Death
83 items
What benefits affliction can confer on the soul. We read, that anxiety about a son led the nobleman to Christ, in order to obtain help in time of need. Once brought into Christ’s company, he learned a lesson of priceless value. In the end, “he believed, and his whole house.” All this, be it remembered, hinged upon the son’s sickness. If the nobleman’s son had never been ill, his father might have lived and died in his sins. Affliction is one of God’s medicines. By it He often teaches lessons which would be learned in no other way. By it He often draws souls away from sin and the world, which would otherwise have perished everlastingly. Health is a great blessing, but sanctified disease is a greater. Prosperity and worldly comfort, are what all naturally desire; but losses and crosses are far better for us, if they lead us to Christ. Thousands at the last day, will testify with David, and the nobleman before us, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted.” (Psa. 119:71.) Let us beware of murmuring in the time of trouble. Let us settle it firmly in our minds, that there is a meaning, a needs be, and a message from God, in every sorrow that falls upon us. There are no lessons so useful as those learned in the school of affliction. There is no commentary that opens up the Bible so much as sickness and sorrow. “No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit.” (Heb. 12:11.) The resurrection morning will prove, that many of the losses of God’s people were in reality eternal gains.
J. C. Ryle, John
Sickness and death come to the young as well as to the old. We read of a son sick unto death, and a father in trouble about him. We see the natural order of things inverted. The elder is obliged to minister to the younger, and not the younger to the elder. The child draws nigh to the grave before the parent, and not the parent before the child. The lesson is one which we are all slow to learn. We are apt to shut our eyes to plain facts, and to speak and act, as it young people, as a matter of course, never died when young. And yet the grave-stones in every churchyard would tell us, that few people out of a hundred ever live to be fifty years old, while many never grow up to man’s estate at all. The first grave that ever was dug on this earth, was that of a young man. The first person who ever died, was not a father but a son. Aaron lost two sons at a stroke. David, the man after God’s own heart, lived long enough to see three children buried. Job was deprived of all his children in one day. These things were carefully recorded for our learning. He that is wise, will never reckon confidently on long life. We never know what a day may bring forth. The strongest and fairest are often cut down and hurried away in a few hours, while the old and feeble linger on for many years. The only true wisdom is to be always prepared to meet God, to put nothing off which concerns eternity, and to live like men ready to depart at any moment. So living, it matters little whether we die young or old. Joined to the Lord Jesus, we are safe in any event.
J. C. Ryle, John
Henry F. Lyte·Modern
Verse 1
Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Verse 2
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Verse 3
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
Verse 4
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless:
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Verse 5
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies:
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee:
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Horatius Bonar·Modern
Verse 1
A few more years shall roll,
A few more seasons come,
And we shall be with those that rest
Asleep within the tomb.
Verse 2
A few more suns shall set
O’er these dark hills of time,
And we shall be where suns are not,
A far serener clime.
Verse 3
A few more storms shall beat
On this wild rocky shore,
And we shall be where tempests cease,
And surges swell no more.
Verse 4
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.
Verse 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.
Verse 6
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that great day;
Oh, wash me in thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.
Horatius Bonar, “A Few More Years Shall Roll”
Horatius Bonar·Modern
Verse 1
A few more years shall roll,
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;
O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.
Verse 2
A few more storms shall beat
On this wild rocky shore,
And we shall be where tempests cease,
And surges swell no more:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that calm day;
O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.
Verse 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;
O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.
Verse 4
A few more Sabbaths here
Shall cheer us on our way,
And we shall reach the endless rest,
The 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.
Verse 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:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that glad day;
O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.
Horatius Bonar, “A Few More Years Shall Roll”
Isaac Watts·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Alas! and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
Verse 2
Was it for crimes that I have done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
Verse 3
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
For man, the creature’s sin!
Verse 4
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While his dear cross appears;
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt mine eyes to tears.
Verse 5
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away;
’Tis all that I can do.
Refrain
Jesus died for you,
And Jesus died for me,
Yes, Jesus died for all mankind;
Bless God, salvation’s free.
Refrain
Help me, dear Savior, thee to own,
And ever faithful be;
And when thou sittest on thy throne.
O Lord, remember me.
Isaac Watts, “Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed?”
Charles Wesley·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
And let this feeble body fail,
And let it faint or die;
My soul shall quit the mournful vale,
And soar to worlds on high--
Verse 2
Shall join the disembodied saints,
And find its long-sought rest;
That only bliss for which it pants,
In the Redeemer’s breast.
Verse 3
In hope of that immortal crown
I now the cross sustain;
And gladly wander up and down,
And smile at toil and pain.
Verse 4
I suffer on my three-score years,
Till my Deliverer come,
And wipes away his servant’s tears,
And takes his exile home.
Charles Wesley, “And Let This Feeble Body Fail”
Grace Webster Hinsdale·Modern
Verse 1
Are there no wounds for me?
Hast thou received them all?
How can I, Lord, the anguish see,
Beneath which thou didst fall?
Verse 2
’Tis over now, I know,--
That suffering life of thine;
Thy precious blood has ceased to flow,
Thou wear’st thy crown divine;
Verse 3
But yet, I weeping see
The thorns which pierced thy head;
Thou faint’st beneath thy cross for me,
For me to death thou’rt led!
Verse 4
Meekly, with love divine,
Thy holy head is bent,
And streams of blood, for sins of mine,
Flow where thy side is rent.
Verse 5
Beneath this sacred flood
I bow my sinful soul;
Dear Savior, let thy precious blood
Wash me and make me whole.
Grace Webster Hinsdale, “Are There No Wounds for Me?”
Verse 1
As fade the stars at morn away,
Their glory gone in perfect day,
So pass away the friends we love,
Their presence lost in worlds above,
While we o’er their slumbers are weeping.
Verse 2
As sink the stars when night is o’er,
To rise upon some other shore,
So sink our precious ones from sight,
In other skies to walk in light,
While we sorrow’s vigils are keeping.
Verse 3
No more in east, or in the west,
Fade they from sight, or sink to rest;
Fixed firm in that celestial air,
They radiant shine eternal there;
Our hearts up to meet them fond leaping.
Margaret Mackay·Modern
Verse 1
Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep,
From which none ever wakes to weep;
A calm and undisturbed repose,
Unbroken by the last of foes.
Verse 2
Asleep in Jesus! O how sweet
To be for such a slumber meet;
With holy confidence to sing
That death hath lost his venomed sting.
Verse 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.
Verse 4
Asleep in Jesus! O for me
May such a blissful refuge be;
Securely shall my ashes lie,
Waiting the summons from on high.
Verse 5
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.
Margaret Mackay·Modern
Verse 1
Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep,
From which none ever wakes to weep;
A calm and undisturbed repose,
Unbroken by the dread of foes.
Verse 2
Asleep in Jesus! peaceful rest,
Whose waking is supremely blest;
No fear, no woes, shall dim the hour,
Which manifests the Savior’s power.
Verse 3
Asleep in Jesus! oh, for me
May such a blissful refuge be;
Securely shall my ashes lie,
And wait the summons from on high.
Verse 4
Asleep in Jesus! far from thee
Thy kindred and their graves may be;
But thine is still a blessed sleep,
From whence none ever wake to weep.
