We are tossed and driv’n
On the rest­less sea of time;
Somber skies and howl­ing tem­pests
Oft suc­ceed a bright sun­shine;
In that land of per­fect day,
When the mists have rolled away,
We will un­der­stand it bet­ter by and by.

Refrain

By and by, when the morn­ing comes,
When the saints of God are ga­thered home,
We’ll tell the sto­ry how we’ve ov­er­come,
For we’ll un­der­stand it bet­ter by and by.

We are oft­en des­ti­tute
Of the things that life de­mands,
Want of food and want of shel­ter,
Thirsty hills and bar­ren lands;
We are trust­ing in the Lord,
And ac­cord­ing to God’s Word,
We will un­der­stand it bet­ter by and by.

Refrain

Trials dark on ev­ery hand,
And we can­not un­der­stand
All the ways that God could lead us
To that bless­èd pro­mised land;
But He guides us with His eye,
And we’ll fol­low till we die,
For we’ll un­der­stand it bet­ter by and by.

Refrain

Temptations, hid­den snares
Often take us un­awares,
And our hearts are made to bleed
For a thought­less word or deed;
And we won­der why the test
When we try to do our best,
But we’ll un­der­stand it bet­ter by and by.

Refrain