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Gentle friends who gather here,
Drop no unavailing tear,
With no gloom surround this bier.
Bid this weary frame oppressed
Welcome to its longed-for rest
On the fair earth's sheltering breast.
And the spirit freed from clay
Give glad leave to soar away,
Singing, to the eternal day.
When this sentient life began,
Love of Nature, love of man,
Through its kindling pulses ran ;
Eagerly these eyes looked forth,
Questioning the teeming earth
For its stores of truth and worth ;
Head and heart with schemes were rife,
Longing for some noble strife,
Planning for some perfect life.
But the Father's love decreed
Other work and other meed,
And by ways unsought did lead ;
Turned aside the out-stretched hand,
Bade the feet inactive stand.
Checked the task that thought had planned ;
And on eyes that loved to gaze
Upon light's intensest rays
Dropped a veil of gentle haze.
How the musing spirit burned !
How the wilful nature yearned,
And its sacred limits spurned !
Known, O Father, unto Thee
All the long captivity
Of the soul at last set free ;
And how hard it was to see
Thy great harvests silently
Whitening upon land and lea ;
And to watch the reapers' throng,
Filling all the vales with song,
As they bore their sheaves along.
And to Thee, O pitying God,
Known Thy grace that overflowed
All that still and sacred road,
Where Thy patience brought relief,
Following in Thy path of grief,
Thou of suffering souls the chief !
Yet since Thou hast stooped to say,
" Cast thy out-worn robe away,
Come and rest with me to-day, —
" Come to larger life and power,
Come to strength renewed each hour,
Come to truth's unfailing dower ; — "
To the dear ones gathered here
Make Thy loving purpose clear,
And Thy hght shine round this bier.
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marker 99
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LYRICS
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Meter:
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7 7 7 7 7 7
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Writer(s):
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Trans/Adapted:
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Dates:
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1872
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Bible Refs:
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MUSIC
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Name:
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PETRA (REDHEAD NO. 76)
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Meter:
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7 7 7 7 7 7
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Writer(s):
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Dates:
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1853
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LIST OF MUSIC SOURCES
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Hymn/Song Book
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Song #
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Key
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| # 237 | D | | # 273 | D | | # 350 | D | | # 124 | D | | # 184 | D | | # 197 | E | | # 488 | Eb | | # 498 | Eb | | # 298 | F |
echo ' | ';
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Hymn Writer
