1
Not now, but in the coming years,
It may be when with Christ we stand,
We’ll read the meaning of our tears,
And there, sometime, we’ll understand.
It may be when with Christ we stand,
We’ll read the meaning of our tears,
And there, sometime, we’ll understand.
Then trust in God through all thy days;
Fear not, for He doth hold thy hand;
Though dark thy way, still sing and praise,
Sometime, sometime, we’ll understand.
Fear not, for He doth hold thy hand;
Though dark thy way, still sing and praise,
Sometime, sometime, we’ll understand.
2
We’ll catch the broken thread again,
And finish what we here began;
God will the mysteries explain,
And then, ah, then, we’ll understand.
And finish what we here began;
God will the mysteries explain,
And then, ah, then, we’ll understand.
3
We’ll know why clouds instead of sun
Were over many a cherished plan;
Why song has ceased when scarce begun;
’Tis then, sometime, we’ll understand.
Were over many a cherished plan;
Why song has ceased when scarce begun;
’Tis then, sometime, we’ll understand.
4
Why what we long for most of all,
Eludes so oft our eager hand;
Why hopes are crushed and castles fall,
Till then, sometime, we’ll understand.
Eludes so oft our eager hand;
Why hopes are crushed and castles fall,
Till then, sometime, we’ll understand.
5
God knows the way, He holds the key,
He guides us with unerring hand;
Sometime with tearless eyes we’ll see;
Yes, then, ’tis then, we’ll understand.
He guides us with unerring hand;
Sometime with tearless eyes we’ll see;
Yes, then, ’tis then, we’ll understand.
Delete Comment
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
Irvine, CA, United States
I recently did some research on the author of this hymn, Maxwell Cornelius. Born in 1842 and raised on a Pennsylvania farm, he faced trials as throughout his life. He and his wife lost their second child, a daughter, as an infant. Then Cornelius had an accident, which resulted in his leg being amputated. Putting an end to his work as a brick mason, he went to college and became a minister, leading churches in Pennsylvania, California, and Washington, DC. His wife, Mary, died in 1892 at 43 years of age, and according to her obituary she had been “an invalid for 20 years. ” Cornelius himself preached her funeral sermon, at the end of which he quoted the words of this hymn. Cornelius himself died the next year from pneumonia, at age 50 or 51.
To me, this is the sort of hymn an older believer writes, looking back on the twists and turns of his or her life, wondering why? As hinted in the third verse, Cornelius may have been thinking, why did God allow me to lose a leg? Why did He take our second child, her song ended before it was scarcely begun? Why did my wife have to be so sick for so long, dying so young, and leaving our two remaining daughters at just 23 and nine years of age? Why were there so many clouds over our cherished plans?
But he had such faith in God. He knew that today we can only know dimly. But one day we will know fully, just as the Lord knows us today. And then we will see with tearless eyes, for God shall wipe away every tear.
Luanda, Angola
Fear not, for He doth hold thy hand.
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Why what we long for most of all,
Eludes so oft our eager hand;
Why hopes are crushed and castles fall,
Till then, sometime, we’ll understand.
God knows the way, He holds the key,
He guides us with unerring hand;
Sometime with tearless eyes we’ll see;
Yes, then, ’tis then, we’ll understand.
Sometime I’ll understand. Keep me trusting You Lord Jesus!
Philippines
We may not understand today, but sometime, sometime, we'll understand. Let's just trust in God through all our days!
Philippines
We’ll catch the broken thread again,
And finish what we here began;
God will the mysteries explain,
And then, ah, then, we’ll understand.
Lucena City, Quezon, Philippines
Not now, but in the coming years, some time, we'll understand. So then let us trust in God in all thy days... Oh Lord Jesus!
Irvine, CA, United States
Thank you Lord You are always there
Yucaipa, California
Such an encouraging hymn for these days!