O, to Be Ready

1 Oh, to be ready when death shall come,
Oh, to be ready to hasten home;
No earthly clinging, no ling’ring gaze,
No strife at parting, no sore amaze;
No chains to sever that earth hath twined,
No spell to loosen that love would bind.

Refrain:
Oh, to be ready,
Oh, to be ready,
Oh, to be ready to go to our home.

2 No flitting shadows to dim the light
Of angel pinions all winged for flight;
No cloudlike phantoms, to fling a gloom
Twixt heav’n’s bright portals and earth’s dark tomb;
But sweetly, gently, to pass away
From earth’s dim twilight to perfect day. [Refrain]

3 To list to the music of angel lyres,
To catch the rapture of seraph fires;
To lean in trust on the risen One,
Till borne away to a fadeless throne,
Then, oh, to be ready when death shall come,
And oh, to be ready to hasten home. [Refrain]

Source: Crowning Day, No. 6: A Book of Gospel Songs #148

• MIDI file from Crowning Day, No. 6: A Book of Gospel Songs #148