his guide,
Amid the shades of evening,
While sinks life’s lingering sand,
I hail the glory dawning
In Immanuel’s land.

Verse 3

Deep waters crossed life’s pathway,
The hedge of thorns was sharp;
Now these are all behind me—
Oh, for a well-earned harp!
O, to join the hallelujah
With yon triumphant band!
Who sing where glory dwelleth,
In Immanuel’s land.

Verse 1

Our day of praise is done;
The evening shadows fall;
But pass not from us with the sun,
True Light that lightenest all.

Verse 2

Around the throne on high,
Where night can never be,
The white-robed harpers of the sky
Bring ceaseless hymns to Thee.

Verse 3

Too faint our anthems here;
Too soon of praise we tire:
But O the strains, how full and clear,
Of that eternal choir!

Verse 4

Yet, Lord, to Thy dear will
If Thou attune the heart,
We in Thine angels’ music still
May bear our lower part.

Verse 5

’Tis Thine each soul to calm,
Each wayward thought reclaim,
And make our life a daily psalm
Of glory to Thy Name.

Verse 6

A little while, and then
Shall come the glorious end;
And songs of angels and of men
In perfect praise shall blend.

Verse 1

Jerusalem, my happy home,
Name ever dear to me!
When shall my labors have an end,
In joy and peace, and thee?

Verse 2

When shall these eyes thy heaven-built walls
And pearly gates behold?
Thy bulwarks with salvation strong,
And streets of shining gold?

Verse 3

There happier bowers than Eden’s bloom,
Nor sin nor sorrow know:
Blest seats! through rude and stormy scenes
I onward press to you.

Verse 4

Why should I shrink at pain and woe,
Or feel at death dismay?
I’ve Canaan’s goodly land in view,
And realms of endless day.

Verse 5

Apostles, martyrs, prophets, there
Around my Saviour stand;
And soon my friends in Christ below
Will join the glorious band.

Verse 6

Jerusalem, my happy home!
My soul still pants for thee:
Then shall my labors have an end,
When I thy joys shall see.

Verse 1

Who are these like stars appearing,
These before God’s throne who stand?
Each a golden crown is wearing;
Who are all this glorious band?
Alleluia! hark, they sing,
Praising loud their heavenly King.

Verse 2

Who are these of dazzling brightness,
These in God’s own truth arrayed,
Clad in robes of purest whiteness,
Robes whose lustre ne’er shall fade,
Ne’er be touched by time’s rude hand?
Whence comes all this glorious band?

Verse 3

These are they who have contended
For their Saviour’s honor long,
Wrestling on till life was ended,
Following not the sinful throng;
These, who well the fight sustained,
Triumph through the Lamb have gained.

Verse 4

These are they whose hearts were riven,
Sore with woe and anguish tried,
Who in prayer full oft have striven
With the God they glorified;
Now, their painful conflict o’er,
God has bid them weep no more.

Verse 5

These like priests have watched and waited,
Offering up to Christ their will,
Soul and body consecrated,
Day and night they serve Him still:
Now in God’s most holy place
Blest they stand before His face.

Verse 6

Lo, the Lamb Himself now feeds them
On Mount Zion’s pastures fair;
From His central throne He leads them
By the living fountains there;
Lamb and Shepherd, Good Supreme,
Free He gives the cooling stream.

Verse 1

For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be for ever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Verse 2

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light. Alleluia!

Verse 3

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold. Alleluia!

Verse 4

O blest communion, fellowship Divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia!

Verse 5

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph-song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. Alleluia!

Verse 6

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest;
Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest. Alleluia!

Verse 7

But lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia!

Verse 8

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia!

Verse 1

From all Thy saints in warfare,
For all Thy saints at rest,
To Thee, O blessed Jesus,
All praises be addressed:
Thou, Lord, didst win the battle
That they might conquerors be;
Their crowns of living glory
Are lit with rays from Thee.

Verse 2

Apostles, prophets, martyrs,
And all the sacred throng
Who wear the spotless raiment,
Who raise the ceaseless song;
For these, passed on before us,
Saviour, we Thee adore,
And, walking in their footsteps,
Would serve Thee more and more.

Verse 3

Then praise we God the Father,
And praise we God the Son,
And God the Holy Spirit,
Eternal Three in One;
Till all the ransomed number
Fall down before the Throne,
And honor, power, and glory
Ascribe to God alone.

Verse 1

Children of the heavenly King,
As ye journey, sweetly sing;
Sing your Saviour’s worthy praise,
Glorious in His works and ways.

Verse 2

We are travelling home to God
In the way the fathers trod;
They are happy now, and we
Soon their happiness shall see.

Verse 3

Shout, ye little flock, and blest;
Ye on Jesus’ throne shall rest;
There your seat is now prepared,
There’s your kingdom and reward.

