1 With silence only as their benediction,
God's angels come
Where, in the shadow of a great affliction,
The soul sits dumb.

2 Yet would we say, what every heart approveth, --
Our Father's will,
Calling to Him the dear ones whom he loveth,
Is mercy still.

3 Not upon us or ours the solemn angel
Hath evil wrought;
The funeral anthem is a glad evangel;
The good die not!

4 God calls our loved ones, but we lose not wholly
What He has given;
They live on earth in thought and deed, as truly
As in His heaven.