Scripture Verse

[Christ]…shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break…free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Hebrews 2:14–15

Introduction

Words: Ben­ja­min Bed­dome (1717–1795). Pub­lished post­hu­mous­ly in Hymns Adapt­ed to Pub­lic Wor­ship (Lon­don: Bu­rton & Briggs, 1818), num­ber 784, alt. Victory over death.

Music: Green­wood (Sweet­ser) Jo­seph E. Sweet­ser, A Col­lect­ion of Church Mu­sic (New York: John Wi­ley, 1849), num­ber 161 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Bed­dome or Sweet­ser (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Death is no dread­ful sound,
To souls who love their God;
With joy they leave this thor­ny ground,
And seek a new abode.

Behold the dawn­ing day,
The saint ex­tends his wings;
With ra­pid flight he soars away,
And as he goes, he sings.

“Farewell, ye kin­dred worms,
That feed on dust be­low;
I yon­der see ce­les­ti­al forms,
And haste to join them too.

Farewell, de­ceit­ful earth,
No long­er boast thy charms;
In Christ I view su­per­ior worth,
And rush in­to His arms.

Let sin­ners, void of grace,
Fear their ap­proach­ing end;
Jesus gives death an an­gel’s face,
And makes the foe a friend.