Wesley Corpus

Our partner below, Our brother in woe, From his sorrow and pain He hath call'd to the pleasures that always18 remain; He hath snatch'd him away From a cottage of clay To a kingdom above, A kingdom of glory, and gladness, and love. Our friend is restor'd To the joy of his Lord, With triumph departs, But speaks by his death to our echoing hearts: "Follow after," he cries, As he mounts to the skies, Follow after your friend, To the blissful enjoyments that never shall end. 18Ori., "Alway"; corrected in 3rd edn. (1747) and following. Page 23 And shall we not press To that harbour of peace, That heavenly shore, Where sorrow, and parting, and death are no more: Our brother pursue, And fight our way thro' In the strength of our Lord, Follow on, till we seize the eternal reward? Thro' Jesus's name Our comrade o'ercame, And Jesus is ours, And arms us with all his invincible pow'rs: He looks from the skies, He shews us the prize, And gives us a sign, That we shall o'ercome by the mercy divine. The Saviour of all For us he shall call, Shall shortly appear, Our day of eternal salvation is near. We too shall remove To our city above, On mortals look down, Triumphant assessors of Jesus's throne. For us is prepar'd Th' angelical guard, The convoy attends, A ministring host of invisible friends; Ready wing'd for their flight To the regions of light The horses are come, The chariot19 of Israel to carry us home. 19"Chariot" changed to "chariots" in 4th edn. (1765) and following. Page 24 They soon shall convey Our spirits away, Our spirits that groan And cry for redemption, and long to be gone. By the cross we endure We shall make the crown sure, By a moment of pain We all shall a joyful eternity gain. Hymn XVI. Happy who in Jesus live, But happier still are they Who to God their spirits give, And 'scape from earth away: Lord, thou read'st the panting heart, Lord, thou hear'st the praying sigh: O 'tis better to depart, 'Tis better far to die!