Adventist Pioneer Library

Waiting for Christ

O'er the distant mountain breaking

  • No. 856
  • Metre 8s, 7s & 4.
  • Words John S. B. Monsell.
  • 5 stanzas
  • Words only in the original

Words

⤢ Full screen
1

O'er the distant mountain breaking,Comes the reddening dawn of day;Rise, my soul, from sleep awaking,Rise, and sing, and watch, and pray;'T is the SaviourOn his bright returning way.

2

O thou long-expected, wearyWaits my anxious soul for thee;Life is dark, and earth is drearyWhere thy light I do not see:O my Saviour,When wilt thou return to me?

3

Long, too long, in sin and sadness,Far away from thee I pine;When, O when, shall I the gladnessOf thy Spirit feel in mine?O my Saviour,When shall I be wholly thine?

4

Nearer is my soul's salvation,Spent the night, the day at hand;Keep me in my lowly station,Watching for thee, till I stand,O my Saviour,In thy bright and promised land.

5

With my lamp well-trimmed and burning,Swift to hear, and slow to roam,Watching for thy glad returningTo restore me to my home;Come, my Saviour,O my Saviour, quickly come!

About this hymn

As printed Words only. As printed: hymn number «856» (large) at the top of the right column of p. 284, with the reference line «844, 857.» in italic figures on the same line (= sung to the tunes of hymns 844 and 857; a speck stands before «844»); five stanzas of six lines, numbered «1»–«5» without periods (written «1.»–«5.» here, as in the other deliveries of this book), lines 2, 4 and 6 indented and line 5 indented further; «John S. B. Monsell.» in italics, right-aligned, after stanza 5 (the «J» in the italic swash form). The first word «O'ER» is set in capitals and small capitals (written «O'er» here). The print sets a thin space before «;», «:», «?» and «!» («day ;», «pray ;», «thee ;», «see :», «me ?», «pine ;», «mine ?», «thine ?», «hand ;», «home ;», «come !»); it is closed up here. «'T is» is written with a space, as printed, the apostrophe straight. Spelling («Saviour»), 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. 856 · printed page 284
Checked
lyrics verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-10-02