Through Every Age, Eternal God

Through ev­ery age

eter­nal God

Thou art our rest

our safe abode;

High was Thy throne ere Heav’n was made

Or earth Thy hum­ble foot­stool laid.

Long hadst Thou reigned ere time be­gan

Or dust was fa­shioned to a man;

And long Thy king­dom shall en­dure

When earth and time shall be no more.

But man

weak man

is born to die

Made up of guilt and van­ity;

Thy dread­ful sen­tence

Lord

was just

Return

ye sin­ners

to your dust.

A thou­sand of our years amount

Scarce to a day in Thine ac­count;

Like yes­ter­day’s de­part­ed light

Or the last watch of end­ing night.

Death

like an ov­er­flow­ing stream

Sweeps us away; our life’s a dream

An emp­ty tale

a morn­ing flow­er

Cut down and wi­thered in an hour.

Our age to se­ven­ty years is set;

How short the time! how frail the state!

And if to eigh­ty we ar­rive

We ra­ther sigh and groan than live.

But O how oft Thy wrath ap­pears

And cuts off our ex­pect­ed years!

Thy wrath awakes our hum­ble dread;

We fear the pow­er that strikes us dead.

Teach us

O Lord

how frail is man;

And kind­ly length­en out our span

Till a wise care of pi­ety

Fit us to die

and dwell with Thee.