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Believers Hymn Book · No. 331 · Words: Richard Jukes · Tune: St. Magnus Irish
With steady pace the pilgrim moves
Create PowerPoint slides from this hymn →A Victorian Plymouth Brethren pilgrimage hymn that pictures the Christian life as a desert journey toward heaven, sustained by the cheerful refrain 'Tis better on before.' It addresses trials, temptation, and the prospect of death with confident expectation.
Verse 1
With steady pace the pilgrim moves
To-wards the blissful shore,
And sings with cheerful heart and voice,
"'Tis better on before."
Verse 2
His passage through a desert lies
Where furious lions roar;
He takes his staff, and, smiling, says,
"'Tis better on before."
Verse 3
When tempted to forsake his God
And give the contest o'er,
He hears a voice which says, "Look up!
'Tis better on before."
Verse 4
When stern affliction clouds his cheek,
And want stands at the door,
Hope cheers him with her sunniest note,
"'Tis better on before."
Verse 5
And if on Jordan's bank he stands,
And sees the radiant shore,
Bright angels whisper, "Come away!
'Tis better on before."
Verse 6
And so it is, for high in heaven
They never suffer more;
Eternal calm succeeds the storm;
"'Tis better on before!"
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