"Thou art gone to the grave! but we will not deplore thee,
Though sorrows and darkness encompass the tomb,
The Saviour has pass'd through its portals before thee,
And the lamp of His love is thy light through the gloom.
"Thou art gone to the grave! but we will not deplore thee,
Whose God was thy ransom, thy Guardian, thy Guide;
He gave thee, He took thee, and He will restore thee;
And Death has no sting, for the Saviour has died."
"Let no proud stone with sculptur'd virtues rise,
To mark the spot wherein a sinner lies;
Or if some boast must deck the sinner's grave,
Boast of His love who died lost man to save."
"Rejoice for a brother deceas'd;
Our loss is his infinite gain;
A soul out of prison releas'd,
And freed from its bodily chain:
With songs let us follow his flight,
And mount with his spirit above,
Escap'd to the mansions of light,
And lodg'd in the Eden of love."
