Hosannah to Jesus on high

Hymn III in Funeral Hymns by John and Charles Wesley. 8s. Doubled.

1. Hosannah to Jesus on high!
Another has entered his rest,
Another escaped to the sky,
And lodged in Immanuel’s breast:
The soul of our sister is gone
To heighten the triumph above,
Exalted to Jesus’s throne,
And clasped in the arms of his love.

2. What fullness of rapture is there,
While Jesus His glory displays,
And purples the heavenly air,
And scatters the odours of grace?
He looks—and his servants in light
The blessing ineffable meet;
He smiles—and they faint at the sight,
And fall overwhelmed at his feet!

3. How happy the angels that fall,
Transported at Jesus’s name!
The saints, whom he soonest shall call
To share in the feast of the Lamb!
No longer imprisoned in clay,
Who next from the dungeon shall fly,
Who first shall be summoned away?
My merciful God—Is it I?

4. O Jesus, if this be thy will
That suddenly I should depart,
Thy council of mercy reveal,
And whisper the call to my heart:
O give me a signal to know
If soon Thou wouldst have me remove,
And leave this dull body below,
And fly to the regions of love.