Let the World Lament Their Dead

Let the world la­ment their dead

As sor­row­ing with­out hope;

When a friend of ours is freed

We cheer­ful­ly look up

Cannot mur­mur or com­plain

For our dead we can­not grieve

Death to them

to us

is gain;

In Je­sus we be­lieve.

We be­lieve that Christ our head

For us re­signed His breath

He was num­bered with the dead

And dy­ing con­quered death;

Burst the bar­ri­ers of the tomb:

Death could Him no long­er keep

He is the first-fruits be­come

Of those in Him that sleep.

God

who Him to life re­stored

Shall all His mem­bers raise

Bring them quick­ened with their Lord

The child­ren of His grace.

We who then on earth re­main

Shall not soon­er be brought home;

All the dead shall rise again

To meet the ge­ne­ral doom.

Jesus

faith­ful to His word

Shall with a shout des­cend;

All Heav­en’s host their glo­ri­ous Lord

Shall pom­pous­ly at­tend;

Christ shall come with dread­ful noise

Lightnings swift

and thun­ders loud

With the great arch­an­gel’s voice

And with the trump of God.

First the dead in Christ shall rise;

Then we who yet re­main

Shall be caught up to the skies

And see our Lord again;

We shall meet Him in the air

All rapt up to Heav­en shall be

See

and love

and praise Him there

To all eter­ni­ty.

Who can tell the hap­pi­ness

This glo­ri­ous hope af­fords!

Joy un­ut­tered we pos­sess

In these re­viv­ing words:

Happy while on earth we breathe

Mightier bliss or­dained to know

Trampling up­on sin and death

To the third Heav­en we go.