1039
L. M.
Let me die the death of the righteous.
Num. 23:10.
How blest the righteous when he dies!
When sinks a weary soul to rest!
How mildly beam the closing eyes!
How gently heaves the expiring breast!
2 So fades a summer cloud away;
So sinks the gale when storms are o’er;
So gently shuts the eye of day;
So dies a wave along the shore.
3 A holy quiet reigns around,
A calm which life nor death destroys;
And nought disturbs that peace profound
Which his unfettered soul enjoys.
4 Life’s labor done, as sinks the clay,
Light from its load the spirit flies,
While heaven and earth combine to say,
“How blest the righteous when he dies!”
Mrs. Barbauld.