THROUGH DARKNESS TO LIGHT.
By M. Boden
The city of God is fair,
Untouched by pain or sin,
No child of grief or care
Shall dwell its walls within;
For God shall wipe away our tears,
And bless his own through endless years. The way to this city of light
Is long and often drear;
We wander day and night,
Sometimes in doubt and fear;
And here and there along the way,
We stop to weep, to plead, and pray. Our feet grow weary oft
Of plodding on and on,
And as we look aloft,
Our guiding-star seems gone;
While hands that fondly clasped our own
Slip out of ours, and we're alone. Alone?—No, there is One
Who stretches out his hand,
And bids us follow on,
Into the promised land;
This Friend beguiles the weary hours—
The way begins to bloom with flowers. And as we near the end,
Our journey almost through,
Jesus, our blessed friend,
Points to the prize in view.
O rapturous sight! O glorious spot!
Where earth-born care is all forgot! For just before us lies
The city of our King,
Its walls of jasper rise,
A grand, enduring thing;
So beautiful this home, and blest,
We gladly hail its offered rest. O city of love and light
Where only glad hearts be,
No shadows of coming night
Shall ever fall on thee;
And time, decay, nor threatening storm
Can ever mar thy beauteous form. And thou shalt always stand,
Blest paradise of God,
Within the promised land,
To Eden bloom restored.
And those we loved shall gather here,
To share thy comfort and thy cheer.