485
L. M.
Parting hymn.
My Christian friends in bonds of love,
Whose hearts the sweetest union prove;
Your friendship’s like the strongest band,
Yet we must take the parting hand.
2 Your presence sweet, our union dear,
What joys we feel together here!
And when I see that we must part,
You draw like chords around my heart.
3 How sweet the hours have passed away,
Since we have met to sing and pray;
How loath are we to leave the place
Where Jesus shows his smiling face!
4 O could I stay with friends so kind,
How would it cheer my fainting mind!
But pilgrims in a foreign land,
We oft must take the parting hand.
5 My Christian friends, both old and young,
I trust you will in Christ go on;
Press on, and soon you’ll win the prize—
A crown of glory in the skies.
6 A few more days, or years at most,
And we shall reach fair Canaan’s coast:
When, in that holy, happy land,
We’ll take no more the parting hand.
7 O blesséd day! O glorious hope!
My soul rejoices at the thought,
When, in that holy, happy land,
We’ll take no more the parting hand.