Beulah Land

For much of his life, Edgar Stites seemed to be a relatively insignificant layman living in his hometown of Cape May, New Jersey. No one would have suspected that he would be the man selected for a glorious vision.

Stites, who was born in March 1836, had been a riverboat pilot on the Delaware River before fighting in the American Civil War. Then, one Sunday in 1876, everything changed when, out of the blue, God gave him a vision.

He tried to shape what he had seen as a hymn but soon fell on his face, so overwhelmed that he had to stop. He finished a week later but still “was so influenced by emotion that I could only pray and weep.”

In this hymn, called “Beulah Land,” Stites described Heaven as a place filled with “riches freely mine.” There were no problems and “all my night has passed away.” He saw mansions “prepared for me” in this “home forever more!”

He saw Jesus walking with him in “sweet communion” as “He gently leads me by His hand.” There, “streams of life forever flow” and the air is alive with “sweet perfume” as the angels and the “white robed throng” joined together “in the sweet redemption song.”

What a wonderful picture of our Heavenly home!

How easily we can became obsessed by problems and conflicts. Challenges and relationships. Uncertainties or world events. Yet rather than focusing on these things, it is much more important to praise God! He has planned for us a home with no problems, diseases, turmoil, or sorrow! A place filled with eternal rewards.

Today, praise God for His blessings! For sending Jesus to die for your sins. For the glorious place He has prepared for you! As Edgar Stites discovered, it all is so overwhelming!