Asleep in Jesus

The story of this hymn

Margaret Mackay, a Scottish writer, came upon a headstone in the quiet country burial ground of Pennycross in Devon bearing the words 'Sleeping in Jesus', and the phrase — Scripture's own language for the death of believers — stayed with her. She wrote these verses in 1832 and published them the same year. Carried by William Bradbury's gentle tune 'Rest', the hymn became a standard burial hymn of the nineteenth century, sung at gravesides across the English-speaking world.

Where it sits in the service

First and foremost a graveside hymn — the short four-line verses sing easily unaccompanied at the committal as the coffin is lowered — though it also serves as a quiet hymn after the tributes. If it will be sung at the grave, print it on the back page of the order of service, where mourners standing in the open can find it quickly.

In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Hymn — Asleep in Jesus” with the leader or choir named beside it.

How it is actually sung

Written specifically for funerals, which very few hymns are, and it says exactly what it means without metaphor. Four verses. Known mainly in older and traditional congregations; younger ones will need the words in front of them and may still sing thinly. Quiet and slow, and best placed at the committal itself rather than earlier in the order, where its plainness can land heavily before the service has done its work.

Printing the words

Public domain. Print all four verses; the hymn is unfamiliar enough now that nobody will sing it from memory.

This is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Reproduction rights vary by territory, by hymnal edition and by the licence your church holds — the church office is the right place to ask, and they answer this question often.