Solemn strikes the funeral chime!
Notes of our departing time,
As we journey here below,
On a pilgrimage of woe.
Brothers, now indulge a tear,
For mortality is here!
See how wide her trophies wave,
O'er the slumbers of the grave.
Here another guest we bring,
Seraphs of celestial wing,
To our funeral altar come,
Waft a friend and brother home.
Lord of all, below, above,
Fill our hearts with Truth and Love.
As dissolves our earthly tie,
Take us to Thy Lodge on High.
One version of the Methodist Hymnal uses Pleyel's Hymn as a setting of words to be used for the dedication of a new church. The words of that hymn make many references to Masonic working tools and leave little doubt that the text was authored by a Freemason, whose choice of Pleyel's Hymn for his setting was anything but a coincidence. It is probable that few Methodist churchgoers are aware of this connection.