List to the clanging bells of time,
Tolling their low, sad chime,
Requiem for the grand Old Year,
Hearken! he bids us hear:

“Friends, I am dying, hours are few;
But this I leave with you—
Bought with a price, you’re not your own:
For Jesus live alone.

“Gather the sheep from mountains cold,
Into the Shepherd’s fold;
Work for His cause till day is done,
Work till your crown is won.

“O Church below, the hosts above
Watch all your zeal and love;
Faithful abide till time is past,
Joy you’ll receive at last.

I shall be gone ere new-born year
In beauty comes to cheer:
Once I was young, my flowers bright—
Now I must say Good-night!