The Better Life

When we reach a quiet dwelling
On the strong eternal hills,

When we reach a quiet dwelling
On the strong eternal hills,
And our praise to Him is swelling,
Who the vast creation fills:
When the paths of prayer and duty
And affliction all are trod,
And we wake and see the beauty
Of our Saviour and our God;

With the light of resurrection,
When our changéd bodies glow,
And we gain the full perfection
Of the bliss begun below;
When the life that flesh obscureth
In each radiant form shall shine,
And the joy that aye endureth
Flashes forth in beams divine

While we wave the palms of glory
Through the long eternal years,
Shall we e’er forget the story
Of our mortal griefs and fears?
Shall we e’er forget the sadness
And the clouds that hung so dim,
When our hearts are filled with gladness
And our tears are dried by Him?

Shall the memory be banished
Of His kindness and His care,
When the wants and woes are vanished,
Which He loved to soothe and share —
Al the way by which He brought us,
All the grievings which He bore,
All the patient love He taught us,
Shall we think of them no more?

Yes! we surely shall remember
How He quickened us from death:
How He fanned the dying ember
With His Spirit’s glowing breath.
We shall read the tender meaning
Of the sorrows and alarms
As we trod the desert, leaning
On His everlasting arms.

And His rest will be the dearer
When we think of weary ways,
And His light will seem the clearer
As we muse on cloudy days.
Oh! ’twill be a glorious morrow
To a dark and stormy day;
We shall recollect our sorrow
As the streams that pass away.

“All the way by which the Lord thy God led thee.”