The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

O sister in Jesus, arise,
And joyful His summons obey;
He beckons thee up to the skies,
In mercy He calls thee away:
His pity hath sign'd thy release;
Return to thy native abode,
Make haste to the mansions of bliss,
And fly to the bosom of God.

To waft from the valley of tears,
To bear thee triumphantly home,
The chariot of Israel appears,
The convoy of angels is come!
With envy we let thee depart,
Thy happier spirit resign!
The purchase of Jesus thou art,
And God is eternally thine.

Go then to thy glorious estate,
No longer our partner in woe;
No longer oppress'd with our weight,
To Jesus in paradise go:
Redeem'd from a world of distress,
Thou hear'st the acceptable word;
He bids thee depart in His peace,
And die for the sight of thy Lord.

Escape to a country above,
Where only enjoyment is found,
And springs of ecstatical love,
And rivers of pleasure abound:

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No dreadful alarums of war,
No famine, or sorrows, or pains,
No sound of the trumpet is there,
But Jesus eternally reigns.

He reigns in the holiest place,
He dwells in the midst of His own,
And fully discovers His face,
And fills them with raptures unknown;
With bliss inexpressibly great
Their glorified spirits o'erflow—
Go, sister, and share their estate,
To Jesus in paradise go.

O Saviour, her spirit receive,
Which into Thy hands we resign,
And us from our sorrows retrieve,
And us to our company join:
Our number and glory complete,
With all that are landed before,
With Thee let us joyfully meet,
To part and to suffer no more.

University of Virginia Library

HYMN IV. FOR ONE JUST DEPARTING.