7 Blessed fold, no foe can enter,

And no friend departeth thence. Jesus is their sun, their centre;

And their shield, Omnipotence. Blessed, for the Lamb shall feed them,

All their tears shall wipe away, To the living fountains lead them,

Till fruition's perfect day. 8 Lo! it comes, that day of wonder!

Louder chorals shake the skies, Hades' gates are burst asunder:

See, the new-clothed myriads rise.
Thought, repress thy weak endeavour:

Here must reason prostrate fall.
Oh, the Ineffable For Ever!

And the Eternal All in all!

de !

Death is the gate of endless joy,

And yet we dread to enter there.
2 The pains, the groans, and dying strife,

Fright our approaching souls away ;
Still we shrink back again to life,

Fond of our prison and our clay,
3 Oh! if my Lord would come and meet,

My soul should stretch her wings in haste,
Fly fearless through death's iron gate,

Nor feel the terrors as she pass'd. 4 Jesus can make a dying bed

Feel soft as downy pillows are,
While on His breast I lean my head,
And breathe my life out sweetly there.

645 L

Psalm xxxix. 11, 12. 6.6.4. HEMANS
OWLY and solemn be
Thy children's cry to Thee,

Father divine!
A hymn of suppliant breath,
Owning that life and death

Alike are Thine.
2 O Father, in that hour,
When earth all succouring power

Shall disavow;
When spear, and shield, and crown,
In faintness are cast down;

Sustain us, Thou.
3 By Him who bowed to take
The death-cup for our sake,

The thorn, the rod ; From whom the last dismay Was not to pass away;

Aid us, o God.
4 Tremblers beside the grave,
We call on Thee to save,

Father divine :
Hear, hear our suppliant breath,
Keep us in life and death,

Thine, only Thine.

646 Psalm xxii. 4. 8.8.8.6.

,

C. E 1

On the bed of anguish lying,
Then my every want supplying,

To me Thy love display. 2 Let me willingly surrender

Life to Thee, its gracious Lender
Can I find a friend more tender ?
Why should I wish to stay ?

TF

3 Ere my soul her bonds has broken,

Grant some bright and cheering token,
That for me the word is spoken,

“Thy sins are washed away."
4 When each well-known face concealing,

Death's dark shade o'er all is stealing,
Then Thy gracious smile revealing,

Unfold eternal day. 5 When the lips are mute which bless'd me,

And withdrawn the hand that press'd me, Then let sweeter sounds arrest me,

Calling my soul away.
6 When in silent awe suspended,

They who long my couch have tended,
Weeping, wish that all were ended,

o hear them when they pray.
7 When my soul no path discovering,

O'er my lifeless form is hovering,
Then with wings of mercy covering,

Be Thou Thyself my way.

647

Luke il. 28, 29. C. M.

WATTS. 1

Hath overpowering charms; Scarce shall I feel death's cold embrace,

If Christ be in my arms. 2 Then while ye hear my heart-strings break,

How sweet my minutes roll; A mortal paleness on my cheek,

And glory in my soul.

Leave this tenement of clay,
Quit its broken shattered walls;
Through its ruins I descry

Gleams of immortality.
2 Cease, my friends, to weep for me,

I should rather mourn for you;
Every woe and sin I flee,
Christ and heaven are in my view :
Dare not wish my soul to stay,

Angels beckon me away.
3 God hath sent His envoy, death;

Earthly blessings I resign;
Lord, to Thee I yield my breath,
Take this ransomed soul of mine;
Now my songs of joy shall be

Ceaseless as eternity. 649

1 Cor. xv. 55. P. M. POPE 1 Vio

ITAL spark of heavenly flame !

Quit, oh, quit this mortal frame; Trembling, hoping, lingering, flying, Oh the pain, the bliss of dying! Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife,

And let me languish into life.
2 Hark! they whisper; angels say,

“Sister spirit, come away.
What is this absorbs me quite,-
Steals my senses, shuts my sight,-
Drowns my spirit, draws my breath ?

Tell me, my soul, can this be death? 3 The world recedes: it disappears : Heaven opens on my eyes; my ears

With sounds seraphic ring. Lend, lend your wings ; I mount, I fly; O Grave, where is thy victory?

O Death, where is thy sting?

650

2 Cor. v. 2, 87'8. MONTGOMERY, 1

Lingering dust, résign thy breath;
Spirit, cast thy chains away;
Dust, be thou dissolved in death.
Thus the Almighty Saviour speaks,
While the faithful Christian dies :
Thus the bonds of life he breaks,

And the ransomed captive flies. 2 Prisoner, long detained below,

Prisoner, now with freedom bless'd,
Welcome from a world of woe;
Welcome to a land of rest,
Thus the choir of angels sing,
As they bear the soul on high ;
While with hallelujahs ring

All the regions of the sky.
3 Grave, the guardian of our dust,

Grave, the treasury of the skies,
Every atom of thy trust
Rests in hope again to rise.
Hark! the judgment-trumpet calls,
Soul, rebuild thy house of clay ;
Immortality thy walls,
And eternity thy day.

651

2 Cor. v. 8. 8 7's. TOPLADY. EATHLESS principle, arise ;

:

Pearl of price, by Jesus bought,
To His glorious likeness wrought,
Go, to shine before His throne;
Deck His mediatorial crown.
Go, His triumphs to adorn :
Made for God, to God return.