Waiting for Christ

A few more years shall roll

No. 817
Metre S. M. D.
Tune BONAR.
Words Horatius Bonar.
Music Lowell Mason.
Key G major
Singing key F major
Time 6/4
4 stanzas

Words

A few more years shall roll,A few more seasons come,And we shall meet the loved who nowAre sleeping in the tomb:Then, O my Lord, prepareMy soul for that great day;O, wash me in thy precious blood,And take my sins away!

A few more storms shall beatOn this wild, rocky shore,And we shall be where tempests cease,And surges swell no more:Then, O my Lord, prepareMy soul for that calm day;O, wash me in thy precious blood,And take my sins away!

A few more struggles here,A few more partings sore,A few more toils, a few more tears,And we shall weep no more:Then, O my Lord, prepareMy soul for that blest day;O, wash me in thy precious blood,And take my sins away!

'T is but a little while,And He shall come again,Who died that we might live, who livesThat we may with him reign:Then, O my Lord, prepareMy soul for that glad day;O, wash me in thy precious blood,And take my sins away!

About this hymn

As printed As printed: running head «WAITING FOR CHRIST—CLOSING WORK.»; hymn number «817» (large), tune name «BONAR. S. M. D.» centred over the music (condensed capitals, the «D.» in small capitals), «LOWELL MASON.» at the right (capitals and small capitals). Stanza 1 is interlinear, one verse line per half system, with «1.» before «A» («sea-sons» and «sleep-ing» hyphenated close under their notes, «pre - pare» and «a - way» with a spaced hyphen; «precious» is printed as one word under its two notes; the compositor set «And take» without a visible space — two words). The italic reference line «125, 899.» (= the same words may be sung to the tunes of hymns 125 or 899) stands under the music; stanzas 2–4 follow as text in the left column, numbered «2»–«4» without a full stop (written «2.»–«4.» here), the even lines of each stanza indented (kept here; stanza 1, interlinear in the print, is laid out the same way), with «Horatius Bonar.» in italics after stanza 4. In stanza 4 «And He» is set tight («AndHe») — two words, the capital H as printed. Apostrophes are written straight («'T is»); the print's thin space before «:», «;» and «!» is closed up. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.