p. 1 | The Cheering Hope by E. W. Darling

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 9, 1864

The Cheering Hope.

By E. W. Darling

The dull cold days that we number here, Make the heart feel sad and the world seem drear; But colder still are the thoughts that come From blasted hope or a ruined home; And still more sad do our spirits feel For the sickness of friends that we cannot heal; And far more drear when in death they close Their languid eyes for a long repose, In silence to sleep while we struggle still Through the varying prospects of good and ill.

Oh, were this the last we should ever see Of the friends we cherish so tenderly, Oh, were we never to meet nor tell Of aught we had seen since the last farewell, Then our earthly lot were sad indeed And dreary the life that we needs must lead.

But a cheering hope of a bright abode, Is revealed in the blessed word of God; And a promise sure that the dead shall come From the cold damp cells of their narrow home. For the earth in surpassing beauty dressed Shall be the place of abode and rest For those who by watching and toil and pain Have kept the faith of the Lamb once slain, Have loved the truths of his changeless word And washed their robes in his precious blood.

Yes the righteous shall join their friends once more Immortal and free on that fadeless shore. And thus how the ills of life's bitter cup, Are taken away by this cheering hope.

E. W. DARLING.