The Christian's Gain by Death.
3 Yes, the Christian's course is run;
Ended is the glorious strife;
Fought the fight, the work is done;
Death is swallowed up of life;
Borne by angels on their wings,
Far from earth the spirit flies;
Finds his God, and sits and sings,
Triumphing in Paradise!
4 Join we then, with one accord,
In the new, the joyful song;
Absent from our loving Lord,
We shall not continue long:
We shall quit the house of clay;
We a better lot shall share;
We shall see the realms of day,
Meet our happy brother there.
HARK! a voice divides the sky:
Happy are the faithful dead,
In the Lord who sweetly die:
They from all their toils are freed:
Them the Spirit has declared
Bless'd, unutterably bless'd:
Jesus is their great reward,
Jesus is their endless rest.
2 Follow'd by their works they go
Where their Head is gone
Reconciled by grace below,
Grace has opened mercy's door:
Justified through faith alone,
Here they knew their sins forgiven;
Here they laid their burden down,
Hallow'd, and made meet for heaven.
3 Who can now lament the lot
Of a saint in Christ deceased? Let the world, who know us not, Call us hopeless and unbless'd:
Faith in Jesus the Antidote of Death.
When from flesh the soul is freed,
Hastens homeward to return,
Mortals cry, "A man is dead!" Angels sing, "A child is born!" 4 Born into the world above,
They our happy brother greet;
Bear him to the throne of love,
Place him at the Saviour's feet:
Jesus smiles, and says, "Well done,
Good and faithful servant thou;
Enter, and receive thy crown;
Reign with me triumphant now."
Faith in Jesus, the Antidote of Death.
LET reason vainly boast her power,
To teach her children how to die;
The sinner, in a dying hour,
Needs more than reason can supply:
A view of Christ, the sinner's friend,
Alone can cheer him in the end.
2 When nature sinks beneath disease,
And every earthly hope is fled,
What then can give the sinner ease,
And fill with peace his dying bed?
Jesus, thy word his heart can cheer,
He's bless'd e'en then, if thou art near.
3 The gospel free salvation brings,
And Jesus is the gospel theme;
In death, the pardon'd sinner sings,
And triumphs in the Saviour's name:
O death, where is thy sting? they cry;
O grave, where is thy victory?
4 Ah! let me die the death of those
Whom Jesus washes in his blood;
Who on his faithfulness repose,
And know indeed that he is God;
Then round his throne we all shall meet,
And cast our crowns beneath his feet.
Death of a pious Widow.
HYMN 141.
2-6's & 4-7's.
Death of a youthful Believer.
AGAIN We lift our voice,
And shout our solemn joys;
Cause of highest raptures this,
Raptures that shall never fail:
See, a soul escaped to bliss;
Keep the Christian festival.
And shall we mourn to see
Our fellow-prisoner free?
Free from doubts, and griefs, and fears,
In the haven of the skies?
Can we weep to see the tears
Wiped for ever from his eyes?
No, dear companion, no!
We gladly let thee go,
From a suffering church beneath,
To a reigning church above:
Thou hast more than conquer'd death,
Thou art crown'd with life and love.
Thou, in thy youthful prime,
Hast leap'd the bounds of time:
Suddenly from earth released:
Lo! we now rejoice for thee,
Taken to an early rest,
Caught into eternity.
Thither may we repair,
That glorious bliss to share: We shall see the welcome day; We shall to the summons bow: Come, Redeemer, come away: Now prepare, and take us now.
Death of a pious Widow.
GIVE glory to Jesus our Head,
With all that encompass his throne:
A widow, a widow indeed,
A mother in Israel is gone!
Death of a Minister.
The winter of trouble is past;
The storms of affliction are o'er;
Her struggle is ended at last,
And sorrow and death are no more.
2 The soul has o'ertaken her mate,
And caught him again in the sky;
Advanced to her happy estate,
And pleasure that never shall die:
Where glorified spirits, by sight,
Converse in their holy abode;
As stars in the firmament bright,
And pure as the angels of God.
3 Behold! what a triumph is there,
Where all in his praises agree;
His beautiful character bear,
And shine with the glory they see:
The glory of God and the Lamb
(While all in the ecstasy join),
Darts into their spiritual frame,
And gives the enjoyment divine.
4 In loud hallelujahs they sing,
And harmony echoes his praise;
When lo! the celestial King
Pours out the full light of his face:
The joy neither angel nor saint
Can bear, so ineffably great;
But lo! the whole company faint,
And heaven is found at his feet.
Death of a Minister.
Now let our mourning hearts revive,
And all our tears be dry;
Why should those eyes be drown'd in grief Which view a Saviour nigh?
2 What though the arm of conq'ring death Does God's own house invade?
What though the prophet and the priest Be number'd with the dead?
The Dying Sinner and the Dying Saint.
3 Though earthly shepherds dwell in dust, The aged and the young;
The watchful eye in darkness closed,
And mute the instructive tongue :
4 The eternal Shepherd still survives,
New comfort to impart :
His eye still guides us, and his voice
Still animates our heart.
5 "Lo, I am with you!" saith the Lord:
"My church shall safe abide;
For I will ne'er forsake my own,
Whose souls in me confide."
6 Through every scene of life and death,
This promise is our trust;
And this shall be our children's song,
When we are cold in dust.
The Dying Sinner and the Dying Saint.
WHAT scenes of horror and of dread
Await the sinner's dying bed!
Death's terrors all appear in sight,
Presages of eternal night.
2 His sins in dreadful order rise,
And fill his soul with sad surprise;
Mount Sinai's thunders stun his ears,
And not one ray of hope appears.
3 Tormenting pangs distract his breast:
Where'er he turns, he finds no rest:
Death strikes the blow; he groans and dies,
And in despair and horror flies.
4 Not so the heir of heavenly bliss;
His soul is fill'd with conscious peace;
A steady faith subdues his fear;
He sees the happy Canaan near.
5 His mind is tranquil and serene;
No terrors in his looks are seen;
His Saviour's smile dispels the gloom,
And soothes his passage to the tomb.
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