Hymns about heaven

[organist]

I went to the Building Bridges seminar on Monday with the Archbishop of Canterbury. We heard Christian and Islamic scholars talking about Death and Resurrection. I raised the matter of hymns about heaven being largely Victorian translations of older hymns and often lovely but making heaven sound repetitive and a bit dull. The Archbishop said heaven would be where we enjoy God and hell would be where we no longer wanted to enjoy God.
Any thoughts about new texts? Brother sister, Oh Lord my God, Love divine, Be still my soul all refer to heaven. Old hymns Jerusalem the golden, My God how wonderful thou art, Blessed city, In heavenly love abiding. Maybe we need something new about the enjoyment of God?

[Hare]

How about this by John Greenleaf Adams,1810-87 Perhaps more about "Heaven on earth"............

Heaven is here, where hymns of gladness
Cheer the toilers’ rugged way,
In this world where clouds of sadness
Often change to night our day;
Heaven is here, where misery lightened
Of its heavy load is seen,
Where the face of sorrow brightened,
By the deed of love hath been.

Where the sad, the poor, despairing,
Are uplifted, cheered, and blest,
Where in others’ labors sharing,
We can find our surest rest;
Where we heed the voice of duty,
Tread the path that Jesus trod;
This is Heaven, its peace, its beauty,
Radiant with the love of God.

[organist]

It's a tad oldfashioned?

[JW]

"Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love and praise."

May be Victoriana, but it hits the spot for me every time. Can't think of anything better!

Maybe one of our lyricists could write a new one? (I would but there is something else on my list for the past year!)

[Peter Jones]

How about this by John Greenleaf Adams.......

Devastatingly deontological and dull. (Well, you did ask....)

[Southern Comfort]

Or the anti-heaven hymn:

"...not in some heaven, light years away..."

[organist]

Absolutely agree JW.
When we sing to God in heaven we shall find such harmony.
John Bell says the harmony in heaven will be unimaginable as all the different harmonic systems from around the world will all fit together!