Scripture Verse

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

Introduction

Words: Seth C. Brace, in Par­ish Hymns (Phi­la­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia: Per­kins & Purves, 1844), num­ber 514.

Music: Ow­en Jo­seph E. Sweet­ser, in Songs for the Sanc­tu­ary, ed­it­ed by Charles S. Ro­bin­son (New York: A. S. Barnes, 1868) (🔊 pdf nwc).

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

Lyrics

Mourn for the thou­sands slain,
The youth­ful and the strong;
Mourn for the wine cup’s fear­ful reign,
And the de­luded throng.

Mourn for the tar­nished gem—
For rea­son’s light di­vine,
Quenched from the soul’s bright dia­dem,
Where God had bid it shine.

Mourn for the ru­ined soul—
Eternal life and light,
Lost by the fiery, mad­den­ing bowl,
And turned to hope­less night.

Mourn for the lost—but call,
Call to the strong, the free;
Rouse them to shun that dread­ful fall,
And to the re­fuge flee.

Mourn for the lost—but pray,
Pray to our God above,
To break the fell de­stroy­er’s sway,
And show His sav­ing love.