Margaret Mackay, “Asleep in Jesus! Blessed Sleep”
William Williams·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Beneath thy cross I lay me down,
And mourn to see thy bloody crown;
Love drops in blood from every vein;
Love is the spring of all thy pain.
Verse 2
Here, Jesus, will I ever stay,
And spend my longing hours away;
Think on thy bleeding wounds and pain,
And contemplate thy woes again.
Verse 3
Oh, unmolested, happy rest!
Where inward fears are all suppressed;
Here I shall love, and live secure,
And patiently my cross endure.
William Williams, “Beneath Thy Cross I Lay Me Down”
Horatius Bonar·Modern
Verse 1
Beyond the smiling and the weeping
I shall be soon;
Beyond the waking and the sleeping,
Beyond the sowing and the reaping,
I shall be soon.
Love, rest, and home! Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.
Verse 2
Beyond the blooming and the fading
I shall be soon;
Beyond the shining and the shading,
Beyond the hoping and the dreading,
I shall be soon.
Love, rest, and home! Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.
Verse 3
Beyond the rising and the setting
I shall be soon;
Beyond the calming and the fretting,
Beyond remembering and forgetting,
I shall be soon.
Love, rest, and home! Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.
Verse 4
Beyond the parting and the meeting
I shall be soon;
Beyond the farewell and the greeting,
Beyond the pulse’s fever-beating,
I shall be soon.
Love, rest, and home! Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.
Verse 5
Beyond the frost-chain and the fever
I shall be soon;
Beyond the rock-waste and the river,
Beyond the ever and the never,
I shall be soon.
Love, rest, and home! Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.
Horatius Bonar, “Beyond the Smiling and the Weeping”
Robert Grant·Modern
Verse 1
By thy birth, and by thy tears;
By thy human griefs and fears;
By thy conflict in the hour
Of the subtle tempter’s power--
Savior, look with pitying eye;
Savior, help me, or I die.
Verse 2
By the tenderness that wept
O’er the grave where Laz’rus slept;
By the bitter tears that flow’d
Over Salem’s lost abode--
Savior, look with thy pitying eye;
Savior, help me, or I die.
Verse 3
By thy lonely hour of prayer;
By the fearful conflict there;
By thy cross and dying cries;
By thy one great sacrifice,--
Savior, look with pitying eye;
Savior, help me, or I die.
Verse 4
By thy triumph o’er the grave;
By thy power the lost to save;
By thy high, majestic throne;
By the empire all thine own,--
Savior, look with pitying eye;
Savior, help me, or I die.
Robert Grant, “By Thy Birth, and by Thy Tears”
Ralph Wardlaw·Modern
Verse 1
Christ, of all my hopes the Ground,
Christ, the Spring of all my joy,
Still in Thee may I be found,
Still for Thee my powers employ.
Verse 2
Fountain of o’erflowing grace,
Freely from Thy fulness give;
Till I close my earthly race,
May I prove it “Christ to live.”
Verse 3
Firmly trusting in Thy blood,
Nothing shall my heart confound;
Safely I shall pass the flood,
Safely reach Emmanuel’s ground.
Verse 4
When I touch the blessed shore,
Back the closing waves shall roll;
Death’s dark stream shall nevermore
Part from Thee my ravished soul.
Verse 5
Thus, O thus, an entrance give
To the land of cloudless sky;
Having known it “Christ to live,”
Let me know it “gain to die.”
Ralph Wardlaw, “Christ, of All My Hopes the Ground”
Verse 1
Come to the cross, where the Savior died,
Look to the Lamb that was crucified;
Turn to the mournful and tragic scene,
Gaze on the suffering Nazarene.
Refrain
Look at the Crucified, look and live!
Look, for eternal life he will give.
Come to the cross, where the Savior died,
Look to the Lamb that was crucified.
Verse 2
Fall at the feet of the dying One,
Trust in the name of the Father’s Son;
Wash in the fountain of Jesus’ blood,
Seek for thy cure in the healing flood.
Verse 3
Fly to the arms of his pard’ning love,
Cherish the hope of a crown above;
Taste of the sweetness of sins forgiven,
Lean on the promise of rest in heaven.
J. H. Martin, “Come to the Cross, Where the Savior Died”
Verse 1
Days and moments quickly flying
Blend the living with the dead;
Soon shall we who sing be lying,
Each within our narrow bed.
Verse 2
Soon our souls to God who gave them
Will have sped their rapid flight;
Able now by grace to save them,
Oh, that while we can we might.
Verse 3
Jesus, infinite Redeemer,
Maker of this mighty frame,
Teach, oh, teach us to remember
What we are, and whence we came:--
Verse 4
Whence we came, and whither wending
Soon we must through darkness go,
To inherit bliss unending,
Or eternity of woe.
Verse 5
Rev. Edward Caswell, 1849.
Verse 6
As the tree falls so must it lie;
As the man lives so will he die;
As the man dies, such must he be
All through the days of eternity.
Amen.
Isaac Watts·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Deep in our hearts let us record
The deeper sorrows of our Lord;
Behold the rising billows roll,
To overwhelm his holy soul.
Verse 2
Yet, gracious God, thy power and love
Have made the curse a blessing prove;
Those dreadful sufferings of thy Son
Atoned for sins that we have done.
Verse 3
The pangs of our expiring Lord
The honors of thy law restored;
His sorrows made thy justice known.
And paid for follies not his own.
Verse 4
Oh, for his sake our guilt forgive,
And let the mourning sinner live;
The Lord will hear us in his name,
Nor shall our hope be turned to shame.
Isaac Watts, “Deep in Our Hearts Let Us Record”
Benjamin Beddome·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Did Christ o’er sinners weep,
And shall our cheeks be dry?
Let floods of penitential grief
Burst forth from every eye.
Verse 2
The Son of God in tears--
The wondering angels see!
Be thou astonished, O my soul!
He shed those tears for thee.
Verse 3
He wept--that we might weep--
Each sin demands a tear;
In heaven alone no sin is found,
And there’s no weeping there.
Benjamin Beddome, “Did Christ O'er Sinners Weep”
William W. How·Modern
Verse 1
For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be for ever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Verse 2
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light. Alleluia!
Verse 3
O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold. Alleluia!
Verse 4
O blest communion, fellowship Divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia!
Verse 5
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph-song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. Alleluia!
Verse 6
The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest;
Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest. Alleluia!
Verse 7
But lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia!
Verse 8
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia!
William W. How, “For All the Saints Who From Their Labors Rest”
John W. Cunningham·Modern
Verse 1
From Calvary a cry was heard--
A bitter and heart-rending cry;
My Savior! ev’ry mournful word
Bespoke thy soul’s deep agony
Verse 2
A horror of great darkness fell
On thee, thou spotless holy One!
And all the eager hosts of hell
Conspired to tempt God’s only Son.
Verse 3
The scourge, the thorns, the deep disgrace,
These thou could’st bear, nor once repine;
But when Jehovah veiled his face,
Unutterable pangs were thine.
Verse 4
Let the dumb world its silence break;
Let pealing anthems rend the sky;
Awake, my sluggish soul, awake!
He died that we might never die.
