Whether Living Or Dying, We Are Thine Poem by John Bowring

To Thee alone we live,
To Thee alone we die;
Do Thou, O Lord! Thy spirit give,
Both life and death to sanctify.


The busy march of time,
And death's unbroken sleep,
Vouch for Thy purposes sublime,
And all Thy holy mandates keep.


Thine eye is never closed:
The present, future, past,
But act the parts Thou hast proposed,
All leading on to bliss at last.


The world in love began,
Through love its mazes tend,
And change but leads immortal man
To an unchanging, joyful end.


Lord! let us live to Thee,
And, dying, let us hear
The welcome of eternity,
And heav'n's sweet anthems echoing near.