Brevity of life

Verse 1

A few more years shall roll,
A few more seasons come,
And we shall be with those that rest
Asleep within the tomb:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that great day;
O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.

Verse 2

A few more storms shall beat
On this wild rocky shore,
And we shall be where tempests cease,
And surges swell no more:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that calm day;
O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.

Verse 3

A few more struggles here,
A few more partings o’er,
A few more toils, a few more tears,
And we shall weep no more:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that blest day;
O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.

Verse 4

A few more Sabbaths here
Shall cheer us on our way,
And we shall reach the endless rest,
The eternal Sabbath-day:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that sweet day;
O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.

Verse 5

’Tis but a little while,
And He shall come again
Who died that we might live, who lives
That we with Him may reign:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that glad day;
O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.

Verse 1

A few more years shall roll,
A few more seasons come,
And we shall be with those that rest
Asleep within the tomb.

Verse 2

A few more suns shall set
O’er these dark hills of time,
And we shall be where suns are not,
A far serener clime.

Verse 3

A few more storms shall beat
On this wild rocky shore,
And we shall be where tempests cease,
And surges swell no more.

Verse 4

A few more struggles here,
A few more partings o’er,
A few more toils, a few more tears,
And we shall weep no more.

Verse 5

’Tis but a little while
And he shall come again,
Who died that we might live, who lives
That we with him may reign.

Verse 6

Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that great day;
Oh, wash me in thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.

Verse 1

Beyond the smiling and the weeping
I shall be soon;
Beyond the waking and the sleeping,
Beyond the sowing and the reaping,
I shall be soon.
Love, rest, and home! Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.

Verse 2

Beyond the blooming and the fading
I shall be soon;
Beyond the shining and the shading,
Beyond the hoping and the dreading,
I shall be soon.
Love, rest, and home! Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.

Verse 3

Beyond the rising and the setting
I shall be soon;
Beyond the calming and the fretting,
Beyond remembering and forgetting,
I shall be soon.
Love, rest, and home! Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.

Verse 4

Beyond the parting and the meeting
I shall be soon;
Beyond the farewell and the greeting,
Beyond the pulse’s fever-beating,
I shall be soon.
Love, rest, and home! Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.

Verse 5

Beyond the frost-chain and the fever
I shall be soon;
Beyond the rock-waste and the river,
Beyond the ever and the never,
I shall be soon.
Love, rest, and home! Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.

Verse 1

Brief life is here our portion,
Brief sorrow, short-lived care;
The life that knows no ending,
The tearless life, is there.

Verse 2

O happy retribution!
Short toil, eternal rest;
For mortals and for sinners
A mansion with the blest!

Verse 3

And now we fight the battle,
But then shall wear the crown
Of full and everlasting
And passionless renown;

Verse 4

And now we watch and struggle,
And now we live in hope,
And Zion in her anguish
With Babylon must cope;

Verse 5

But He, whom now we trust in,
Shall then be seen and known;
And they that know and see Him
Shall have Him for their own.

Verse 6

The morning shall awaken,
And shadows shall decay,
And each true-hearted servant
Shall shine as doth the day.

Verse 7

Yes, God, my King and Portion,
In fulness of His grace,
We then shall see for ever,
And worship face to face.

Verse 1

Days and moments quickly flying
Blend the living with the dead;
Soon shall we who sing be lying,
Each within our narrow bed.

Verse 2

Soon our souls to God who gave them
Will have sped their rapid flight;
Able now by grace to save them,
Oh, that while we can we might.

Verse 3

Jesus, infinite Redeemer,
Maker of this mighty frame,
Teach, oh, teach us to remember
What we are, and whence we came:--

Verse 4

Whence we came, and whither wending
Soon we must through darkness go,
To inherit bliss unending,
Or eternity of woe.

Verse 5

Rev. Edward Caswell, 1849.

Verse 6

As the tree falls so must it lie;
As the man lives so will he die;
As the man dies, such must he be
All through the days of eternity.
Amen.

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

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!