Bible Songs — Judgment and Second Advent

Waiting and Watching

We know not the time when he cometh,

No. 1323
Tune WAITING AND WATCHING.
Words S. M. H.
Music Will H. Pontius.
Key E-flat major
Singing key E♭ major
Time 6/8
3 stanzas

Words

We know not the time when he cometh,At even, or midnight, or morn;It may be at deepening twilight,It may be at earliest dawn.He bids us to watch and be ready,Nor suffer our lights to grow dim;That when he shall come, he may find usAll waiting and watching for him.

Chorus.

Waiting and watching, Waiting and watching;Waiting and watching, yes, waiting for thee, Waiting and watching, yes, waiting for thee;Waiting and watching,Waiting and watching, yes, waiting and watching,Still waiting and watching for thee.

I think of his wonderful pity,The price our salvation hath cost;He left the bright mansions of gloryTo suffer and die for the lost.And sometimes I think it will please him,When those whom he died to redeemRejoice in the hope of his comingBy waiting and watching for him.

O Jesus, my loving Redeemer,Thou knowest I cherish as dearThe hope that mine eyes shall behold thee,That I shall thine own welcome hear!If to some as a Judge thou appearest,Who forth from thy presence would flee,A Friend most beloved I'll greet thee,I'm waiting and watching for thee.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: hymn number «1323» (large, left), title «WAITING AND WATCHING.» centred (condensed capitals with larger initials); under it, in two lines, the epigraph «"Let your loins be girt about and your lamps burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord. * * * Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching."—Luke 12 : 35–37.»; then «S. M. H.» at the left (words; the period after «S» is hidden by the top of the treble clef) and «WILL H. PONTIUS.» at the right (music, capitals and small capitals). No meter, no reference line. The three stanzas are interlinear, three lines between the staves of systems 1–4 of PDF 535, numbered «1.»–«3.» in system 1; each stanza is eight verse lines, given here as the verse lines of the poem (each staff system carries two). «CHORUS.» (bold capitals) stands over system 5; the chorus is printed once and continues at the top of the next page (PDF 536, printed 535) in one system headed «WAITING AND WATCHING.—Concluded.». In the chorus the print has two lines of words: the upper line, sung by the soprano in long notes, and the lower line, in a small condensed type, sung at the same time by alto, tenor and bass in eighths; from «Still» one line serves all voices. The chorus is given here once, after stanza 1: its first and third lines are the soprano's (upper printed line), its second and fourth lines the lower voices' (lower printed line, sung at the same time), its last line is sung by all. The print sets some words unbroken under two notes («midnight», «knowest», «mansions», «welcome», «sometimes», «presence», «coming», «watching»); in stanza 3 the two words «If to» stand under one note. Syllable hyphens are joined («com-eth», «e-ven», «won-der-ful», «Re-deemer», «deep-en-ing», «be-hold», «ear-li-est», «ap-pear-est», «Re-joice», «be-lov-ed», «wait-ing»). The print sets a thin space before «;» and «!» («morn ;», «hear !»); it is closed up here; curly quotes and apostrophes are written straight. Under system 5: «From "Songs of Gratitude," by per. Fillmore Bros.» (centred) and the folio «534». Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.