1 Why should we weep for those who die,
Those blesséd ones who weep no more?
Jesus hath call'd them to the sky,
And gladly have they gone before.
2 A few short days they linger'd here,
Th'appointed span of trial knew;
Dropp'd--early dropp'd the parting tear,
And early now have parted too.
3 Up, up, in swift ascent, they rise
Star after star of living light!
Why should we mourn that midnight skies
Become with added glories bright?
4 Far in the distant heavens they shine,
But still with borrow'd lustre glow;
Saviour, the beams are only Thine,
Of saints above, or saints below.
5 For them no bitter tear we shed--
Their night of pain and grief is o'er--
But weep our lonely path to tread,
And see the forms we loved, no more.
Source: Book of Worship (Rev. ed.) #559