Johann W. Meinhold, 1835; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1858·Modern
Verse 1
Gentle Shepherd, Thou hast stilled
Now Thy little lamb’s brief weeping;
Ah, how peaceful, pale, and mild,
In its narrow bed ’tis sleeping,
And no sigh of anguish sore
Heaves that little bosom more.
Verse 2
In this world of care and pain,
Lord, Thou wouldst no longer leave it;
To the sunny, heavenly plain
Thou dost now with joy receive it;
Clothed in robes of spotless white,
Now it dwells with Thee in light.
Verse 3
Ah, Lord Jesus, grant that we
Where it lives may soon be living,
And the lovely pastures see
That its heavenly food are giving;
Then the gain of death we prove,
Though Thou take what most we love.
Thomas Hastings, 1831, 1850·Modern
Verse 1
Gently, Lord, O gently lead us,
Pilgrims in this vale of tears,
Through the trials yet decreed us,
Till our last great change appears.
When temptation’s darts assail us,
When in devious paths we stray,
Let Thy goodness never fail us,
Lead us in Thy perfect way.
Verse 2
In the hour of pain and anguish,
In the hour when death draws near,
Suffer not our hearts to languish,
Suffer not our souls to fear;
And, when mortal life is ended,
Bid us in Thine arms to rest,
Till, by angel bands attended,
We awake among the blest.
William H. Bathurst·Modern
Verse 1
Great God, when I approach thy throne
And all thy glory see;
This is my stay, and this alone,
That Jesus died for me.
Verse 2
How can a soul condemned to die,
Escape the just decree?
Helpless and full of sin am I,
But Jesus died for me.
Verse 3
Burdened with sin’s oppressive chain,
Oh, how can I get free?
No peace can all my efforts gain,
But Jesus died for me.
Verse 4
And, Lord, when I behold thy face,
This must be all my plea;
Save me by thy almighty grace,
For Jesus died for me.
Anna L. Barbauld·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
How blest the righteous when he dies!
When sinks a weary soul to rest!
How mildly beam the closing eyes!
How gently heaves the expiring breast!
Verse 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.
Verse 3
A holy quiet reigns around,
A calm which life nor death destroys;
And naught disturbs that peace profound
Which his unfettered soul enjoys.
Verse 4
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!
Anna L. Barbauld, “How Blest the Righteous When He Dies!”
Frances R. Havergal·Modern
Verse 1
I gave my life for thee,
My precious blood I shed,
That thou mightst ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead;
I gave, I gave my life for thee,
What hast thou given for me?
Verse 2
My Father’s house of light,
My glory-circled throne,
I left for earthly night,
For wand’rings sad and lone;
I left, I left it all for thee,
Hast thou left aught for me?
Verse 3
I suffered much for thee,
More than thy tongue can tell,
Of bitterest agony,
To rescue thee from hell;
I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee,
What hast thou borne for me?
Verse 4
And I have brought to thee,
Down from my home above,
Salvation full and free,
My pardon and my love;
I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee,
What hast thou brought to me?
Frances R. Havergal, “I Gave My Life for Thee”
Frances R. Havergal·Modern
Verse 1
I gave my life for thee,
My precious blood I shed,
That thou mightst ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead;
I gave, I gave my life for thee,
What hast thou given for me?
Verse 2
My Father’s house of light,
My glory-circled throne,
I left for earthly night,
For wand’rings sad and lone;
I left, I left it all for thee,
Hast thou left aught for me?
Verse 3
I suffered much for thee,
More than thy tongue can tell,
Of bitterest agony,
To rescue thee from hell;
I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee,
What hast thou borne for me?
Verse 4
And I have brought to thee,
Down from my home above,
Salvation full and free,
My pardon and my love;
I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee,
What hast thou brought to me?
Thomas R. Taylor·Modern
Verse 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.
Verse 2
What though the tempest rage,
Heaven is my home;
Short is my pilgrimage,
Heaven is my home:
And time’s wild wintry blast
Soon shall be overpast;
I shall reach home at last,
Heaven is my home.
Verse 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 love most and best;
And there I too shall rest,
Heaven is my home.
Verse 4
Therefore I murmur not,
Heaven is my home;
Whate’er my earthly lot,
Heaven is my home:
And I shall surely stand
There at my Lord’s right hand;
Heaven is my fatherland,
Heaven is my home.
Thomas R. Taylor, “I'm but a Stranger Here”
John Bowring·Modern
Verse 1
In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
Verse 2
When the woes of life o’ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me;
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.
Verse 3
When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day.
Verse 4
Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure
By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there, that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.
John Bowring, “In the Cross of Christ I Glory”
H. A. César Malan, 1832; tr. George W. Bethune, 1847·Modern
Verse 1
It is not death to die,
To leave this weary road,
And midst the brotherhood on high
To be at home with God.
Verse 2
It is not death to close
The eye long dimmed by tears,
And wake, in glorious repose
To spend eternal years.
Verse 3
It is not death to bear
The wrench that sets us free
From dungeon chain, to breathe the air
Of boundless liberty.
Verse 4
It is not death to fling
Aside this sinful dust,
And rise, on strong exulting wing,
To live among the just.
Verse 5
Jesus, Thou Prince of Life,
Thy chosen cannot die:
Like Thee, they conquer in the strife,
To reign with Thee on high.
George W. Bethune·Modern
Verse 1
It is not death to die,--
To leave this weary road,
And, midst the brotherhood on high,
To be at home with God.
Verse 2
It is not death to close
The eye long dimmed by tears,
And wake, in glorious repose
To spend eternal years.
Verse 3
It is not death to fling
Aside this sinful dust,
And rise, on strong exulting wing,
To live among the just.
Verse 4
Jesus, thou Prince of life!
Thy chosen cannot die;
Like thee, they conquer in the strife,
To reign with thee on high.
William A. Muhlenberg·Modern
Verse 1
I would not live alway; I ask not to stay
Where storm after storm rises dark o’er the way;
The few cloudy mornings that dawn on us here
Are enough for life’s woes, full enough for its cheer.
Verse 2
I would not live alway; no, welcome the tomb!
Since Jesus has lain there, I dread not its gloom;
There sweet be my rest till he bid me arise,
To hail him in triumph descending the skies.
Verse 3
Who, who would live alway, away from his God,
Away from yon heaven, that blissful abode,
Where the rivers of pleasure flow o’er the bright plains,
And the noontide of glory eternally reigns;
Verse 4
Where the saints of all ages in harmony meet,
Their Savior and brethren transported to greet;
While the anthems of rapture unceasingly roll,
And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul?
William A. Muhlenberg, “I Would Not Live Alway; I Ask Not to Stay”
William A. Muhlenberg·Modern
Verse 1
I would not live alway; I ask not to stay
Where storm after storm rises dark o’er the way;
The few lurid mornings that dawn on us here
Are enough for life’s woes, full enough for its cheer.
Verse 2
I would not live alway, thus fettered by sin;
Temptation without, and corruption within:
E’en the rapture of pardon is mingled with fears,
And the cup of thanksgiving with penitent tears.
Verse 3
I would not live alway; no, welcome the tomb:
Since Jesus hath lain there, I dread not its gloom;
There sweet be my rest, till He bid me arise
To hail Him in triumph descending the skies.
