1216 "They are not lost, but gone before.” L. M. 1 DEAR is the spot where Christians sleep, And sweet the strains their spirits pour; Oh, why should we in anguish weep? They are not lost, but gone before. 2 Secure from every mortal care,

By sin and sorrow vexed no more, Eternal happiness they share

Who are not lost, but gone before. 3 To Zion's peaceful courts above

In faith triumphant may we soar, Embracing, in the arms of love,

The friends not lost, but gone before. 4 To Jordan's bank whene'er we come, And hear the swelling waters roar; Jesus! convey us safely home,

To friends not lost, but gone before.

But the wide arms of mercy are spread to enfold thee,

And sinners may hope, for the Sinless hath died.

3 Thou art gone to the grave! and, its mansions forsaking,

Perchance thy weak spirit in doubt lingered long:

But the sunshine of glory beamed bright on thy waking,

And full on thine ear burst the seraphim’s song.

4 Thou art gone to the grave! but we will not deplore thee,

Since God was thy Ransom, thy Guar dian, and Guide:

He gave thee, he took thee, and he will restore thee;

And death has no sting, for the Saviour hath died.

A few more seasons come; And we shall be with those that rest, Asleep within the tomb:

Then, O my Lord, prepare

My soul for that great day;

Oh, wash me in thy precious blood, And take my sins away!

2 A few more storms shall beat

On this wild, rocky shore;

Then, O my Lord, prepare

My soul for that glad day; Oh, wash me in thy precious blood, And take my sins away!

1 GUIDE me, O thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but thou art mighty; Hold me with thy powerful hand: Bread of heaven!

Feed me till I want no more.

And surges swell no more:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that calm day;

Oh, wash me in thy precious blood,
And take my sins away!

3 A few more struggles here,

A few more partings o'er,

A few more toils, a few more tears,
And we shall weep no more:
Then, O my Lord, prepare

My soul for that blest day;
Oh, wash me in thy precious blood,
And take my sins away!

4 A few more Sabbaths here

Shall cheer us on our way;
And we shall reach the endless rest,
Th'eternal Sabbath-day :
Then, O my Lord, prepare

My soul for that sweet day;
O, wash me in thy precious blood,
And take my sins away!

5 'Tis but a little while

And he shall come again,

Who died that we might live, who lives
That we with him may reign:

Whence the healing streams do flow; Let the fiery, cloudy pillar

Lead me all my journey through :
Strong Deliverer!

Be thou still my strength and shield.
3 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of death! and hell's Destruction!
Land me safe on Canaan's side:

Shine around us; thou art light.

Sad truth, were this to be our home; But let this thought our spirits cheer, "We seek a city yet to come." 2 "We've no abiding city here;" We seek a city out of sight: Zion its name - the Lord is there, It shines with everlasting light.

3 O sweet abode of peace and love, Where pilgrims freed from toil are blest!

Had I the pinions of the dove,

I'd fly to thee, and be at rest.

4 But hush, my soul! nor dare repine;
The time my God appoints is best:
While here, to do his will be mine,
And his to fix my time of rest.

1224 “Strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” 6s & 4s.

1 I'm but a stranger here,
Heaven is my home;
Earth is a desert drear,
Heaven is my home:
Danger and sorrow stand
Round me on every hand;
Heaven is my fatherland

Heaven is my home.

2 What though the tempest rage,
Heaven is my home;
Short is my pilgrimage,
Heaven is my home:
Time's cold and wint'ry blast
Soon will be overpast;
I shall reach home at last-
Heaven is my home.

3 There, at my Saviour's side,
Heaven is my home;
I shall be glorified
Heaven is my home:

There are the good and blest, Those I loved most and best, And there I, too, shall rest; Heaven is my home!

1225 "The former things are passed away.”

1 THE people of the Lord

Are on their way to heaven; There they obtain their great reward, The prize will there be given.

2 T is conflict here below;

"T is triumph there, and peace: On earth we wrestle with the foc; In heaven our conflicts cease.

3 'T is gloom and darkness here;
'Tis light and joy above:
There all is pure, and all is clear;
There all is peace and love.

4 There rest shall follow toil,
And ease succeed to care:
The victors there divide the spoil;
They sing and triumph there.

5 Then, let us joyful sing!

The conflict is not long:

S. M

"My soul followeth hard after Thee."
Psalm 63.

1227
WE go with the redeemed to taste
Of joy supreme, that never dies;
Our feet still press the weary waste,

Our hearts, cur home, are in the skies.
And, oh! while on to Zion's hill
The toilsome path of life we tread,
Around us, loving Father, still

Thy circling wings of mercy spread.
3 From day to day, from hour to hour,
Oh let our rising spirits prove
The strength of thine almighty power,
The sweetness of thy saving love!

