1090
S. H. M.
Friend after friend departs.
Friend after friend departs;
Who hath not lost a friend?
There is no union here of hearts,
That finds not here an end?
Were this frail world our only rest,
Living or dying, none were blest.
2 Beyond the flight of time,
Beyond this vale of death,
There surely is some blesséd clime,
Where life is not a breath,
Nor life’s affections transient fire,
Whose sparks fly upward to expire,
3 There is a world above,
Where parting is unknown;
A whole eternity of love,
Formed for the good alone;
And faith beholds the dying here
Translated to that happier sphere.
4 Thus star by star declines,
Till all are passed away,
As morning high and higher shines
To pure and perfect day;
Nor sink those stars in empty night;
They hide themselves in heaven’s own light.
Montgomery.