The refrain describes our entry into heaven as “the glory hallelujah Jubilee.” The year of Jubilee, under the Law of Israel, called for the freeing of slaves (Lev. We are reminded that heaven is a “sweet forever,” an eternal dwelling place, fittingly occupied by “the immortals.” We reach it by “faith’s decree,” which is perhaps: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). So possibly Daniel de Marbelle knew what he was doing.Ī brief review of what is said about heaven in this song shows that it accords with Scripture, even though the thoughts are far from profound.ĬH-1. Then, I checked the Hebrew word translated Eden in the Bible. (I see that the Cyber Hymnal actually changes the word to Eden.) But it seemed like a weak gimmick to make up a word to rhyme with “laden” in the line before. CH-3 contains the lines, “Nevermore with anguish laden, / We shall reach that lovely aiden.” But what is an “aiden”? Did the poet mean Eden? It’s true that Paradise will be Eden-like in a number of ways. There were bells made of gold sewn around the border of the high priest’s robe (Exod. The only mention of golden bells in all the Word of God occurs in the book of Exodus. 21:18, 21), but no bells, golden or otherwise. The metal is mentioned many times in the book of Revelation (e.g. We do know the heavenly city contains a great deal of gold. de Marbelle imagined this being echoed in heaven by appropriately golden bells. I suspect the notion comes from the ringing of church bells, here on earth, to mark a death. They sent me a raft of material, and some of the note in the Cyber Hymnal is information I forwarded there from the Cody museum.Īs to the titular “golden bells,” mentioned six times in the song (including the three refrains), no mention is made in Scripture of the ringing of golden bells in heaven to welcome the saints to glory. de Marbelle’s connection with Buffalo Bill Cody, I contacted the museum that houses most memorabilia of the latter man.
But you’ll get much more on the Cyber Hymnal biographical note here. The Wordwise Hymns link will tell you a little. No other hymn writer I know of can claim such a remarkably varied and unusual life–an exciting life, but with a somewhat sad ending. The most interesting thing about the song is its author. (Possibly one reason it has been recorded by so many secular artists looking for something “religious” to include in their repertoires.) Note: This 1887 gospel song is a poetic expression of the believer’s comforting anticipation of heaven.
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