Music & HymnsWhen The Mists Have Rolled Away

"Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12

Courtesy of RMJC Archives Collection

Words: Annie Herbert Barker, 1883.

I sang this hymn for the first time in The Free Trade Hall in Manchester, in 1883, at one of Mr. Moody's meetings. The service was held at eight o'clock on a gloomy winter morning. The hall was densely crowded and filled with mist, so much so that the people could hardly be discerned at the farther end of the hall. I felt the need of something to brighten up the meeting, and then and there decided to launch this new song. It was received with much enthusiasm, and at once became a favorite of Mr. Moody's, and continued to be so until his death.

My Life and the Story of Gospel Hymns, by Ira D. Sankey (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Sunday School Times Company, 1907)

When the mists have rolled in splendor
From the beauty of the hills,
And the sunlight falls in gladness
On the rivers and the rills,
We recall our Father's promise
In the rainbow of the spray:
We shall know each other better
When the mists have rolled away.

Refrain

We shall know, as we are known,
Never more to walk alone,
In the dawning of the morning
Of that bright and happy day,
We shall know each other better,
When the mists have rolled away.

Oft we tread the path before us
With a weary, hardened heart.
Oft we toil amid the shadows,
And our fields are far apart.
But the Savior's "Come, ye blessèd"
All our labor will repay
When we gather in the morning
Where the mists have rolled away.

Refrain

We shall come with joy and gladness,
We shall gather round the throne.
Face to face with those that love us
We shall know as we are known.
And the song of our redemption
Shall resound through endless day
When the shadows have departed
And the mists have rolled away.

Refrain

Hymns supplied through the gracious generosity of the Cyber Hymnal Website