Retreats and conferences can be mountaintop experiences.
Sometimes we come away from such a time and say, “Heaven can’t be much better
than this.” Of course, it will be, but that was the feeling Eliza Hewitt and
Emily Wilson had at the Ocean Grove Conference Grounds in New Jersey.
Eliza Hewitt was a Presbyterian and a schoolteacher. Emily
Wilson was a Methodist and a pastor’s wife. They both lived in Philadelphia,
but the time that they looked forward to was the time in the summer when they
would meet in Ocean Grove. It was almost like heaven.
One summer when they got together, Eliza Hewitt brought
along a poem she had written. She thought it might be a good song for their
Sunday schools to sing. Since Emily was a musician, Eliza asked her to write
the music for it. We may have mountaintop experiences here on earth, but we
still look forward to the time when we all get to heaven and see Jesus. “What a
day of rejoicing that will be!”
Scriptures: 2 Corinthians
4:17-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18; 1 John 3:2
Themes: Heaven, Joy,
Fellowship
Lyrics of the Hymn:
Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace;
In the mansions bright and blessed,
He’ll prepare for us a place.
Chorus:
When we all get to
heaven,
What a day of
rejoicing that will be!
When we all see
Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout
the victory.
While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will over-spread the sky;
But when trav’ling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.
Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving ev’ry day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.
Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open,
We shall tread the streets of gold.
By ELIZA EDMUNDS HEWITT (1851–1920)
Reference for the
Hymn:
Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (pp. 468-470).
Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
