A city awaits us we soon shall behold,
Whose walls are of jasper, whose streets are of gold;
Not half of its glories have ever been told,
Blessèd homeland, dear homeland, sweet home of the soul.

Refrain

Oh, I long, yes I long there to dwell,
Mid the pleasures no mortal can tell,
In the place our dear Savior has gone to prepare,
Blessèd homeland, dear homeland, sweet home of the soul.

The friends that we love who have gone on before,
Now wait for our coming on yonder bright shore,
Where day never fades, tears may fall nevermore,
Blessèd homeland, dear homeland, sweet home of the soul.

Refrain

O homeland, dear homeland! tho’ eye hath not seen,
And sometimes the shadowy clouds intervene,
Thy light we’ll behold, and thy pastures so green,
Blessèd homeland, dear homeland, sweet home of the soul.

Refrain

Beyond the sunset’s radiant glow
There is a brighter world, I know,
Where golden glories ever shine,
Beyond the thought of day’s decline.

Refrain

Beyond the sunset’s radiant glow,
There is a brighter world, I know;
Beyond the sunset I may spend
Delightful days that never end.

Beyond the sunset’s purple rim,
Beyond the twilight, deep and dim,
Where clouds and darkness never come,
My soul shall find its heav’nly home.

Refrain

Beyond the desert, dark and drear,
The golden city will appear;
And morning’s lovely beams arise
Upon my mansion in the skies.

Refrain

Through the gates of pearl and jasper
To the city paved with gold,
When the ransomed host shall enter,
And their gracious Lord behold.
When they meet in blissful triumph
By the tree of life so fair
Shall we join the noble army,
And receive a welcome there?

Refrain

By the grace of God we’ll meet
In the city’s golden street
Shouting, glory! hallelujah!
At the dear Redeemer’s feet.

When the harvest work is ended,
And the summer days are past,
When the reapers go rejoicing
To their bright reward at last;
When the white robed angel leads them
To the gates of joy so fair,
Shall we join their happy number?
Will they bid us welcome there?

Refrain

Let us follow on with firmness,
Keeping ever in the way
Where our blessèd Lord has taught us,
To be faithful, watch and pray;
Then, in garments pure and spotless,
By the tree of life so fair,
We shall sing through endless ages
With the countless millions there.

Refrain

Daily, daily, sing the praises
Of the city God hath made;
In the beauteous fields of Eden
Its foundation stones are laid.

Refrain

O that I had wings of angels,
Here to spread and heavenward fly!
I would seek the gates of Zion,
Far beyond the starry sky.

All the walls of that dear city
Are of bright and burnished gold;
It is matchless in its beauty,
And its treasures are untold.

Refrain

In the midst of that dear city
Christ is reigning on His seat,
And the angels swing their censers
In a ring about His feet.

Refrain

From the throne a river issues,
Clear as crystal, passing bright,
And it traverses the city
Like a sudden beam of light.

Refrain

There the forests ever blossom,
Like our orchards here in May;
There the gardens never wither,
But eternally are gay.

Refrain

There the meadows green and dewy
Shine with lilies wondrous fair;
Thousand, thousand, are the colors
Of the waving flowers there.

Refrain

There the wind is sweetly fragrant,
And is laden with the song
Of the seraphs, and the elders,
And the great redeemèd throng.

Refrain

O I would my ears were open
Here to catch that happy strain!
O I would my eyes some vision
Of that Eden would attain!

Refrain

For thee, O dear, dear country,
Mine eyes their vigils keep;
For very love, beholding
Thy happy name, they weep.
The mention of thy glory
Is unction to the breast
And medicine in sickness
And love and life and rest.

O one, O only mansion,
O paradise of joy,
Where tears are ever banished
And smiles have no alloy!
The Lamb is all thy splendor,
The Crucified thy praise;
His laud and benediction
Thy ransomed people raise.

With jasper glow thy bulwarks,
Thy streets with emeralds blaze;
The sardis and the topaz
Unite in thee their rays;
Thine ageless walls are bonded
With amethyst unpriced;
The saints build up thy fabric,
The cornerstone is Christ.

Thou hast no shore, fair ocean;
Thou hast no time, bright day,
Dear fountain of refreshment
To pilgrims far away!
Upon the Rock of Ages
They raise thy holy tower;
Thine is the victor’s laurel
And thine the golden dower.

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

The morning shall awaken,
The shadows shall decay,
And each true-hearted servant
Shall shine as doth the day:
There God, our King and portion,
In fullness of His grace,
Shall we behold forever,
And worship face to face.