Verse 4
Who, who would live alway, away from his God,
Away from yon heaven, that blissful abode,
Where the rivers of pleasure flow o’er the bright plains,
And the noontide of glory eternally reigns;
Verse 5
Where the saints of all ages in harmony meet,
Their Saviour and brethren, transported, to greet;
While the anthems of rapture unceasingly roll,
And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul?
Fanny J. Crosby·Modern
Verse 1
Jesus, keep me near the cross
There a precious fountain
Free to all--a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.
Refrain
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.
Verse 2
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Shed its beams around me.
Verse 3
Near the cross, O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me.
Verse 4
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand,
Just beyond the river.
Fanny J. Crosby, “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross”
Fanny J. Crosby·Modern
Verse 1
Jesus, keep me near the cross
There a precious fountain
Free to all--a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.
Refrain
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.
Verse 2
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Shed its beams around me.
Verse 3
Near the cross, O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me.
Verse 4
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand,
Just beyond the river.
Thomas Hastings·Modern
Verse 1
Jesus, while our hearts are bleeding
O’er the spoils that death has won,
We would at this solemn meeting,
Calmly say,—thy will be done.
Verse 2
Though cast down, we’re not forsaken;
Though afflicted, not alone;
Thou didst give, and thou hast taken;
Blessed Lord,—thy will be done.
Verse 3
Though to-day we’re filled with mourning,
Mercy still is on the throne;
With thy smiles of love returning,
We can sing—thy will be done.
Verse 4
By thy hands the boon was given,
Thou hast taken but thine own:
Lord of earth, and God of heaven,
Evermore,—thy will be done!
Thomas Hastings, “Jesus, While Our Hearts Are Bleeding”
Richard Baxter·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.
Verse 2
If life be long, I will be glad
That I may long obey;
If short, yet why should I be sad
To end my toilsome day?
Verse 3
Christ leads me through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He that unto God’s kingdom comes
Must enter by this door.
Verse 4
Come, Lord, when grace hath made me meet
Thy blessed face to see;
For if Thy work on earth be sweet,
What will Thy glory be!
Verse 5
Then shall I end my sad complaints,
And weary, sinful days,
And join with the triumphant saints
To sing Jehovah’s praise.
Verse 6
My knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim:
But it’s enough that Christ knows all,
And I shall be with Him.
Richard Baxter, “Lord, It Belongs Not to My Care”
Verse 1
Midst sorrow and care
There’s one that is near,
And ever delights to relieve us.
Verse 2
’Tis Jesus, our Friend,
On whom we depend
For life and for all its rich blessings.
Verse 3
When trouble assails,
His love never fails;
He meets us with sweet consolation.
David Nelson·Modern
Verse 1
My days are gliding swiftly by,
And I a pilgrim stranger,
Would not detain them as they fly,
Those hours of toil and danger.
Refrain
For, oh! we stand on Jordan’s strand,
Our friends are passing over;
And, just before, the shining shore
We may almost discover.
Verse 2
We’ll gird our loins, my brethren dear!
Our heav’nly home discerning;
Our absent Lord has left us word,--
“Let ev’ry lamp be burning.”
Verse 3
Should coming days be cold and dark,
We need not cease our singing;
That perfect rest none can molest,
Where golden harps are ringing.
Verse 4
Let sorrow’s rudest tempest blow,
Each cord on earth to sever;
Our King says,--“Come!” and there’s our home,
Forever, oh! forever!
David Nelson, “My Days Are Gliding Swiftly By”
David Nelson·Modern
Verse 1
My days are gliding swiftly by,
And I a pilgrim stranger,
Would not detain them as they fly,
Those hours of toil and danger.
Refrain
For, oh! we stand on Jordan’s strand,
Our friends are passing over;
And, just before, the shining shore
We may almost discover.
Verse 2
We’ll gird our loins, my brethren dear!
Our heav’nly home discerning;
Our absent Lord has left us word,--
“Let ev’ry lamp be burning.”
Verse 3
Should coming days be cold and dark,
We need not cease our singing;
That perfect rest none can molest,
Where golden harps are ringing.
Verse 4
Let sorrow’s rudest tempest blow,
Each cord on earth to sever;
Our King says,--“Come!” and there’s our home,
Forever, oh! forever!
H. A. César Malan, 1832; tr. Robinson P. Dunn, 1859·Modern
Verse 1
No, no, it is not dying
To go unto our God;
This gloomy earth forsaking,
Our journey homeward taking,
Along the starry road.
Verse 2
No, no, it is not dying
Heaven’s citizen to be;
A crown immortal wearing,
And rest unbroken sharing,
From care and conflict free.
Verse 3
No, no, it is not dying
To hear this gracious word,
“Receive a Father’s blessing,
For evermore possessing
The favor of Thy Lord.”
Verse 4
No, no, it is not dying
The Shepherd’s voice to know:
His sheep He ever leadeth,
His peaceful flock He feedeth,
Where living pastures grow.
Verse 5
No, no, it is not dying
To wear a lordly crown;
Among God’s people dwelling,
The glorious triumph swelling
Of Him whose sway we own.
John Ellerton·Modern
Verse 1
Now the laborer’s task is o’er;
Now the battle day is past;
Now upon the farther shore
Lands the voyager at last.
Father, in Thy gracious keeping
Leave we now Thy servant sleeping.
Verse 2
There the tears of earth are dried;
There its hidden things are clear;
There the work of life is tried
By a juster Judge than here.
Father, in Thy gracious keeping
Leave we now Thy servant sleeping.
Verse 3
There the sinful souls, that turn
To the cross their dying eyes,
All the love of Christ shall learn
At His feet in Paradise.
Father, in Thy gracious keeping
Leave we now Thy servant sleeping.
Verse 4
There no more the powers of hell
Can prevail to mar their peace;
Christ the Lord shall guard them well,
He who died for their release.
Father, in Thy gracious keeping
Leave we now Thy servant sleeping.
Verse 5
“Earth to earth, and dust to dust,”
Calmly now the words we say;
Left behind, we wait in trust
For the resurrection-day.
Father, in Thy gracious keeping
Leave we now Thy servant sleeping.
John Ellerton, “Now the Laborer's Task Is O'er”
William H. Bathurst·Modern
Verse 1
O for a faith that will not shrink
Though pressed by many a foe,
That will not tremble on the brink
Of poverty or woe;
Verse 2
That will not murmur nor complain
Beneath the chastening rod,
But in the hour of grief or pain
Can lean upon its God;
Verse 3
A faith that shines more bright and clear
When tempests rage without,
That, when in danger, knows no fear,
In darkness feels no doubt;
Verse 4
A faith that keeps the narrow way
Till life’s last spark is fled,
And with a pure and heavenly ray
Lights up a dying bed.
Verse 5
Lord, give me such a faith as this,
And then, whate’er may come,
I taste e’en now the hallowed bliss
Of an eternal home.
William H. Bathurst, “O for a Faith That Will Not Shrink”
Ray Palmer·Modern
Verse 1
O Jesus! sweet the tears I shed,
While at thy cross I kneel,
Gaze on thy wounded, fainting head,
And all thy sorrows feel.
