We…are compassed about with [a] great a cloud of witnesses.
Hebrews 12:1
Words: James T. Fields (1817–1881).
Music: Edinburgh Modern Harp, before 1884 (🔊 pdf nwc). Note: Though this tune was published for these words, the meter does is not an exact fit; some words may have to be sung as two short notes rather than a single longer note.
Forget not the dead, who have loved, who have left us,
Who bend o’er us now from their bright homes above;
But believe, never doubt, that the God who bereft us
Permits them to mingle with friends they still love.
Repeat their fond words, all their noble deeds cherish;
Speak pleasantly of them who left us in tears:
Other joys may be lost, but their names should not perish,
While time bears our feet through the valley of tears.