1 The rich and poor together meet,
In death, and at the mercy seat;
Then why should a distinction be
Made here, by worms so vile as we?
2 It is not wealth, or rank, or might,
Lord! makes a difference in Thy sight;
But who has most Thy gifts of grace,
He holds with Thee the highest place.
3 Thou art the Maker of us all,
Both rich and poor, and great and small;
And all we are, and all we own,
Comes but from Thee, and Thee alone!
4 All common children of one God,
All journeying home, the self-same road,
All born to death, we daily die,
And all upon one hope rely!
5 With but one sacrifice to plead,
One Savior God to intercede,
One bar, at which all must appear,
Why should we be dissevered here?
6 The gilded glory of today,
Tomorrow droops, and fades away;
And youth, and pride, and visions high,
Live but to blossom and to die!
7 The cottage serf, and crownèd head,
Must both lie in one common bed,
And lose all difference of birth
When gathered to their common earth.
8 He only who can trace from high
His patent of nobility,
Sealed with the blood of Him, who gave
His life as ransom for the slave,
9 He only, in that awful day
When Heav’n and earth shall pass away,
Can feel, upon God’s word secure,
That his inheritance is sure.
10 Lord! if Thy hand hath placed me low,
Make me contented to be so!
But oh! if it hath raised me high,
Vouchsafe me Christ’s humility!
Source: The Cyber Hymnal #14647
John Samuel Bewley Monsell (b. St. Colomb's, Londonderry, Ireland, 1811; d. Guilford, Surrey, England, 1875) was educated at Trinity College in Dublin and served as a chaplain and rector of several churches in Ireland after his ordination in 1835. Transferred to England in 1853, he became rector of Egham in Surrey and was rector of St. Nicholas Church in Guilford from 1870 until his death (caused by a construction accident at his church). A prolific poet, Monsell published his verse in eleven volumes. His three hundred hymns, many celebrating the seasons of the church year, were issued in collections such as Hymns and Miscellaneous Poems (1837), Spiritual Songs (1857), Hymns of Love and Praise (1863), and The Parish Hymnal (1873).
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