Waiting (Gortner)

I am wait­ing ’mid the sha­dows

Of this dark and dis­mal shore;

I am waiting for the cur­rent

For the Lord to bear me o’er.

For a cen­tu­ry I have wan­dered

’Mid the mur­ky shades of earth;

Now I long for Heav­en’s glo­ry

World of hap­pi­ness and mirth.

Only wait­ing

on­ly wait­ing

Only wait­ing for the dawn;

Waiting to be with the dear ones

Who have o’er the cur­rent gone.

All my earth­ly tasks are fin­ished

I’m just wait­ing for my Lord;

Soon my jour­ney will be end­ed

And I’ll go to my re­ward.

Soon the boat­man o’er the cur­rent

Will come glid­ing with his bark

And he’ll bear me o’er the bil­lows

That are roll­ing deep and dark.

Soon the sun­light of the heav­en

That is built for man on high

Will in beams of bright­est glo­ry

Fall in tri­umph from the sky.

While I mount from death and dark­ness

To be­hold the glow­ing face

Of the Christ I love so dear­ly

And to rest in His em­brace.

Only wait­ing for the morn­ing

Waiting by the cur­rent dark;

Waiting for the com­ing sig­nal

For my man­sion to em­bark.

And I know the boat­man’s near me

For it seems I hear the oar

Of the boat that soon will bear me

To the bright ec­sta­tic shore.

Farewell earth

with all thy sha­dows

Farewell dark­ness

death and pain

I am go­ing home to glo­ry

With the saints on high to reign;

There these eyes shall see the splen­dors

Of the ci­ty built on high

There these feet shall tread the pave­ments

Where none ev­er droop or die.