Words: At­trib­ut­ed to the Fran­cis­can Pe­ter Go­nel­la of Tor­to­na (Heu! Heu! ma­la mun­di vi­ta). It was first pub­lished at length by E. Levis in his Anec­do­ta Sac­ra (Tur­in, It­a­ly: 1789); trans­lat­ed a cen­to in that work (Di­es il­la, di­es vi­tae) from La­tin to Eng­lish in her Voice of Christ­ian Life in Song, 1858.

Music: Charles (Park­er), J. Park­er, in the Hymn­al of the Meth­od­ist Epis­co­pal Church with Tunes (New York: Ea­ton & Mains, 1878), num­ber 1026.

If you know J. Park­er’s or E. Le­vis’ full names, or where to get a pic­tures of them, Pe­ter Go­nel­la, or Eliz­a­beth Charles

Lo, the day, the day of life!
Day of unimagined light,
Day when death itself shall die,
And there shall be no more night!

See the King desired for ages,
By the just expected long,
Long implored, at length He hasteth,
Cometh with salvation strong.

O how past all utterance happy,
Sweet and joyful it will be,
When they who, unseen, have loved Him,
Jesus face to face shall see.

Blessèd then, earth’s patient mourners,
Who for Christ have toiled and died,
Driven by the world’s rough pressure
In those mansions to abide!

What will be the bliss and rapture
None can dream, and none can tell,
There to reign among the angels,
In that heavenly home to dwell.