Hark! A Voice Divides the Sky (EN 3205)

1

Hark! A voice divides the sky, happy are the faithful dead!

In the Lord who sweetly die, they from all their toils are freed;

Them the Spirit hath declared blessed, unutterably blessed;

Jesus is their great reward, Jesus is their endless rest.

2

Followed by their works, they go where their Head has gone before;

Reconciled by grace below, grace has opened mercy’s door;

Justified through faith alone, here they knew their sins forgiven,

Here they laid their burden down, hallowed, and made fit for heaven.

3

Who can now lament the lot of a saint in Christ deceased?

Let the world, who know us not, call us hopeless and unblessed:

When from flesh the spirit freed hastens homeward to return,

Mortals cry, “A man is dead!” Angels sing, “A child is born!”

4

Born into the world above, they our happy brother greet,

Bear him to the throne of love, place him at the Savior’s feet;

Jesus smiles, and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant thou;

Enter, and receive thy crown, reign with Me triumphant now.”

5

Angels catch the approving sound, bow, and bless the just award;

Hail the heir with glory crowned, now rejoicing with his Lord:

Fuller joys ordained to know, waiting for the general doom,

When the archangel’s trump shall blow, “Rise, ye dead, to judgment come!”