Verse 2
My heart dissolves to see thee bleed,
This heart so hard before;
I hear thee for the guilty plead,
And grief o’erflows the more.
Verse 3
’Twas for the sinful thou didst die,
And I a sinner stand;
What love speaks from thy dying eye,
And from each pierced hand!
Verse 4
I know this cleansing blood of thine
Was shed, dear Lord, for me;
For me, for all--oh, grace divine!--
Who look by faith on thee.
Ray Palmer, “O Jesus! Sweet the Tears I Shed”
From the German. Author unknown
Verse 1
O love! who gav’st thy life for me,
And won an everlasting good
Through thy sore anguish on the tree,
I ever think upon thy blood!
Verse 2
O Love! who unto death hast grieved
For this cold heart, unworthy thine,
Whom the cold grave and death received,
I thank thee for that grief divine.
Verse 3
I give thee thanks that thou didst die
To win eternal life for me,
To bring salvation from on high:
Oh, draw me up through love to thee!
Phoebe Cary·Modern
Verse 1
One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o’er and o’er:
I’m nearer my home to-day
Than I ever have been before.
Verse 2
Nearer my Father’s house,
Where the many mansions be;
Nearer the great white throne,
Nearer the crystal sea;
Verse 3
Nearer the bound of life,
Where we lay our burdens down;
Nearer leaving the cross,
Nearer gaining the crown.
Verse 4
But the waves of that silent sea
Roll dark before my sight,
That brightly the other side
Break on a shore of light.
Verse 5
O, if my mortal feet
Have almost gained the brink,
If it be I am nearer home
Even to-day than I think,
Verse 6
Father, perfect my trust;
Let my spirit feel in death
That her feet are firmly set
On the rock of a living faith.
Phoebe Cary, “One Sweetly Solemn Thought”
Phoebe Cary·Modern
Verse 1
One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o’er and o’er;
I’m nearer home to-day, to-day,
Than I have ever been before.
Verse 2
Nearer my Father’s house,
Where many mansions be;
Nearer the great white throne to-day,
Nearer the crystal sea.
Verse 3
Nearer the bound of life,
Where burdens are laid down;
Nearer to leave the cross to-day,
And nearer to the crown.
Verse 4
Be near me when my feet
Are slipping o’er the brink;
For I am nearer home to-day,
Perhaps, than now I think.
Phoebe Cary·Modern
Verse 1
One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o’er and o’er;
I’m nearer home to-day
Than e’er I’ve been before.
Refrain
I’m nearer my home, nearer my home,
Nearer my home to-day;
Yes, nearer my home in heav’n to-day,
Than ever I’ve been before.
Verse 2
Nearer my Father’s house
Where the blest mansions be;
Nearer the great white throne,
Nearer the crystal sea;
Verse 3
Nearer the bound where we
Must lay our burdens down,
Nearer to leave the cross,
Nearer to gain the crown.
Verse 4
The waves of that deep sea
Roll dark before my sight,
But break, the other side,
Upon a shore of light.
Verse 5
Oh! if my mortal feet
Have almost gained the brink,
If I am nearer home
To-day than e’en I think,
Verse 6
Father! perfect my trust,
That I may rest, in death,
On Christ, my Lord, alone,
And thus resign my breath.
Horatius Bonar·Modern
Verse 1
Oppressed with noon-day’s scorching heat,
To yonder cross I flee;
Beneath its shelter take my seat:
No shade like this for me!
Verse 2
Beneath that cross clear waters burst,
A fountain sparkling free;
And there I quench my desert thirst:
No spring like this for me!
Verse 3
A stranger here, I pitch my tent
Beneath this spreading tree;
Here shall my pilgrim life be spent:
No home like this for me!
Verse 4
For burdened ones a resting-place
Beside that cross I see;
Here I cast off my weariness:
No rest like this for me!
Paul Gerhardt·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
O sacred head, now wounded!
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, thine only crown;
O sacred head, what glory,
What bliss, till now, was thine!
Yet tho’ despised and gory,
I joy to call thee mine.
Verse 2
What thou, my Lord! hast suffered
Was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But thine the deadly pain;
Lo! here I fall, my Savior!
’Tis I deserve thy place;
Look on me with thy favor;
Vouchsafe to me thy grace.
Verse 3
The joy can ne’er be spoken,
Above all joys beside,
When in thy body broken,
I thus with safety hide;
My Lord of life! desiring
Thy glory now to see,
Beside thy cross expiring,
I’d breathe my soul to thee.
Paul Gerhardt, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded!”
J. Fawcett·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Our sins on Christ were laid;
He bore the mighty load;
Our ransom price he fully paid
In groans, and tears, and blood.
Verse 2
To save a world he dies;
Sinners, behold the Lamb!
To him lift up your longing eyes;
Seek mercy in his name.
Verse 3
Pardon and peace abound;
He will your sins forgive;
Salvation in his name is found,--
He bids the sinner live.
Verse 4
Jesus, we look to thee;--
Where else can sinners go?
Thy boundless love shall set us free
From wretchedness and woe.
J. Fawcett, “Our Sins on Christ Were Laid”
James Montgomery·Modern
Verse 1
O where shall rest be found,
Rest for the weary soul?
’Twere vain the ocean-depths to sound,
Or pierce to either pole.
Verse 2
The world can never give
The bliss for which we sigh;
’Tis not the whole of life to live,
Nor all of death to die.
Verse 3
Beyond this vale of tears
There is a life above,
Unmeasured by the flight of years,
And all that life is love:
Verse 4
There is a death whose pang
Outlasts the fleeting breath:
O what eternal horrors hang
Around the second death!
Verse 5
Lord God of truth and grace,
Teach us that death to shun,
Lest we be banished from Thy face,
And evermore undone.
Verse 6
Here would we end our quest:
Alone are found in Thee
The life of perfect love, the rest
Of immortality.
James Montgomery, “O Where Shall Rest Be Found”
Schiller·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Peace, be still!
In this night of sorrow bow;
Oh, my heart, contend not thou;
What befalls is God’s own will;
Peace, be still!
Verse 2
Hold thee still!
Tho’ the Father scourge thee sore,
Cling thou to him all the more;
Let him mercy’s work fulfill;
Hold thee still!
Verse 3
Lord, my God!
Give me grace, that I may be
Thy true child, and silently
Own thy scepter and thy rod;
Lord, my God!
Verse 4
Shepherd mine!
From thy fullness give me still
Faith to do and bear thy will
Till the morning light shall shine;
Shepherd mine!
Schiller, “Peace, Be Still!”
Maria Straub·Modern
Verse 1
Rest, weary pilgrim, thy journey is o’er,
Rest, sweetly rest, on the beautiful shore;
Safely at last thou hast reached the bright goal,
Fatherland, home of the soul.
Verse 2
Never again shall thy storm-beaten breast
Sigh, deeply sigh, for the sweet “land of rest;”
Gone to the Savior’s bright mansion above,
Rest in the light of his love.
Verse 3
Rest, weary pilgrim, thy journey is o’er,
Rest, sweetly rest, on the beautiful shore;
Dangers and troubles shall harm thee no more,
Rest on the beautiful shore.
Maria Straub, “Rest, Weary Pilgrim, Thy Journey Is O'er”
Augustus M. Toplady·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.
