Adventist Pioneer Library

Waiting for Christ

How long we 've been the heirs of grace

  • No. 791
  • Words S. O. James.
  • 3 stanzas
  • Words only in the original

Words

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1

How long we 've been the heirs of grace!How long desired a crown to win!But still we have not reached the placeWhere we can say we 're free from sin.

2

We patient pray, and gladly sing,"Thy perfect will, O Lord, be done!"Our Captain will the victory bringWhich he for us has fairly won.

3

Our works as filthy rags appear,Except as humbly wrought in thee:Jesus, thy righteousness 't is clearOur righteousness at last must be.

About this hymn

As printed Words only. As printed: running head «WAITING FOR CHRIST—CLOSING WORK.»; hymn number «791» (large) in the left column of p. 260, below hymn 790, with the reference line «624, 136, 212,» in bold italic figures beside it (= the words may be sung to the tunes of hymns 624, 136 or 212 — UXBRIDGE, WARE and PARK STREET, all L. M.; the line ends with a comma, not a period, as printed). No meter is printed (the text is L. M., 8.8.8.8). The first word «How» is set in ordinary type (no small capitals). Lines 2 and 4 of each stanza are indented. «we 've» (stanza 1, line 1), «we 're» (stanza 1, line 4) and «'t is» (stanza 3, line 3) are set with a space before the apostrophe / after the «'t» and are kept so; apostrophes and quotation marks are written straight. The print sets a thin space before «!» and «:» («grace !», «win !», «thee :») and after the opening quotation mark («" Thy»), and a wide justification space in «perfect will»; they are closed up here. Stanza numbers printed without periods are written «1.»–«3.», as in the other deliveries of this book. «S. O. James.» in italics (the J in a swash italic) after stanza 3. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.

Source
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1886/1888)
Where
Waiting for Christ · No. 791 · printed page 260
Checked
lyrics verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-10-02