A Selection of Psalms with occasional hymns (Charleston hymnal) ‎#H.XLII

H.XLII. Hark! my gay friends, that solemn toll

1 Hark! my gay friends, that solemn toll
Speaks the departure of a soul;
'Tis gone – but where? there's none who knows,
Save God alone, to whom it goes.

2 Wise heav'n, to render search perplext,
Has drawn, 'twixt this world and the next,
A dark impenetrable screen,
All behind which is yet unseen! –

3 Well, let my sov'reign, if he please,
Lock up his marvellous decrees;
Why should I wish him to reveal
What he thinks wisest to conceal?

4 It is enough that I believe,
Heav'n's brighter far than we can conceive;
And they who make it all their care
To serve God here, shall see him there.

5 But O! what worlds shall I survey,
The moment that I leave this clay!
How sudden the surprise, how new!
Let it, my God, be happy too!

Text Information

• First Line: Hark! my gay friends, that solemn toll
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1792
• Topic: Funeral
• Notes: Public Domain.

Tune Information

(No tune information)