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.

Refrain

O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.

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:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that blest day.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

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 bright day.

Refrain

A few more Sabbaths here
Shall cheer us on our way,
And we shall reach the endless rest,
Th’eternal Sabbath day;
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that sweet day.

Refrain

’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.

Refrain

Hark! how time’s wide sounding bell
Strikes on each attentive ear!
Tolling loud the solemn knell
Of the late departed year:
Years, like mortals, wear away,
Have their birth, and dying day;
Youthful spring, and wintry age,
Then to others quit the stage.

Sad experience may relate
What a year the last has been!
Crops of sorrow have been great,
From the fruitful seeds of sin:
O! what numbers gay and blithe,
Fell by death’s unsparing scythe?
While they thought the world their own,
Suddenly he mowed them down.

See how war, with dreadful stride,
Marches at the Lord’s command,
Spreading desolation wide,
Through a once much-favored land:
War, with heart and arms of steel,
Preys on thousands at a meal;
Daily drinking human gore,
Still he thirsts, and calls for more.

If the God, whom we provoke,
Hither should His way direct;
What a sin-avenging stroke
May a land, like this, expect!
They who now securely sleep,
Quickly then, would wake and weep;
And too late would learn to fear,
When they saw the danger near.

You are safe, who know His love,
He will all His truth perform;
To your souls a refuge prove
From the rage of every storm:
But we tremble for the youth;
Teach them, Lord, Thy saving truth;
Join them to Thy faithful few,
Be to them a Refuge too.

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

Refrain

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

We’ll gird our loins, my brethren dear,
Our distant home discerning:
Our waiting Lord has left us word,
Let ev’ry lamp be burning.

Refrain

Should coming days be cold and dark,
We need not cease our singing:
That perfect rest naught can molest,
Where golden harps are ringing.

Refrain

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

Refrain

My span of life will soon be done,
The passing moments say;
As lengthening shadows o’er the mead
Proclaim the close of day.

O that my heart might dwell aloof
From all created things,
And learn that wisdom from above
Whence true contentment springs!

Courage, my soul! thy bitter cross,
In every trial here,
Shall bear thee to thy heaven above,
But shall not enter there.

Courage, my soul, on God rely;
Deliverance soon will come;
A thousand ways has Providence
To bring believers home.

Twilight is falling over the sea,
Shadows are stealing dark on the lea;
Borne on the night winds, voices of yore
Come from the far off shore.

Refrain

Far away beyond the starlit skies,
Where the love-light never, never dies,
Gleameth a mansion, filled with delight,
Sweet happy home so bright!

Voices of loved ones, songs of the past,
Still linger round me while life shall last;
Lonely I wander, sadly I roam,
Seeking that far off home.

Refrain

Come in the twilight, come, come to me!
Bringing some message over the sea,
Cheering my pathway while here I roam,
Seeking that far off home.

Refrain

I am trav’ling tow’rd the sunset gate,
I’m a pilgrim going home;
For the glow of eventide I wait,
I’m a pilgrim going home.

Refrain

Evening bells I seem to hear
As the sunset gate draws near!
Evening bells I seem to hear
As the sunset gate draws near!

There is tranquil rest when day is done,
I shall lay me down in peace;
When the end is reached at set of sun,
I shall lay me down in peace.

Refrain

By the side of those most near and dear,
I shall drop life’s toil and care;
When the Master’s tender voice I hear,
I shall drop life’s toil and care.

Refrain

I shall rise again at morning dawn,
I shall put on glory then;
With the shadowy veil of death undrawn,
I shall put on glory then.

Refrain

When on my day of life the night is falling,
And in the winds, from unsunned spaces blown,
I hear far voices out of darkness calling
My feet to paths unknown.

Thou, who hast made my home of life so pleasant,
Leave not its tenant when its walls decay;
O Love divine, O Helper ever present,
Be Thou my strength and stay!

Be near me when all else is from me drifting—
Earth, sky, home’s pictures, days of shade and shine,
And kindly faces to my own uplifting
The love which answers mine.

I have but Thee, my Father; let Thy Spirit
Be with me then to comfort and uphold;
No gate of pearl, no branch of palm I merit,
Nor street of shining gold.

Suffice it if—my good and ill unreckoned,
And both forgiven through Thy abounding grace—
I find myself by hands familiar beckoned
Unto my fitting place.

