Wesley Corpus

Who weeping build our infant's tomb, With joy we hasten to our own: That happiest day will quickly come, When we shall lay our burthen down, When loos'd from earth our souls shall soar, And find, whom we shall lose no more. No human heart can e'er conceive The transports of our meeting there, Where pure departed spirits live, Where one we fondly deem'd our heir, To full angelic stature grown, Inherits an immortal crown. Arriv'd above, the stranger stands, Incompast with acclaiming quires: He hears, and waves his plausive hands, Transported with the harpers' lyres, Expands his tuneful soul to prove Th' harmonious powers of heavenly love. And can we wish him doom'd again To childish ignorance and fears, Obnoxious to disease and pain, Imprison'd in our vale of tears, Page 41 Expos'd to all we dread beneath, Passion, and sin, and second death? Ah! No, we would not have him back, But soon ourselves to him remove, While meet his glory to partake, And perfected in patient love, We see with ravish'd hearts and eyes The loss which brought us to the skies. Hymn XXIV. On the Death of a Child. Part V. Angels rejoice, a child is born, Into your happier world above! Let poor short-sighted mortals mourn, While on the wings of heavenly love, An everlasting spirit flies, To claim his kindred in the skies. His few sad days of guiltless pain Are all irrevocably gone, Escap'd from earth without a stain, My heart's desire, my darling son Hath first attain'd his endless rest, Hath reach'd his heavenly Father's breast. And shall I for his bliss repine, And shall I for his absence grieve? Or rather bless the choice divine, With awful joy and thanks receive The period of my countless cares, The answer of my thousand pray'rs! My pray'rs are seal'd, my child is fled, Is safe on that eternal shore: No longer I his dangers dread, The pois'nous world's bewitching power, Page 42 The charms of sin, the tempter's art, The fondness of a parent's heart. No more my eyes with tears o'erflow, No more in deep distress I pray "Ah! Save my child from endless woe, Ah! Take him from the evil day, Nor let the man his God deny, Nor let him live to sin, and die."