Verse 2
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfil Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears for ever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Verse 3
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress,
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.
Verse 4
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
Augustus M. Toplady, “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me”
Augustus M. Toplady·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Rock of ages, cleft for me!
Let me hide myself in thee:
Let the water and the blood,
From thy side a healing flood,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.
Verse 2
Should my tears forever flow,
Should my zeal no languor know,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and thou alone;
In my hand no price I bring;
Simply to thy cross I cling.
Verse 3
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyelids close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
See thee on thy judgment throne--
Rock of Ages cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee.
Refrain
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee,
Let me hide myself in thee.
Augustus M. Toplady, “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me!”
James Edmeston·Modern
Verse 1
Saviour, breathe an evening blessing,
Ere repose our spirits seal;
Sin and want we come confessing:
Thou canst save, and Thou canst heal.
Verse 2
Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from Thee;
Thou art He, who, never weary,
Watchest where Thy people be.
Verse 3
Though destruction walk around us,
Though the arrow past us fly,
Angel-guards from Thee surround us;
We are safe if Thou art nigh.
Verse 4
Should swift death this night o’ertake us,
And our couch become our tomb,
May the morn in heaven awake us,
Clad in light and deathless bloom.
James Edmeston, “Saviour, Breathe an Evening Blessing”
James Edmeston·Modern
Verse 1
Saviour, breathe an evening blessing,
Ere repose our spirits seal;
Sin and want we come confessing:
Thou canst save, and Thou canst heal.
Verse 2
Though destruction walk around us,
Though the arrows past us fly;
Angel guards from Thee surround us,
We are safe if Thou art nigh.
Verse 3
Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from Thee;
Thou art He, who, never weary,
Watchest where Thy people be.
Verse 4
Should death this night o’ertake us,
And our couch become our tomb,
May the morn in heaven awake us,
Clad in bright and deathless bloom.
Verse 1
Saw ye my Savior, saw ye my Savior,
Saw ye my Savior and God?
Oh! he died on Calvary,
To atone for you and me,
And to purchase our pardon with blood.
Verse 2
He was extended, he was extended,
Painfully nailed to the cross;
Here he bowed his head and died;
Thus my Lord was crucified,
To atone for a world that was lost.
Verse 3
Hail, mighty Savior! hail, mighty Savior!
Prince, and the Author of peace!
Oh! he burst the bars of death,
And, triumphant from the earth,
He ascended to mansions of bliss.
Verse 4
There interceding, there interceding,
Pleading that sinners may live;
Crying, “Father, I have died;
Oh, behold my hands and side!
Oh, forgive them! I pray thee, forgive!”
Verse 5
“I will forgive them, I will forgive them
When they repent and believe;
Let them now return to thee,
And be reconciled to me,
And salvation they all shall receive.”
Charles Wesley·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Servant of God, well done!
Thy glorious warfare’s past;
The battle’s fought, the race is won,
And thou art crowned at last;--
Verse 2
Of all thy heart’s desire
Triumphantly possessed;
Lodged by the ministerial choir
In thy Redeemer’s breast.
Verse 3
In condescending love,
Thy ceaseless prayer he heard,
And bade thee suddenly remove
To thy complete reward.
Verse 4
With saints enthroned on high,
Thou dost thy Lord proclaim,
And still to God salvation cry,--
Salvation to the Lamb!
Charles Wesley, “Servant of God, Well Done!”
Anne Steele·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
So fades the lovely, blooming flower--
Frail smiling solace of an hour!
So soon our transient comforts fly,
And pleasure only blooms to die.
Verse 2
Is there no kind, no lenient art,
To heal the anguish of the heart?
Spirit of grace! be ever nigh,
Thy comforts are not made to die.
Verse 3
Bid gentle patience smile on pain,
Till dying hope shall live again;
Hope wipes the tear from sorrow’s eye
And faith points upward to the sky.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson·Modern
Verse 1
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar
When I put out to sea,
Verse 2
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Verse 3
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell
When I embark;
Verse 4
For, though from out our bourne of time and place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
James Allen·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Sweet the moments, rich in blessing,
Which before the cross I spend,
Life, and health, and peace possessing,
From the sinner’s dying Friend!
Verse 2
Here I’ll sit, forever viewing
Mercy’s streams in streams of blood:
Precious drops, my soul bedewing,
Plead, and claim my peace, with God.
Verse 3
Truly blessed is this station,
Low before the cross to lie,
While I see divine compassion
Floating in his languid eye.
Verse 4
Here it is I find my heaven,
While upon the Lamb I gaze;
Love I much?--I’ve much forgiven,--
I’m a miracle of grace.
Verse 5
Love and grief my heart dividing,
With my tears his feet I’ll bathe;
Constant still in faith abiding,--
Life deriving from his death.
James Allen, “Sweet the Moments, Rich in Blessing”
Caroline L. Smith·Modern
Verse 1
Tarry with me, O my Saviour,
For the day is passing by;
See! the shades of evening gather,
And the night is drawing nigh.
Verse 2
Deeper, deeper grow the shadows,
Paler now the glowing west,
Swift the night of death advances;
Shall it be the night of rest?
Verse 3
Lonely seems the vale of shadow;
Sinks my heart with troubled fear;
Give me faith for clearer vision,
Speak Thou, Lord, in words of cheer.
Verse 4
Let me hear Thy voice behind me,
Calming all these wild alarms;
Let me, underneath my weakness,
Feel the everlasting arms.
Verse 5
Feeble, trembling, fainting, dying,
Lord, I cast myself on Thee;
Tarry with me through the darkness:
While I sleep, still watch by me.
Verse 6
Tarry with me, O my Saviour,
Lay my head upon Thy breast
Till the morning; then awake me—
Morning of eternal rest.
Caroline L. Smith, “Tarry with Me, O My Saviour”
J.H. Stockton·Modern
Verse 1
The cross, the cross, the blood-stained cross!
The hallowed cross I see;
Reminding me of precious blood
That once was shed for me.
Refrain
Oh, the blood, the precious blood,
That Jesus shed for me;
Upon the cross, in crimson flood,
Just now by faith I see.
Verse 2
The cross, the cross, that heavy cross,
My Savior bore for me;
It bowed him to the earth with grief
On sad Mount Calvary
Verse 3
The wounds, the wounds, those painful wounds;
Oh, they were made for me!
His hands and feet, his holy head,
All pierced and torn I see.
Verse 4
The death, the death, the awful death!
That Jesus died for me;
I heard his groans, his prayer, “Forgive,”
His bleeding side I see.
Verse 5
The love, the love, the matchless love,
That bled upon the tree!
It melts my heart, it wins my love,
It brings me, Lord, to thee.
Christopher Wordsworth·Modern
Verse 1
The day is gently sinking to a close,
Fainter and yet more faint the sunlight glows:
O Brightness of Thy Father’s glory, Thou
Eternal Light of Light, be with us now:
Where Thou art present darkness cannot be:
Midnight is glorious noon, O Lord, with Thee.
Verse 2
Our changeful lives are ebbing to an end;
Onward to darkness and to death we tend:
O Conqueror of the grave, be Thou our Guide,
Be Thou our Light in death’s dark eventide;
Then in our mortal hour will be no gloom,
No sting in death, no terror in the tomb.
