Till the night of earth is faded
From the heart once full of day;
Till the stars of heaven are breaking
Through the twilight soft and gray.

Only waiting, till the reapers
Have the last sheaf gathered home;
For the summer-time is faded,

And the autumn winds have come. Quickly, reapers! gather quickly These last ripe hours of my heart, For the bloom of life is withered, And I hasten to depart.

Only waiting, till the shadows
Are a little longer grown;
Only waiting, till the glimmer

Of the day's last beam is own.
Then, from out the gathered darkness
Holy, deathless stars shall rise,
By whose light my soul shall gladly
Tread its pathway to the skies.

615.

'O GRAVE, WHERE IS THY VICTORY?'

7s M.

LORD, in Thee I place my trust;
Thou art my defence and tower;
Death Thou treadest in the dust,
O'er soul it hath no power.
my
Thou wilt save and strengthen me,
Give me of Thy peace and might;
Father, Thou art unto me
Resurrection, Life, and Light.

Life of life, within me dwell;
For the peace Thy presence sheds
Gives a joy no tongue can tell,
Charms the pain from dying-beds.
I am safe within Thine arm;
Thanks, O Father! unto Thee,
Death can hurt not, nor alarm,
Thou hast given the Victory!

616.

LIFE IN DEATH.

7s M.

BURST thy shackles! drop thy clay! Spirit, breathe thyself away! Singing, to thy home remove,

Swift of wing and fired with love!

Angels, joyful to attend,

Hovering round thy pillow bend;
Spirits in glory perfect made
Wait thy passage through the shade.

Fear thou not to pass the stream,
Venture all thy care on Him,
Him whose living love and power
Stills its tossing, calms its roar.

Safe and tranquil is the wave,
Gentle as a summer's eve;
Not one object of His care
Ever suffered shipwreck there.

See the haven full in view!

Love divine shall bear thee through; Trust thee to the heavenly gale, Weigh thine anchor, spread thy sail!

617.

NOT LOST, BUT GONE BEFORE.

P. M.

WHEN for me the silent oar

Parts the silent river, And I stand upon the shore Of the strange Forever,

Shall I miss the loved and known? Shall I vainly seek mine own?

Can the bonds that make us here
Know ourselves immortal,
Drop away like foliage sere
At life's inner portal?-

What is holiest below

Must forever live and grow.

He who plants within our hearts
All this deep affection,
Giving, when the form departs,
Fadeless recollection,

Will but clasp the unbroken chain
Closer when we meet again.

Therefore dread I not to go
O'er the silent river;
Death, thy hastening oar I know;
Bear me, thou life-giver!

Through the waters to the shore,
Where mine own have gone before.

618.

⚫O DEATH, WHERE IS THY STING?'
S. M.

WHERE is thy sting, O death?
Grave! where thy victory?
The clod may sleep in dust beneath,
The spirit will be free!

Both man and time have power
O'er suffering, dying men;
But death arrives, and in that hour
The soul is freed again.

Then, death, where is thy sting?
And where thy victory, grave?
O'er your dark bourn the soul will spring
To Him who loves to save.

619.

HIS END IS PEACE.

L. M.

How blest the righteous when he dies!
When sinks a trusting soul to rest,
How mildly beam the closing eyes,
How gently heaves the expiring breast!

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.

A holy quiet reigns around,

A calm which life nor death destroys; And naught disturbs that peace profound Which his unfettered soul enjoys.

Farewell, conflicting hopes and fears,
Where lights and shades alternate dwell!
How bright the unchanging morn appears!
Farewell, inconstant world, farewell!

Life's duty done, as sinks the clay,
Light from its load the spirit flies;
While guardian angels gently say,

How blest the righteous when he dies!'

THE LIFE BEYOND.

620.

HE IS RISEN.

S. M.

O SPIRIT, freed from earth,
Rejoice, thy work is done!
The weary world's beneath thy feet,
Thou brighter than the sun!

Arise, put on the robes

That the redeemed win;

Now sorrow hath no part in thee,
Thou sanctified within!

Awake, and breathe the air
Of the celestial clime!

Awake to love which knows no change,
Thou who hast done with time!

Awake, lift up thine eyes!

See, all heaven's host appears! And be thou glad exceedingly, Thou, who hast done with tears.