The River of Life (Howe)

They sing of a riv­er whose val­ue and worth

Exceeds rich­est trea­sure or gem

Whose flow­ing is un­to the ends of the earth

Whose mis­sion the ran­som of men.

The riv­er of life

the riv­er of life

The riv­er of life

is flow­ing for you

Is flow­ing for you

is flow­ing for me.

The riv­er of life is flow­ing for all.

They tell us the bliss of that life giv­ing stream

Whose wa­ters are riv­ers of love;

But is it not bet­ter to taste than to dream

Of rap­tures of Ca­naan above?

They say that this riv­er of heal­ing is free

To all who will wash and be whole;

But it is not wis­er for each one to see

This riv­er of life in his soul?

What joy to the hearts now im­mersed in the stream

That flows from our Sav­ior’s own side;

They feel that in them dwells this heav­en­ly theme—

They’re filled with the bliss of that tide.