Verse 3
Thou, who in darkness walking didst appear
Upon the waves, and Thy disciples cheer,
Come, Lord, in lonesome days, when storms assail,
And earthly hopes and human succors fail;
When all is dark, may we behold Thee nigh,
And hear Thy voice, “Fear not, for it is I.”
Verse 4
The weary world is mouldering to decay,
Its glories wane, its pageants fade away:
In that last sunset, when the stars shall fall,
May we arise, awakened by Thy call,
With Thee, O Lord, for ever to abide
In that blest day which has no eventide.
Christopher Wordsworth, “The Day Is Gently Sinking to a Close”
Henry W. Longfellow·Modern
Verse 1
There is no flock, however watched and tended,
But one dead lamb is there!
There is no fireside, howsoe’er defended,
But has one vacant chair!
The air is full of farewells to the dying,
And mournings for the dead;
The heart of Rachel for her children crying
Will not be comforted!
Verse 2
Let us be patient, these severe afflictions
Not from the ground arise,
But oftentimes celestial benedictions
Assume this dark disguise.
We see but dimly thro’ the mists and vapors,
Amid these earthly damps,
What seem to us but sad, funereal tapers,
May be heav’ns distant lamps.
Verse 3
She is not dead, the child of our affection,
But gone unto that school
Where she no longer needs our poor protection,
And Christ himself doth rule.
In that great cloister’s stillness and seclusion,
By guardian angels led,
Safe from temptation, safe from sin’s pollution,
She lives whom we call dead.
Verse 4
And tho’ at times, impetuous with emotion,
And anguish long suppressed,
The swelling heart heaves moaning like the ocean
That cannot be at rest:
We will be patient--and assuage the feeling
We cannot wholly stay,
By silence sanctifying, not concealing
The grief that must have way.
Henry W. Longfellow, “There Is No Flock, However Watched and Tended”
William D. Maclagan·Modern
Verse 1
The saints of God! their conflict past,
And life’s long battle won at last,
No more they need the shield or sword,
They cast them down before their Lord:
O happy saints! for ever blest,
At Jesus’ feet how safe your rest!
Verse 2
The saints of God! their wanderings done,
No more their weary course they run,
No more they faint, no more they fall,
No foes oppress, no fears appal:
O happy saints! for ever blest,
In that dear home how sweet your rest!
Verse 3
The saints of God! life’s voyage o’er,
Safe landed on that blissful shore,
No stormy tempests now they dread,
No roaring billows lift their head:
O happy saints! for ever blest,
In that calm haven of your rest!
Verse 4
The saints of God their vigil keep
While yet their mortal bodies sleep,
Till from the dust they too shall rise
And soar triumphant to the skies:
O happy saints! rejoice and sing;
He quickly comes, your Lord and King.
Verse 5
O God of saints, to Thee we cry;
O Saviour, plead for us on high;
O Holy Ghost, our Guide and Friend,
Grant us Thy grace till life shall end;
That with all saints our rest may be
In that bright Paradise with Thee.
Anne R. Cousin·Modern
Verse 1
The sands of time are sinking,
The dawn of heaven breaks,
The summer morn I’ve sighed for,
The fair, sweet morn awakes.
Dark, dark hath been the midnight,
But day-spring is at hand,
And glory—glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.
Verse 2
I’ve wrestled on toward heaven,
’Gainst storm and wind and tide,
Now, like a weary traveler
That leaneth on his guide,
Amid the shades of evening,
While sinks life’s lingering sand,
I hail the glory dawning
In Immanuel’s land.
Verse 3
Deep waters crossed life’s pathway,
The hedge of thorns was sharp;
Now these are all behind me—
Oh, for a well-earned harp!
O, to join the hallelujah
With yon triumphant band!
Who sing where glory dwelleth,
In Immanuel’s land.
Anne R. Cousin·Modern
Verse 1
The sands of time are sinking,
The dawn of heaven breaks,
The summer morn I’ve sighed for,
The fair sweet morn awakes:
Dark, dark hath been the midnight,
But day-spring is at hand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.
Verse 2
The King there in His beauty
Without a veil is seen;
It were a well-spent journey,
Though seven deaths lay between:
The Lamb with His fair army
Doth on Mount Zion stand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.
Verse 3
O Christ, He is the Fountain,
The deep sweet Well of love!
The streams on earth I’ve tasted
More deep I’ll drink above:
There to an ocean fulness
His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.
Verse 4
With mercy and with judgment
My web of time He wove,
And aye the dews of sorrow
Were lustred by His love;
I’ll bless the hand that guided,
I’ll bless the heart that planned,
When throned where glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.
Verse 5
The bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory,
But on my King of grace;
Not at the crown He gifteth,
But on His piercèd hand:
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Emmanuel’s land.
Anne R. Cousin, “The Sands of Time Are Sinking”
Anne R. Cousin·Modern
Verse 1
The sands of time are sinking,
The dawn of heaven breaks,
The summer morn I’ve sighed for,
The fair, sweet morn awakes.
Dark, dark hath been the midnight,
But day-spring is at hand,
And glory—glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.
Verse 2
I’ve wrestled on toward heaven,
’Gainst storm and wind and tide,
Now, like a weary traveler
That leaneth on his guide,
Amid the shades of evening,
While sinks life’s lingering sand,
I hail the glory dawning
In Immanuel’s land.
Verse 3
Deep waters crossed life’s pathway,
The hedge of thorns was sharp;
Now these are all behind me—
Oh, for a well-earned harp!
O, to join the hallelujah
With yon triumphant band!
Who sing where glory dwelleth,
In Immanuel’s land.
Joseph Anstice·Modern
Verse 1
The Son of David bowed to die,
For man’s transgression stricken;
The Father’s arm of power was nigh,
The Son of God to quicken.
Praise Him that He died for men:
Praise Him that He rose again.
Verse 2
Death seemed all-conquering when he bound
The Lord of life in prison;
The night of death was nowhere found
When Christ again was risen;
Wherefore praise Him night and day,
Him who took death’s sting away.
Verse 3
His saints with Him must bow to death,
With Him are raised in spirit,
With Him they dwell above by faith,
Accepted through His merit:
Heaven and earth resound the strain,
Death by Jesus Christ is slain.
Joseph Anstice, “The Son of David Bowed to Die”
John Bowring·Modern
Verse 1
“Thy will be | done!” || In devious way
The hurrying stream of | life may | run; ||
Yet still our grateful hearts shall say, |
“Thy will be | done.”
Verse 2
“Thy will be | done!” || If o’er us shine
A gladdening and a | prosperous | sun, ||
This prayer will make it more divine— |
“Thy will be | done!”
Verse 3
“Thy will be | done!” || Tho’ shrouded o’er
Our | path with | gloom, | one comfort, one ||
Is ours:—to breathe, while we adore, |
“Thy will be | done.”
William B. Tappan·Modern
Verse 1
’Tis midnight; and on Olive’s brow
The star is dimmed that lately shone;
’Tis midnight; in the garden, now,
The suffering Savior prays alone.
Verse 2
’Tis midnight; and, from all removed,
The Savior wrestles lone with fears;
E’en that disciple whom he loved
Heeds not his Master’s grief and tears.
