To live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21
Words: H. A. César Malan, Chants de Sion, 1832 (Non, ce n’est pas mourir que d’aller vers son Dieu). Translated from French to English by George W. Bethune, Lays, 1847, page 141. At Bethune’s request, this hymn was sung at his funeral.
Music: Greenwood (Sweetser) Joseph E. Sweetser, A Collection of Church Music (New York: John Wiley, 1849), number 161 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good picture of Sweetser (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
It is not death to die,
To leave this weary road,
And midst the brotherhood on high
To be at home with God.
It is not death to close
The eye long dimmed by tears,
And wake, in glorious repose,
To spend eternal years.
It is not death to bear
The wrench that sets us free
From dungeon chain, to breath the air
Of boundless liberty.
It is not death to fling
Aside this sinful dust
And rise, on strong exulting wing
To live among the just.
Jesus, Thou Prince of Life,
Thy chosen cannot die:
Like Thee, they conquer in the strife
To reign with Thee on high.