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Hymns and Homilies

St Ephrem the Syrian, tr. Burgess, 1853

20. Hymn 20: Necessity for Preparation for Death

Pity me, oh Father! in Thy tender mercy,
And at Thy tribunal let Thy love be with me;
And make me to rise up from the dust,
In the day when Thy standard shall be revealed.
Oh Father! whose loving-kindness formed me,
And who at the first fashioned our image;
Let Thy nod raise our bodies again,
In the day when the world is destroyed.

At the appearing of Jesus our King,
The buried of all ages shall stand up;
His living voice shall call loudly,
And awaken every sleeper;
What terror shall be to all men,
When the thrones are set in order!
How will the wicked be confounded,
And all be turned into hell!

The Day of Judgment is at hand
And all faults shall be disclosed;
Who then can be pure in Thy sight,
In the hour when the books are opened!
For there are no penitents,
Nor offerers of supplications;
For that is the day of doom
In which no word nor speech is uttered!