Reward of Saints

When God descends with men to dwell

No. 979
Metre L. M.
Words Ballou.
Singing key B♭ major
5 stanzas

Sung to SESSIONS (hymn 875)

Words

When God descends with men to dwell,And all creation wakes anew,What tongue can half the wonders tell?What eye the dazzling glory view?

Zion, the desolate, againShall see her lands with roses bloom,And Carmel's mount and Sharon's plainShall yield their spices and perfume;

Celestial streams shall gently flow,The wilderness shall joyful be,Lilies on parched grounds shall grow,And gladness spring on every tree;

The weak be strong, the fearful bold,The deaf shall hear, the dumb shall sing,The lame shall walk, the blind behold,And joy through all the earth shall ring;

The high and low shall meet in love,All pride shall die, and meekness reign,—When Christ descends from worlds aboveTo dwell with men on earth again.

About this hymn

As printed Words only. As printed: hymn number «979» (large) at the head of the right column of p. 331, with the reference line «875, 624, 932.» in bold italic figures beside it (sing to the tunes of hymns 875 SESSIONS, 624 UXBRIDGE or 932 FEDERAL STREET, all L. M.; no meter is printed — the lines 8.8.8.8 are L. M.; the last figure of «875» is the flat-topped italic 5, which looks like a 6 at a glance — see uncertainties.md). Stanzas numbered «1»–«5» without periods (written «1.»–«5.» here, as in the other deliveries of this book); lines 2 and 4 indented. The first word «WHEN» is set in a capital and small capitals; written «When». Worn type in stanza 3, line 4: «tree» prints «trec» (the bar of the last «e» is missing) — written «tree». «Ballou.» in italics, right-aligned, after stanza 5. The print sets a thin space before «?» and «;» («tell ?», «view ?», «perfume ;», «tree ;», «ring ;»); it is closed up here. Apostrophes («Carmel's», «Sharon's») are written straight. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.