How blest the righteous when he dies!
When sinks a weary soul to rest!
How mildly beam the closing eyes!
How gently heaves th’ expiring breast!

So fades a summer cloud away;
So sinks the gale when storms are o’er;
So gently shuts the eye of day;
So dies a wave along the shore.

A holy quiet reigns around,
A cal which life nor death destroys;
And naught disturbs that peace profound
Which his unfettered soul enjoys.

Farewell, conflicting hopes and fears,
Where lights and shades alternate dwell;
How bright the unchanging morn appears!
Farewell, inconstant world, farewell!

Life’s labor’s done; as sinks the clay,
Light from its load the spirit flies,
While heaven and earth combine to say,
“How blest the righteous when he dies!”