Verse 4

Lift your eyes, ye sons of light,
Zion’s city is in sight;
There our endless home shall be,
There our Lord we soon shall see.

Verse 5

Fear not, brethren; joyful stand
On the borders of your land;
Jesus Christ, your Father’s Son,
Bids you undismayed go on.

Verse 6

Lord, obediently we go,
Gladly leaving all below;
Only Thou our Leader be,
And we still will follow Thee.

Verse 1

What are these in bright array,
This innumerable throng,
Round the altar night and day,
Hymning one triumphant song?
”Worthy is the Lamb, once slain,
Blessing, honor, glory, power,
Wisdom, riches, to obtain,
New dominion every hour.”

Verse 2

These through fiery trials trod;
These from great affliction came;
Now before the throne of God,
Sealed with His almighty Name,
Clad in raiment pure and white,
Victor-palms in every hand,
Through their dear Redeemer’s might,
More than conquerors they stand.

Verse 3

Hunger, thirst, disease, unknown,
On immortal fruits they feed;
Them the Lamb amidst the throne
Shall to living fountains lead:
Joy and gladness banish sighs,
Perfect love dispels all fear;
And for ever from their eyes
God shall wipe away the tear.

Verse 1

Alleluia, song of sweetness,
Voice of joy, eternal lay;
Alleluia is the anthem
Of the choirs in heavenly day,
Which the angels sing, abiding
In the house of God alway.

Verse 2

Alleluia thou resoundest,
Salem, Mother ever blest;
Alleluias without ending
Fit yon place of gladsome rest;
Exiles we, by Babel’s waters,
Sit in bondage and distressed.

Verse 3

Alleluia! songs of gladness
Suit not always souls forlorn:
Alleluia! sounds of sadness
Midst our joyful strains are borne;
For in this dark world of sorrow
We with tears our sins must mourn.

Verse 4

Trinity of endless glory,
Hear Thy people as they cry;
Grant us all our heart’s deep longing
In our home beyond the sky,
There to Thee our Alleluia
Singing everlastingly.

Verse 1

Happy the souls to Jesus joined,
And saved by grace alone;
Walking in all Thy ways, we find
Our heaven on earth begun.

Verse 2

The Church triumphant in Thy love,
Their mighty joys we know;
They sing the Lamb in hymns above,
And we in hymns below.

Verse 3

Thee in Thy glorious realm they praise,
And bow before Thy throne;
We in the kingdom of Thy grace;
The kingdoms are but one.

Verse 4

The holy to the holiest leads;
From hence our spirits rise;
And he that in Thy statutes treads
Shall meet Thee in the skies.

Verse 1

Sing Alleluia forth in duteous praise,
Ye citizens of heaven; O sweetly raise
An endless Alleluia.

Verse 2

Ye Powers, who stand before the eternal light,
In hymning choirs re-echo to the height
An endless Alleluia.

Verse 3

The holy city shall take up your strain,
And with glad songs resounding wake again
An endless Alleluia.

Verse 4

In blissful antiphons ye thus rejoice
To render to the Lord with thankful voice
An endless Alleluia.

Verse 5

Ye who have gained at length your palms in bliss,
Victorious ones, your chant shall still be this,
An endless Alleluia.

Verse 6

There, in one grand acclaim, for ever ring
The strains which tell the honor of your King,
An endless Alleluia.

Verse 7

This is sweet rest for weary ones brought back,
This is glad food and drink which ne’er shall lack,
An endless Alleluia.

Verse 8

While Thee, by whom were all things made, we praise
For ever, and tell out in sweetest lays
An endless Alleluia.

Verse 9

Almighty Christ, to Thee our voices sing
Glory for evermore; to Thee we bring
An endless Alleluia.

Verse 1

Come, ye disconsolate, wher-e’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel:
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal.

Verse 2

Joy of the comfortless, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot cure.”

Verse 3

Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above:
Come to the feast prepared; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrows but heaven can remove.

Verse 1

There is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign;
Eternal day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.

Verse 2

O wondrous land beyond the sky,
O land so bright and fair,
When shall we reach thy golden gates,
And dwell forever there?

Verse 3

There everlasting spring abides,
And never-withering flowers;
Death, like a narrow sea, divides
This heavenly land from ours.

Verse 4

Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood
Stand dressed in living green;
So to the Jews old Canaan stood,
While Jordan rolled between.

Verse 5

Could we but climb where Moses stood,
And view the landscape o’er,
Not Jordan’s stream, nor death’s cold flood,
Should fright us from the shore.

Verse 1

My heavenly home is bright and fair;
Nor pain nor death can enter there;
Its glitt’ring towers the sun outshine;
That heavenly mansion shall be mine.

