1 The things of the earth in the earth let us lay;
The ashes with ashes, the dust with the clay:
But lift up the heart, and the eyes, and the love,
O lift up the soul to the regions above!
2 Since He, the Immortal, hath entered the gate,
So, too shall we mortals, or sooner or late:
Then stand we on Christ; let us mark Him ascend,
For His is the glory and life without end.
3 On earth with His own ones, the Giver of good,
Bestowing His blessing, a little while stood;
Now nothing can part us, nor distance, nor foes,
For lo! He is with us, and who can oppose?
4 So, Lord, we commit this our loved one to Thee,
Whose body is dead, but whose spirit is free:
We know that through grace, when our life here is o'er,
In bliss we shall be with the Lord evermore.
Amen.
Source: The Hymnal and Order of Service #606
John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly temperament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >
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