Scripture Verse

There remaineth…a rest to the people of God. Hebrews 4:9

Introduction

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James Montgomery
1771–1854
National Portrait Gallery

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Words: James Mont­gom­e­ry, in the 30-stan­za poem The Grave, which first ap­peared in his Shef­field news­pa­per The Ir­is, June 20, 1805, signed Alæ­us.

Music: Star of Day Har­mon­ia Sacra (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know when the mu­sic was writ­ten, the com­pos­er, or where to get a good pic­ture of him (head-and-shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

There is a calm for those who weep,
A rest for weary pilgrims found;
They safely lie and sweetly sleep,
Low in the ground, low in the ground.

The storms that sweep the wintry sky
No more disturb their deep repose,
Than summer evening’s latest sigh
That shuts the rose, that shuts the rose.

Thy soul renewed by grace divine,
In God’s own image, freed from clay,
In Heav’n’s eternal sphere shall shine,
A star of day, a star of day.

The sun is but a spark of fire,
A transient meteor in the sky,
The soul, immortal as its Sire,
Shall never die, shall never die!