The glory God prepareth for His own,
And what will happen when this age shall end;
But yet in vision Jesus hath made known
How fair and holy shall the Church descend,
Lit up with light of precious jasper stone.
With gold and pearls, and every radiant stone,
And reign in holiness and glory there,
And shine as suns and stars have never shone;
And He shall lead His Bride, His joy and care,
With blissful singing to His Father’s throne.
Of God’s dear children meeting from afar;
Within His burning love they blend as one,
Yet each, according as His counsels are,
Shall have peculiar glory of his own,
As one star differeth from another star.
And He is their exceeding great Reward;
Their stream of life, their beautiful array,
Their food, their joy, their radiance, Christ the Lord;
The music of their wondrous song shall say,
How great the joy that passeth thought or word.
Laid up with Christ in God, the mystery
Of resurrection life which He hath given:
A fount of living waters full and free;
A life by which the gates of death are riven,
A life which on the throne of Christ shall be.
So soon as we believe in Christ aright,
And quickened by the Spirit of the Son,
Receive Him as our only life and light,
As all the branches in the vine are one,
So we are one forever in His sight.
Do Thou sustain us on the desert road,
And draw us after Thee by might of love,
Our Fatherland art Thou, O love of God;
Once safe in Thee, no more shall we remove,
O Thou our everlasting sure abode.