Refrain

I’m going home, I’m going home,
I’m going home to die no more,
To die no more, to die no more,
I’m going home to die no more.

Verse 2

My Father’s house is built on high;
Far, far above the starry sky;
When from this earthly prison free,
That heavenly mansion mine shall be.

Verse 3

Let others seek a home below,
Which flames devour, or waves o’erflow,
Be mine a happier lot, to own
A heavenly mansion near the throne.

Verse 4

Then fail this earth, let stars decline,
And sun and moon refuse to shine
All nature sink and cease to be,
That heavenly mansion stands for me.

Verse 1

I would not live alway; I ask not to stay
Where storm after storm rises dark o’er the way;
The few cloudy mornings that dawn on us here
Are enough for life’s woes, full enough for its cheer.

Verse 2

I would not live alway; no, welcome the tomb!
Since Jesus has lain there, I dread not its gloom;
There sweet be my rest till he bid me arise,
To hail him in triumph descending the skies.

Verse 3

Who, who would live alway, away from his God,
Away from yon heaven, that blissful abode,
Where the rivers of pleasure flow o’er the bright plains,
And the noontide of glory eternally reigns;

Verse 4

Where the saints of all ages in harmony meet,
Their Savior and brethren transported to greet;
While the anthems of rapture unceasingly roll,
And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul?

Verse 1

My days are gliding swiftly by,
And I a pilgrim stranger,
Would not detain them as they fly,
Those hours of toil and danger.

Refrain

For, oh! we stand on Jordan’s strand,
Our friends are passing over;
And, just before, the shining shore
We may almost discover.

Verse 2

We’ll gird our loins, my brethren dear!
Our heav’nly home discerning;
Our absent Lord has left us word,--
“Let ev’ry lamp be burning.”

Verse 3

Should coming days be cold and dark,
We need not cease our singing;
That perfect rest none can molest,
Where golden harps are ringing.

Verse 4

Let sorrow’s rudest tempest blow,
Each cord on earth to sever;
Our King says,--“Come!” and there’s our home,
Forever, oh! forever!

Verse 1

Wayfarers in the wilderness,
By morn, and noon, and even,
Day after day, we journey on,
With weary feet toward heaven.

Refrain

O land above! O land of love!
The glory shineth o’er thee;
O Christ, our King! in mercy bring
Us thither, we implore thee!

Verse 2

By day the cloud before us goes,
By night the cloud of fire,
To guide us o’er the trackless waste,
To Canaan ever nigher.

Verse 3

The sea was riven from our feet,
And so shall be the river;
And, by the King’s highway brought home,
We’ll praise his name forever:

Verse 1

One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o’er and o’er;
I’m nearer home to-day
Than e’er I’ve been before.

Refrain

I’m nearer my home, nearer my home,
Nearer my home to-day;
Yes, nearer my home in heav’n to-day,
Than ever I’ve been before.

Verse 2

Nearer my Father’s house
Where the blest mansions be;
Nearer the great white throne,
Nearer the crystal sea;

Verse 3

Nearer the bound where we
Must lay our burdens down,
Nearer to leave the cross,
Nearer to gain the crown.

Verse 4

The waves of that deep sea
Roll dark before my sight,
But break, the other side,
Upon a shore of light.

Verse 5

Oh! if my mortal feet
Have almost gained the brink,
If I am nearer home
To-day than e’en I think,

Verse 6

Father! perfect my trust,
That I may rest, in death,
On Christ, my Lord, alone,
And thus resign my breath.

Verse 1

Jesus, still lead on,
Till our rest be won;
And, although the way be cheerless,
We will follow, calm and fearless:
Guide us by Thy hand
To our fatherland.

Verse 2

If the way be drear,
If the foe be near,
Let not faithless fears o’ertake us;
Let not faith and hope forsake us,
For, through many a foe,
To our home we go.

Verse 3

When we seek relief
From a long-felt grief,
When oppressed by new temptations,
Lord, increase and perfect patience;
Show us that bright shore
Where we weep no more.

Verse 4

Jesus, still lead on,
Till our rest be won:
Heavenly Leader, still direct us,
Still support, console, protect us,
Till we safely stand
In our fatherland.

Verse 1

Jerusalem, the golden,
With milk and honey blest!
Beneath thy contemplation
Sink heart and voice oppressed:
I know not, oh, I know not,
What social joys are there,
What radiancy of glory,
What light beyond compare.

Verse 2

They stand, those halls of Zion,
All jubilant with song,
And bright with many an angel,
And all the martyr throng;
The Prince is ever in them,
The daylight is serene;
The pastures of the blessed
Are decked in glorious sheen.

Verse 3

There is the throne of David;
And there, from care released,
The song of them that triumph,
The shout of them that feast;
And they who, with their Leader,
Have conquered in the light,
Forever and forever
Are clad in robes of white.