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NUMBER: 161

For Ever With The Lord

by James Montgomery (1771-1854)


Tune: Nearer Home S.M.D.


1 FOR ever with the Lord,
Amen, so let it be;
Life from the dead is in that word,
'Tis immortality.
Here in the body pent,
Absent from Him we roam,
Yet nightly pitch our moving tent
A day's march nearer home.

2 Our Father's house on high,
Home of our souls, how near
E'en now to faith's transpiercing eye
Thy gates of pearl appear!
The thirsty spirit faints
To reach the home we love;
The bright inheritance of saints,
Jerusalem above.

3 And though there intervene
Rough roads and stormy skies,
Faith will not suffer ought to screen
Thy glory from our eyes.
There shall all clouds depart,
The wilderness shall cease,
And sweetly shall each gladdened heart
Enjoy eternal peace.




Comments:
Gregory Morris said ...
I am puzzled by some of the amendments here. All modern versions of the hymn are vastly different from the original but surely we can keep some of the phrases that sound so well

"And though there intervene rough seas and stormy skies" - rough roads are regrettably an inevitability ill suited to the use of the subjunctive voice used here.

At times to faith's foreseeing eye, perceiving maybe, but I am not sure about transpeircing though it is suitably 17th century.

Golden gates Vs gates of pearl. I think that is an overzealous correction. If the gates shine with a golden hue from my distant vantage point, I am not going to get too forensic about the actual material.

The thirsty spirit faints - surely "Our thirsty spirits faint" fits better here?

I could go on and on. The version here goes back to 1856. Any chance of tilting it back to Montgomery? Mr Darby's amendments from 1856 in his 1881 edition are all good. Why were they abandoned by the KLC? The only thing I would amend is transpiercing to Montgomery's foreseeing.



Monday, Feb 20, 2023 : 18:58


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