"The Beacon Light" (1868)
[Words by Eben Eugene Rexford, 1848-1916]
Music by George Frederick Root, 1820-1895

Chicago: Root & Cady, 67 Washington Street
[Source: pages 32-33, from "Chapel Gems for Sunday Schools"]

1.
We are sailing o’er an ocean,
To a far and foreign shore;
And the waves are dashing ’round us,
And we hear the breakers roar;
But we look above the billows,
In the darkness of the night;
And we see the steady gleaming
Of our changeless beacon light.

CHORUS [sung after each VERSE]
O, the light is flashing brightly,
From a calm and stormless shore,
Where we hope to cast our anchor,
When our voyaging is o’er.

2.
Though the skies are dark above us,
And the waves are dashing high,
Let us look toward the beacon,
We shall reach it by and by;
’Tis the light of God’d great mercy,
And He holds it up in view,
As a guide-star to his children,
As a guide to me and you.

3.
He will keep it ever burning,
From the lighthouse of His love;
And it always shines the brightest
When the skies are dark above;
If we keep our eyes upon it,
And we steer our course aright,
We shall reach the harbor safely,
By the blessed beacon light.