Northfield Hymnal ‎#24

24. Only a River Between Us

1 Only a river between us,
Parting dear ones awhile;
Only a vail that divides us,—
Hiding the light of their smile;
Only a sigh and a struggle,
Only a moment of pain;
Then, mid the splendors of Eden,
We shall behold them again.

2 Only a place that is vacant,
When to our Saviour we bend;
Only a strain that is missing,
When our devotions we blend;
Only a voice, and a footstep,
Only a clasp of the hand,
Drawing us onward and upward,
Home to the bright promised land.

3 Tho’ ‘neath the clods of the valley,
Forms that we cherish may sleep;
God has commissioned His angels,
Watch o’er our loved ones to keep.
Only the leaves of the vine-tree,
Wither and languish and die;
God hath transplanted its branches,
Garnered its fruits in the sky.

4 Only a moment of anguish,
When at the Jordan we part;
Only a silver cord broken,
Hushing each throb of the heart;
After the storm, ‘twill be sunshine,
After our labor, repose;
Then we shall meet where the morning,
Never, no never will close.

Text Information

• First Line: Only a river between us
• Title: Only a River Between Us
• Author: Fanny J. Crosby
• Publication Date: 1904
• Topic: Funeral: Burial; Heaven and Homeland; Worship

Tune Information

• Name: [Only a river between us]
• Composer: I. Allan Sankey