1 Who, from the gloomy shades of night,
When the last tear of hope is shed,
Can bid the soul return to light,
And break the slumber of the dead?
2 No human skill that heart can warm,
Which the cold blast of nature froze;
Recall to life the perished form,
The secret of the grave disclose.
3 But Thou, our saving God, we know,
Canst arm the mortal hand with power;
To bid the stagnant pulses flow,
The animating heat restore.
4 Thy will, ere nature’s tutored hand
Could with young life, these limbs unfold,
Did the imprisoned brain expand,
And all its countless fibers told.
5 As from the dust, Thy forming breath
Could the unconscious being raise;
So can the silent voice of death
Wake at Thy call, in songs of praise.
6 "Since twice to die is ours alone,
And twice the birth of life to see;
O let us, suppliant at Thy throne,
Devote our second life to Thee."
Source: The Cyber Hymnal #8400