O sweet and blessèd country,
The home of God’s elect!
O sweet and blessèd country,
That eager hearts expect!
Jesus, in mercy bring us,
To that dear land of rest;
Who art, with God the Father,
And Spirit, ever blest.

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,
While the years of eternity roll;
Where no storms ever beat on the glittering strand,
While the years of eternity roll.

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,
Between the fair city and me;
Till I fancy but thinly the veil intervenes
Between the fair city and me.

That unchangeable home is for you and for me,
Where Jesus of Nazareth stands;
The King of all kingdoms forever is He,
And He holdeth our crowns in His hands,
And He holdeth our crowns in His hands;
The King of all kingdoms forever is He,
And He holdeth our crowns in His hands.

Oh, how sweet it will be in that beautiful land,
So free from all sorrow and pain,
With songs on our lips and our harps in our hands,
To meet one another again,
To meet one another again;
With songs on our lips and our harps in our hands,
To meet one another again.

Jerusalem the golden, with milk and honey blest,
Beneath thy contemplation sink heart and voice oppressed.
I know not, O I know not, what joys await us there,
What radiancy of glory, what bliss beyond compare.

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 blessèd are decked in glorious sheen.

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

O sweet and blessèd country, the home of God’s elect!
O sweet and blessèd country, that eager hearts expect!
Jesus, in mercy bring us to that dear land of rest,
Who art, with God the Father, and Spirit, ever blessed.

Brief life is here our portion, brief sorrow, short lived care;
The life that knows no ending, the tearless life, is there.
O happy retribution! Short toil, eternal rest;
For mortals and for sinners, a mansion with the blest.

That we should look, poor wanderers, to have our home on high!
That worms should seek for dwellings beyond the starry sky!
And now we fight the battle, but then shall wear the crown
Of full and everlasting, and passionless renown.

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

For thee, O dear, dear country, mine eyes their vigils keep;
For very love, beholding, thy happy name, they weep:
The mention of thy glory is unction to the breast,
And medicine in sickness, and love, and life, and rest.

O one, O only mansion! O paradise of joy!
Where tears are ever banished, and smiles have no alloy;
The cross is all thy splendor, the Crucified thy praise,
His laud and benediction thy ransomed people raise.

Jerusalem the glorious! Glory of the elect!
O dear and future vision that eager hearts expect!
Even now by faith I see thee, even here thy walls discern;
To thee my thoughts are kindled, and strive, and pant, and yearn.

Jerusalem, the only, that look’st from heaven below,
In thee is all my glory, in me is all my woe!
And though my body may not, my spirit seeks thee fain,
Till flesh and earth return me to earth and flesh again.

Jerusalem, exulting on that securest shore,
I hope thee, wish thee, sing thee, and love thee evermore!
I ask not for my merit: I seek not to deny
My merit is destruction, a child of wrath am I.

But yet with faith I venture and hope upon the way,
For those perennial guerdons I labor night and day.
The best and dearest Father Who made me, and Who saved,
Bore with me in defilement, and from defilement laved.

When in His strength I struggle, for very joy I leap;
When in my sin I totter, I weep, or try to weep:
And grace, sweet grace celestial, shall all its love display,
And David’s royal fountain purge every stain away.

O sweet and blessèd country, shall I ever see thy face?
O sweet and blessèd country, shall I ever win thy grace?
I have the hope within me to comfort and to bless!
Shall I ever win the prize itself? O tell me, tell me, Yes!

Strive, man, to win that glory; toil, man, to gain that light;
Send hope before to grasp it, till hope be lost in sight.
Exult, O dust and ashes, the Lord shall be thy part:
His only, His forever thou shalt be, and thou art.

Shall we meet beyond the river,
Where the surges cease to roll?
Where in all the bright forever,
Sorrow ne’er shall press the soul?

Refrain

Shall we meet, shall we meet,
Shall we meet beyond the river?
Shall we meet beyond the river,
Where the surges cease to roll?

Shall we meet in that blest harbor,
When our stormy voyage is o’er?
Shall we meet and cast the anchor
By the fair, celestial shore?

Refrain

Shall we meet in yonder city,
Where the towers or crystal shine?
Where the walls are all of jasper,
Built by workmanship divine?

Refrain

Shall we meet with Christ our Savior,
When He comes to claim His own?
Shall we know His blessèd favor,
And sit down upon His throne?

Refrain