DOCTRINES >> ETERNAL LIFE
SDAH 437
My heav’nly home is bright and fair,
Nor pain nor death can enter there;
It’s glitt’ring tow’rs the sun outshine,
That heav’nly mansion shall me mine.
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For Worship Leaders
Make each hymn more meaningful with these helpful tools: Short, ready-to-use hymn introductions for church bulletins, multiple ways to introduce a hymn based on your worship theme and in-depth history and insights to enrich your song service.
Hymn Spotlight: I’m Going Home
Written in 1838 by Methodist preacher and hymn editor William Hunter, I’m Going Home captures the believer’s joyful anticipation of heaven—“My heavenly home is bright and fair; nor pain, nor death can enter there.” Its simple yet triumphant refrain, “to die no more,” rings with the hope of resurrection and eternal life promised in Christ. The tune, long associated with early American hymnals and shaped-note traditions, carries the song with a folk-like warmth, making it a cherished expression of the pilgrim’s journey toward the eternal city.
📖 Reference: Feel free to share but please cite hymnsforworship.org when reproducing.
Introductions for Sabbath School Song Service (based on specific lesson quarterlies):
This hymn was written by three men named William! A look at the indexes of authors and composers in SDAH will reveal that that name is the one that appears most often.
William Hunter (1811-1877), a Methodist preacher, educator, and hymnbook editor, also wrote SDAH 254, “The Great Physician.” “I’m Going Home” was written in 1838 and had five stanzas. It was published in editions of the Methodist Hymnal dated 1878 and 1905; in the SDA hymnbook Hymns and Tunes, 1886; and in the recent Great Hymns of Faith, compiled and edited by John W. Peterson and published by Singspiration, Inc. In this latter book, William Miller (1801-1878) is given credit for composing the music, and a William McDonald for making the arrangement. We have no information about either of these men, but it is almost certain that this Miller is not the famous preacher of the Second Advent message in the 1840s. There is no record of the latter having been a musician or composing any music.
“I’m Going Home,” as it was printed in James White’s 1860 supplement to the Advent and Sabbath Hymn Book.
In the 1971 edition of the Original Sacred Harp, virtually this same music is printed with Watts’s text “Why Should We Start, and Fear to Die.” The whole is credited to “Elder E. Dumas, 1856… assisted B. F. White in the revision of the Sacred Harp in 1869.” It is there in the key of A major; the tune name is TO DIE NO MORE.
📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.
Text
1
My heav’nly home is bright and fair,
Nor pain nor death can enter there;
It’s glitt’ring tow’rs the sun outshine,
That heav’nly mansion shall me mine.
Refrain
I’m going home, I’m going home,
I’m going home to die no more;
To die no more; to die no more-
I’m going home to die no more.
2
My Father’s house is built on high,
Far, far above the starry sky;
When from this earthly prison free,
That heav’nly mansion mine shall be.
3
Let others seek a home below,
Which flames devour or waves oe’r flow;
Be mine a happier lot to own
A heav’nly mansion near the throne.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(a) Rev 21:4 (b) Rev 21:23 (c) John 14:2
Author
William Hunter (1811-1877)
Metrical Number
L.M. Ref.
Composer
William Miller
Arranged
William McDonald (1820-1901)
Year Composed
19th century
