Hymn 263
Brief life is here our portion
Kúkuru l’ọj’ aiye wa
PART 1
Brief life is here our portion;
Brief sorrow, short lived care;
The life that knows no ending,
The tearless life, is there.
Oh happy retribution!
Short toil, eternal rest;
For mortals and for sinners
A mansion with the blest!
And now we fight the battle,
But then shall wear the crown
Of full and everlasting
And passionless renown.
And He, whom now we trust in,
Shall then be seen and known;
And they that know and see Him
Shall have Him for their own.
The morning shall awaken,
The shadows flee away,
And each true hearted servant
Shall shine as doth the day.
There God, our king and portion,
In fullness of His grace,
We then shall see forever,
And worship face to face. Amin.
PART 2
or thee, O dear, dear country,
Mine eyes their vigils keep;
For very love, beholding
Thy happy name, they weep.
The mention of thy glory
Is unction to the breast
And medicine in sickness
And love and life and rest.
O one, O only mansion,
O paradise of joy,
Where tears are ever banished
And smiles have no alloy!
The Lamb is all thy splendor,
The Crucified thy praise;
His laud and benediction
Thy ransomed people raise.
With jasper glow thy bulwarks,
Thy streets with emeralds blaze;
The sardis and the topaz
Unite in thee their rays;
Thine ageless walls are bonded
With amethyst unpriced;
The saints build up thy fabric,
The cornerstone is Christ.
Thou hast no shore, fair ocean;
Thou hast no time, bright day,
Dear fountain of refreshment
To pilgrims far away!
Upon the Rock of Ages
They raise thy holy tower;
Thine is the victor’s laurel
And thine the golden dower. Amin.
Brief sorrow, short lived care;
The life that knows no ending,
The tearless life, is there.
Short toil, eternal rest;
For mortals and for sinners
A mansion with the blest!
But then shall wear the crown
Of full and everlasting
And passionless renown.
Shall then be seen and known;
And they that know and see Him
Shall have Him for their own.
The shadows flee away,
And each true hearted servant
Shall shine as doth the day.
In fullness of His grace,
We then shall see forever,
And worship face to face. Amin.
Mine eyes their vigils keep;
For very love, beholding
Thy happy name, they weep.
The mention of thy glory
Is unction to the breast
And medicine in sickness
And love and life and rest.
O paradise of joy,
Where tears are ever banished
And smiles have no alloy!
The Lamb is all thy splendor,
The Crucified thy praise;
His laud and benediction
Thy ransomed people raise.
Thy streets with emeralds blaze;
The sardis and the topaz
Unite in thee their rays;
Thine ageless walls are bonded
With amethyst unpriced;
The saints build up thy fabric,
The cornerstone is Christ.
Thou hast no time, bright day,
Dear fountain of refreshment
To pilgrims far away!
Upon the Rock of Ages
They raise thy holy tower;
Thine is the victor’s laurel
And thine the golden dower. Amin.