Scripture Verse

He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Matthew 22:32

Introduction

portrait
Ada R. Habershon (1861–1918)

Words: Ada R. Ha­ber­shon, 1907. Ap­peared in Al­ex­an­der’s Gos­pel Songs No. 8, ed­it­ed by Charles M. Al­ex­an­der (New York: Flem­ing H. Re­vell, 1908), num­ber 6. In 1935, the Car­ter Fa­mi­ly re­cord­ed an adap­ta­tion titled Can the Circ­le Be Un­brok­en?

Music: Charles H. Ga­bri­el (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Charles H. Gabriel (1856–1932)

Lyrics

There are loved ones in the glo­ry,
Whose dear forms you often miss;
When you close your earthly story,
Will you join them in their bliss?

Refrain

Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, by and by?
In a better home awaiting
In the sky, in the sky?

In the joyous days of childhood,
Oft they told of wondrous love,
Pointed to the dying Sav­ior
Now they dwell with Him above.

Refrain

You remember songs of Hea­ven
Which you sang with childish voice,
Do you love the hymns they taught you,
Or are songs of earth your choice?

Refrain

You can picture happy gatherings
Round the fireside long ago,
And you think of tearful partings,
When they left you here below:

Refrain

One by one their seats were emptied,
One by one they went away;
Here the circle has been broken—
Will it be complete one day?

Refrain