Verse 1
Time! what an empty vapour ’tis!
And days how swift they are!
Swift as an Indian arrow flies,
Or like a shooting star.
Verse 2
[The present moments just appear,
Then slide away in haste,
That we can never say, “They’re here,”
But only say, “They’re past.”]
Verse 3
[Our life is ever on the wing,
And death is ever nigh;
The moment when our lives begin
We all begin to die.]
Verse 4
Yet, mighty God, our fleeting days
Thy lasting favours share,
Yet with the bounties of thy grace
Thou load’st the rolling year.
Verse 5
’Tis sovereign mercy finds us food,
And we are cloth d with love;
While grace stands pointing out the road
That leads our souls above.
Verse 6
His goodness runs an endless round;
All glory to the Lord:
His mercy never knows a bound,
And be his Name ador’d!
Verse 7
Thus we begin the lasting song,
And when we close our eyes,
Let the next age thy praise prolong
Till time and nature dies.