Some humble door among Thy many mansions,
Some sheltering shade where sin and striving cease,
And flows forever through heaven’s green expansions
The river of Thy peace.

There from the music round about me stealing
I fain would learn the new and holy song,
And find at last, beneath Thy trees of healing,
The life for which I long.

While with ceaseless course the sun
Hasted through the former year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here;
Fixed in an eternal fate,
They have done with all below;
We a little longer wait,
But how little—none can know.

As the wingèd arrow flies
Speedily the mark to find;
As the lightning from the skies
Darts, and leaves no trace behind;
Swiftly thus our fleeting days
Bear us down life’s rapid stream;
Upwards, Lord, our spirits raise,
All below is but a dream.

Thanks for mercies past receive,
Pardon of our sins renew;
Teach us, henceforth, how to live
With eternity in view:
Bless Thy Word to young and old,
Fill us with a Savior’s love;
And when life’s short tale is told,
May we dwell with Thee above.

Thou, O Lord, art God alone,
Everlasting is Thy throne;
Through the ages men shall sing
Praise of Heav’n’s eternal King.
Thou, enthroned above the skies,
Wilt for Zion’s help arise:
Let Thy grace to her appear,
For the promised time is near.

If with love compassionate
We, Thy servants, mourn her state,
Wilt not Thou, O gracious Lord,
Help in Zion’s need afford?
Lord, Thy glory shall appear,
Kings and nations then shall fear;
And Thy Name shall be adored
When Thy Zion is restored.

This all ages shall record
For the glory of the Lord;
Thou dost hear the humble prayer,
For the helpless Thou dost care.
Thou eternal art, and great,
Heav’n and earth Thou didst create,
Heav’n and earth shall pass away,
Changeless Thou shalt live for aye.

As one lays a garment by,
Thou wilt change the starry sky
Like a vesture worn and old;
But Thy years shall ne’er be told.
Thou wilt make Thy servants’ race
Ever live before Thy face,
And forever at Thy side
Children’s children shall abide.

Let Sion and her sons rejoice,
Behold the promised hour;
Her God hath heard her mourning voice,
And comes t’exalt His power.

Her dust and ruins that remain
Are precious in our eyes;
Those ruins shall be built again,
And all that dust shall rise.

The Lord will raise Jerusalem
And stand in glory there;
Nations shall bow before His Name,
And kings attend with fear.

He sits a sovereign on His throne,
With pity in His eyes;
He hears the dying prisoners groan,
And sees their sighs arise.

He frees the souls condemned to death,
And when His saints complain,
It sha’n’t be said, “That praying breath
Was ever spent in vain.”

This shall be known when we are dead,
And left on long record;
That ages yet unborn may read,
And trust, and praise the Lord.

The Lord has heard and answered prayer
And saved His people in distress;
This to the coming age declare,
That they His holy Name may bless.

The Lord, exalted on His throne,
Looked down from Heav’n with pitying eye
To still the lowly captive’s moan
And save His people doomed to die.

All men in Zion shall declare
His gracious Name with one accord,
When kings and nations gather there
To serve and worship God the Lord.

Before my journey is complete
My vigor fails, my years decline;
My God, O spare me, I entreat;
The days of life are wholly Thine.

The earth and heav’ns shall pass away,
Like vesture worn and laid aside,
But changeless Thou shalt live for aye,
Thy years forever shall abide.

Thou, O Jehovah, shalt endure;
Thy throne forever is the same;
And to all generations sure
Shall be Thy great memorial Name.

Thy servants’ children shall remain
Forevermore before Thy face;
Enduring honor they shall gain,
Established ever in Thy grace.

Thou, whose unmeasured temple stands,
Built over earth and sea,
Accept these walls that human hands
Have raised, O God, to Thee.

Lord, from Thine inmost glory send,
Within these courts to bide,
The peace that dwelleth without end
Serenely by Thy side!

And let the Comforter and Friend,
Thy Holy Spirit, meet,
With those who here in worship bend
Before Thy mercy seat.

May they who err be guided here
To find the better way;
And they who mourn, and they who fear,
Be strengthened as they pray.

May faith grow firm, and love grow warm,
And pure devotion rise,
While round these hallowed walls the storm
Of earth born passion dies.