Shall I be there

Shall I be there when empires crash and fall,
And sinners for the rocks and mountains call,
And vials of Gods wrath on nations poured,
And brother pierces brother with his sword,
When days of vengeance from the Lord has come,
And all the rebels meet their final doom, Shall I,
alas be there.

When all things are made new, shall I be there,
And Paradise restored in beauty fair,
Shall spread its verdure over all the earth,
And nature has come through her second birth,
When under vine and fig tree man may rest,
With none to make afraid or to molest.

Then Lord, let me be there.
Shall I be there when Zion’s jubilee
Shall mount and swell like billows of the sea.
The song of Moses and the Lamb they sing
In adoration to their saviour King,
Such harmony was never heard on earth
Since angel choir sang at Jesus birth.
Yes, then I would be there.

Shall I be there when that unnumbered throng,
That slept the dreamless sleep of death so long.
They were forgotten by the sons of men,
Nor were their names recorded with a pen,
But in the book of life their names were found.
With life immortal now they will be crowned,
Dear Lord, may I be there.

Shall I be there when loved and lost ones rise.
And healed again shall be the broken ties,
And when they stand up from their dusty bed.
Their faces now no longer pale and dead,
But life and love in every face will glow,
And sorrows tears will never, never flow.
Dear Lord let me be there.

Lord Jesus Christ, thou mighty son of God,
Possess the land thou purchased with thy blood.
We long, we wait, we hope for thy return,
The trifling joys of mortal life we spurn,
And while we wait that long expected day,
We serve the Lord as constantly we pray.
We all, may we be there.