On time's tempestuous ocean wide

On time's tempestuous ocean wide,A gallant ship set sail,And out into the raging deepShe stood before the gale,Well fitted to abide the storm,And angry water's foam,And bring the captives that she boreUnto her haven home.

Long was to be her voyage—the time,Six thousand years almost,Ere she would make the highland hights,Along the heavenly coast;Yet with her sails expanded wide,On, on, she swiftly flew,Bearing with ardent hope and loveHer passengers and crew.

Oft tempests have assailed her round,And stormy winds rose high;And dark have been the mountain wavesThat bore her to the sky;But o'er them all, with steady helm,She onward pressed her way;Her compass, true unto the pole,Guides her to endless day.

Long, long, she has been out, and nowShe nears her haven home;A beacon light hangs o'er her bow,And bids her thither come;And voices joyful oft are heard,And music swelling high:"The land! the land! the land ahead!"With rapture now they cry.

Now soon will she be safely mooredAnd anchored in the bay;And all her passengers on shoreWill keep a festal day;And long their songs of joy will riseBeneath high heaven's dome;—They've passed the stormy sea of time,They've reached their haven home.