1228 "Thou art to pass over Jordan this 85 & 7s.

day."

1 Mr days are gliding swiftly by,
And I, a pilgrim stranger,
Would not detain them as they fly,
Those hours of toil and danger:

For now we stand on Jordan's strand,
Our friends are passing over;
And, just before, the shining shore
We may almost discover.

2 Our absent king the watchword gave,

"Let every lamp be burning; We look afar, across the wave, Our distant home discerning: For now, etc.

3 Should coming days be dark and cold, We will not yield to sorrow, For hope will sing, with courage bold, "There 's glory on the morrow: For now, etc.

And, with transporting joys, recount The labors of our feet.

4 Eternal glory to the King,

That brought us safely through! Our tongues shall never cease to sing, And endless praise renew.

That rebels should be blest!

2 That we with sin polluted

7s & 6s.

Should have our home on high! That we should dwell in mansions Beyond the starry sky! And now we fight the battle, And then we wear the crown Of full and everlasting

And ever bright renown!

3 I know not, oh! I know not
What social joys are there;
What pure, unfading glory,
What light beyond compare;
And when I fain would sing them,
My spirit fails and faints,-
And vainly strives to image
Th' assembly of the saints.
4 There is the throne of David,

And there, from toil released,
The shout of them that triumph,
The song of them that feast:
O Garden free from sorrow!
O Plains that fear no strife!
O princely Bowers, all blooming!
O Realm and Home of life!

1 LORD! what a wretched land is this,

That yields us no supply;

No cheering fruits, no wholesome trees,

Nor streams of living joy!

2 Our journey is a thorny maze,

But we press upward still,

Forget these troubles of the ways,
And march to Zion's hill.

1 JERUSALEM! my happy home! Name ever dear to me!

When shall my labors have an end, In joy, and peace, in thee?

C. M.

2 Oh! when, thou city of my God,
Shall I thy courts ascend,
Where evermore the angels sing,
Where Sabbaths have no end?

3 There happier bowers, than Eden's, bloom, Nor sin nor sorrow know:

Blest seats! through rude and stormy scenes,

I onward press to you.

4 Why should I shrink at pain and woe?
Or feel at death dismay?

I've Canaan's goodly land in view,
And realms of endless day.

5 Jerusalem, my glorious home!

My soul still pants for thee;
Then shall my labors have an end,
When I thy joys shall see.

1 FAR from my heavenly home,

Far from my Father's breast, Fainting, I cry, "Blest Spirit, come, And speed me to my rest!

2 Upon the willows long

My harp has silent hung;

How should I sing a cheerful song,
Till thou inspire my tongue?

3 My spirit homeward turns,

And fain would thither flee;

My heart, O Zion, droops and yearns, When I remember thee.

4 To thee, to thee I press

A dark and toilsome road:

When shall I pass the wilderness,
And reach the saints' abode?

3 Then at thy feet, with awful fear, Th' adoring armies fall;

With joy they shrink to nothing there, Before th' eternal All.

4 The more thy glories strike my eyes, The humbler I shall lie;

Thus while I sink, my joys shall rise
Immeasurably high.

1234 "When shall I see my Father's face?”

1 ON Jordan's stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye

To Canaan's fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.

2 Oh the transporting, rapturous scene, That rises to my sight!

M.

3

Sweet fields arrayed in living green, And rivers of delight!

O'er all those wide extended plains Shines one eternal day;

There God, the Sun, forever reigns, And scatters night away.

C. M.

4 No chilling winds, no poisonous breath Can reach that healthful shore; Sickness and sorrow, pain and death Are felt and feared no more.

5 When shall I reach that happy place
And be forever blest?

When shall I see my Father's face,
And in his bosom rest?

6 Filled with delight, my raptured soul
Can here no longer stay;

Though Jordan's waves around me roll, Fearless I'd launch away.

1235

C. M.

2

I'd leave thine earthly courts, and flee
Up to thy seat, my God!

2 There all the heavenly hosts are scen;
In shining ranks they move;
And drink immortal vigor in,
With wonder and with love.

"Willing rather to be absent from the L. I.
body."

1 DESCEND from heaven, immortal Dove!
Stoop down and take us on thy wings;
And mount, and bear us far above
The reach of these inferior things,-
Beyond, beyond this lower sky,
Up where eternal ages roll,
Where solid pleasures never die,

And fruits immortal feast the soul.

3 Oh for a sight, a pleasing sight, Of our almighty Father's throne! There sits our Saviour, crowned with

light,

Clothed in a body like our own.