I Will Meet You in The Morning

The Gaither Vocal Band sings “I Will Meet You in The Morning,” a gospel song about a reunion on the far side of death. The setting is “the bright riverside” at “the close of life's long weary day,” when “all sorrow has drifted away” and the gates “open wide.” The singer imagines waiting at the portals and greeting a friend with a plain hello.

The second half of the verse is warm and a little humorous. “I'll meet you in the morning with a 'How do you do?'” the singer says, and the two will “sit down by the river” to renew old acquaintance. The recognition line is simple, “You'll know me in the morning by the smile that I wear.” The chorus describes what is waiting: “There will be no disappointments and nobody shall die in that land,” and “exchange the old cross for a crown.” The city is described as “built four square.”

The city built foursquare is the square layout of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:16, and the end of sorrow and death is Revelation 21:4. Exchanging the cross for a crown fits 2 Timothy 4:8, which speaks of a crown of righteousness for those who love his appearing.