1101. 7s & 8s. [PECULIAR.]
1 LIFT not thou the wailing voice;
Weep not; 'tis a Christian dieth:
Up, where blessed saints rejoice,
Ransomed now, the spirit flieth:
High in Heaven's own light she dwelleth;
Full the song of triumph swelleth:
Freed from earth, and earthly failing,
Lift for her no voice of wailing.
2 They who die in Christ are blest:
Ours be, then, no thought of grieving :
Sweetly with their God they rest,
All their toils and troubles leaving:
So be ours the faith that saveth,
Hope that every trial braveth,
Love that to the end endureth,
And, through Christ, the crown secureth.
Peaceful Death of the Pious.
1 BEHOLD the western evening light!
It melts in deepening gloom;
So calmly Christians sink away,
Descending to the tomb.
2 The winds breathe low; the yellow leaf
Scarce whispers from the tree;
So gently flows the parting breath,
When good men cease to be.
3 How beautiful, on all the hills,
The crimson light is shed!
'Tis like the peace the Christian gives
To mourners round his bed.
4 How mildly on the wandering cloud
The sunset beam is cast!
So sweet the memory left behind,
When loved ones breathe their last.
5 And, lo! above the dews of night
The vesper star appears:
So faith lights up the mourner's heart,
Whose eyes are dim with tears.
6 Night falls, but soon the morning light
Its glories shall restore;
And thus the eyes that sleep in death
Shall wake, to close no more.
Blessedness of the Righteous in Death.
1 HOW blest the righteous when he dies!
When sinks a weary soul to rest!
How mildly beam the closing eyes!
How gently heaves th' expiring breast! 2 So fades a summer cloud away;
So sinks the gale when storms are o’er;
So gently shuts the eye of day;
So dies a wave along the shore.
3 A holy quiet reigns around,
A calm which life nor death destroys;
And nought disturbs that peace profound
Which his unfettered soul enjoys.
4 Farewell, conflicting hopes and fears,
Where lights and shades alternate dwell;
How bright th' unchanging morn appears!
Farewell, inconstant world, farewell!
5 Life's labor done, as sinks the clay, Light from its load the spirit flies, While heaven and earth combine to say, "How blest the righteous when he dies!"
Those blessed who die in the Lord.
1 HEAR what the voice from heaven proclaims
For all the pious dead:
"Sweet is the savor of their names,
And soft their sleeping bed.
2 "They die in Jesus, and are blest;
How kind their slumbers are!
From suffering and from sin released,
They're freed from every snare.
3 "Far from this world of toil and strife,
They're present with the Lord;
The labors of their mortal life
End in a large reward."
The Hope of Christian Friendship.
1 SWEET is the thought, the promise sweet,
That friends, long-severed friends, shall meet —
That kindred souls, on earth disjoined,
Shall meet, from earthly dross refined,
Their mortal cares and sorrows o'er,
And mingle hearts to part no more.
2 But for this hope, this blessed stay,
When earthly comforts all decay,
O, who could view th' expiring eye,
Nor wish, with those they love, to die?
Who could receive their parting breath,
Nor long to follow them in death?
3 But we have brighter hopes: we know
Short is this pilgrimage of woe;
We know that our Redeemer lives;
We trust the promises he gives;
And part in hope to meet above,
Where all is joy, and all is love.
Farewell to a Friend departed.
1 THOU art gone to the grave; but we will not deplore thee,
Though sorrows and darkness encompass the tomb,
The Saviour has passed through its portals before thee,
And the lamp of his love is thy guide through the gloom
2 Thou art gone to the grave; we no longer behold thee,
Nor tread the rough paths of the world by thy side;
But the wide arms of mercy are spread to enfold thee,
And sinners may hope, since the Saviour hath died.
3 Thou art gone to the grave; and, its mansion forsaking
Perchance thy weak spirit in doubt lingered long;
But the sunshine of heaven beamed bright on thy waking
And the sound thou didst hear was the seraphim's sor
4 Thou art gone to the grave; but we will not deplore the
Since God was thy Ransom, thy Guardian, thy Guide
He gave thee, he took thee, and he will restore thee;
And death has no sting, since the Saviour hath died.
Burial of a Christian Brother.
1 BROTHER, rest from sin and sorrow;
Death is o'er, and life is won;
On thy slumber dawns no morrow:
Rest; thine earthly race is run.
2 Brother, wake; the night is waning;
Endless day is round thee poured;
Enter thou the rest remaining
For the people of the Lord.
3 Brother, wake; for He who loved thee,
He who died that thou mightst live,
He who graciously approved thee, --
Waits thy crown of joy to give.
4 Fare thee well; though woe is blending
With the tones of earthly love,
Triumph high and joy unending
Wait thee in the realms above.
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Blessedness of the pious Dead.
1 O, STAY thy tears; for they are blest,
Whose days are past, whose toil is done:
Here midnight care disturbs our rest;
Here sorrow dims the noonday sun.
2 How blest are they whose transient years
Pass like an evening meteor's flight!
Not dark with guilt, nor dim with tears;
Whose course is short, unclouded, bright.
3 0, cheerless were our lengthened way;
But Heaven's own light dispels the gloom,
Streams downward from eternal day,
And casts a glory round the tomb.
4 O, stay thy tears; the blest above Have hailed a spirit's heavenly birth, And sung a song of joy and love;
Then why should anguish reign on earth?
1 ASLEEP in Jesus! blesséd sleep,
From which none ever wakes to weep-
A calm and undisturbed repose,
Unbroken by the last of foes.
2 Asleep in Jesus! O, how sweet
To be for such a slumber meet!
With holy confidence to sing
That Death has lost his venomed sting!
3 Asleep in Jesus! peaceful rest,
Whose waking is supremely blest:
No fear, no woe, shall dim that hour
That manifests the Saviour's power.
4 Asleep in Jesus! O, for me
May such a blissful refuge be:
Securely shall my ashes lie,
And wait the summons from on high.
5 Asleep in Jesus! time nor space
Affects this precious hiding-place:
On Indian plains or Lapland snows,
Believers find the same repose.
6 Asleep in Jesus! far from thee
Thy kindred and their graves may be;
But thine is still a blessed sleep,
From which none ever wakes to weep.
Peaceful Death of the Righteous.
1 I LOOKED upon the righteous man,
And saw his parting breath,
Without a struggle or a sigh,
Serenely yield to death:
There was no anguish on his brow,
Nor terror in his eye:
The spoiler aimed a fatal dart,
But lost the victory.
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