Tis Better on Before

O ye who tread life’s pilgrim away
With weary heart and sore,
Find hope and comfort in the thought—
’Tis better on before.

Though circumstances adverse be,
And scanty be your store,
Be patient; brighter days will come—
’Tis better on before.

Though you may be beset by foes
Who wound you o’er and o’er,
A crown awaits the victor's brow;
’Tis better on before.

Ye struggling souls, who life’s dark sky
With anxious eyes explore,
List, as Hope whispers in your ear,
’Tis better on before!

Though oft with gloomy fears oppress'd
On this wild rocky shore,
“He giveth His beloved rest;”
’Tis better on before.

What though we be of low estate,
Of origin obscure,
Christ many mansions hath prepared;
’Tis better on before.

Were this cold world our only rest,
Unblest were we and poor.
This life is but a fleeting dream;
’Tis better on before.

Though Ruin threaten our frail barque,
And well nigh whelm it o’er,
We'll make the port of Heaven’s deep calm;
’Tis better on before.

What though friend after friend depart,
And leave us lone and sore,
This life’s a scene of constant change—
’Tis better on before.

If langour’s soft insidious touch
This mortal frame steal o’er,
There is a land where none are sick;
’Tis better on before.

Why should we mourn our lov’d ones gone
As though all hope were o’er?
The saying’s truth they sweetly prove—
“’Tis better on before.”

There's not an ill this world contains
That Heaven cannot cure;
Ye heirs of immortality,
’Tis better on before!

The clouds that gather in life’s sky
And dim the prospect o'er—
Pierce with the eagle eye of faith!
’Tis better on before.

Then come what may — earth’s keenest woes—
We’ll dread them all no more;
They will endure but for a night;
’Tis better on before!