| |
| HE is gone! beyond the skies, | |
| A cloud receives him from our eyes: | |
| Gone beyond the highest height | |
| Of mortal gaze or angel’s flight: | |
| Through the veils of time and space, | 5 |
| Passed into the holiest place: | |
| All the toil, the sorrow done, | |
| All the battle fought and won. | |
| |
| He is gone; and we return, | |
| And our hearts within us burn; | 10 |
| Olivet no more shall greet | |
| With welcome shout his coming feet: | |
| Never shall we track him more | |
| On Gennesareth’s glistening shore: | |
| Never in that look or voice | 15 |
| Shall Zion’s walls again rejoice. | |
| |
| He is gone; and we remain | |
| In this world of sin and pain: | |
| In the void which he has left, | |
| On this earth of him bereft, | 20 |
| We have still his work to do, | |
| We can still his path pursue: | |
| Seek him both in friend and foe, | |
| In ourselves his image show. | |
| |
| He is gone; we heard him say, | 25 |
| “Good that I should go away”; | |
| Gone is that dear form and face, | |
| But not gone his present grace; | |
| Though himself no more we see, | |
| Comfortless we cannot be; | 30 |
| No! his Spirit still is ours, | |
| Quickening, freshening all our powers. | |
| |
| He is gone; towards their goal | |
| World and church must onward roll; | |
| Far behind we leave the past, | 35 |
| Forward are our glances cast; | |
| Still his words before us range | |
| Through the ages, as they change: | |
| Wheresoe’er the truth shall lead, | |
| He will give whate’er we need. | 40 |
| |
| He is gone; but we once more | |
| Shall behold him as before, | |
| In the heaven of heavens the same | |
| As on earth he went and came. | |
| In the many mansions there | 45 |
| Place for us he will prepare: | |
| In that world, unseen, unknown, | |
| He and we may yet be one. | |
| |
| He is gone; but not in vain,— | |
| Wait until he comes again: | 50 |
| He is risen, he is not here; | |
| Far above this earthly sphere: | |
| Evermore in heart and mind, | |
| Where our peace in him we find, | |
| To our own eternal Friend, | 55 |
| Thitherward let us ascend. | |
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