My Home Above

The following text is probably found only in Cooper Revision of The Sacred Harp. John Wesley Miller (1862–1931), a singer, composer, and music teacher, wrote both text and tune around 1913, and it was included in The Sacred Harp, Eighth Edition. He was a member of the revision committees of the 1907 and 1909 editions of the Cooper Sacred Harp Book.

The song’s title is My Home Above, and it is found on page 524 of The Sacred Harp, Revised Cooper Edition, 2012. The hymn itself is Long Meter (8,8,8,8), and in the particular style of the song, adds a chorus that is 8s. with 6 lines. When the song was written it was dedicated to fellow singer M. J. Harmon of Tyler, Texas.[i]

The hymn reminds us that this world is not our permanent home, but a place of tenting. Christians do not expect to find rest in this world, but in that home above the skies, where there are no aches, or sobs, or sighs. The blessing of the temporary rest and transitory home is to spend our days for Christ.

1. While tenting here I have no home,
I’ll work and toil ’till death shall come,
For in this world I find no rest,
I’ll seek a home among the blest.

2. My home is not beneath the skies,
Where tempests rage and storms arise;
I have a home that’s built above,
Where all is peace, and joy and love.

3. There in that home above the skies,
They know no aches, or sobs, or sighs;
But all is joy and peace and love,
And Christ shall lead the host above.

Chorus:
O Lord, if I must live this life,
Then let me spend my days for Christ;
Let not my work of life be vain,
Lord help me sing a sweeter strain,
O Lord if I must live this life,
Pray help me spend my days for Christ.

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[i] I believe this was Moses Jethro Harmon, who lived in Tyler, but later moved to Fort Worth, Texas.