Verse 3
’Tis midnight; and for others’ guilt
The man of sorrows weeps in blood;
Yet he that hath in anguish knelt
Is not forsaken by his God.
Verse 4
’Tis midnight; and from ether plains
Is borne the song that angels know;
Unheard by mortals are the strains
That sweetly soothe the Savior’s woe.
William B. Tappan, “'Tis Midnight; and on Olive's Brow”
William B. Tappan·Modern
Verse 1
’Tis midnight; and on Olive’s brow
The star is dimmed that lately shone;
’Tis midnight; in the garden, now,
The suffering Savior prays alone.
Verse 2
’Tis midnight; and, from all removed,
The Savior wrestles lone with fears;
E’en that disciple whom he loved
Heeds not his Master’s grief and tears.
Verse 3
’Tis midnight; and for others’ guilt
The man of sorrows weeps in blood;
Yet he that hath in anguish knelt
Is not forsaken by his God.
Verse 4
’Tis midnight; and from ether plains
Is borne the song that angels know;
Unheard by mortals are the strains
That sweetly soothe the Savior’s woe.
Anne R. Cousin·Modern
Verse 1
To Thee and to Thy Christ, O God,
We sing, we ever sing;
For He the lonely wine-press trod,
Our cup of joy to bring.
His glorious arm the strife maintained,
He marched in might from far;
His robes were with the vintage stained,
Red with the wine of war.
Verse 2
To Thee and to Thy Christ, O God,
We sing, we ever sing;
For He invaded death’s abode,
And robbed him of his sting.
The house of dust enthralls no more,
For He, the Strong to save,
Himself doth guard that silent door,
Great Keeper of the grave.
Verse 3
To Thee and to Thy Christ, O God,
We sing, we ever sing;
For He hath crushed beneath His rod
The world’s proud rebel king.
He plunged in His imperial strength
To gulfs of darkness down;
He brought His trophy up at length,
The foiled usurper’s crown.
Verse 4
To Thee and to Thy Christ, O God,
We sing, we ever sing;
For He redeemed us with His blood
From every evil thing.
Thy saving strength His arm upbore,
The arm that set us free:
Glory, O God, for evermore
Be to Thy Christ and Thee.
Isaac Watts·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb;
Take this new treasure to thy trust
And give these sacred relics room,
To slumber in the silent dust.
Verse 2
Nor pain, nor grief, nor anxious fear,
Invades thy bounds; no mortal woes
Can reach the peaceful sleeper here,
While angels watch the soft repose.
Verse 3
So Jesus slept; God’s dying Son
Passed through the grave, and blest the bed;
Rest here, blest saint, till from his throne
The morning break, and pierce the shade.
Verse 4
Break from his throne, illustrious morn;
Attend, O earth, his sovereign word;
Restore thy trust; a glorious form
Shall then arise to meet the Lord.
Isaac Watts, “Unveil Thy Bosom, Faithful Tomb”
Alexander R. Thompson·Modern
Verse 1
Wayfarers in the wilderness,
By morn, and noon, and even,
Day after day, we journey on,
With weary feet toward heaven.
Refrain
O land above! O land of love!
The glory shineth o’er thee;
O Christ, our King! in mercy bring
Us thither, we implore thee!
Verse 2
By day the cloud before us goes,
By night the cloud of fire,
To guide us o’er the trackless waste,
To Canaan ever nigher.
Verse 3
The sea was riven from our feet,
And so shall be the river;
And, by the King’s highway brought home,
We’ll praise his name forever:
Alexander R. Thompson, “Wayfarers in the Wilderness”
Verse 1
We sing His love, who once was slain,
Who soon o’er death revived again,
That all His saints through Him might have
Eternal conquests o’er the grave:
Soon shall the trumpet sound, and we
Shall rise to immortality.
Verse 2
The saints who now with Jesus sleep
His own almighty power shall keep,
Till dawns the bright illustrious day
When death itself shall die away:
Soon shall the trumpet sound, and we
Shall rise to immortality.
Verse 3
How loud shall our glad voices sing,
When Christ His risen saints shall bring,
From beds of dust and silent clay,
To realms of everlasting day!
Soon shall the trumpet sound, and we
Shall rise to immortality.
Verse 4
When Jesus we in glory meet,
Our utmost joys shall be complete;
When landed on that heavenly shore,
Death and the curse will be no more:
Soon shall the trumpet sound, and we
Shall rise to immortality.
Verse 5
Hasten, dear Lord, the glorious day,
And this delightful scene display,
When all Thy saints from death shall rise
Raptured in bliss beyond the skies:
Soon shall the trumpet sound, and we
Shall rise to immortality.
Isaac Watts·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Verse 2
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
Verse 3
See, from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Verse 4
Were all the realms of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine.
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Isaac Watts, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
Verse 1
When I view my Savior bleeding,
For my sins upon the tree;
Oh, how wondrous!--how exceeding
Great his love appears to me!
Verse 2
Floods of deep distress and anguish.
To impede his labors, came;
Yet they all could not extinguish
Love’s eternal, burning flame.
Verse 3
Now redemption is completed,
Full salvation is procured;
Death and Satan are defeated,
By the sufferings he endured.
Verse 4
Now the gracious Mediator,
Risen to the courts of bliss,
Claims for me, a sinful creature,
Pardon, righteousness, and peace!
Verse 5
Sure, such infinite affection
Lays the highest claims to mine;
All my powers, without exception,
Should in fervent praises join.
Verse 6
Jesus, fit me for thy service;
Form me for thyself alone;
I am thy most costly purchase,--
Take possession of thine own.
R. Lee, “When I View My Savior Bleeding”
Isaac Watts·Post-Reformation
Verse 1
Why do we mourn departing friends,
Or shake at death’s alarms?
’Tis but the voice that Jesus sends,
To call them to his arms.
Verse 2
Are we not tending upward, too,
As fast as time can move?
Nor would we wish the hours more slow,
To keep us from our love.
Verse 3
Why should we tremble to convey
Their bodies to the tomb?
There the dear flesh of Jesus lay,
And scattered all the gloom.
Verse 4
The graves of all the saints be blessed,
And softened every bed;
Where should the dying members rest,
But with the dying Head?
Verse 5
Thence he arose, ascending high,
And showed our feet the way;
Up to the Lord we, too, shall fly
At the great rising-day.
Verse 6
Then let the last loud trumpet sound,
And bid our kindred rise;
Awake! ye nations under ground;
Ye saints! ascend the skies.
Isaac Watts, “Why Do We Mourn Departing Friends”
William H. Bathurst·Modern
Verse 1
Why should our tears in sorrow flow
When God recalls his own,
And bids them leave a world of woe,
For an immortal crown?
Verse 2
Is not e’en death a gain to those
Whose life to God was given?
Gladly to earth their eyes they close
To open them in heaven.
Verse 3
Their toils are past, their work is done,
And they are fully blest!
They fought the fight, the victory won,
And entered into rest.
Verse 4
Then let our sorrows cease to flow,--
God has recalled his own;
But let our hearts, in every woe,
Still say, “Thy will be done!”
William H. Bathurst, “Why Should Our Tears in Sorrow Flow”