Midst the cohorts of the angels,
Where is joy for evermo:
To Jerusalem, exulting,
They with shouts shall enter in;
That true "sight of peace" and glory
That sets free from grief and sin.
Christ shall they behold for ever,
Seated at the Father's hand,
As in Beatific Vision
His elect before Him stand.
Wherefore, man, while yet thou mayest,
From the dragon's malice fly;
Give thy bread to feed the hungry,
If thou seek'st to win the sky;
Let thy loins be straitly girded,
Life be pure, and heart be right;
At the coming of the Bridegroom,
That thy lamp may glitter bright.
There is another hymn, also quoted by V. Bede, of the same rhythm and style as this; probably of the same date, and perhaps by the same author. I should have added it here, but for its great length. It begins "Hymnum dicat turba fratrum, hymnum cantus personet."
