Scripture Verse

God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4

Introduction

portrait
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

Words: Charles Wes­ley, Fun­er­al Hymns 1746.

Music: Green Fields ar­ranged by Lew­is Ed­son in The Cho­ris­ter’s Com­pan­ion (New Ha­ven, Con­nec­ti­cut: 1782), from The Pea­sant Can­ta­ta (Mer hahn en neue Ob­er­keet), by Jo­hann S. Bach (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

  • Arabia (White) White, in The Pri­mi­tive Me­tho­dist Hym­nal, ed­it­ed by George Booth (Lon­don: Pri­mi­tive Me­tho­dist Pub­lish­ing House, 1889), num­ber 574 (🔊 pdf nwc)
portrait
Johann S. Bach (1685–1750)

Lyrics

Away with our sor­row and fear!
We soon shall re­co­ver our home,
The ci­ty of saints shall ap­pear,
The day of eter­ni­ty come:
From earth we shall quick­ly re­move,
And mount to our na­tive abode,
The house of our Fa­ther above,
The pa­lace of an­gels and God.

Our mourn­ing is all at an end,
When, raised by the life-giv­ing Word,
We see the new ci­ty des­cend,
Adorned as a bride for her Lord;
The city so ho­ly and clean,
No sor­row can breathe in the air;
No gloom of af­flict­ion or sin,
No sha­dow of ev­il is there.

By faith we al­rea­dy be­hold
That love­ly Je­ru­sa­lem here;
Her walls are of jas­per and gold,
As crys­tal her build­ings are clear;
Immovably found­ed in grace,
She stands as she ev­er hath stood,
And bright­ly her build­er dis­plays,
And flames with the glo­ry of God.

No need of the sun in that day,
Which ne­ver is fol­lowed by night,
Where Je­sus’ beau­ties dis­play
A pure and a per­ma­nent light:
The Lamb is their light and their sun,
And lo! by re­flect­ion they shine,
With Je­sus in­ef­fa­bly one,
And bright in ef­ful­gence di­vine!

The saints in His pre­sence re­ceive
Their great and eter­nal re­ward;
In Je­sus, in Hea­ven they live,
They reign in the smile of their Lord:
The flame of an­gel­ic­al love
Is kin­dled at Jes­us’ face;
And all the en­joy­ment above
Consists in the rap­tur­ous gaze.