Book of Worship with Hymns and Tunes ‎#574

574. Friend after friend departs

1 Friend after friend departs:
Who hath not lost a friend?
There is no union here of hearts,
That finds not here an end:
Were this frail world our only rest,
Living or dying, none were blest.

2 Beyond the flight of time,
Beyond the reign of death,
There surely is some blessèd clime,
Where life is not a breath,
Nor life's affections, transient fire,
Whose sparks fly upward to expire.

3 There is a world above,
Where parting is unknown;
A whole eternity of love
Formed for the good alone;
And faith beholds the dying here
Translated to that glorious sphere.

4 Thus star by star declines,
Till all are passed away;
As morning high and higher shines
To pure and perfect day;
Nor sink those stars in empty night,
But hide themselves in heaven's own light.

Amen.

Text Information

• First Line: Friend after friend departs
• Author: James Montgomery (1824)
• Meter: 6s, 8, 6, 8, 8
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1899
• Topic: Burial; Funerals; Immortality
• Notes: Now Public Domain.

Tune Information

• Name: DWIGHT
• Composer: Anon.
• Meter: 6s, 8, 6, 8, 8
• Notes: Now Public Domain.