69 Hymn 54
John Newton
8,6,8,6
Vanity of Life 66See also Book 2, Hymn 6
Eccl 270 The evils that beset our path Who can prevent or cure? We stand upon the brink of death When most we seem secure. | If we today sweet peace possess, It soon may be withdrawn; Some change may plunge us in distress, Before tomorrow’s dawn. | Disease and pain invade our health And find an easy prey; And oft, when least expected, wealth Takes wings and flies away. | A fever or a blow can shake Our wisdom’s boasted rule; And of the brightest genius make A madman or a fool. | The gourds, from which we look for fruit, Produce us only pain; A worm unseen attacks the root, And all our hopes are vain. | I pity those who seek no more Than such a world can give; Wretched they are, and blind, and poor, And dying while they live. | Since sin has filled the earth with woe, And creatures fade and die; Lord wean our hearts from things below, And fix our hopes on high. | |