DEATH.

HYMN 155. S. M.

IT is not death to die;

To leave this weary road, And 'midst the brotherhood on high To be at home with God.

2.

It is not death to close

The eye long dimmed by tears,
And wake, in glorious repose,
To spend eternal years.

3.

It is not death to bear

The wrench that sets us free

From dungeon chain, to breathe the an Of boundless liberty.

4.

It is not death to fling

Aside this sinful dust,

And rise, on strong, exulting wing,
To live among the just.

5.

Jesus, thou Prince of life!

Thy chosen cannot die;

Like thee, they conquer in the strife, To reign with thee on high.

I

HYMN 156. 11s.

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.

2.

I would not live alway, thus fetter'd 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.

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.

THOU

HYMN 157. 12s, 11s.

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

Though sorrows and darkness encompass the tomb:

The Saviour has passed through its portal 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 path of the world by thy side;

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

And sinners may hope, since the Sinless has died.

3.

Thou art gone to the grave! and, its mansion forsaking,

Perhaps thy weak spirit in fear lingered long;

But the sunshine of Paradise beamed on thy waking,

And the sound which thou heard'st was the seraphim's song.

4.

Thou art gone to the grave! but 'twere wrong to deplore thee,

For 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 has died.

HYMN 158. L. M.

SLEEP in Jesus! blessèd sleep!

ASLEEP

From which none ever wake to weep;

A calm and undisturb'd 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 hath lost its painful 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,

Waiting the summons from on high.

5.

Asleep in Jesus! far from thee
Thy kindred and their graves may be;
But there is still a blessèd sleep,
From which none ever wake to weep.

HYMN 159. C. M.

HEAR what the voice from heaven de

To those in Christ who die: Released from all their earthly cares, They'll reign with him on high.

2.

Then why lament departed friends,
Or shake at death's alarms?
Death's but the servant Jesus sends
To call us to his arms.

3.

If sin be pardon'd, we're secure,
Death hath no sting beside;

The law gave sin its strength and power,
But Christ, our ransom, died.

The grave of all his saints he bless'd,
When in the grave he lay:

And, rising thence, their hopes he raised.
To everlasting day.

5.

Then, joyfully, while life we have,

To Christ, our life, we'll sing,