Forever with the Lord

Forever with the Lord!

Amen

so let it be!

Life from His death is in that word

’Tis im­mor­tal­ity.

Here in the bo­dy pent

Absent from Him I roam

Yet night­ly pitch my mov­ing tent

A day’s march near­er home

My Fa­ther’s house on high

Home of my soul

how near

At times to faith’s fore­see­ing eye

Thy gold­en gates ap­pear!

Ah! then my spir­it faints

To reach the land I love

The bright in­her­it­ance of saints

Jerusalem ab­ove.

Yet clouds will in­ter­vene

And all my pros­pect flies;

Like No­ah’s dove

I flit be­tween

Rough seas and stor­my skies.

Anon the clouds de­part

The winds and wa­ters cease

While sweet­ly o’er my glad­dened heart

Expands the bow of peace.

I hear at morn and ev­en

At noon and mid­night hour

The chor­al har­mo­nies of Heav­en

Earth’s Ba­bel tongues o’er­pow­er;

Then

then I feel that He

Remembered or for­got

The Lord

is nev­er far from me

Though I pe­rceive Him not.

Forever with the Lord!

Forever in His will

The pro­mise of that faith­ful word

Lord

here in me ful­fill.

With You at my right hand

Then I shall nev­er fail;

Uphold me

Lord

and I shall stand

Through grace I will pre­vail.

So when my lat­est breath

Breaks through the veil of pain

By death I shall es­cape from death

And life eter­nal gain.

That re­sur­rect­ion word

That shout of vic­to­ry:

Once more

For­ev­er with the Lord!

Amen

so let it be!