Forever with the Lord
Forever with the Lord is a hymn text by James Montgomery (1821) in C.M. meter. Found in CW93 213, ELH 552, lw 289, th 578. Sung to ST. AGNES.
The hymn articulates the Lutheran confidence in the resurrection and eternal communion with Christ, grounded in Pauline theology. It reflects the comfort of the Gospel promise that death does not separate the believer from the Lord's presence, central to Lutheran funeral theology.
History & Background
Written by James Montgomery in 1821, this hymn was published in his collection of Christian poetry and quickly became popular in Protestant worship. It has appeared in numerous hymnals including The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) where it served as a standard eschatological hymn for English-speaking Lutherans.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship — 213
- Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary — 552
- Lutheran Worship — 289
- Trinity Hymnal — 578
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 616
Bulletin Note
Penned by English Methodist hymn-writer James Montgomery in 1821, this Common Meter hymn draws directly from Paul's Philippians 1:23, expressing the Protestant confidence that the cross secures believers in unshakeable communion with their risen Lord.
Preaching Connection
This hymn transforms the Law's reminder of mortality into Gospel proclamation by anchoring the believer's identity not in earthly permanence but in Christ's resurrection reality, making it a powerful response to any sermon on death, suffering, or the certainty of eternal life.
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law (conviction of sin and need for God's Word) → Gospel (Christ's redemption and grace) → Sanctification (Word as guide for holy living)
Overview
James Montgomery's meditation on 1 Thess 4:17. 'Forever with the Lord!' Amen, so let it be: life from the dead and immortality (st. 1). Here I roam, absent from him, yet I pitch my tent each night 'A day's march nearer home' (st. 2). Faith sometimes glimpses the golden gates (st. 3), and my spirit faints to reach Jerusalem above (st. 4). Father, fulfill this promise even here (st. 5); be at my right hand and I will stand and win (st. 6). By death I will escape death (st. 7), and before the throne I will keep repeating 'Forever with the Lord!' (st. 8).
Central theme: The promise 'forever with the Lord' sustaining the pilgrim day by day until death opens it fully
Structure
Eight short-meter quatrains. The promise (1); pilgrim tent (2); faith's glimpse (3); longing (4); fulfillment here (5); God's right hand (6); death escaping death (7); before the throne (8).
Law & Gospel Shape
Law implied: 'in the body pent'; 'Absent from Him' (2). Gospel: 'Life from the dead is in that word'; 'Uphold Thou me'; 'By death I shall escape from death' (1, 6-7).
Confessional Connections
1 Thess 4:17 (TLH's text): 'So we will always be with the Lord.' St. 1: 'Amen! so let it be', the Amen of certainty (SC Lord's Prayer, Conclusion). St. 5: 'E'en here to me fulfil' because the promise is already partly realized now through Word and Sacrament (Matt 28:20; AC V). St. 7: 'So when my dying breath / Shall rend the veil in twain, / By death I shall escape from death'; Christ's death tore the veil (Matt 27:51) and destroyed the one who has the power of death (Heb 2:14). Death becomes the door. St. 8: 'Knowing as I am known' (1 Cor 13:12) is the beatific vision.
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Funerals; Easter; All Saints; Last Sundays of the Church Year.
Historical Notes
Montgomery (1771-1854), Moravian-raised Sheffield journalist and poet, published it in The Poet's Portfolio (1835) in 22 quatrains. TLH uses a cento.
About the Tune
SCHUMANN (Cantica Laudis, Boston, 1850; adapted from Robert Schumann).
Scripture References
1 Thess 4:17 2 Cor 1:20 John 11:25 2 Cor 5:1-8 Heb 11:9-10 Heb 13:14 John 14:2 Heb 11:1 Ps 84:2 1 Pet 1:4 Gal 4:26 Ps 16:8 Ps 121:5 Exod 14:14 Matt 27:51 Heb 10:19-20 Heb 2:14-15 1 Cor 13:12
Stanza by Stanza
'Forever with the Lord!' Amen, so let it be. There is life from the dead in that word; it is immortality.
'So we will always be with the Lord' (1 Thess 4:17). 'That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen' (2 Cor 1:20). 'I am the resurrection and the life' (John 11:25).
- Scripture
- 1 Thess 4:17, 2 Cor 1:20, John 11:25
- Imagery & language
- Forever with the Lord; Amen; life from the dead; immortality.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel: the promise.
- Connection to previous
- The promise.
Shut up here in the body and absent from him, I wander, yet each night I pitch my moving tent a day's march nearer home.
'While we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord' (2 Cor 5:6). 'He lived in tents… looking forward to the city' (Heb 11:9-10).
- Scripture
- 2 Cor 5:1-8, Heb 11:9-10, Heb 13:14
- Imagery & language
- Body pent; absent; moving tent; a day's march nearer.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel: each day brings home closer.
- Connection to previous
- A day's march nearer.
My Father's house on high, home of my soul, how near your golden gates sometimes appear to faith's foreseeing eye!
'In my Father's house are many rooms' (John 14:2). 'Faith is the assurance of things hoped for' (Heb 11:1).
- Scripture
- John 14:2, Heb 11:1
- Imagery & language
- Father's house; home of my soul; faith's eye; golden gates.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel: heaven glimpsed by faith.
- Connection to previous
- Golden gates.
Then my spirit faints with longing to reach the land I love, the bright inheritance of the saints, Jerusalem above!
'My soul longs, yes, faints' (Ps 84:2). 'An inheritance that is imperishable… kept in heaven for you' (1 Pet 1:4). 'The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother' (Gal 4:26).
- Scripture
- Ps 84:2, 1 Pet 1:4, Gal 4:26, Col 1:12
- Imagery & language
- Spirit faints; land I love; inheritance; Jerusalem above.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel: the inheritance.
- Connection to previous
- Jerusalem above.
'Forever with the Lord!' Father, that is your will. Fulfill the promise of that faithful word for me even here.
'This is the will of my Father, that everyone who… believes in him should have eternal life' (John 6:40). 'I am with you always' (Matt 28:20).
- Scripture
- John 6:40, Matt 28:20
- Imagery & language
- Father's will; faithful word; fulfilled even here.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel: the promise already present.
- Connection to previous
- Even here.
Be at my right hand, and then I can never fail. Hold me up and I will stand; fight for me and I will win.
'Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken' (Ps 16:8). 'The LORD is your shade on your right hand' (Ps 121:5). 'The LORD will fight for you' (Exod 14:14).
- Scripture
- Ps 16:8, Ps 121:5, Exod 14:14
- Imagery & language
- Right hand; never fail; upheld; prevail.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel: God fights for us.
- Connection to previous
- Right hand.
So when my dying breath tears the veil in two, by death I will escape from death and gain eternal life.
'The curtain of the temple was torn in two' (Matt 27:51). 'The new and living way… through the curtain, that is, through his flesh' (Heb 10:20). 'Through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death' (Heb 2:14).
- Scripture
- Matt 27:51, Heb 10:19-20, Heb 2:14-15
- Imagery & language
- Dying breath; veil rent; death escapes death; life eternal.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel: death as passage.
- Connection to previous
- Death escaping death.
Knowing as I am known, how I will love that word and repeat it again and again before the throne: 'Forever with the Lord!'
'Then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known' (1 Cor 13:12).
- Scripture
- 1 Cor 13:12, Rev 7:15
- Imagery & language
- Knowing as known; love that word; before the throne.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel: the beatific vision.
- Connection to previous
- Before the throne.
Themes
Resurrection hope Heaven and eternal life Comfort in death Union with Christ Eschatology