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.

2 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. [Refrain]

3 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. [Refrain]

4 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. [Refrain]

5 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. [Refrain]

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #8019

(no biographical information available about J. N. Gortner.) Go to person page >

[I am waiting 'mid the shadows]

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The Cyber Hymnal #8019 White Wings: for the use of churches, Sunday schools, Y.P.S.C.E., and all kinds of religious services (1896), p.13
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