Scripture Verse

Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar…So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab. Deuteronomy 34:1–5

Introduction

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Isaac Watts
1674–1748

Words: Is­aac Watts, Hymns and Spi­ri­tu­al Songs, Book 2, 1707–09, num­ber 49. Mo­ses dy­ing in the em­brac­es of God.

Music: Here­ford (Ou­se­ley) Fred­er­ick A. Gore-Ou­se­ley, in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, 1861 (🔊 pdf nwc).

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Frederick A. Gore-Ouseley
1825–1889

Lyrics

Death cannot make our souls afraid,
If God be with us there;
We may walk through its darkest shade,
And never yield to fear.

I could renounce my all below,
If my Creator bid;
And run, if I were called to go,
And die as Moses did.

Might I but climb to Pisgah’s top,
And view the promised land,
My flesh itself would long to drop,
And pray for the command.

Clasped in my heavenly Father’s arms,
I would forget my breath,
And lose my life among the charms
Of so divine a death.