_The Joyful Anticipation._
We shall meet beyond the river,
By and by, by and by;
And the darkness shall be over,
By and by, by and by;
With the toilsome journey done,
And the glorious battle won,
We shall shine forth as the sun,
By and by, by and by.
2 We shall strike the harps of glory,
By and by, by and by;
We shall sing redemption's story.
By and by, by and by;
And the strains for evermore
Shall resound in sweetness o'er
Yonder everlasting shore,
By and by, by and by.
3 We shall see and be like Jesus,
By and by, by and by;
Who a crown of life will give us,
By and by, by and by;
And the angels who fulfill
All the mandates of his will
Shall attend, and love us still,
By and by, by and by.
4 There our tears shall all cease flowing,
By and by, by and by;
And with sweetest rapture knowing,
By and by, by and by;
All the blest ones who have gone
To the land of life and song,--
We with shoutings shall rejoin,
By and by, by and by.
Rev. John Atkinson.