THE ORDER FOR THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD.

480 HUSH! blessèd are the dead

In Jesus' arms who rest,

And lean their weary head For ever on his breast. O beatific sight!

No darkling veil between, They see the Light of Light, Whom here they loved unseen. For them the wild is past

With all its toil and care; Its withering midnight blast, Its fiery noonday glare. Them the Good Shepherd leads, Where storms are never rife, In tranquil dewy meads

Beside the Fount of Life. Ours only are the tears, Who weep around their tomb The light of bygone years

And shadowing years to come. Their voice, their touch, their smile ,­Those love- springs flowing o'er,-- Earth for its little while

Shall never know them more.

O tender hearts and true, Our long last vigil kept, We weep and mourn for you, Nor blame us: Jesus wept. But soon at break of day

His calm Almighty voice, Stronger than death, shall say, Awake,-arise,-rejoice.

And when the Lord shall summion us Whom thou hast left behind,

May we, untainted by the world, As sure a welcome find;

May each, like thee, depart in peace To be a glorious guest, Where the wicked cease from troubling, And the weary are at rest.

482 Now the labourer'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. 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,& c.

There the angels bear on high Many a stray'd and wounded lamb, Peacefully at last to lie

In the breast of Abraham. Father, in thy,& c.

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,& c.

There no more the powers of hell Can prevail to mar their peace; Christ the Lord sh all guard them well, He who died for their release.

481 BROTHER, thou art gone before Father, in thy,& c.

us,

And thy saintly soul is flown Where tears are wiped from every eye, And sorrow is unknown. From the burden of the flesh,

And from care and fears released, Where the wicked cease from troubling, And the weary are at rest.

" Earth to earth, and dust to dust;" Calmly now the words we say; Leaving him to sleep in trust,

Till the resurrection day. Father, in thy gracious keeping Leave we now thy servant sleeping.

483 How sweet the hour of closing

day,

When all is peace ful and serene, And the broad sun's retiring ray

Sheds a mild lustre o'er the scene! Such is the Christian's parting hour, So peace fully he sinks to rest; And faith, rekindling all its power, Lights up the languor of his breast. There is a radiance in his eye,

A smile upon his wasted cheek, That seems to tell of glory nigh In language that no tongue can speak. A beam from heaven is sent to cheer The pilgrim on his gloomy road; And angels are attending near

To bear him to their bright abode. O Lord, that we may thus depart, Thy joys to share, thy face to see, Impress thine image on our heart, And teach us now to walk with thee.( b)

Where the wicked cease from troubling, 484 A VOICE is heard on earth of

kinsfolk weeping The loss of one they love;

And the weary are at rest.

The toilsome way thou'st travell'd o'er, And borne the heavy load; But Christ hath taught thy languid feet To reach his blest abode; Thou art sleeping now like Lazarus Upon his Father's breast, Where the wicked cease from troubling, And the weary are at rest.

Sin can never taint thee now, Nor doubt thy faith assail; Nor thy meek trust in Jesus Christ And the Holy Spirit fail. And there thou'rt sure to meet the good

Whom on earth thou lovedst best, Where the wicked cease from troubling, And the weary are at rest. " Earth to earth," and" dust to dust," The solemn priest hath said; Bo we lay the turf above thee now, And we seal thy narrow bed; But thy spirit, brother, soars away Among the faithful blest,