God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave.
Psalm 49:15
Words: Isaac Watts, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1707–09, Book II, number 63. This hymn was sung at the funeral of American president George Washington.
Music: Bangor William Tans’ur, 1734 (🔊 pdf nwc).
Alternate Tunes:
Hark! from the tombs a doleful sound;
My ears, attend the cry;
“Ye living men, come view the ground
Where you must shortly lie.
Princes, this clay must be your bed,
In spite of all your towers;
The tall, the wise, the reverend head
Must lie as low as ours!
Great God! is this our certain doom?
And are we still secure?
Still walking downward to our tomb,
And yet prepare no more?
Grant us the powers of quickening grace,
To fit our souls to fly,
Then, when we drop this dying flesh,
We’ll rise above the sky.