When The Home Gates Swing Open

The Gaither Vocal Band performs “When The Home Gates Swing Open” as a traditional gospel hymn about waiting for heaven. The first verse describes life as toil: “Through this world we keep on toiling, toiling through the storm and rain, watching and patiently waiting until the Savior comes again.”

The chorus is a prayer of readiness. “I am coming, Lord, trusting in Thy word,” the singers say, asking to be kept from the paths of sin and hidden in his love, with their names written above for the day “when the gates swing open, let me in.” The remaining verses ask for practical grace along the way. They want to be fit for service, to understand some day the trials they have stood, to love a neighbor and treat a friend well, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit and kept humble to the end. The last verse is weary but hopeful, since angels in heaven beckon a tired soul to come in. The harmony style gives the old words a warm, unhurried feel, and the song suits funerals, homegoing services and anyone who is tired from carrying a heavy load.

Christ coming to take his people home is John 14:3. The gates of the city never shut in Revelation 21:25, and asking to be kept from sin is Psalm 119:133.