Scripture Verse

Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah. Genesis 23:19

Introduction

Words: James Holme, Hymns and Sac­red Po­et­ry (Lon­don & Ed­in­burgh, Scotland: J. Bry­done and Sons; Rich­mond: John Bell, 1861), pages 57–58 alt. Ma­ch­pe­lah—or the Un­fold­ing.

Music: Rest (Mak­er) Fred­er­ick C. Mak­er, 1887 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Holme or Mak­er (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

One sepulcher, one little spot,
The pilgrim meek did buy;
Other domain he seeketh not,
Enough for him that hallowed lot
Wherein his dead may lie.

Yet faith inscribes a precious name
Upon that lonely tomb,
Which shall to endless years proclaim
How hope pursues its truthful aim,
And looks for things to come.

Machpelah must again unfold,
And its loved dead restore;
The grave may not for ever hold
The ashes in its bosom rolled;
They sleep to wake once more.

The promise was not said in vain,
This land is all thine own;
Machpelah’s dead shall rise again
To share Messiah’s glorious reign,
And wear th’unfading crown.

How blest to live, to die, in faith,
And with exulting joy
To feel with life’s last ebbing breath
How sweet, how precious is the death
Which wafts the soul on high.

illustration
Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron
Wikimedia Commons, Djampa

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